This blog is dedicated to Monti and Poppy our two young Italian Spinone puppies, to record their adventures as they grow up.
I first saw the breed about 28 years ago and fell in love with them. At the time I already had 3 dogs, so it wasn't really practical to get another dog especially as I had 3 young children too.
A change in work circumstances, allowing me to work from home, encouraged me to take the step and look for a brown roan dog. We were very lucky and after a couple of weeks and a few phone calls, we found the last roan dog in a litter in the Midlands. When we saw him, he was the only one in the litter that didn't have that fuzzy face that they are known for, but we fell in love with him, and was assured by the breeder his mum was a slow developer too.
The breeder wanted to vet us before even considering letting us have Monti, so we had to do two long trips up the motorway and back before we eventually brought him home.
First let me introduce you to Monti who we collected on the 22nd November 2014.
Monti settled in so well. We were on a strict regime, such as taking him out for regular pee breaks as soon as he woke from a sleep, or had his meal, and in no time, he was getting into his routine, and we had very few accidents and he was enjoying his new home.
2 Weeks ago I got a call from a breeder who I had contacted asking me if I was interested in taking on a puppy that she had been asked to take back by its previous owner because of illness. I discussed the prospect of taking on another young puppy with my husband, especially while Monti was so young, and we decided that we would go ahead, subject to meeting the puppy.
With less than 24 hours notice, I was once again heading out to collect another puppy, this one just 13 weeks old and Monti was 19 weeks old (6 weeks between them). Poppy was just so pretty, and it was love at first sight, so she came home with me and as the photos below show, they are getting on like a house on fire.
I confess that there are times, when they are play fighting, I feel that I have been transported back to when my children were fighting over toys, each wanting the one the other had, and when they are curled up asleep the peace and quiet is just lovely.
Our house lives by a strict routine.
07:30 hours let the dogs out of their crates and take them with me to let the chickens out. We then do a 35-40 minute walk, followed by their breakfast and a cup of tea and breakfast for me.
12 noon - lunch for the dogs.
13:00 hours - 30 minute walk*.
16:00 hours - 3rd meal of the day for the dogs
17:00 hours quick walk round the field
21:00 hours last meal of the day.
22:00 hours walk round garden to relieve themselves make sure water bowels are full and then we all go to bed.
*It is recommended that the puppies are walked for approximately 1 minute per age week, per session. So this means that Monti can do around 21 minutes per session. Having discussed this with the vet, and based on the amount of energy both of these two have, she felt the amount of exercise I am giving them is fine and the guidelines are to help avoid people who don't really walk their dogs during the week and then take them out for a 2hour walk at the weekend.
At the time of writing this blog, Poppy is now 15 weeks old and Monti 21 weeks.
Hopefully, if you are thinking about buying a Spinone, this little blog could help you decide. Here are a couple of things you may be interested in:-
- These dogs act like they have never been fed in their lives
- Never leave any food on the worktop, because it will disappear
- They love horse poo, rabbit poo and chicken poo
- They love a cuddle
- Don't look at their face, you'll give into anything
- They can smell a little, so I have lots of vetbed around that can be thrown in the wash once a week or more.
- They are very bright and food is a great motivator when training
- There are times when they appear to be quite deaf, unless you are rattling their food in their food bowels
- They snore loudly (if you are tempted to have them sleeping in the same room as you...think again
- My two don't really like the car (we are working on this)
Well that's all for now watch this space for more pictures and news of their development.......
