10 Things People Never Tell You About Owning A Puppy...
Recently, my boyfriend and I decided to add a little fur baby to our little family. Our family and friends told us that it would be a busy time, which we shrugged off and said to ourselves 'how hard can this really be?'. Let me tell you, it was way more difficult than we realised and thanks to the help of our family, friends, puppy preschool and google, we are on our way to a civilised fur child and our lives back to normal.
Before we get started, let me introduce you to our baby.
Meet, Dakota!
She is a 13 week old pure bred blue and white border collie, who's hobbies include biting everything in sight, digging holes to eat bark and chasing her tail!
Now that the introductions are over, here are the 10 things people never tell you about owning a puppy!
1. You won't get a decent night sleep for about two + weeks.
Dakota cried and cried on and off every night for about two weeks. Towards the end she found her bark and added that into her nightly routine. Mitchell and I ran off broken sleep for days, and we were not the happiest of souls. We have finally managed to get her into a routine and we are now sleeping again. HOORAY!
2. You can't go out and leave them alone. They are too young and small. They need to be watched 24/7.
This one we learnt the hard way. We thought that if we needed to pop down the shops we could. WRONG. Dakota was so tiny and cried every time she couldn't see us to the point that the neighbours would complain. Mitchell and I tagged team going out and when we both couldn't be home sue to work, we got family to babysit. Thank goodness for family! Dakota is now at a stage where I can leave and go to work for 9+ hours and will entertain herself. She has many many toys, a large yard and an enclosure!
3. No human food! Their bellies haven't fully developed stomach acid to break down these foods.
A sales consultant at PetBarn taught me this one. Dairy is off limits and any rich acidic food. Human food in general isn't ideal, but puppies can't eat scraps or leftovers until at least 12 weeks. Dakota now gets the corner of my toast and maybe a sneaky chip when Mitchell isn't looking. But, dairy is a no go for her. Not yet anyway, maybe when she's older!
4. Your puppy will chew every available part of your body. That includes your pony tail girls.
I'm talking everywhere. Dakota was chewing on my bun the other day! My arm and legs are covered in puncture marks from teeth and scratch marks. They joys of puppy teething. One trick puppy pre-school taught us is to put a rubber toy straight in their mouth when they bite. Takes the attention off us and onto the toy. This one is a slow process. She's getting their slowly.
5. Wherever your little one sleeps at night will be smothered with wee and poo, every single morning. ENJOY!
Dakota was sleeping in our ensuite for the first few weeks so we could see her and monitor her at night. We covered the floor in puppy pads, gave her toys, a treat and water. In the morning we woke up to wee soaked bed and floor, shredded puppy pads and an odour that stunk out our room. Thankfully she sleeps outside now and we have our ensuite back, smelling delicious and fruity!
6. Don't think you can turn your back on your new fur child. They will destroy and get into everything in sight.
Oh no no no! Turn your back and they will have the tea towel, or your shoes or your christmas present wrapping. They want everything and anything to play with. This is how puppies learn about their new world, unfortunately for us it means a whole pile of mess and new shoes...
7. Brand new carpet. HA! It'll be covered in wee and poo if your not watching them closely.
Dakota had a thing for running into the media room slyly to do her business. That way no one knew or could catch her in the act. Smart Cookie! BUT, I caught on and knocked that behaviour in the bud. Every now and then she will wee inside, usually when she's scared or frightened by the vacuum or lawn mower.
8. Want to go out tonight? Think again. Who's going to put the little one to bed?
New Years Eve, I begged my Mum to babysit Daks so Mitchell and I could head out to a party. Routines are so crucial in a puppies training so we had to make sure she was fed and in bed. We couldn't put her to bed too early otherwise she would be unsettled and would mess with the routine we worked so hard on. Shout out to Mum for taking one for the team, mind you the whole night we spent texting mum worried about her and asking for photos! As soon as 12 o'clock hit, we were on our way home to our baby.
9. It will push your patience, relationship and life to the limit.
Not going to lie, the first few days were incredibly hard. They involved a lot of stress, concern, tears and lack of sleep. We worried that we couldn't do it, couldn't adjust to having her in our busy lifestyle and felt at a loss for what to do to help her sleep at night. We never regretted her nor did we discuss taking her back, we just needed to figure it all out, and fast. One of my friends who just got a gorgeous dalmatian puppy, said the best advice is to get her into a routine as it will help her settle. We got up, brushed ourselves off, put on our 'We got this' pants and got her into a routine. It was the best thing we had done. Dakota began to settle in before our eyes and the cries got less and less at night. Shout out to Lucy for the help!
Even though Mitchell and I were running on empty for a few days, we began to feel more confident with her and as we got her into a routine we felt much more settled and could finally enjoy time will Dakota without feeling tired and exhausted. Safe to say, if this is what a puppy is like, children are a LONG way away. Parenting a fur baby is challenging enough!
10. No one will ever come between the unconditional love and memories you share with them despite all the crazy, annoying and funny things they do. Remember, they are just babies, they don't know any better unless you teach them. You will cherish each other for the rest your lives!
Now that we are settled and slowly getting Dakota into her new life and routine, we can't wait until she is older and can start taking her places and know that we can leave her alone without destroying anything or crying. It definitely is a tough gig, but is so worth it when you see their little face and see how much they love and rely on you. Having Dakota around the house helps keep me company and gives me a sense of safety when Mitchell is working away. I love watching Daks grow and can't wait until she is full grown and stops biting me! I'm currently taking weekly photos of her to show her growth progress!
I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Something a little different from the beauty posts! I plan to post more about Dakota and the journey of her puppyhood. If you have any puppy tips, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message on Facebook, I'd love to hear any advice you have!
Good luck with your puppy!
Speak Soon,
Ashlee
Xo
