1300 489 873Lucy Starrat, first time staffy owner
I first saw a photo of this handsome little boy on a breeder’s Facebook page on Sunday morning. The accompanying text read “our last blue staffy available for loving home on Friday enquire now, this boy won’t last long”.
Within 24hours, frequent family discussions and a few back and forth phone calls with the breeder, he was ours! There was no going back.
The next four days were busy and filled with excitement and trepidation. Finding him the best bed, a microwavable heat pack and ticking clock (to feel like his brother’s warmth and mummy’s beating heart for those first difficult nights on his own), researching puppy schools, buying all kinds of toys, treats, getting our house puppy ready by installing child proof gates and rolling up our vintage Persian rugs incase of the highly likely ‘accidents’ and then finally choosing and agreeing on his name! Our initial list of 15 names was settled on the final night… BOSTON
I kept a ‘photographic’ diary in my iPhone of our first 7 days with little Boston. Everything was too cute or too funny not to! A week full of fun, laughs, uncertainty and of course, the love of welcoming a new member to the fam. Here is how the week unfolded…
Friday – Day 1
My family had great anticipation and excitement towards meeting Boston!
My dad and I were picking him up from the pet terminal at Sydney Airport late on Friday afternoon as my brother was working late and mum was away for the weekend. He’d flown down to Sydney all the way from Cairns. A very long journey for a little fella all on his own, so we came prepared with towels, toys and water.
Amongst an array of other cages and animal noises I spotted Boston cooped up behind bars with a soft toy. It was love at first sight. He was terrified and huddled towards the back of the cage refusing to come out on his own accord. So I put my arms in, lifted him up and cuddled him, never wanting to put him down!
He slept the whole car journey home, wandered around his new home with a swagger and unbelievably, after an hour of playtime, his dinner and a lot of cuddles he took himself off to his bed in our laundry.
Saturday
Amazingly Boston slept all night without a single cry until 6:20am. The laundry was covered with little wee’s so we took him straight out onto the grass!
He was hungry! We gave him ½ tbsp of lean beef mince with a small handful of dry kibble per the breeder’s instructions, which should be his staple diet 3 times a day for the next few months.
We spent most of the day playing with Boston, or simply watching him wander and trying to get up and down various steps in and around our house. He was fearless and would generally leap up and down steps resulting in a few crash landings and by the end of the day a grazed chin!!
There were a few accidents inside today. Every time this happened we would pick him up and carry him outside onto the grass to try and teach him where his ‘toilet area’ is.
Sunday
Another near perfect night! There were one or two random cries very late at night but Boston managed to settle himself quickly until waking up at 6:20am.
Today we had a number of friends and family drop in to meet Boston. Everyone wanted to play with him / pick him up / cuddle him / touch him, it was all very overwhelming for the little one.
By 10:30am he’d had it and took himself to bed for an hour, and after more play and some lunch, he slept again for a good hour and a half. It’s hilarious watching Boston sleep. He doesn’t ever look comfortable. He’s either half in half out or body in head out… Apparently this is a Staffy trait so I resist the urge to want to move him.
Playing with him this afternoon I found a grass tick in his groin. We removed it immediately with some tweezers. I know grass ticks aren’t as dangerous as the black paralysis ticks, but still they can give a nasty bite and release poison into the blood stream if not removed quickly.
Monday
Today was a big day of eating playtime, toilet training and sleeping! I found another grass tick, this time in his ear, which I promptly removed!!
Boston also met the 12 week old Spaniel puppy next door for the first time and had a really good play. It seemed to get a little bit boisterous so we called it a day. I think it’s really important he meets other dogs from a young age, particularly the one next door! They can see each other through a fence and are already best buds.
Tonight we took Boston to his first puppy pre-school lesson. We signed him up to a 6 week course with Fido at High St Vetenariy clinic in Willoughby. It’s only a class of 3 pups so we got lots of attention from the trainer Lou. We took a great deal away from our first lesson including many training techniques to practice! It will certainly help us to train Boston to be a very obedient and well-socialized dog. After an hour of training, he was exhausted and could hardly keep his eyes open.
Tuesday
I think we have Boston’s nighttime sleeping pattern sorted! He goes to bed and sleeps from about 8pm until we wake him at 11pm and take him to do a wee on the grass outside. By 6:20am when he wakes up, we take him straight outside onto the grass. There have been no overnight accidents since starting this routine (touch wood!).
This afternoon I took Boston for a small trip in the car to Pet Barn to buy him a few more soft and squeaky toys, dry kibble, puppy milk, shampoo and a brush. I think he enjoyed the outing and all the wonderful new smells in the shop. Judging by the constant squirming in my arms I know he would have loved to have a run around. I resisted putting him down though as he is still too young to meet other dogs that were wondering around the shop.
Wednesday
Boston is really starting to venture further afield! Each time we take him out onto the grass beside our house he tries to walk and then run a little further up the hill towards our neighbours houses. “Boston, come” isn’t too effective at this stage but with a lot more practice, patience (from me) and treats to lure him with I know he’ll learn to come when he’s called… I suppose he is only 9 weeks old!
I’ve really started to notice a lot of the ‘staffy traits’ over the last few days and not just his interesting sleeping positions.
Boston seems to find all the big / long sticks in our garden and will carry them around in his mouth! Unless I have a treat to bribe him with a “give” I doubt there is any hope he’d drop them!!
He also had his first pig’s ear as a treat this afternoon. It was hilarious watching him try to get his little mouth around it. Every time the ear scraped along the ground and made a loud scratchy noise he would bark! Until he gets used to it, I’ll have to make sure he eats it on the grass!
Thursday
Today we gave Boston his first bath. Within a week he’s lost his beautiful baby smell and is starting to smell a lot doggier! He was very apprehensive about getting into the laundry sink initially, but as soon as he realized it was nice warm water I’d say he enjoyed it!
He’s also noticeably grown in just 7 days! He’s still a very small, young pup at just 9 weeks despite his big paws, bulging head, broad shoulders and muscled hind legs, so we will all be sure to enjoy everyday with baby Boston! I’ve forgotten all the free time I had this time last week without him around to play with, train, feed, cuddle…
He is a absolutely the best thing that we could have wished for and I cant wait for more of the fun ahead.
About the Author
Lucy Starrat has had dogs all her life starting with the adorable Otto, a pure bred Dalmation who she had throughout most of her childhood. Residing on Sydney’s North, Lucy is a 26 years old certified Accountant, mad about fashion, travel and of course dogs!
Follow her on Instagram: @LucyStarrat
