This weekend we saw the cutest little puppy, which set me to reminiscing. We adopted Geege when he was a few days from three, and who the hell knows how old Mae was when we got her...her old owners told us two, but my vet says she thinks she's much older than that. Gus is the only dog we had as a puppy...and his puppy behavior is probably why it was more palatable to us to adopt non-puppies after that. Gus was hell on wheels as a puppy and to be honest he's still hell on wheels now, so it's definitely a factor of his personality.
Don't get me wrong, I adore puppies - they're mischievous and roly poly and a ton of fun and cute as all get out - but I love to pet and hug and love them and then walk away while someone else cleans up their messes and deals with the massive destruction they can unleash.
Some things I wish I knew about puppies but only found out after I had one:
1. Puppies can have their days and nights mixed up like human babies. Exhibit A: puppy Gus. This dog got up at 3 a.m. every night for six months and was up for the day. MFD did not get up with him. I did. And I hated every second of it.
2. A bored puppy is more destructive than the tasmanian devil. When Gus was 10 months old, we decided to liberate him from his cage and gate him in our postage stamp size kitchen. One day I came home at lunch to let him out and found every blessed thing in the cabinets destroyed. Rice packets, pasta, flour, sugar, tin foil, plastic wrap...every single thing was ripped apart and destroyed. I stood there gaping and snapped a photo with my, you know, flip phone, so I no longer have photographic evidence. He did this again when I was away for work and my Mom went over to let him out. He didn't only destroy the kitchen...he ate every freaking thing in his path. He was insane.
3. They can't walk on leashes until you teach them. Gus had zero interest in walking around the neighborhood. It did not occur to me that he had no idea HOW to walk on a leash.
Have you ever had a puppy? What surprised you about them?
Agree! Love puppies, but good God! Booboo has been more of a challenge because Sasha is wicked jealous and sometimes Yogi doesn't want to be bothered.
ReplyDeleteBut we love them to infinity and beyond! You need to have the time. They need your time and your love. Their love is priceless!
Love. Your. Insomnia. Momma. Jmj
I'm all about adopting older! Hawkeye was 3 days away from turning 1 when I got her, so still puppy but not the MAJOR puppy issues. We did get a puppy when I was in 5th grade (Caitlin), so I remember some things but obviously my mother dealt with most of it. Caitlin slept in my room from day 1, so she never woke up at odd hours (she always loved to sleep!) but I do remember my mom dealing with puppy messes. She also bit my nose a few times with her baby teeth, so I can only imagine what she destroyed that I didn't know about. The one thing that helped a ton was that we already had a dog, Crystal, who was 9 or 10 at that point, so Caitlin just followed her everywhere and copied what she did like Crystal was her mom. Huge help with potty training and leash walking.
ReplyDeleteYES to having an older dog around with puppies! I swear Lylee did 80% of the training with Enzo. He just watched her and copied!
DeleteWe got both of our guys as puppies and OMG. Our human baby was less work than they were. We didn't have so much of a destructive problem with Barkley as Dobie (who still destroys everything he can find) or leash training either of them but stairs. They both sucked at stairs. Teaching them to go up and down stairs took every ounce of my patience.
ReplyDeleteFun story: we took both of them to the dog training classes at PetSmart (both made it through and passed but you'd never know to watch them now). Dobie did great. Barkley liked to pee on the other dogs. Once on a dog's face. That is more shame than I've ever known.
He's so cute, though! I agree - so far we've stuck with young but mostly grown dogs, although Toast was only 8 months old. We didn't even realize how young she was because she was so afraid and barely even moved around by herself, but now that she's relaxing more, she's so so energetic. We did have to teach her to walk on a leash, but in our case it was more just getting her to walk on her own at all when a scary human was nearby.
ReplyDeleteP.S. When I saw the title I was kind of hoping you'd gotten a new puppy so I could vicariously enjoy it through your pictures. :P
DeleteAnnnd that is why I foster for City of Elderly Love:Save a Senior Pet here in Philly! Senior dogs ftw!
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew that puppy stage lasted two years. We're halfway through and living in the teenage "Go Fuck Yourself!" phase. Good grief! She is cute though.
ReplyDeleteYeesh and this is why I will not have a puppy. They are precious but way, WAY too much work. I got Hewitt when he was around 3 or 4. He was already house trained, leash trained, had all his shots and chipped. I wouldn't have it any other way.
ReplyDeletePuppies are as much work as they are cute, that is for sure!!! I had both Gracie and Mac as puppies and I have got to say that it is a lot of work and I certainly feel like they trained me for a human baby. Gracie was the most stubborn of puppies and it took me forever to house train her fully. And Mac...while he is house trained now...the boy still doesn't listen to me and he is six, lol. I think the most shocking thing about puppies is their energy level! They get bored way too fast and you are right that boredom equals complete destruction! But but but look how cute!!!
ReplyDeleteHoly sh!t he's a cute puppy. I feel like puppies are ridiculously cute to balance out their destructive nature.
ReplyDeleteLylee came to use when she was a year and a half. She was fully trained and didn't really need much direction. (Just brain stimulation- she's a smart cookie!) We got Enzo when he was 9 weeks old. I 100% agree with Stephanie up there ^^^ Having an older dog helped SO MUCH. Still, I've clean SO many pee spots and we've see two remote controls, a pillow, and my down comforter bite the dusk. *sigh* Haha. At least Enzo is a sweetie- he's never been defiant or vengeful.
Baby Gus makes me want another puppy - so so cute! I sometimes think about a third dog (Gigi has so much energy, Oskar not so much), but then I don't miss those early puppy days. So, I don't know.
ReplyDeleteThe leash training thing. Cooper looked at me like "wtf are you doing to me???" I also didn't realize that puppy teeth hurt when they play around and nip at you.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best parts of puppy-dom though is when they're so tiny, and they fall asleep in your arms at the drop of a hat. Loved that part :)
I'm dying over here with pug puppy pics!!!
ReplyDeletePuppies are HARD WORK!!!! People don't realize it & go in so unprepared.
I spent the first 6 months of having Harvey sitting every night in the kitchen watching TV until he was potty trained. We'd move a little further in the house every month until we were able to make it to the back of the house without any accidents :) haha
LOVE everything about puppies! Just about every one of my dogs arrived as a young puppy. (So I can't blame any behavior on previous owners... :/ )
ReplyDeleteHAHA, god I love them but they can be pains in the arse. I had a pug when I was around 12 (he passed away at 14 years old so I was in my mid-20s) and as amazing as he was, he was a rambunctious little puppy. He chewed EVERYTHING. He barked his head off at cars, bikes and mailmen. It really is SUCH a commitment and requires a lot of time, energy and money. They're worth it though (and so dang cute)
ReplyDeleteCooper was just 6 weeks old when we got him. I was a senior in High School, and my parents told me that since I brought him home, I had to deal with him. He was TERRIBLE (to be honest he was terrible until he was about 12 years old). Wouldn't sleep through the night, would rip apart food and hide it throughout the house (think individual granola bars. Hidden in the couch, or under a rug). My parents had also just gotten new carpet in the whole house and new couches. I honestly thought my dad would kill me. Then I left for college and he was still a brat. When I brought him to live with me he knocked over my trash everyday (the trash now resides in the half bathroom downstairs). But, I wouldn't change it for anything. That being said - once he goes, I will get an older dog. I'm actually thinking eight years or older. My friend just got a puppy and I have visited a few times - it was MORE than enough to remind me why an older dog is better!
ReplyDeleteI so agree. Puppies are adorable and all, but I will never get a puppy again. All future dogs will be AT LEAST one year old.
ReplyDeleteHaha! My parents are getting ready to get two new puppies sometime in December, and while I know that they're going to be super adorable and cuddly, I also remember back to when Dart was a puppy and how much of a little shit he was! We kenneled him early on and one time he managed to pull a whole bag of dog treats (that of course Chris left on top of his kennel where he could get to it), and he ate the whole thing. Needless to say he had the runs all in his kennel, and of course I was the one that found him and had to clean it all up. It's obviously totally worth it, but just a lot of work!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly appreciate older dogs when you've raised a puppy. While I too love me a sweet as pie puppy, I don't miss being up in the middle of the night to go pee or standing in my pyjamas in my mothers yard, freezing my area off and just wanting the dog to hurry the hell up. We had relatively good experiences apart from emergency surgery at nine weeks old, but otherwise both of the boys were pretty good. Charlie was much more ornery whereas Baxter was sweet and sucky, likely because he was in a cone for quite a bit of the time. Thankfully.
ReplyDeleteComing home to a 180'd, absolutely trashed kitchen or house, not cool at all. But we get over it, don't we? :)
Oh baby Gus!
ReplyDeleteYou know all my puppy stories, but we started rough with Scout at 6 weeks old. Scott stayed up all night with him for that first week.
Baby Gus is so cute! We got our dog Rosie as a puppy when I was 14, and I remember how much work it was in the beginning! Since Rosie died this summer, my parents are looking into adopting an older Springer Spaniel. Less work for sure! :)
ReplyDeleteYUP! The puppy days aren't for the faint of heart but look at that adorable face! Even with the potty training mess, furniture chewing and miscellaneous mischief.... I like that we were able to shape Lola into knowing what is right and wrong in our house...not that she listens 100% of time. Anyways I think they're perks for both stages.
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh though, puppy Gus is so teeny and adorable!
ReplyDeletei haven't had a puppy since i was like 18 or 19 and really my mum did all the grown up adult things one needs to do with a puppy. but i've had kittens, and they can be annoying too. millie was 100% our worst and a complete devil and like Gus, that's kind of her personality and i know Penny & Chelsea weren't like that but still. KC mentioned getting a 4th cat over the weekend and i was like i don't think i can do the kitten stage again. they might be perfect like penny or chelsea (perfect as in only mildly annoying) or they might meow nonstop all night in another room and you have 3 box fans AND a white noise machine and you can STILL hear her... and i'm not willing to take that chance again. haha.