So You Got a Puppy?

Puppies are not cute…they are freaking adorable. Who doesn’t like puppies? Crazy people that’s who. But even though puppies are cute bundles of joy, they are also loud… and messy… and, honestly, kinda gross.

My boyfriend and I recently got our first puppy. We believe she is a mastiff/shepherd mix, and at the time if writing this, she’s about three months old (today!). Her name is Olivia, and she is a wonderful little pup… except when she’s not. Don’t get me wrong, I will defend this dog and go to the ends of the earth to make sure she has what she needs (as with all my pets), but man… does she test my patience sometimes! As someone who has owned cats my entire life, I never understood what people meant by “puppies are like babies," because cats just… do their own thing… almost all the time! But dogs on the other hand, need a little extra watching.

Now, my boyfriend has had plenty of dogs in the past, so he was all set and knew exactly what to do and what to buy. I, however, have never owned a puppy before in my life. And although it’s been pretty great, there are a few things that I have had to get used to. And yes, there are lots of wonderful things, but also some... less than wonderful things.

Here are a few things that have happened since we brought Olivia home:

1. Things are chewed on… like… everything. If it’s on the floor, it’ll probably end up in Olivia’s mouth at some point (toes included!).
2. I have developed a weird sixth sense. I randomly woke up in the middle of the night one time and thought, “Where is Olivia and what s she doing?” only to get up and find that she had dug through the trash and strewn it across the bedroom floor (is this what happens when you become a mom?). Which brings me to #3…
3. We had to get a trashcan with a lid… and place it inside another trashcan to keep Olivia from eating the trash every night. It was almost every night for a week where we would wake up to trash everywhere, BUT the trashcan.
4. I step in a wet spot, and 99.9 percent of the time… it’s pee. The other 0.1 percent is throw up from Olivia eating the trash.
5. Had the thought “It’s way too quiet right now,” only to find Olivia getting onto something she shouldn’t.
6. Been woken up multiple times throughout the night by Olivia barking/whining for only God knows what.
7. Ask “What are you eating??” Multiple times while I chase her around the yard. 100 percent of the time, it's something she should NOT be eating.
8. If I close the door when I go pee, and my boyfriend isn’t in the room with her, Olivia will freak out and start crying.
9. Along the same lines as above, I’ve had to shower with the shower curtain half open so Olivia could see me.
10. Phrases like, “Stop eating that!” “Come back here!” and “Get that out of your mouth!” have become very common around our house.

As you can see, a new puppy is… a lot. But there is also a lot of snuggles and kisses and wonderful firsts! Like the first time we brought her home, the first time she ran up the stairs, the first time she slept on my stomach… it’s lovely. I absolutely love our little family, and I’m so glad we decided to adopt Olivia. I wouldn’t change it for the world.