What to expect when you’re expecting… a puppy

Written by Becky

As many of my friends advance to the stage of having kids and buying books like this, Josh and I are progressing slower.  We’re dog owners now.  I thought I would clue you guys in on how our lives have changed with our new puppy.  Here are a few things you might expect if you become owners of a puppy:

What to expect:
Wet shoes
Bite marks on your arms and legs and maybe even your nose
Circles under your eyes from lack of sleep
Freshly licked walls
Waking up at 2am to let the pup out (then watching him just lay in the grass instead of going to the bathroom)
Rips in your clothes
Several toys and other items lying around your house
More walks during the day (to work off excess puppy energy in hopes of getting a full night’s sleep)
Being late to work

And a few tips:
– Don’t put beer in your garden to keep the slugs away.  Henry lapped up all the beer and slugs.
– When he starts whining quickly run with him to the yard, a few seconds and you might have a special present on your floor.
– The best way to keep him out of things around the house is to tie him up at your feet.  It’s not sad or restrictive, it’s necessary.
– Gardens are like playground for puppies. Henry showed us this as he jumped into the garden and threw himself into the large zucchini plants.

Some proud brags of our pup:
He is grass fed because we are so ‘organic’ (no really he loves to eat grass even though we feed him well)
He ate from Pottery Barn plates for his first week at our home until we finally got to a Petsmart to buy dog bowls
He prefers strawberries after his dinner
He carries branches twice his size around with him on our walks
He comes from a line of champions (still not sure what this means)

If you’re in Salt Lake City, you should check out my list of dog friendly restaurants because dinner is always better with a puppy wrapping itself in his leash at your feet right?

Also, please give me any or all puppy advice you have!

Comments (11)

  1. I just love him! Wish you could bring him to Texas next week. Glad you guys are adjusting well and getting him drunk with all that garden beer 😉

  2. oh he is SO cute!!!

    our puppy is 1. and GIANT. and we have learned that if she gets bored, she will eat EVERYTHING. pickets off the fence. bbq. small bush. large bush. everything.

    moral of the story….don't let your puppy get bored:)

  3. It's about tough love. After 2 sleepless nights with our "baby" we learned to just let him cry himself to sleep. At first it took about an hour and then slowly the time he cried got shorter. And after only 2 nights he slept until about 5am. Puppies won't pee where they sleep so they learn to hold it if they need to. Win-win for us. Good luck and thanks for the list of restaurants.

  4. Ah, welcome to the puppy/baby stage! Rest assured that this stage will pass and you will be sleeping again. Soon enough he will be a lazy pup sitting next to you and sleeping all day. He sure is a gorgeous pup.

  5. Aww, he's adorable! Puppy stage is quiet an adventure, but they do grow out of it eventually. 🙂 Are you crate training? We love that, no middle of the night potty runs that way.

    My advice? Just enjoy the ride.

  6. Haha, oh boy, we went through that last year. So much fun! So much frustration! One thing to add to the "what to expect" portion, at least from my experience: finding half dried puddles in corners or under tables, sometimes with my feet (gross!).

    One tip, I purchased garden fencing (I think it's designed to keep rabbits out) from Home Depot and put that around our garden. It's low enough for us to step over. And it's helped a lot to keep our dog from destroying our veggies.

    Good luck with the puppy, he sure it cute!

  7. Best decision that Sarah made with her puppy was to take her to classes at Petsmart. They weren't very expensive and it was amazing how fast Lexi learned to sit, stay, and all the other good behavior traits that make owning a dog wonderful. Henry will be a puppy for the next two years–train him and love him. He will give you unconditional love back.

  8. Your little Henry is adorable! All the puppy mishaps are worth it when you walk through the front door and he pounces forth to greet you… tail waggin' and all!

    I am convinced that puppies love alcohol; our gal drank half a glass of whisky when she was about six months old!

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