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Alfie’s transition from Canada to California

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Our little famWhen I attended BlogHer’14 a few weeks ago in San Jose, I couldn’t help but gravitate towards the Pets Add Life booth that was set up. I spoke with the women who worked there a couple of times, and they mentioned that over 75% of blog readers have pets, most of them being dogs. Which got me thinking, I rarely talk about Alfie on the blog.

Alfie smiling outsideHe’s literally smiling for the camera. Love when he does this.

I thought I’d talk about his transition from Canada to California as I’ve gotten questions about Alfie’s big move to the USA. To be honest with you, when people ask me if Alfie has adjusted well from the move, I don’t know what answers they’re looking for. There wasn’t a moment where he flicked a switch and he was a different dog.

If anything I would assume he’s much more happier down here in sunny California. Going from being mainly an indoor dog (yes his business too) with only 700-800 sq feet to run around in, to getting up to four walks a day with me and over 1500 sq feet of a nice town house. One can only assume that is a much preferred lifestyle on his part. He’s definitely a smiley pup, always has been – I can’t get over the fact we’ve had him 4+ years! He still acts like a puppy, given his size.

Alfie is the KingThink’s he’s King of the Castle with two beds (one is old, other is brand new and he LOVES his beds)

He had a fairly easy adjustment if I do say so. Not once was he confused or act out. He did manage to pee inside by accident but that’s purely my fault since he’s used to going outside every 3-4 hrs and in Canada he went whenever he wanted as he was an indoor dog (to a specific designated pee pad area).

Alfie yawnIt’s exhausting having so much fun all day long.

He’s a pretty chill dog when he’s around us. When he sees movement, whether it’s a leaf blowing in the wind, a child running, or a person sitting on a bench, that’s another story. He thinks he’s king of the castle and I’m pretty sure he barks to hear his own voice, or to try and scare people. It doesn’t work.

Alfie lounging on bedFor the sixty hour drive in the uhaul coming down to California, he definitely didn’t want to be put into his crate but he obliged and I took him out and sat him on my lap where he slept on occasion. It was a tiring trip for him too since there weren’t any specific rest periods. My husband and I were driving non-stop swapping seats with one another trying to get to California as quickly as possible. It was tiring.

Hanging with AlfieWe are lucky he was able to come directly with us as he’s so tiny and can fit into a carrier. If we had a larger dog in sure I’d be far more scary for him to be shipped down and left alone waiting for us.

Alfie belly rubI’ll huff and bark under my breath for belly rubs.

I’ve been keeping up with his obedience training at home. He’s pretty wicked at the sign language, but he’s too smart for his own good. He knows when to put on a show for me, and when I try and calm him down when he’s viciously barking at people outside, he won’t listen to me until I pick him up and shield his eyeballs like blinders so he doesn’t see people passing by us. Most people get a kick out of him, but there’s times when I’m embarrassed as some strangers aren’t so friendly with him. They’ll either bark back at him (I know. What the hey), or give me glares like my dog is going to attack them. I swear he’s not.

Hiking with AlfieWe take him everywhere we can with us, especially on weekends. He loves going in car rides, and sometimes hops into The Guys car in the morning, right into the passenger seat  thinking he’s going for a ride somewhere. Here’s Alfie & I out on a hike a few weekends ago in Los Gatos.

I kind of want to teach him to drive, next. :)

Smiling AlfieHe’s a happy boy, and we love him dearly.

Alfie hates selfiesToo bad he hates selfies.

Questions for you:

Do you prefer dogs or cats?

What’s your favourite type of animal?

Do you like having Alfie featured on the blog? Should I do more?

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33 Comments

  2. I prefer dogs but I do love cats too. You are such a good pup mom! I bet he is thrilled to be in a town house! I know when we moved from an apartment to our house Chase was thrilled. Even now he will lay out on the back deck basking in the sun:)

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  6. I love this! Seeing posts about dogs make me smile!! I should do a post on my dog but I am going to wait for something exciting to happen like a move :) We are planning on moving to Chicago this year so it will be a lot different for our dog since we live in Arizona now!

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  7. Your pup is SOOo cute! I’ve moved twice with my dogs and they took it better than I thought they would. Each time I moved was an upgrade and now they have a bigger house and a fenced in yard to play in as much as they want. I’m not sure they could be much happier. Love this post!
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  14. he looks like such a sweet dog!! our cats moved with us from atlanta to california.. and while we lived there.. we had bigger windows, so i think they enjoyed getting a lot more sunlight.

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  17. Is Alfie a toy pomeranian? He is absolutely gorgeous – this is exactly the kind of dog Ben and I want to get. We both work full time at the moment though (9-6) so it wouldn’t be fair on a pup for us to be gone all day!

    Katie <3
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