This year started off a little rough for Enzo, which you can read all about in our next blog post, but up until recently, he’s been like a new dog - or at least, much more like his old self. He’s full of beans, has bags of energy, and he’s even been social with other dogs and people when we’ve been out and about.
Enzo’s health is something that we continue to navigate, and will no doubt probably do so for the foreseeable future, but we are in a good place. We also thankfully appear to be on-top of his stranger danger challenges; his meltdowns are few and far between, training is on-point and our own knowledge and confidence has grown significantly throughout this journey so far with our boy. With all this positive change in mind, it felt like it was time for a second dog to be introduced to our family. It was something we always wanted to do, but we have had to put it off due to Enzo’s health issues, and up until recently it felt it wasn’t possible - plus I would have deeply regretted not giving Enzo the opportunity to be a big brother. He is amazing which makes him the perfect role model - obviously I am slightly biased! 😋
Things have felt different, and like it was finally the right time to grow our little family. 🥰
So, a little drum roll if you please…
Without further ado, we would like to introduce you to the newest and smallest member of our pack, Maahi - our German Shepherd puppy 🤩🐾😍
I know there will be a few people wondering why perhaps we didn’t choose to go down the rescue route, but the truth is, we really weren’t physically looking to add a second dog to our family until Maahi’s litter was born.
Maahi is actually Enzo’s cousin as their dads are half-brothers. Me being Enzo’s biggest fan, seeing the difference in him recently, and knowing there was a possibility of having a pup from his family just felt like a no-brainer and just something we couldn’t say no to!
Vicki, Maahi’s breeder has been the ultimate dream – not like Enzo’s breeder at all. Both of Maahi’s parents have been comprehensively health tested and have amazing temperaments. Vicki has been raising her puppies using the ‘Puppy Culture’ method, basically raising bombproof puppies, giving them the best start in life before they head off into the world. 🤓
Introductions
We took Enzo to meet Maahi when she was 6 weeks old, and I couldn’t have been more proud of him; he was so gentle with her and Maahi literally felt like exactly the right fit for Enzo! She is already a very calm and confident puppy but with enough sass to keep Enzo on his toes. 😉
We’ll be taking things slowly with Enzo and Maahi so that we can get them feeling comfortable and content in one another's company. It is important for us to do this right and not try to force either of them into anything they don't want to do.
Our plan is to do the whole crate/rotate thing. Enzo will still be having just as much attention, if not slightly more 1:1 time with us, as will Maahi. It’s a balance but we’ll make sure it’s done right. They will have time together with us; playing games and getting treats – which Enzo rarely gets because of his health issues. so he’ll definitely fall in love with her, if not because of just the treats alone. 😂
We plan to do things slightly differently with Maahi than we did Enzo, being wiser and all. 🧐 The next couple of months for us will be all about focusing on learning the basics, continuing to build her confidence, boundaries at home, environmental exposure, engagement with us and learning to live with a mummy’s boy, because let’s face it, Enzo really is one! I have a feeling I already know which one is going to be the most challenging?! 🥴😂
One of the key things we will be mindful of for Enzo, is that he doesn’t ever feel left out. We’ll also keep a close eye on how seriously he might take his new role of ‘big brother’ as we don’t want him to unintentionally become over protective of Maahi as their bond grows - he can be clingy like that. 😬
We will be sharing lots more of Enzo & Maahi’s shenanigans on our socials so please come over and join us, as I am certain it will be a lot of fun to see.
