The joy of a puppy

Hetty the cockapoo (or cockerpoo) puppy is now five and bit months old and I can honestly say she brings us so much joy. This was what everyone told me about a dog, and what I hoped would happen. The first few weeks were undoubtedly hard, but the challenges get less and less, and now we mainly have joy.

I know having a dog isn’t practical for everyone, but I really think that if everyone had one, there would be a lot more happy people in the world!

This is just some of the ways Hetty brings us joy…

Wagging tail – from a slow swish to so fast it’s almost a blur, Hetty’s tail is an absolute joy to behold. She is happy nearly all the time and it is completely reflected in her tail. The happier and more excited she gets, the faster the tail wags. It’s particularly funny when it hits against something – the floor, the settee or a radiator, as it makes a loud noise too. When a dog’s tail wags like that, you can’t fail to smile.

Running – Hetty loves to run. (One day, we plan for her to run with us, but she’s too young just yet.) Whether she’s running across the garden, the kitchen or, best of all, a field, she looks utterly joyful. Her ears and her fur are flying and sometimes she even does little jumps as she runs. It makes us smile so much, sometimes it even makes us laugh.

Puppy, Running puppy, Cockapoo, Hetty

Meeting people – Hetty loves meeting people and dogs. Sometimes she gets so excited, her whole body literally shakes. Sometimes a bit of wee comes out, but we don’t mind, as it is all so joyful.

Sitting nicely – Hetty is usually either charging around or asleep, but there is a small in between where she sits nicely. She sits and waits, usually looking attentively at whichever human is in the room, and she looks so serious and intelligent. Her tail is generally swishing gently across the floor as she waits.

Sleeping – when I work, Hetty usually sleeps. She curls up on her bed and she looks so beautiful. Just the sight of her asleep fills me with love and joy.

Puppy, Sleeping puppy, Hetty, Cockapoo

Standing on her hind legs – it’s not recommended, and we certainly didn’t train her to do it, but Hetty loves standing, and even walking (jumping) on her hind legs. She looks so funny. If she spots a person, dog or bird while she’s out, she usually stands on her hind legs to get attention. Sometimes she will literally jump along after them until they notice her. Few people can resist a crazy puppy on her hind legs. In those moments, she doesn’t just bring us joy, she brings joy to strangers too.

Her favourite person – Hetty loves us all equally. Apart from my husband. He is her absolute favourite person and she adores him. For me, there is no greater joy than seeing her excitement when he gets up in the morning and when he comes home from work. The tail goes at 100mph as she hears him approach, then she shakes and rolls all over the floor as he comes in and carries on shaking as he picks her up, before frantically licking him. It is the most joyful sight in the world!

After nearly four months of puppy ownership, as someone who didn’t even use to like dogs, I don’t think I will ever be without a dog again in my life. Every difficulty of the early weeks has been massively outweighed by the sheer joy of having a puppy.

If you’re thinking of getting a dog, and you have the time and resources to really care for one properly, you won’t ever look back!

Although the trainer from puppy class, says they get hard work again at adolescence. I’m slightly bracing myself, but I’m going to keep enjoying the joy while I can. She probably just wants to sell us a ‘teenage puppy class’, right?

Puppy, Puppy standing up, Hetty, Cockapoo

Author: Sarah Mummy

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6 Comments

  1. She looks so much like a human in that last photo standing up. Our labrador bounces really high, on 4 legs – when she’s in the kennel/run and knows she’s going for a walk. Dogs are so funny, and as you say, just them being excited means happiness for us.

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    • She looks so human, doesn’t she? I m can just imagine your Labrador bouncing. It is such a joyful thing.

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  2. She looks so human standing on her back legs! I agree that there would be more happy people in the world if more people had dogs!
    Nat.x

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    • How did I never know this before? I know people had told me, but I had to experience it for myself to really believe it. X

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  3. Hetty sounds like such a character, no wonder she brings you so much joy. She does sound like a delight to have around. This really did make me smile. x

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    • Thanks very much! She really is a delight to have around. X

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