Our new dog, Tommy

We got a new dog - Tommy - from the Carryduff USPCA a few weeks ago. I'm tempted to say the last Friday in May (29th?), but I'm hazy on the details. Time has kind of flown in.

About four years ago, we rehomed our Labrador, Cindy after we realised that we couldn't give her the time and attention she needed. At the time, we had three very young children, Lisa didn't want the dog in the house for hygiene reasons and we sadly made the decision to part company with her.

Recently though, the children have been pestering us to get a new dog. Things got worse when we minded my sister's dog for a few days, and Lisa - stupidly - told them that they were being tested to see if they could manage a dog of their own. Of course, they treated the dog excellently and we were kind of obliged to think more seriously about opening our home up to a new dog.

We started to look about - fussily: we didn't want to get just any dog - and visited a couple of animal sanctuaries as well as scouted online. On our visit to Carryduff, we discovered Tommy, a Labrador/who-knows-what cross. He's a handsome dog, reasonably well-mannered, but has a habit of barking at any other dog he can't get near. If you can manage an introduction between him and the other dog, he's fine. If not, get out the earplugs!

It's a nice feeling to have a dog in the house again. And the beauty of our situation at the moment is that we're both working from home, so can devote a lot of attention to him. He spends a fair bit of time in the back garden during the day and comes in at night mostly when the kids have gone to bed.

Oh, he's got his problems though: I'm not comfortable with him around the children, especially Daniel, who has a habit of pulling on his tail. Although he's getting better at responding when called, he's not reliable enough to be let off his lead, which is something I liked to do with our other dogs. I've got a few issues to work out with him there.

So, the training books are being dug out, and the appropriate equipment has been bought. Snacks and rewards are being tested. We've got those awful plastic bags for picking up any dog crap he drops in populated areas. My gag reflexes have been tested to breaking point. Yuck.

To commemorate, I've created a group on Familytastic for Dog Lovers, where people can join and talk about their pets and share diet and training advice. You'll also shortly be able to post pictures of your pets on the group too!