Today marks our PM's Half Century, which has been celebrated by her Partner Tim with the Gift of a Cavoodle. Whilst I'd like to avoid the debate about what is a breed and what is not a breed, a Cavoodle is a Poodle crossed with a King Charles Caviler and an extremely popular breed now days due to the mix being so well suited to inside living with families who are not able to spend a lot of time out and about exercising their hound.

As the PM is busy running the country and her Partner assiting her in her many duties this is a great choice, not to mention that many cavoodles have the added benifit of not shedding hair everywhere, which is very important for the PM who needs to race off in the morning without needed to de-hair her outfits.

Surveys are often cited which suggest up to 1/3 of dog owners regret taking on a particular breed of dog due to its unsuitability to their lifestyle, regardless of the figure what is so important is choosing the most suitable animal for your situation. Speaking with as many owners as possible is essential to find out all that surrounds a pet, its probable behaviours, exercise needs, vet bills, health issues, longevity, feeding requirements, quirks and remember that each dog is an individual so things may be very different even if you find out all their is to know.

Meeting the parents of a puppy is really important. Behaviours along with physical attributes can be affected by genetics as well as the way the puppies are treated in their first weeks by the other dogs in its family. Along with meeting the parents you can see the living conditions of the dogs and their socialisation regime, which can very much so impact on the dogs behaviours later in life.

To make the choice even easier adopting and adult dog has many benefits....namely you get what you see. There are many reasons that dogs are turned into welfare organisations and most often it has to do with an incompatible lifestyle such as a change in living arrangements so these dogs are really just waiting for a family that has the right living conditions for it which may include time for family exercise, a yard, a stay at home family member, or a home to be the only animal in....really its many and very so visit as many shelters as possible and research the breed and possible behavioural traits so you locate the right do for your situation.

Once you have the dog its is so important to socialise him to your environment this can be made easier with dog trainers...who help you train your dog and improve behaviours to suit your needs. If your do bring home a puppy it is essential to get him off to puppy class and always choose one that has under 6 puppies, so that you get the best chance of understanding all that is involved in positive training.

So I hope that Kevin, Penny and Wayne have all chipped in to purchase the PM a puppy class certificate so that Tim and her can attend puppy class near the Lodge.