Oh Wow.

Life with a puppy is one thing but when they hit their ‘juvenile’ time…totally a different time.  Molly is in this stage and still not house-broken  I was talking to a friend yesterday and she recommended we bring someone to our house to work with her.  I don’t know how much that’s going to cost but we need to invest in whatever will work.  She eats everything, she goes to the bathroom everywhere and she bites, in short, she’s a terror.  It’s hard to believe this is the same puppy we had a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve never had a puppy so this was a shock to me.  I can see why more parents say no to getting a puppy for their children and the ones who can’t say no end up bringing their pups to the shelter.  They’re very costly and a lot of work.  Mind you, we will not be bringing Molly to a shelter, but I can see why people do.  It’s an almost overnight change in behavior and not a welcome one.  We’re exceedingly grateful to be able to bring her to doggy day-care when we work now and it’s made life at the office much more palatable because we’re actually able to get things done!

We have 5 days off starting this Friday and I’m hoping to get my house put back in order and cleaned up again.  I bought like one of every cleaning product they had available at the store because I’m so desperate to have my home smell normal again 😉  I’m looking into outdoor kennel options that are easy to install in our backyard so she can go out at will between the porch and her run.

I share these things because they’re real.  No one should take getting a puppy lightly and it’s important to know what you’re getting into when you take that step.  I know all puppies are not the same but I’m imagining they all go through the same stages in one degree or another.  They count on you big-time, you’re their everything and you need to be prepared to do what it takes to help your puppy grow to be the companion you want to spend time with.