So we did something very exciting recently and welcomed a new addition to our family with this gorgeous boy, Winston. 🐾🌭. After talking about getting a dog for some time, we finally took the plunge and decided to get our daughter an early birthday present. Our daughter has been obsessed with sausage dogs for as long as I can remember and both my husband and I fell in love with getting a miniature Dachshund.
We wanted to try and surprise our daughter keeping a new puppy a secret was a lot harder than we thought. We wanted to be prepared for our new addition so we needed to buy a few new puppy essentials and must haves before bringing him home. So we made a few amazon orders as well as getting my husband to sneak out to stock up on some puppy supplies. It was incredibly hard to hide our secret but we somehow managed a whole month.
It was time for the big reveal. We wanted to surprise our daughter in the best way possible and made all the preparations we could so she wouldn't know. We decided to surprise her by placing the puppy in a wicker hamper with all the biggest blue bows we could find. Keeping the puppy quiet while inside the box was difficult as he kept whimpering but the surprise still worked. It was the best puppy reveal.
We thought long and hard about his name but ultimately his name was our daughter's choice and she wanted to call him Winston or Boris. After having a cuddle with him she decided that Winston suited him best and we have to agree. We have had him a little while now and he is such a little sweetie, though he can be a little rascal too.
We couldn't believe how small and delicate Winston really was, he could sit in my hand easily. Winston is so much fun, loves cuddles and likes to follow my husband around like a shadow. But typically puppy behaviour he likes to bite, nibble and poop under the dining room table. It feels so good to have a dog in the house again.
Our first night was really hard and he cried all night. It made me feel really sad so I picked him up and popped him in our bed - just for one night. Every night is getting a little easier, and now we have started to crate train him too so my husband is sleeping downstairs with him until he gets use it.
Winston is a really lucky little puppy as he has so many toys, bones, chews and blankets. However, his favourite toy is the one our daughter gave to him; his little poppy troll. In only a short time he has managed to chew three door mats, our garden plants and some lego pieces. We're loving our Winston though, it will be nice to have someone to keep company when normality resumes with my husband at work and my daughter back at school.
Despite all the amazing things about bringing a new puppy home, after a couple of days with him we noticed a big change in his behaviour and condition. At first it was just a few bald patches here and there but then his coat became dull and flaky with the appearance of more bald patches. Winston started to become lethargic and would sleep a lot more than a puppy should, mealtimes would leave him with a swollen pot belly making it difficult to get in and out of our house for toilet training.
We thought that perhaps it was because he wasn't settling into his new home as well as we had hoped, but we were worried and booked an appointment with our vet immediately. As soon as we arrived at the surgery Winston got a lot of attention because he was so small and a miniature dachshund isn't a breed you see often in Norfolk. The vet saw him straight away and seemed really concerned about him and whisked him through the back. None of us were allowed to go with him due to the social distancing measures that the surgery had in place.
After a little while the vet came back out and told us that she was very concerned and told us that we had a pretty poorly puppy. The vet did a skin scrape, put him on a course of flea, mite and worming prevention. We were advised to change his food to a grain free diet to a combination of Wainwrights Dry Grain Free and James Wellbeloved Wet Food grain free. The vet also prescribed a vitamin called Complivit which needed to be added to his first meal of the day.
Not only that, she also prescribed Coatex Aloe & Oatmeal mild shampoo that we could bath him in once a week, making sure that he massaged coconut oil into his really dry parts of his skin and paws everyday. We have been doing this for the past week and we can already see a big change in his overall wellbeing and he is making big progress.
So that’s Winston, we will keep you updated on his progress and all the amazing adventures we get up to. I'm sure you will catch his adorable face over our social media in the coming weeks, so be sure to go and follow us on our platforms.
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