Two days before Christmas we picked up our first dog. Our first real family pet; one that didn’t live in a tank and require little more than a few fish flakes and an occasional clean.

We decided to call her Super Noodle (Noodle for short, Super Noodle being reserved for formal occasions).

Our Noodle is a little girl pup. She’s an Australian Labradoodle a breed distinct from a Labradoodle (Labrador/Poodle cross) as a purebred breed with lines reaching back to the 1980s, developed as a hypoallergenic therapy and assistance dog breed. She’s registered on the pedigree board of that breed and a lovely little cream coloured girl with the softest and silkiest floppy apricot ears.

Preparations

We’d spent the preceding couple of weeks turning the horrible under stairs area, with it’s 1970s carpet scraps and peeling walls into a little den for our new arrival-to-be.

She has a few little home comforts as well as her comfy bed and toys. Some embroidery (which is actually a piece that I have sublimated to look like embroidery as I didn’t have time to create an actual embroidered piece) her own lighting and a smart speaker, because before she came to live with us she spent her early puppyhood listening to classical music and Michael Bublé Christmas songs. Michael has never been part of our Christmas playlist, but we’ve accepted her musical taste in good humour.

Our first seven days together have been a learning experience for us all. She sleeps well, but requires taking out for toileting at around 3:30am. Luckily we have found a routine that works for Russell and I where we both get up together and the whole operation goes quite smoothly.

Noodle has also learned her first command since arriving, and is now an ace at ‘Sit!’ We haven’t yet mastered how to stop socks looking like the most appealing things in the world, but we are all learning together.