It’s hard to believe it’s been a week since we collected Lucy and brought her home — and that she’s 9 weeks old today.
The days have been very full and very chaotic, but she’s already settling into the household routine. She’s now asking to go outside to go to the toilet, she’s learnt to go down the doggy ramp my dad made so she doesn’t have to jump out of the house, and last night she lifted her paw to “shake” for her dinner for the first time. She knows that going into her puppy pen in our bedroom at night means she’ll get a small treat and that it’s time for her big sleep. She’s generally going through until about 5–5.30am before asking to go out, and her circles of exploration are getting wider as her confidence grows.
We’ve also discovered that Lucy has an alter ego — whom we’ve nicknamed Lucifer. Lucifer usually appears for about half an hour when she first wakes up, and again just before bedtime… and occasionally in between if she gets particularly excited during playtime! During these moments, it’s like trying to engage with a tiny shark. Nothing is safe. Her teeth are like needles, and she’ll disappear behind the furniture only to reappear from another angle and launch herself at us full speed, teeth at the ready. She’s drawn blood from both of us, and I’m not sure my PJ pants or bed jacket will survive this stage!
Lucy loves to “help” in the garden, digging up tree roots and pruning the plants in her own enthusiastic way. We’ve had to move all our verandah plants out of sight, as every time she gets near a pot she can’t resist taking a bite out of a stalk or a flower!
But when Lucy’s not being a shark or a plant‑pruner, she’s the sweetest, funniest, most gorgeous little pup. She adores tug‑of‑war, trying to catch her tail, and wrestling with her blanket and bed. She stares at her reflection in the oven and sliding doors, trying to work out what she’s looking at. She gets so excited to see David when he gets up in the morning or comes back from working in the shed. She’ll sit in front of us waiting for a pat, and the way she looks at you with those beautiful eyes feels like she’s looking straight into your soul…
Lucy has met her aunty Flora — my parents’ nearly eight‑year‑old cavoodle. Flora is very nervous around other dogs after being attacked as a puppy, so she was quite scared of Lucy at first. Toward the end of their visit though, she was reluctantly allowing Lucy to sniff her, so fingers crossed she’ll settle with Lucy as they spend more time together.
She’s also met her cousin Darwin — my brother’s five‑year‑old black labrador. Darwin is gorgeous but has absolutely no sense of his size or boisterousness. At first Lucy was nervous after he nearly squashed her, but she quickly gained her confidence and, unfortunately for Darwin, Lucifer made an appearance. Darwin was so good with her though, never snapping at her - just tolerating her nipping at his ankles, ears, and any other part of him she could reach! Once they’re closer in size and Lucy hopefully stops her sharking, I think they’ll be great playmates for each other…
And through all of this, she’s still curling up around my feet to have a nap while I work in the studio — the sweetest little shadow. 💕
