Life as a New Puppy Mummy
We got a puppy!
On the way back from our amazing summer adventure we picked up our new puppy and he is the cutest thing ever. I just can't believe how adorable he is :)
When I was growing up we had family dogs, but they were always rescues, this is the first puppy I've ever had. I knew that it was going to be a lot of work, but to be honest, I didn't expect it to be quite this much work and I also didn't expect it to be so emotional!
The first few nights
He was ten and a half weeks old when we picked him up and I knew that I would be housebound with him until after his second vaccinations. I pictured myself spending the days playing with him and catching up on things whilst he was asleep. I had big plans to spring clean the apartment, edit all my holiday photos, update the blog with our adventures and also get some time on my yoga mat each day.My reality has been far from that! Cooper (that's his name) has been home for two weeks now and I've only just cleaned up and had time to write this post. I haven't even looked at my holidays photos yet or my yoga mat. The last two weeks have gone past in a blur. I feel like I've spent the first week in a state of sleep deprivation and anxiety that I wasn't expecting. While he was first settling in with us he wasn't sleeping very well. So I spent a few nights on the floor next to his bed to settle him in. I then did that thing that you do with a new baby and sleep really lightly just in case they need you. Last night was the first night we all slept soundly.
We live in a fifth floor apartment which has made housetraining challenging. But on a positive note, I have been able to get some exercise by taking the stairs a few times a day.The first few days he was home I spent every minute he was asleep googling one of my million questions. "Why is my puppy hiccuping?" "How much sleep should my puppy be getting?" "What is the best way to housetrain a puppy?" and the list goes on. Of course for every question I found an answer for I came up with a new one.
Settling into a routine
I have a tendency to over analyse everything and this was no exception. There have been some pros to this though. I knew that one of the keys to success was to get him into a routine. So I came up with a rough schedule and then made a note every time he did something. A little like; 6:30am Woke up, 6:35am Toilet, 6:40-6:50 Played, 6:50 Breakfast, 7:00 Toilet and so on for the rest of the day. As time consuming and excessive as this was, it has been invaluable for me to find a routine that suits all of us. Today I have been confident enough to ditch the note taking and just enjoy the little moments more.
This morning we took him outside for his first walk and to a cafe for the first time. It turns out he is quite the crowd pleaser. How could he not be, look at that face :)He manages to turn everyone we meet to mush! During the walk we met a really lovely couple and their puppy who gave me the best advice ever. They told me to remember to enjoy this time even though it can get really overwhelming and stressful. They said that if they could go back and change one thing, they would try to be more relaxed and make the most the puppy phase. Advice I am definitely going to try to take.On that note, I'm going to log off now and relax for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow I'm going to enjoy exploring in the sunshine with Cooper and take time to stop and smell the roses. Or in his case, other dogs pee!Cheers, Jess