Matt has lots of different allergies, so we both thought we could never have a dog.
But then, I started to look into the different poodle breeds, and looked into dogs that have been ok for people with allergies.
The consensus was that pure bred poodles are the best breed for people with allergies, and they usually handle them well.
So, after lots of thought, several nights spent on the internet, two trips to a local breeder, 1 cross-city shopping trip and the hardest naming process ever, here is the third member of the Radniecki family…
Remy!
She is a black toy poodle and should get to be around 6 pounds full grown.
Right now, she’s maybe 2 pounds and the cutest little ball of curly fur ever.
She is feisty and sweet, and is already proving how smart she is by catching on quick to new things like going outside every few hours and sleeping in her crate overnight.
She had her first vet appointment and meeting with the groomers. She handled the new situations well with minimal whines and nerves.
Naming her proved to be more difficult for me than naming my businesses! Matt and I went round and round with tons of different names for the whole week leading up to bringing her home, and she was called by three different names in her first two days with us. But then yesterday, we decided that Remy was the perfect name for her spunky, playful self. Plus, doesn’t Remy Radniecki have a cute ring to it??
I tell you what though – puppy training is no easy feat! All of you who’ve trained puppies before know what I mean – it is like having a new baby in the house! Except babies wear diapers.
Multiple wakeup times at night – doing things one handed or while watching over your shoulder like a hawk to make sure they don’t get into anything when you’re not looking…Ā
I was tempted to buy a Moby wrap today so I could do things with 2 hands and know where she is all the time. I figured that would be a little too much…
We are quickly learning all there is to know about owning a puppy and hope we can continue to socialize and train her well as she grows. She is 10 weeks old right now, and growing fast!Ā
Laura Radniecki is a crafter, writer, and photographer from small-town Minnesota. A lifelong maker, she shares easy step-by-step craft tutorials, with no perfection required! She's a wife to her high school sweetheart, mama to their young son and daughter, dog mama to their 6 lb toy poodle who thinks she's human, and has big dreams of living part time in an RV.
SOOOOO adorable! She is sweet and the name is perfect. We just got our first puppy last summer and one thing we are happy we trained him to do is ring a bell (a sleigh bell hung on a string, looped on the door handle) when he needs to go outside. So much nicer to hear the soft jingle of a bell than whining or yipping to be let out. However, our guy is smart too and will ring the bell just because he wants to go outside for some fun, not necessarily to potty ;). Another tip I’m sure you’ve heard, keep anything you truly value out of reach – we’ve had a handmade wool glove chewed up and one of my deerskin cowboy boots is now toeless (maybe consider not giving “softies” as a chew toy, because otherwise she might not be able to distinguish “her” toys from other things, like kids toys in the future. Our dog is horrible for grabbing kids stuffed animals and he has never even had a soft chew toy of his own, just rawhides). Otherwise, have fun!!!
AHHHH!! She is such a curly ball of cute! I’ve trained 2 puppies {now 6 & 7 years old} and *might* be getting another tomorrow…but mine are HUGE compared to your little girl! Baby gates are awesome for setting boundaries early and there’s no such thing as too much love.
Awww – she is so cute!! My puppy training tips are to follow a schedule, and socialize often while they are young! You will find that she will want to do her business about the same time(s) every day – and it will be less frequent as she gets older, I think the key is routine and taking them out at the same times every day to avoid accidents. The socialization is both with other pets, and people. With little dogs, if you don’t do it when they are pups they develop all sorts of neurotic issues – Tilly is horrible around other dogs, and it is because she never had the opportunity to learn how to play, to her it is strictly a claim for territory.
What a tiny ball of fur! So cute! We got our puppy, now 82lb and 4 year old lab, at 6 weeks old. He was very easy to train but getting through the hyper puppy stage wasn’t always fun. We found to keep training fun for the pup and when they lose interest to stop. Once it’s not fun for them, anything more right then won’t help. We found our puppy didn’t respond as well to treats as he did to praise and attention. Probably why he’s a big pathetic but loving pup. My one biggest frustration was the late night potty trips outside and then our puppy being extra hyper when I wanted to get back to bed. It wasn’t fun but I would put him back in his kennel and then leave the room and let him whine himself to sleep. You cannot, I repeat, CANNOT tire out a puppy at 2 am! Have fun! Our puppy is definitely worth all the work and trouble. He’s our fur baby and we love him!!
Thanks for the info, Annie! Luckily, Remy hasn’t wanted to play too much when we take her outside in the middle of the night. She’s kind of skittish in the dark so maybe that helps. š Thanks for the reassurance that it will all be worth it as she grows up and is a permanent part of our family!
Thanks, Faith! Yes, that’s what I have been reading – that it’s so important to socialize puppies with people, other dogs, different situations etc as they grow older. We brought her to meet our families yesterday so we are off to a good start. Now to introduce her to some new dogs!
Sorry I didn’t respond sooner. We trained the dog by ringing the bell ourselves every time we were taking him outside to do his business. As he got older (4 or 5 months), we’d direct his nose to the bell and “make” him ring it, followed by lots of praise, as we were going out the door for a potty break. Then low and behold, at around 6 or 7 months old, he went to the back door and rang the bell himself, and we went CRAZY with praise! BTW, the bell does of course jingle a little every time we go in and out that door but we haven’t found it too annoying š
SOOOOO adorable! She is sweet and the name is perfect.
We just got our first puppy last summer and one thing we are happy we trained him to do is ring a bell (a sleigh bell hung on a string, looped on the door handle) when he needs to go outside. So much nicer to hear the soft jingle of a bell than whining or yipping to be let out. However, our guy is smart too and will ring the bell just because he wants to go outside for some fun, not necessarily to potty ;).
Another tip I’m sure you’ve heard, keep anything you truly value out of reach – we’ve had a handmade wool glove chewed up and one of my deerskin cowboy boots is now toeless (maybe consider not giving “softies” as a chew toy, because otherwise she might not be able to distinguish “her” toys from other things, like kids toys in the future. Our dog is horrible for grabbing kids stuffed animals and he has never even had a soft chew toy of his own, just rawhides). Otherwise, have fun!!!
Adorable!
AHHHH!! She is such a curly ball of cute! I’ve trained 2 puppies {now 6 & 7 years old} and *might* be getting another tomorrow…but mine are HUGE compared to your little girl! Baby gates are awesome for setting boundaries early and there’s no such thing as too much love.
Awww – she is so cute!! My puppy training tips are to follow a schedule, and socialize often while they are young! You will find that she will want to do her business about the same time(s) every day – and it will be less frequent as she gets older, I think the key is routine and taking them out at the same times every day to avoid accidents. The socialization is both with other pets, and people. With little dogs, if you don’t do it when they are pups they develop all sorts of neurotic issues – Tilly is horrible around other dogs, and it is because she never had the opportunity to learn how to play, to her it is strictly a claim for territory.
What a tiny ball of fur! So cute! We got our puppy, now 82lb and 4 year old lab, at 6 weeks old. He was very easy to train but getting through the hyper puppy stage wasn’t always fun. We found to keep training fun for the pup and when they lose interest to stop. Once it’s not fun for them, anything more right then won’t help. We found our puppy didn’t respond as well to treats as he did to praise and attention. Probably why he’s a big pathetic but loving pup. My one biggest frustration was the late night potty trips outside and then our puppy being extra hyper when I wanted to get back to bed. It wasn’t fun but I would put him back in his kennel and then leave the room and let him whine himself to sleep. You cannot, I repeat, CANNOT tire out a puppy at 2 am! Have fun! Our puppy is definitely worth all the work and trouble. He’s our fur baby and we love him!!
Thanks for the info, Annie! Luckily, Remy hasn’t wanted to play too much when we take her outside in the middle of the night. She’s kind of skittish in the dark so maybe that helps. š Thanks for the reassurance that it will all be worth it as she grows up and is a permanent part of our family!
Thanks, Faith! Yes, that’s what I have been reading – that it’s so important to socialize puppies with people, other dogs, different situations etc as they grow older. We brought her to meet our families yesterday so we are off to a good start. Now to introduce her to some new dogs!
Thanks, Em! I think a baby gate is the next thing on our list! Did you get your new puppy?
Thank you, Mary!! xo!
Thank you, Lorrene! How did you manage to train your pup to do that?? I am so interested!!
Sorry I didn’t respond sooner. We trained the dog by ringing the bell ourselves every time we were taking him outside to do his business. As he got older (4 or 5 months), we’d direct his nose to the bell and “make” him ring it, followed by lots of praise, as we were going out the door for a potty break. Then low and behold, at around 6 or 7 months old, he went to the back door and rang the bell himself, and we went CRAZY with praise! BTW, the bell does of course jingle a little every time we go in and out that door but we haven’t found it too annoying š
Thanks for the info, Lorrene! I need to find a bell because I want to do this too! Let’s hope Remy takes to it as well as your pup! š