Doggy Disruption

Yes, the holidays are over for a while. Christmas is over and New Year’s is old news. Everything is calm. At least, now it is. I think every one has experienced the “Christmas Chaos” or “Holiday Havoc” or something in that category. For my family, it happens almost every year. Although, this year was special. Very special.

Christmas morning was great! We opened presents, ate burnt cinnamon rolls (don’t ask), and took the day to relax. It came and went, just like that. However, little did we know that Christmas would be extended for our household this year. The morning after Christmas day, we saw an ad in the newspaper and called the number listed in it. Judging by the title of this post, I’m sure you can guess what it was advertising. We packed ourselves into the car and headed off for a distant Cabela’s… 3 1/2 hours away. For me, this was very exciting. I had wanted a dog for nine long years and now I was finally about to get one. We parked in the parking lot and headed to a grassy area near the store. It had been a noisy ride here but strangely, when we got out we were quiet. We couldn’t wait. This was it. This was the moment. Let me tell you, it was extremely cold outside but none of us felt it because we were hot with excitement. Just to paint the picture for you. There were three puppies, one male and two females. Now, I wish I could say that it was “love at first sight”, but no, it took at least 10 minutes to decide. It was worth it, though, I’m convinced we made the best choice. We drove the 3 1/2 hours home with our puppy Winnie Chewbacca-Biscuit (try to beat that name, I dare you).

Anyways, all this to say I totally underestimated the work that would go into raising a chocolate lab puppy. Winnie is a handful. Reason #1 : Chocolate Lab puppies bite/teeth. Boy, do they ever. So far we’ve had her for about a week or so and she’s already bitten me and drawn blood three times. We can’t seem to get her to stop. Of course, I have to keep in mind that she’s technically a baby and babies teeth. And they sleep a lot. Reason #2: Puppies pee AND poop in the house. Now, you can blame me for this one because I knew that a 2 month old puppy would not come potty trained but nonetheless, it is a pain. Especially to wait out in the cold, freezing winter air for her to do her business. Oh, and also, picking up accidents in the house isn’t fun either. Except I do really like the smell of lavender scented Clorox wipes. So there’s a plus. And then Reason #3: Training is SO difficult! As I said before, I’ve wanted a dog for nine years and along with that I’ve wanted the responsibility of training the puppy so we can go to competitions and dog shows and become famous and things like that. Ok, ok, a little far fetched. I’ve been trying, though, and so far we have accomplished the “Sit” command. That’s it. You guys might have to wish me luck.

But even though puppies are difficult, I have neglected to mention how sometimes they fall asleep in your lap or lick your face when you get home after a day because they missed you so much. Even though puppies require quite a bit of responsibility, they’re great! Really, they are. She’s fun to play with, cuddle with, and just to watch her play with her toys makes you smile. Even though there was a disruption in our home this Christmas (a long disruption that will probably last for 2 more years, mind you) I’d say it’s worth it.

Sharing with sauce,

Rovioli

If any of you have advice on how to train dogs, specifically puppies, let me know in the comments below. It would really help me out!