So We Got a Dog

As you already know, I am a cat person. Our sweet sweet crazy Zoe went to kitty heaven last March. Since then, we have enjoyed new carpeting and no responsibilities, but also missed the joy a pet can bring. The boys have been asking for a dog for years and since we're in the middle of a pandemic and home all the time, we figured why not?

Meet Rocco. He's 50% Labradoodle, 50% Goldendoodle, and 100% adorable. At 8 weeks, he's a fluffy bundle of energy and joy, with a side of chill. I fell in love with him the moment we met.

#dogmom

But, boy, is he different than a cat. With a cat, you need to give him food, water, and a place to do his business (hopefully, not on your carpet). And then you can basically fuck off for all he needs you.

Not dogs. Dogs are like children. And not necessarily the good part of children. Instead, dogs are the not sleeping, not listening, constantly chasing after them so they don't make a mess/break something/hurt themselves part of children. But, he's damcute, so I will deal. And, just like any child stage, I know this is only for a short time.

We've had him 5 (whole) days. In those 5 days, he has ridden in a car every day, sniffed his doggie cousins, met the neighbors, been manhandled by small children and bullied by big dogs, visited the vet, and been hugged by every single person he's come into contact with. He has that way about him.

The first 4 days were kind of magical if you can believe that. He slept through the night, only had accidents because his owners were stupid, and was basically the chillest dog on the planet. But then something happened on night 4.

He became a toddler.

Now, he doesn't sleep nearly as much, he chews everything, including, but not limited to:

• Appendages
• Hair
• Clothing
• Furniture
• Blankets
• Carpeting
• Shoes
• Shoes
• Shoes
• Mulch
• Grass
• Leaves
• Dead bird carcasses
• Dog. treats. that. he. has. thrown. up.

Last night, he ran around in circles for 10 full minutes. Scared the crap out of me. Especially because he tried to do it underneath the armchair. 

Honestly, I have never had a dog, so I don't even know if this is normal. I'm new to training, I'm new to grooming, I'm new to what type of sniffing means what. I mean, who put me in charge of a dog? I love him so much and would never let anything happen to him, but dang. He is a pain in the ass. To quote my mother, "If he wasn't so cute, he'd be dead."

Juuuuuust kidding, all you PETA people. I love animals more than humans most days.

I'm kind of excited to see how he learns, though. Zoe acted so much like a dog, I feel like a part of this is familiar. So, we'll keep him. And learn to love to redirect his bad habits every 5 minutes and clean up pee and poop every 10 minutes (because his owners are stupid). 

Welcome to the family, pup-a-lump!