Monday, September 30, 2013

Life with a Puppy

Everyone told us getting a puppy was hard work. We nodded our naive heads and smiled innocently and replied, "We know."



We. Didn't. Know.

We didn't know how important it was too keep the pup on the same food he had at the shelter and how difficult that food would be to find. Three phone calls later and two trips to the store and the crisis was averted.

We didn't know how hard potty training would be and how much Spot Shot we would go through.



We didn't know how much of a struggle bath time would be.

We didn't know how many times we would get up at night to take him outside. 

We didn't know how mouthy he would be and how hard we would have to work to train him not to bite, even if it was playful.

We didn't know how hard it would be to watch him suffer through Kennel Cough. Or how tired/worried we would be going through a whole night of that.



We didn't know how much we could love.




We didn't know how much we could care for and look forward to seeing someone until he came into our lives.

We didn't know how well he would fit into our family.

We just didn't know.

5 comments:

The Pink Growl said...

AWWW what a sweet puppy! They are hard work though!

Kenya said...

It's hard work in the beginning, but trust me, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!!! Thinking of you guys while you go through this puppy stage. It doesn't last forver! lol

Lauren said...

awww...it is such hard work! but now you'll have a companion for life!

Rebecca Jo said...

Its so worth it...

no one knows until they get a puppy!

FYI - if you get another puppy, they are easier to train because they follow the other dog & watch & do as they do. So get this one trained & then pile 'em on :)

Tedi said...

Here's a tip for when he nips at you, (it's a good habit to get into immediately as those little puppy teeth are sharp!)

Whether he gets your fingers, your pant leg, the hem of your jeans, etc, the trick is to scream a big, quick "OWEEEEE!" and he should stop immediately and look at you. (You'll feel really weird doing this the first few times, but make sure you don't hold back and just say "Oweeeee.") Do that every time he nips you where you think it's too rough. He'll also learn this when you take him to a dog park, as other dogs will yip when play is too rough, and that's how puppies learn.

The key to any kind of dog training is consistency, so as long as you do this every time then he should learn to be gentler in no time :)

Good luck!!