Bertie // The First Week

It has been one week since Bertie Custard joined Make, Do & Push! HQ. And what a week it’s been… The hashtag #inbeautyandchaos pretty much sums it up.

Bertie loves to be in the garden. He loves chasing leaves, listening for different dogs walking by, and playing fetch – which he mastered immediately! His presence in the house has made us go out into the garden more too, and I’m really relishing the fact that we have a garden! H-Bear’s wellies are now kept by the backdoor so we can go straight out and explore with Bertie.

Bertie is the dog version of H-Bear. He’s extremely cuddly and affectionate, and has gained the nickname ‘The Golden Shadow’ because he is always following me… or is underneath my feet – I have tripped on him A LOT in the past week! Even now, I’m typing this with one hand because he’s snoozing on my lap, on top of my left hand.

Because Bertie and H-Bear are the same spirit animal, there’s serious competition for my attention. If H-Bear is having a cuddle with me then Bertie wants a cuddle – and vice versa. Dinner time prep in the kitchen is now with two small creatures vying for my attention, instead of one. Even my toilet audience has increased by one.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s lovely to be loved – but sometimes ten minutes by myself to even do something as tedious as unload the washing machine would be appreciated.

The first few nights were a little bit turbulent – but nowhere near as tough as with a newborn baby! And now he mostly sleeps in his crate from when we go to sleep until when we wake up. We leave the radio on for him (Magic, as Radio 1 is a bit too hectic at that time of night) and he sleeps on an old duvet from Busby’s toddler bed with his blanket from the breeder.

During the day he either sleeps in his lovely basket from Tilly & Cub, or his fleecy dog bed that we bought from Pets at Home… or on my lap during H-Bear’s naptime while I try to work!

Toilet training is… well, as soon as I think he’s cracked it, he has another accident. But he’s started asking to go outside now, and most of his poos are now being done outside which is a step in the right direction at least. We’ve been using puppy pads, but he doesn’t seem hugely keen on them and much prefers our living room rug… I was campaigning to replace it anyway, so I secretly don’t mind too much.

The children love him having him around, and when Busby gets home from school, he’s always very happy to see her! I have to watch H-Bear with him though, as the jealousy in real, and H-Bear seems to be in that ‘fun’ aggressive toddler stage, where pulling a tail or running a toy into him seems amusing. It’s rather mentally exhausting to be always on guard, but then I remember being the same with Busby when H-Bear was a newborn.

He is so gentle and patient with the children though – and also gorgeous around visitors!

Bertie has settled in marvellously and I can’t wait until he has his jabs so we can take him out for walks! He’s going to love exploring the woods – if only for ALL the leaves!

Hannah