Happy 1st Birthday Buddy!
Today is Buddy’s first birthday! It’s hard to believe that ten months and seventy pounds ago we brought our puppy home. My husband has wanted a dog for as long as I can remember but I always said “NO” until February 27th when I surprised everyone and Buddy got his forever home.
Since that first day, Buddy has rewarded our patience, stability and hard work with unconditional love and loyalty. He has proven himself to be a quick learner with a gentle manner and an even temperament. Having a dog has also helped us to become more active and explore parts of Bermuda I never knew existed like the rarely visited beach at Southlands or the lovely part of the railway train in St. George’s. We’ve even taken him on the boat!
So what have we been up to in the last few months? First, we knew that Buddy was going to grow up into a BIG dog (he still looks like a puppy to me though) which meant he had to learn some manners. We realized pretty quickly that he was bright and eager to learn so training was a breeze. First we started with the basics like sit, down, come, stay and leave it. Once he mastered those we moved on to fun tricks like fetch, roll over, high five, and (my personal favourite) “clean-up” where he puts his toys away in a special basket. Now we are teaching him the NAMES of objects so he can tell the difference between his ball, bone, Kong, etc and bring them on command.
Exercising his body has been just as important as exercising his mind and we cannot say enough about Amy Terceira at Dog Gone Good. It is clear she is passionate about animals, their well being and overall health and happiness. Her weekly puppy and now adult play groups have helped Buddy socialize with other dogs and burn off energy. For an hour at a time, he runs around with his friends in a safe, supervised environment. Plus, Amy requires the humans to stay and observe while she translates dog behavior. This helps us have a better understanding how our dog thinks and respond which in turn helps meet his needs better. Amy also is available for grooming, training, and dog walking, which has been a life saver when we are off the island.
Being a well rounded and well behaved dog is a must for Buddy, who comes to work with us at Rowe Spurling Paint Company every morning. Most days you can find him relaxing on a pillow by the front door or playing fetch with his favourite ball. Plus, it continues to improve his social skills! He meets new people as well as being exposed to loud noises like bikes, trucks, paint shakers, etc..
Buddy won’t be fully grown for another year and we can’t wait to see what adventures we will go on in 2020. Until then you can follow along on his Instagram @buddy_at_the_paint_shop or stop by Rowe Spurling Paint to give him a belly rub – they’re his favourite!
4 Responses to “Happy 1st Birthday Buddy!”
[…] you’ve been following along on the blog or social media (or if you have visited the shop in the last year) you’re met Buddy. At […]
So cute. Rottweilers are so adorable and great dogs.
Thank you! He is amazing! We are fortunate that he is able to come to work with us everyday so is therefore thoroughly socialized and well behaved. Thank you for visiting and enjoy your weekend.
You enjoy your weekend as well!