What a difference a year makes! Encouragement for new puppy owners....

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

I've been in a very "reflective" state of mind lately, and thought I would share some of these thoughts with all of you puppy owners. Bear with me... this might take a while....

Last year at this time, I was a mess, to be honest. My dad, whom I was super close to, had just passed away unexpectantly. The grief was nearly unbearable. Two weeks later we brought home Winnie. We had been planning her homecoming for months- reading up on puppy care, watching training videos, etc. Both my husband and I grew up with dogs, and I raised a pup myself 20 years ago. We were sooooo excited! I knew that it was going to be stressful, but I was blindsided by the amount of mental energy that it required to raise a very active and mouthy puppy. Mental energy that I didn't always have! My physical energy was waning, too. After a long day at work, I just wanted to rest on the couch in the evening. Not possible with Winnie around! :-)

She potty trained fairly quickly and learned all of the basic commands easily. That wasn't the so much the stressful part. The mouthiness/nipping/biting/crocodile behavior nearly drove me insane. I could not touch her, cuddle with her, play with her, take her out to potty or attempt to walk her on a leash without getting ripped pant legs/skirts/nightgowns and multiple bite marks on my hands and arms. It seemed that no amount of redirecting, training, "time outs," encouraging, pleading, scolding and praying would stop the behavior. I'm a fairly patient person, but this was putting me over the edge. And, I'm ashamed to admit, drove me to drink waaay too much wine on more than one occasion! :-) My husband and I have a great relationship. But, we found ourselves being more irritable and short with each other because of her. I was ready to throw in the towel and call the breeder to take her back. But everyone kept encouraging us and telling us that it would get better. A neighbor down the street (that has beautifully trained dogs) would see the fiasco of trying to walk a puppy attached to my pant leg and would yell his encouragement. We had all sorts of cheerleaders along our journey.

And then, it happened. One day I took her out to potty, and my pant leg was no longer enticing. I noticed that my hands and arms had less bite marks. I could wear my long flowing nightgowns in the evening and she didn't even notice. She would sit next to me and let me pet her. Gradually we could walk around the entire block without having her hanging from her leash or attacking my leg. A miracle was happening!

Fast forward one year.... Winnie is an absolute gem. She is a gentle dog that loves to cuddle and snuggle. She is well behaved, has had run of the house since age 6 months, and is the apple of my eye. My neighbor down the street smiles whenever he sees me riding bike with her trotting loose lease beside me. Something I never dreamed I'd be able to do with her! 

She's not perfect- no dog (or human) is. But, all of the frustration I had last year at this time is gone. And, she has been a blessing to our family in a way that I never thought possible. I'm quite sure that my dad would have loved her....

 

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

It's a tough stage - he will lose his teeth and then it will pass :) I remember sitting with Rippley and just inserting item after chewy item into his mouth to chew - cardboard, frozen washcloths, chew toys, balls, soft toys (before he massacred those), antlers, etc. sigh! Then the teeth were all out and we were done!

[Tanya & Piper]

Thank you for sharing your story! I seem to have forgotten all of the "puppy pains" I experienced when I raised my Westie almost 15 years ago. She passed away last May (and is deeply missed) and now we are excitedly waiting the arrival of a our petite Goldendoodle! I am so eager to meet her and to welcome her home, but am also worried about the challenges of raising a puppy. Reading your story helps to reinforce that there is a fantastic dog waiting to blossom from that sweet puppy--it just takes dedication, nurturing and perseverance to get there.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Yes- LOTS of perseverance and patience! I'm sorry about your Westie, but happy that you are "expecting"! :-)  When will you be getting your pup?

[Tanya & Piper]

We expect to pick her up in about 2 weeks! I'm trying to cram as much puppy training information as possible and am hoping that I have all of the necessary supplies! I am SO excited and hope that we survive puppyhood! ;). Here is a photo of our sweet Piper (another one is my profile picture) at 4.5 weeks (see attached--I haven't been able to figure out how to embed a photo into my reply).

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Very sweet! Rest up while you can... :-)

To embed a picture into your reply: above the text box, click on the second icon from the left- the one that says "image" when you hover over it...

[Tanya & Piper]

Thanks!
And thank you for the embedding instructions--I think it must be different from an iPad because I don't see any icons above the text box...