Re: Doris

Hi there Sue and Andy!

First of all can I apologise for how long it has taken me to get in touch with an update. I've been meaning to do this for weeks but never seemed to get round to it!
Well, what can I say - She is absolutely fantastic and well and truly part of the family!! She settled in really quickly (only cried for the first 3 nights) and has been wrapping us round her little finger ever since! She is a very friendly and lively but generally well behaved girl who loves attention from everyone she meets. All of our friends and family have fallen in love with her and everywhere we go we get so many compliments about her (well, she is beautiful!). Toilet training was really easy - you did a great job because she has never once toileted in her crate and for the most part we have only had a handful of accidents. Crate training is going well - i'm glad we're doing it otherwise she might have chewed all of our furniture by now!!
Doris started puppy play sessions the week we got her (for 3 weeks) and for the past month we have been going to puppy training classes which are helping with basic commands and behaviour management. Doris definitely responds well to commands when there's food as a reward!Although having a dog is obviously a big commitment and hard work at times, we have no regrets about getting Doris. She really has completed our family and every single one of us adores her - she is great with all 3 of the kids and is forming a particularly close bond with Isobel, our youngest (2 yr old).
Thanks so much for Doris - I'm so glad we did our research and found you as I totally believe that a dog is only as good as its parents and their breeders.
Funnily enough, we came across a 3 yr old cockapoo in the park last week whose owners had wanted a Topmac cockapoo but didn't want to wait for some months until your next litter. Instead they went to another breeder who had pups ready. They said that they wished they'd waited because this place was pretty much a puppy farm that has given them a cockapoo who is very aggressive with all other dogs. Poor Doris didn't know what had hit her when she went to say hello!
So once again thank you! I will try to attach some pics to this email if i can but my computer sometimes plays up. I hope you and your lovely dogs are well.

Big kisses to Amber and Teddy for making such a lovely pup for us!

Kind regards Ruth Rick Dylan Tom and Isobel Lawrence xxxxx

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Re: Oscar

Dear Sue and Andy,

I do hope you are both keeping well and Amber and Teddy are enjoying their semi retirement! As Robyn's brief email rightly accused, I am simply terrible at keep up communications - even with my family - oops! I hope you will forgive me or at least read this update. We have you to thank for the most wonderful little addition to our family!

Oscar, from that first journey home to present day - continues to astound us. He is quite simply fantastic, to say he's everything we wanted and more... is a massive understatement.

The 1st 8 weeks of home life with us was basically under a blanket of snow which we endured anyway going out every 30mins for wee wees. He was sooooo good we began to think....oh dear...it's all going to change. He was fairly bomb proof from this early age, loving everyone he met, postman included!!

In days he had learnt to sit on the mat upon re entering the house and have his paws wiped. He immediately learnt to love his night time crate ~ we had 2 crying nights and then the vet said to close the crate door - I did and he has never barked since ~ plus we only had a couple of wet accidents overnight ever - in the very early days.

He is now left with crate open and water available and we will find him sleeping happily either in the crate or on his sheepskin 'porch' when we come back, no anxiety whatsoever.

The car is the same we have a crate option or a back seat option with seat belt - he is perfectly happy in either and perfectly behaved. Everyone gets the most enormous love and welcome at every reunion where the whole dog wags not just the tail

We walk, possibly a tad too much at the weekends but we all love it and he has boundless energy He has been off the lead from the earliest age and thankfully does not wander.

He loves to chase the squirrels off the bird nuts and the crows in the fields, but he is learning that it's doubtful he'll ever catch them! He has loads of doggie friends too, he unerringly recognises spaniel and poodle traits in dogs he meets! His best friend is Max a Labradoodle who we met at puppy classes. We meet up on the forest for walks and this is a great success, they play endlessly rolling like a couple of otters intertwined, Max is quite small and Oscar isn't (!) so they're ideally matched. Also Finn a border Collie pup 1 week younger than Oscar we also meet up with regularly. Oscar continues to greet other dogs in a very subservient manner hence we continue to make lots of friends!!!

Puppy classes - Oscar gets the Oscar most weeks (something to do with the fact that he is sooooo led by his stomach - nothing to do with his handler!) He will do anything for food so he is very good for the sit/lie/stay/heel etc each week... my secret weapon ...frankfurters...carrots...and celery....as I said he will eat everything... and that is our only worry in itself .. sticks, stones, leaves, grass, shells, roots, most things actually so we try to keep a careful eye. I think now the bees and wasps are waking up we might have to have some anti histamine to hand!

Boring facts...here we go....he's approaching 9.5kg and when stretched out long (otter style on his back!) he's a massive 36" he's very beautiful - infact so exactly what we wanted we kick ourselves fairly frequently. His coat is beautiful and wavy with all number of high and low lights. Grooming is best done when he's asleep on me on the sofa! We are currently training him to the silent whistle which works well out in woods/fields as he is so absorbed in smells!! He fits into our lives so utterly brilliantly.
He has, I believe, a very happy busy life when he is not with me - he will stay with Mum if I have to go to meetings, has she has a massive garden and looks after by brothers retired greyhounds aswell so he has canine company with DeeDee and Penny whom he absolutely loves - I wish I could send you a video of him playing with a massive greyhound - tables are turning as he's getting bigger and he's just started chasing them - it's priceless!
So here we are at 5+ months completely happy, We take him everywhere, he's completely unfazed. We've been to the beach twice already, so so many walks and car journeys, he's been to visit Robyn at Uni and walked along the Thames! He is very used to having his dinner in all number of places! He's been chipped, not neutered, and has had his blood test ready for his passport so we're hopefully taking him camping in France in the summer!

He is loved completely, and loves us back, he is the most wonderful little boy, Thank you

Fi & Family