So they convinced you to get a Puppy

“Honey what is Butter chewing on?” Ah the regular conversation in our house. Our little puppy, Butterball, laying flat bellied as she gnaws on the front door. Its not like we don’t provide enough toys for her, we’ve got bones and ropes and toys scattered all over the floor, not to mention all the cat toys. So why does the door become the best chew toy? We’ve decided not to argue, just merely toss the bone in the general direction in hopes that she chews on it instead.

Our lives now revolve around praising the fat little creature whenever she goes outside, rather than inside, and shooing her away from my beloved shoes. Our husky thinks that she’s a chew toy, and the cats have used her as a pillow when she’s out cold and a scratching post while she’s drinking. Yup, life is normal.

Like anything in life, we sit there watching educational shows trying to piece together one more mystery of our dogs to unlock the secret to good behavior. Sadly at times I think that patience should be something you can buy in the grocery store. When the puppy ticks you off, remember you love them, they’re cute, and eventually they’ll get out of the phase of eating your best pumps (and if not you now officially have a new excuse for a better shoe organizer).

So who am I anyways? I have three dogs of my own, a husky/Sheppard cross, a retriever/collie cross, and a toy poodle/Pomeranian cross. I also own four domestic cats, and a chinchilla. Guess what, they all live together happily with my husband and I. No one eats anyone else, and while we have some strange dysfunction, we manage. “Honey can you let Winnie out of the room, honey feed Gusgus,” and “what’s that smell?” Are typical questions in our house, followed with usually a groan of dismay at the sight of a proud pile our puppy has just left us even though we just took her out (apparently not long enough at times).

No matter what, the best piece of advice I can give you when you get a new puppy, or even a dog…have patience, have love, and remember to laugh, they’re just trying to please you and their ideals never will match ours.