A Sweet Beginning - Churro

Happy New Year, everyone! As we step into 2025, I’m wishing you all the best for an incredible year ahead. For our family, this year is already off to an exciting start – we grew by four adorable, fluffy paws this Christmas! 🐾

Meet Churro, our new golden retriever puppy! As sweet as his namesake, Churro joins our beloved best boy, Queso. (What can I say? We’re clearly foodies when it comes to naming our pups!) Our family is committed to raising a confident and well-adjusted dog, so we’re diving into socialization and training with gusto. Since I love all things dog-related, I thought it would be fun to invite you along for this journey. This is the first chapter of what I hope will be a mix of intentional training insights and sweet puppy moments to brighten your day.

Week 1: From Golden Endeavors to Home Sweet Home

The Ride Home

After cuddling all the puppies at Golden Endeavors, we knew “blue shoulder” was the one for us. Churro stole our hearts immediately. Although it’s not the safest option, we couldn’t bear to crate him in the backseat for the hour-and-a-half drive home after “kidnapping” him from his family. Instead, he sat in my lap on top of a towel for the ride. He hung out, peeked out the window, and stress-napped.

The Big Introduction

Once home, Churro had a quick potty break before meeting his big brother, Queso. To say Queso was excited would be an understatement - he was losing his mind trying to figure out this tiny new friend. Despite our efforts to calm him down, his enthusiasm was… overwhelming. But just three minutes later? Pure sibling magic.

Exploring the World

We immediately started introducing Churro to different textures, smells, and scenarios to show him that “different” isn’t scary. We hope to give him the foundation to confidently cope and accept any novelties encountered in the future. Within a matter of minutes, his little paws touched carpet, tile, concrete, decking, grass, and mulch - a solid start to his socialization journey.

Then it was time to introduce him to his crate. He was exhausted from all the activity, and instantly konked out, while Queso stood watch. We’ve set up two crates for Churro: one in the family room for daytime naps and another in our bedroom for nighttime.

Family cuddles.

Gentle Handling: The "Puppy Lock"

Every day, we spend time on what we call the "puppy lock." It’s a gentle, loving session where we handle Churro’s ears, paws, belly, and mouth while he lounges on our lap. This helps him get used to being touched and creates a strong bond. Before anyone worries, he’s free to leave at any time! All of our dogs have adored this time, even as adults. (Although a 10-pound puppy fits much better than a 75-pound dog. 🙃) Here’s a quick still of Churro, followed by a recent one of Queso for comparison. 🥰

A Puppy’s Playground

Our family room has turned into a mini Romper Room (any of you old enough to understand that reference?? 👵🏻), complete with toys and obstacles to encourage safe play. Our favorite? A sturdy cardboard concrete form that Churro can chew, shred, crawl through (or over!), or use as a safe home base when Queso’s energy gets too much. It even doubled as a Christmas tree barrier - multitasking at its finest.

A Photographer’s Pup

Churro slept through his first official photo sessions, so he didn’t have any reaction at all to my clicky, eyeball-looking box. 😂📷

Queso was on hand supervising Churro’s modeling skills, and I didn’t want to leave him out.

Queso: The Best Big Brother

Let’s take a moment to appreciate Queso, who has been an absolute champ. He’s so gentle with Churro, always “playing down” to match his baby brother’s size and energy. It’s is a delight to watch them interact. 🥰 

Christmas itself added another fun exposure opportunity – wrapping paper and tissue paper, both of which are fun to walk on and shred.

Christmassing is exhausting. 😴

A knotted frozen towel for chewing. (These don’t seem to be going over very well. I even added a little chicken broth before freezing. 🤷🏻‍♀️)

More gentle playing between the boys.

We allll try to sleep when the baby sleeps, lol.

I grabbed my son’s longboard as yet another puppy “obstacle”. It rolls, is elevated, and has a tacky sandpaper-like surface. Churro hopped right on!

Our nextdoor neighbor kiddos received a trampoline for Christmas and they wasted no time assembling it. When complete, Churro observed their loud and happy laughter & squeals, as well as some frustrated tears. Plus, he could see that they were bouncing into the air. He just sat down and took it all in.

Part of being a puppy is exploring everything by mouth. We joke that every time he goes outside, he eats our yard. And Queso is really into the activity too!!

After conferring on what they should taste next.

As a photographer’s dog, it’s never too early to introduce them to posing on rocks. 😝 

Puppies are not supposed to do a bunch of stairs, but occasionally he gets away from us!

Adventures in Socialization

Puppy socialization is critical during these early weeks, so we’ve been intentional about exposing Churro to new sights and sounds. Since he hasn’t completed his vaccinations yet, we’re keeping him safe while still letting him experience the world. At Home Depot, he rode in a towel-lined shopping cart, observing everything from sunglasses and hats to scooters and winter parkas. He even rocked his first collar (though he found it a bit distracting).

Our youngest son hosted a Chopped themed party at our house, where his friends are provided mystery ingredients and they have to make a meal and be judged – it’s great fun. 🧑🏻‍🍳🍽️ But at the beginning of THIS party, all the kids gathered in our family room and Churro worked the room.

Queso must’ve been realllly tired by the end of the party as he doesn’t yet appreciate Churro’s snuggling.

Wrapping Up Week One

It’s been a whirlwind first week with Churro, filled with new experiences, sweet cuddles, and a whole lot of love. We didn’t get to any formal training yet - I was too wiped out! But there’s always next week. For now, we’re cherishing every moment with our new little guy.

Stay tuned for more Churro Chronicles as we navigate life with a puppy in 2025! 🐾

Ginger Wick Photography is an award winning dog photographer specializing in creating beautiful custom artwork of dogs & their people. Based in Parker, CO serving the Denver area.