So, you think you want a puppy, huh?

[Ann Kendig]

I found this on line and thought it was funny.  I just added a couple of my own photos for visuals.  : )

 

Everyone loves a puppy, right?  They're cute, they're cuddly and they're funny.  

 

Sheba as a baby....precious.

 

Duke as a young pup....adorable.

Well, just let me confirm that looks are indeed deceiving.  Just look at these faces - they're so sweet that sugar wouldn't melt in their mouths!  These little darlings could be quite the handful.   Any animal owner extends a special commitment to their pet but the fact is that puppies can make you want to pull your hair out if you're unprepared.  Speaking for myself...I had a lot to learn!

 

If anyone is contemplating adding one of these cute little bundles of fur to their family I suggust you 

read the following and if you already have one, perhaps you can relate.

 

How to Prepare for a Puppy 101

1.  Spill apple juice in various places on the floor in your home (not forgetting the carpet) and walk around in the dark in your socks.

 

2.  Scratch your arms and legs with a fork.

 

3.  Turn your laundry basket upside down and throw your clothes all over the place.

 

4.  When someone visits you, make sure you leave your underwear in the middle of the living room floor.

 

5.  Scatter dog toys around your house, turn the lights off and try to walk through the house without tripping over them.

 

6.  Collect a bucket full of dog hair from friends, go into your wardrobe and throw the hair in the air.  Also, save some hair to float on the top of your coffee in the morning.

 

7.  Take a cheese grater to your table, chair and couch legs.  Don't forget to pull threads out of floor rugs.

 

8.  With a pair of scissors, put holes in your favorite clothes and shred the bottoms of all of your pants.

 

9.  Watch your favorite TV show and wait until the last five minutes.  Jump up out of your seat yelling, "No, not there, outside!" and miss the end of your show.

 

10.  Place some chocolate pudding somewhere on the carpet, go to work and then after you've been gone all day, try cleaning it up.

 

11.  Take a shovel and dig holes in the middle of your lawn.  Don't forget to tip over any potted plants you might have and scatter dirt everywhere (this can be done inside the house too).  Make sure to destroy the plants.  Buy new flowers and plant them in your garden.  Make sure to dig these up too and destroy.

 

12.  Hang your wash out on the line and then pull it down and leave it on the ground.

 

Please feel free to add to the list or add some pictures of your puppy mayhem.  Let's have some fun!

 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Well, Lucy and Sophie, sure make the bar too high for most doods!!!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

 

1)  Take $500 and just toss it in the trash so you will be prepared for the expense of that 1st 3 am visit to the Emergency Vet.

2)  Bring in a shovel full of snow and just spread it all over your floor!

3)  My least favorite:   Take a teddy bear and smear poo on it and then try and get it off (this will prepare you for the episodes of yucky poo sticking to their furry little bottoms (particularly after they have scooted to try and get it off themselves).

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

• Fill a bucket with mud, and then wipe it all over the inside of your car (you know, the one that you keep in impeccable shape).  And don't forget the windows....make sure there's lots of slobber there.
• Get the unlimited visit contract with Stanley Steamer.  Better yet, start shopping for new carpeting now so you'll be all ready.
• Take a rake and drag it across your hardwood floors.  The more scratches the better.
• Learn a LOT about "soft poops".  Get ready to be very conversant in poop consistency.  Start talking to other dog owners about their dog's poop quality.
• Buy all kinds of collars....flat collars, harnesses, training collars, gentle leaders.  You'll be trying them all thinking that ONE of them will keep your dog from pulling you down the street.
• Call lots of trainers and ask them what their training "philosophy" is.  Rest assured, they will ALL be different.  Then try to figure out which one is RIGHT.  It's a "brain teaser" that has no answer, but it's just so much fun trying to figure out.
• Go to the Pet Store and buy lots of chew toys.  On your way out throw them in the trash barrel outside the store.  That's just how you'll feel when you bring the new toys home and they're destroyed in the first hour.
• Fill your bed with "stuff".  Lots of toys and some big heavy things that you can't move.  Then try to sleep "around" the stuff.
•  Buy some dog food, put it in a dish, let it sit on the floor for a few hours, then throw it down the disposal.  Then head to the Pet Store to buy some different food, or better yet start making some "home cooking" to put on top of the food.  Repeat the process.

[Sue Z. + Finley]

Buy lots of collars and leashes...cracks me up. I have about 8-10 different collars and leashes around the house right now.  I still believe I will find the right one (fingers crossed).

 

- Go to the back yard and dig up the biggest dirt clod and eat it. There's nothing in the world like dirty puppy breath!

[shelly]

Now you're TALKIN' Caitlin!!  GREAT!

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Ditto on the chew toy idea.  Or just endorse your paycheck over to the pet store and don't even bother with lugging the toys all the way to the front of the store.

[Carol and Banjo]

OMG Jane.....Love these!!!     And everyone else's!!   Collectively, I think we're all nuts!   (But happy nuts!)

[Sandy]

Oh my - these made me laugh so hard - and rejoice in the fact that Toby is no longer a puppy.  :)

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Mine is:  go ahead a have a few crying sessions and prepare yourself mentally by repeating the words "what have I done???".  (LOL you know I love the doodette)

 

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Love this....beautiful dog bed, dog on floor!!!  Picture is worth 1000 words!

[Clifford, Cloud, Jake..and Kim]

Ahhh, these are the very reasons I said we would not adopt a puppy.  Boy am I glad both my doods were beyond these "fun" times.  (Now don't think I've missed out on the puppy experience - we went through that with our cocker-lab when we first got married...I just remembered those days/nights before we decided to think about another furry friend and boy am I glad!)

[Pat and Traveler]

OMG!!  I'm wiping away tears of laughter!!  And the pictures----just adorable!!  I might add:

Begin studying the life cycle of fleas.  Start exercising--that cute little puppy will probably want to be LIFTED into and out of the car, on and off tables, etc., when he/she gets big enough to strain your back.