Things I Wish I Knew Before Getting A Puppy

About a week after I got Nash, Krystal wrote a post about the things she wish she had known before getting a cat.  I immediately knew I had to write one about things I wish I had known before getting a puppy.  Nash celebrated his approximate 3 month birthday yesterday & yesterday also marked 3 weeks that I've had him.  So here are some things I wish I had known before I brought him home.

1. Don't spend money on expensive toys

 

His 2 favorite "toys" are a frozen wash cloth & an old dryer ball.

2. A puppy is a lot like what I assume an always tired toddler is like

Homeboy is either psychotic because he's playing, psychotic because he's tired & refusing to sleep, or actually sleeping. Partway under the couch if I let him...

3. Patience

I guess I've always known that my patience comes & goes.  There are certain things I can take all day long & then something small will make me snap.  I also always knew that to raise a child or pet patience was key.  What I didn't know what just how much my patience would be tested with mommy's little psycho.

4. Leaving him in his crate for awhile is okay

When I first got back from Minnesota I basically held myself hostage in my apartment for 3 days straight.  I felt so bad leaving him & so bad crating him.  It made me feel like an awful person.  Now, I crate him when I sense him getting tired so that he'll nap & I can get stuff done.  Also when I need to run errands or just get out of the house for a couple of hours.  He's actually really good with his crate & doesn't cry for more than a minute, & sometimes not at all.  While the guilt is somewhat subsiding, I still feel somewhat bad when I put him in there &/or leave him during the day.

5. How to find a training method that works

The number of things I've googled since owning Nash, & the number of conflicting responses for each thing can get really overwhelming.  I want him to learn but I also don't want him to hate me.  Some say don't ever use a stern voice.  Some say use a stern voice.  Some say put them in a timeout for a minute or 2.  Some say their crate should only be a safe haven.  Do this.  Do that.  I didn't realize just how hard being the boss while still making him love me would be so hard sometimes.

6. That he'd be pretty much all I talk about

#SorryNotSorry on this one.  He's been on the blog multiple times, he's on my Instagram a ton, & he's pretty much all I post pictures of on Facebook anymore.  A friend called me out on it & said "you've become one of those moms"  Not even sorry dude, hang out with Evel Knivel is pretty much all I do these days.  Plus, he's stinking cute.

7. That he'd piss me off to no end but I wouldn't trade him for the world

I get so mad & frustrated on a daily basis.  At both him & also at myself.  I want to be a good dog mama & sometimes I seriously feel like I'm failing him.  He's also super smart which he doesn't always use for good which makes me mad.  At the end of the day though I can't imagine not having him & love him to the moon and back.