I did a bit of research and had a look around and found a lovely litter of puppies in South Yorkshire and we went and had a look and chose this little guy -
Sorry if the pic is a bit blurry. He didn't stay still for long when we was that size - he's about 4 weeks old here (the day we first met him when he was still with his mum).
Eventually he was old enough to leave his mum and come home with us and that's when the fun started.
Isn't he lovely. He looks like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. Do not be fooled! This dog is a complete nightmare. He eats EVERYTHING. Even now when he's 18 months old and pretty much fully grown, he still eats things like you would not believe. He eats socks, tissues, paper, shoes, books, records, absolutely anything plastic - plant pots, watering can, bucket, hairbrushes, pens. He is a one dog wrecking crew. He's chewed the corners of the kitchen cabinets and all the knobs on the dresser. The dado rails have even sneaky toothmarks. He loves to eat wool - I've lost several balls and cones - some from a box that had just been delivered and has still mostly sealed up. And he's a digger. The lawn is a series of holes or varying depths - I swear you can see Australia though his favourite one.
He's a regular Houdini too. We had to have new fences built in the garden to stop him escaping into the neighbours gardens. He just loves to be on the other side of any fence, hedge or gate he comes across. He once managed to get into the Wolverhampton Wanderers training ground and then couldn't work out how to get back. I had to get one of the groundsmen to let him out through the gate.
We just could not have found a dog that is more completely different to Bubba. Finbar has separation anxiety and used to cry like a baby if you left him. He's better at this now but it took a long time. I can't leave him in the van while I drop off a parcel or he howls. This is a slight improvement - he used to howl whenever I put him in the van - to go for a walk even. We tried using a crate when we first had him but he howled and howled until we let him out. We had to give up on that idea.
The Evilpixie taught him to splash in muddy puddles so now he is permanently wet and muddy.
Of course we love him to bits - he's a lovely dog and he loves to give hugs. When he was a little pup his favourite thing was to sit on your head. He's a bit big for that now but he'll still try if you're not paying attention. Also as a retriever he's a bit of a fail - he doesn't like swimming (paddling is OK) and he doesn't fetch things no matter how much we try and teach him.
I think I thought he'd be much the same as Bubba - very chilled and laid back, and instead we have this whirlwind of utter naughtiness. He really keeps us on our toes. We are so very glad we got him.
