We have talked about getting a puppy for a long, long time. But the time never seemed quite right. Vacation, home remodel, too sunny, to cloudy. Can you see a theme here? We liked the idea but were not really committed to getting an actual puppy.
As my two older kids left for college we talked about this idea more frequently. The time was right. We had more time. My son was old enough to participate in the care and training of the puppy. We still didn’t actively look for a dog, we were just sure the time was right. And then it happened–a friend of a friend had five puppies that needed to find a home. Without thinking twice we replied and jumped on the offer.
We have had Sake for almost 5 months now, and I am here to tell you the truth about bringing a puppy home.
Sure, there is a lot of really good advice out there. The Humane Society has a great post about bringing a new dog home. Friends and family have lots of advice: what food to get, how to train them, when to train them, and the must-have puppy accessories.
Here is what no one tells you:
- Puppies are as much work as you put into them. If you want to train your puppy not to jump all over you while you get its food ready, you can do it. However, all members of the household need to do the same.
- Puppies have accidents. Even if they are 75% trained, guess what–that means a random 25% of potty accidents when you least expect it.
- People love puppies. Brunch with a puppy and you are a celebrity.
- People love to give unsolicited advice. “Shouldn’t she be fully trained already?”
- You will become the person who says, “I should go. My dog has been home alone for a while.”
- You will have a whole new host of random conversations with total strangers you have nothing in common with except that they like your dog.
- Most importantly, you, the parent, will be pulling the majority of the weight here.
This was the perfect season for us to get a dog. If we had gotten one when our kids were little, I don’t think I would’ve been able to enjoy it as much as I do. And at the end of the day, my husband and I are enjoying this puppy and all the things that come with it way more than we expected to.
