campanula- I am so happy for you!
I understand well the grief that comes from loosing a beloved pet and the joy that comes in getting a new one (I once went for 5 years between dogs).
Now your woods will be alive with Hazel running and barking and your sofa(s) warmed by her.
She is a beautiful pup!

Losing a beloved dog is hard indeed - but a new puppy is a joy! She looks beautiful; tell us more about her (breed etc....) I'm sure your new garden buddy will be happy running the trails in your woods. A puppy is a great way to get the new year off to a rousing start for you all. Have fun with her - and we expect to see lots more of her in you garden pictures from now on :-)

Hi campanula
that is great
I always loved dogs but dont have the time or space to keep one properly ( even though my two kids keep coming up with amazing ideas how to take care of a dog while we are at work...)

What breed is it, any hunting skills? I once heard on BBC gardener's question time a lady tell about her Border collie which got into the habit of tracking slugs or pointing them out for her...

Have a great spring,

Bye, Lin

The look in your puppy's eyes is to be cherished. Don't worry mom and dad I'll learn the rules as I get on in age.

awwwwww---sigh------awwwwwwwww, ooo---ooh camps, Widdle gurl wooks weellie weelie kute. I bet the wee tyker is a hand-full of bouncing energy huh?

Congrats on being new parents!

Congratulations...now you remember the puppy training agonies, like house breaking, chewing on inappropriate things, running exuberantly and breaking things.

Still they're cute...those little parasites (and I have two of my own)...so I'm all bark and no bite :)

It's just that I tend to forget the bad....lol

What a cutie, a great little companion for years to come. We lost our little Cairn terrier a couple of years ago, so we're down to one kitty now. You know what they say, dogs have masters and cats have staff, so true LOL.

Enjoy,
Annette

Ho yes, the first couple of nights!! She is from working sheepdog stock from Wales...but the idea of pedigree is laughable. Nonetheless, she is smart. After 9 days, she has got the hang of a dog flap to outside, where she goes to poo (although weeing is still an indoor newspaper number) and we tend to let her romp about the house with a choice of sofas and the end of the bed. Naturally, I tried leaving her downstairs but the heartbreaking whining just seemed wrong for a baby...although I spent several nights on one of the sofas myself.
I fear the garden is doomed - it will be almost a month before all her vaccinations allow us to go for walks and by then, watching the gleeful destruction of an agapanthus and a geum yanked out of the beds, I expect a lunar landscape of devastation, especially since she is keen on that sheepdog thing of caching stuff (for later delectation, the muddier, the better). All socks are fair game, including ones stolen from the laundry bin...yep, it is all coming back to me. She knows her name and (more or less) comes when called and it only seems to take a couple of repetitions for stuff to penetrate her little canine brain, so the potential is all there - it is up to us to enable her to utilise it.
Forgive the excited waffling, I am knackered and slightly hysterical.

I understand....lol, and wish you happiness.
My Australian Shepherds were pretty easy to train to keep out of the flower bed, but I've had issues with them from time to time...like burying of a bone/toy, or gee that plants smells nice...let me dig it up and chew on it.
I have to relearn them where my beds are now that I've recently moved...and they seem to find the beds the BEST place to run (sigh).

Even in profile your beautiful Hazel looks like a very smart pup. Sheepdogs usually are. We have a sheepdog/shepherd mix and he is the fastest learning and most well behaved dog we have ever had. That's not to say we didn't lose some parts of our wardrobes and many garden glove, hats (and gardens) until he grew up a little but he was very worth it! I agree, we need some more photos of Hazel enjoying your gardens. Congratulations on your newest best friend. Min

I agree she looks smart. Good luck of the draw. She looks like there will be a calm dog once she matures.

So cute! It's always nice to have a buddy that likes hanging out in the garden with you. Hazel looks like a little charmer who will be a lot of fun to have around.

I was curious about 'working sheepdog stock from Wales' since the only dog I associate with Wales is a Corgi - so I Googled looking for dogs that looked like Hazel (e.g. the ones here:
http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/classifieds/437843-welsh-sheepdog-pups-for-sale-caerphilly.html ) That led me to find the Welsh Sheepdog Society (see link below...) If that's what Hazel is, it sounds like you've got yourself a great dog, rivaling the Border Collie for intelligence and charm! You'll definitely have to keep us posted on her progress!

Here is a link that might be useful: Welsh Sheepdog Society

Cheers, Woodyoak,

Yep, we had initially been ever-so-slightly sceptical, confronted with the frankly unusual red colouring (and having had a border collie of traditional black and white). But we are excited by her intelligence (although less thrilled with the pooing and biting) - she is bold, but not reckless and we are looking forward to letting her race about the wood and training her to be a fine dog.

Congrats...she is perfect! I have a 5 month old pup and I must say, I had forgotten the work involved with a puppy. Well worth the work. Lesley

Very happy for you, Camp!

What a cute girl!