My heart has been so full over the past few weeks since we adopted our sweet Cockapoo puppy, Lexie…I thought it was appropriate to give her a formal intro on the blog since she is part of our little family now! Basically, she is the cutest, fluffiest, most playful little puppy ever and I love her so much…
It all started on my birthday when Ryan told me he had a surprise for me…He said that we could go to the animal shelter to visit the puppies! I was a goner when I saw all of the sweet faces staring at me from behind the doors of their cages…They all seemed like they were saying “Pick me!!”, and that made me so sad for them…so we got to play with some of them and it was really fun, but they were all puppies that were mixed with pit bulls and would grow into really GIANT dogs and we had already decided that a giant dog might not be the best idea in our little house…so sadly we left the shelter without a new puppy…
A few days later I was perusing craigslist for backyard patio furniture, when I decided to check the pets section just for fun…I saw a post that said Cockapoo Puppy, but it didn’t have a picture…I didn’t really know what a Cockapoo was (now of course, I know that it’s a Cocker Spaniel mixed with a Poodle!), but I decided to email the person who had posted it and ask for a picture…a few hours later I got a response with a picture attached so I opened it and that’s when my heart melted…
I immediately sent the picture to Ryan and asked him if we could adopt the cutest puppy in the world…I was a little nervous to ask him because the name “Cockapoo” doesn’t really make you think of a very manly dog…but he agreed that we could go meet her that night!
So we made a plan to meet in the parking lot of Michaels that evening (you can never be too careful with Craigslist!)…and when they pulled up and this little puppy hopped out of the car, I let out an audible squeal of excitement…and Ryan said it was in that moment that he knew there was no denying me this little dog…
It turned out that the first owner was a college student who decided that she didn’t have enough time to take care of her because of her busy schedule…I’m so thankful because I work from home a lot of the time, and Lexie has been the perfect companion to keep me company! Plus I think she really enjoys not having to spend very much time in her little crate…
We had the hardest time naming her by the way…She didn’t respond to the name that her first owner gave her and we weren’t crazy about it so we decided to change it! We had a list of about 5 names that we really liked and she seemed to respond most to “Lexie”!…Sometimes I call her “Little Grey” just for fun (and if you watch Grey’s Anatomy you might have caught the reference…heheh…)
One of the best parts of having her so far, has been getting to see the joy on Ryan’s face when he spends time playing with her…there’s really nothing like it. She just makes him laugh and smile so much. My favorite time of the day is when Ryan comes home from work and walks in the front door — Lexie and I jump up and run down the stairs to greet him! Puppies just love you so unconditionally and are always excited to see you…I’m so thankful for our little family! Of course owning a puppy is a lot of work…but it’s so worth it. I love being puppy parents!
Right now Lexie weighs about 9 pounds, but we don’t know how big she’ll get…It depends on if she was mixed with a mini poodle or a standard size poodle, which we’re not sure about…She doesn’t shed at all though, which is amazing! But she’s also not a super good snuggler yet (I’m trying to train her to be more cuddly!)…She’s super independent right now and curious about everything…One of Ryan and I’s favorite things to do is pretend we are her thought bubble and say what we think she would if she could talk…We are weird. Dont judge us :)
Of course I take a billion pictures of her all the time..she’s growing up too fast! I wanted to share her first portraits just for fun and some pictures of her playing in the backyard (one of her favorite things to do!)
Lexie says, “Thanks for reading mom’s blog post about me!!”
Lexie loves to play in this plant…it’s so funny to watch her jump around in it…
Crouching in the ivy..probably wondering what the heck I’m doing taking so many pictures of her…
Ryan helping her peek over the fence in our backyard…
If you are a puppy parent and have any really good advice, we’d love to hear it! We are only a few weeks into this!!
April 8th, 2013 at 5:14 pm
Oh myyy she’s so precious! Having a furbaby makes life so much better (: Looking forward to tons more pictures of her!
April 8th, 2013 at 5:18 pm
Ahh I can’t stand how CUTE she is!! She’s a heart melter right there! I’m hoping she’s a miniature poodle mix – the smaller the better! haha And I love the “Little Grey” nickname! So adorable! :)
April 8th, 2013 at 5:35 pm
Aw! So cute! We have a Lexi too! My advice is even though its hard to say no and set boundaries now, you will thank yourself later!
April 8th, 2013 at 5:39 pm
Cute! I would say… definitely crate train her! It’s so helpful that our yellow lab pup doesn’t fight us or cry when it’s time for us to leave. She just hops in her crate, snuggles up with one of her buddies (stuffed animals) and goes to sleep! If you get them used to it while they are young, they don’t mind being in there and you guys can feel free to go out whenever you need to :)
April 8th, 2013 at 5:46 pm
She is BEYOND precious! Oh, my sweet goodness. You and Ryan look so, so happy! Enjoy her :)
April 8th, 2013 at 5:55 pm
yay lexie! you’re sucha cutie!! andddd now i want a puppy… haha. ps your sock bun is so chic. and i laughed out loud about the grey’s anatomy reference. ;)
April 8th, 2013 at 6:12 pm
Socialize, socialize, socialize! It’s so important to introduce them to other dogs and other people. Find a dog park or just get together with other dog parents and let them have doggy play time. The neighbors behind my parents’ house have 2 cockapoos (littermates) and they are fun. Anytime I bring my Maddie over, we have to lift them over the fence to come play and get treats. :o) Good luck with the crate-training… I tried to do it with Madison, but it was a disaster… in the end, I just shut doors to bedrooms and made other blockades to restrict her. Some dogs are more responsive to it than others. And yes, setting boundaries is good practice… she needs to know who is boss! (If you don’t, you could have trouble when kids enter the picture… my aunt totally coddled her Maltese in the beginning… always holding her, feeding her from the table, etc… to the point that the dog thought she ranked above my cousin in the family hierarchy and actually became quite aggressive towards her! It has taken them years to turn that around and it’s still not great. That’s probably partly the breed, but still…) Well, she’s a total cutie! Congratulations!
April 8th, 2013 at 6:23 pm
She is SOOO adorable! I would LOVE to meet her :) p.s. love your outfit and sockbun!!! Hope y’all are enjoying the nice Richmond weather!
April 8th, 2013 at 6:28 pm
I definitely have an obsession with cutie puppies! Love Lexie already. Congrats on your new addition.
April 8th, 2013 at 11:02 pm
ahhhh! she is just the cutest! and seriously, i laughed so hard that i had to read the grey’s reference out loud to my husband. that. is. awesome. the camera loves lexie :]
April 9th, 2013 at 8:49 am
Yay, I’m so glad you decided to adopt your puppy! There are so many dogs out there in need of homes :) I have fostered a few puppies, and they are hard work, so kudos to you and your husband thus far! My advice would be to incorporate plenty of “brain puzzles” for Lexie. There are plenty of dog blogs out there that write about enrichment activities for dogs to really tired them out mentally. We love freezing some yogurt or peanut butter in a Kong for our dog Addie, and it occupies her for a good 20-30 minutes, and it expends a good amount of mental energy :) We also SWEAR by our Bob-a-lot, which we feed Addie’s kibble from each meal. It works her brain and prevents her from eating too fast — a win-win for us. Good luck!!
April 9th, 2013 at 8:53 am
Anna! Lexie is just so precious I can’t stand it! I must meet her one of these days. Also you look gorgeous in these pictures! Tell Lexie (and Ryan!) hello from me :)
April 9th, 2013 at 10:15 am
I second the comments on the crate training, peanut butter in the Kong for a treat, and especially socialization! Thea has a “boyfriend,” our best friend’s Pup, Packer. They see each other every other weekend and are really growing up together. Her little ears perk up when we mention Packer’s name!
Not sure how old she is, but if she starts teething, don’t be alarmed if her little baby teeth start falling out! Freeze a carrot for her to chew on, it will sooth her sore gums. :)
April 10th, 2013 at 3:24 pm
She is SO stinkin’ cute!!! I’m so happy for you guys :)