Happy Wednesday, Everyone! The end of the school year is kicking my tail. I’ve scheduled several last minute appointments prior to summer, kids have parties, special days, many sports are ending, and then there are the baseball tournaments/practices that will continue through June. Add in Tab deciding the last two weeks are great dates for work travel {EEEEEK!!!!} and well, you have one tired mama. ;). However, we just have a few days left of this school year before SUMMER BREAK! It’s SO close, friends!
If you’ve been reading here for a while then you know I’m not a pet person. We didn’t have indoor pets growing up because we lived in the country. All of our dogs and cats were outside animals and as a kid, I was just “kind of” into them. We decided this past Christmas to surprise our kids with a family dog, Champ. Now that we have Champ, a seven month Australian Labradoodle, I can say I’ve learned SO VERY MUCH as a new pet owner over the last four-ish months. Many of you guys commented that you were similar to me and had recently gotten a dog for the betterment of your family so I thought there might be some of you who are still on the fence and deciding exactly if this whole dog family thing is your vibe. Let me tell you what I’ve learned…
- Dogs have a smell. No matter how often he’s groomed, how often he’s bathed, how much dog spray we use on his fur, how often I vacuum, how often I mop, how often I use the Green Machine cleaner, how many candles I light, or how often I run my Puras, Champ will still have a smell. I’m learning that all the effort that goes into making my HOUSE not smell like a dog does in fact seem to work but there doesn’t seem to be a dog on this planet that doesn’t have a smell.
- You’ll find yourself using “Baby Talk” to speak to this dog. It’ll happen quickly. It’ll happen suddenly and before you know it your entire household will speak this special “Dog/Baby Talk”.
- I know all dogs are different BUT I’m speaking only to myself here in regards to Champ. No matter how confident you think he is in the potty training department, on those days when you get full of pride he’ll surprise you and potty in the middle of the floor surrounded by six people who could have taken him out. Yes, yes, yes….he’ll keep you on your toes with all things potty training. The Bible says, “Pride comes before the fall” and well, Champ is like a walking Bible verse for you.
- When you walk him, it’ll take a LONG time for him to learn “walking manners”. I was so excited for this milestone moment when we could finally take him for a walk and my mom {who’s DEFINITELY not a dog person but who watched the kids when we were in Cabo} said it best when she said that she took him on several walks while the kids were in school but, “I was never sure if I was walking him or he was walking me”. I knew EXACTLY what she meant. Sometimes he does a great job and other times when we’re walking he has the zoomies WHILE we’re walking.
- Zoomies…one thing I’d never heard of before having Champ. The first morning we had him I got him out of his crate, took him outside, and then walked him into our dark, quiet house. Champ ran around at top neck speed from one side of the room to the other, he ran in circles, he ran up high, he ran down low, he covered every square inch of that room. I had NO IDEA what was happening and I LEGIT teared up thinking, “WHAT HAVE WE DONE?”. I remember Sheaffer checking in and asking me how the first night had gone and when I started explaining what he’d done that morning she was like, “Yeah, that’s called zoomies”. She said it LIKE IT WAS NO BIG DEAL! But it should have been in some type of handbook somewhere.
- Speaking of that, you’ll be absolutely flabbergasted that SO MANY PEOPLE have dogs after you’ve raised this puppy {I realize I’m only half-way there but please don’t bust my bubble}. There’s absolutely NOTHING easy about a puppy and it’s SHOCKING so many people have done this before.
- There are times throughout my day where you’ll be in the middle of working while Champ is asleep at your feet and you’ll need to get up to use the restroom but you won’t because YOU WON’T WANT TO WAKE THE DOG. He’ll be so comfortable and look adorable lying there so instead of moving and waking him, you’ll practically give myself a bladder infection. {Kidding but you know what I mean.}
- No one ever told me that this puppy would follow me EVERYWHERE. He will be your shadow all day long. We gate up our house so he can just move around one or two rooms at a time. I’ll walk into a gated room and he’ll just be sitting there waiting for me like, “Hey Girl! I’ve been waiting for you to walk in”.
- When choosing a puppy/breed/size, I kept choosing a more medium sized dog. I’d picked up a few dogs and didn’t like the feel of their heart beating in my hands. {Full transparency here.} I kept leaning more towards a dog a little bigger than one I’d pick up because the boys can be rough while the girls can still be snuggly. I LOVE the size of Champ. He’s about twenty-five pounds and is perfect for the boys and the girls. But, YOU will find yourself picking him up often. I don’t even know why or what’s the occasion but I pick him up randomly throughout the day. And I don’t think twice about feeling his heart beating.
- I’m not sure someone has ever loved me more than Champ. He’s so sweet and just wants to be near me always! And even with everything I just listed above, I’d STILL tell you to GO FOR IT! Get the puppy! {Now later today when he’s driving me absolute bonkers, I’m going to need someone to remind me of #10 in my list.}
If you’re semi-new to the dog world, please share something that surprised you about becoming a pet owner! I’d love to hear! Have the best day, friends!
XO
