Pupperoni's First Week
Pupperoni is settling in fine. He's...eccentric. And not in that puppy way that everyone hears about with the chewing your shoes and eating your homework and pooping on the rug. That's normal puppy stuff.
My Pupperoni's first night was fraught with anxiety. The poor dear hardly moved.
His first day? Mostly spent in his crate. He was just so overwhelmed that I think he felt that if he stayed in his crate at least that was a smaller less crazy start. He did warm up considerably with the addition of very tiny tennis balls that he could fit into his mouth and play with.
His second day he was more like a puppy and less like a cat. He played. He licked. He chased things. And each consecutive day is another step closer to success. My mom already thinks he's a genius, but I guess that's natural for all grandmothers to say. But he can recognize his name and sit on command so it says a lot about him. He knows his puppy parents and he loves us enough to give us many snuggles and licks. He's had a few visitors lately and has been a very nice pup. I hope it helps his socialization to be showered with so many different people and smells and positive experiences.
He's pissed off at the mop and growls at it but he is absolutely shaking frightened by the vacuum. The pup hates the vacuum and will cry and hide in the kitchen far far away from the noise. He loves his toys. He loves laying directly on top of me when he naps so I am immobilized. He is very timid about outside apart from the small bit of yard he's decided is "safe" and every loud car or motorcycle stops him in his tracks.
I get the feeling that being the most passive of 18 puppies likely meant that poor Pupperoni was also likely the most taken advantage of by his more aggressive peers. So being the sole puppy in our house will be good for him to grow and assert his independence. I was a little concerned that having just one dog would mean that our dog would be lonely and starving for companionship but sweet Pupperoni would be dominated by anything. If our fish could jump out of his bowl I'm sure even he would be more of an alpha male than Pupperoni.
He's not half as troublesome as I had prepared myself for. He does chew but he's a baby...he's teething. He doesn't chew excessively, let's put it that way. He hasn't destroyed my sofa or made it a point to chew my shoes to shreds. He does rather enjoy sitting directly on top of my shoes with his head laid out on top of them but I think it's got more to do with the scent of his humans and less to do with destruction.
We've been talking about it ever since we first moved in together way back when, but I would never want to force a puppy to live in an apartment with me. I'd also want to avoid the massive pet deposit I'd likely never see back again. Thankfully we have our house now and Trevor works at home and can take the puppy out at regular intervals and stimulate him. I don't think you're giving a dog a good life if he's alone the vast majority of the day while you work, shop, do chores, etc. and 8+hours every night when you sleep. You wouldn't do that to a baby. At least your kid is stimulated in daycare by other kids and teachers. Your poor dog has nothing better to do all day except destroy all of your beloved possessions and make a gigantic mess to show you he's seriously pissed off.
But all seriousness aside he brings us a lot of joy. My parents came over with their camera yesterday purely to take pictures of their puppy grandchild and coo over how smart he is. Clearly they are ready for grandbabies, STAT. But the furry assortment will just have to work for now because we have a lot on our plate without adding severe nausea and swelling to the picture. It's easy for everyone else to say we should have babies, it's quite another thing to actually be the one carrying that kid around for 9 months. Mom thinks he's a sweetheart. Dad's constantly bribing him with treats so they'll be best friends. It's very cute.
My Pupperoni's first night was fraught with anxiety. The poor dear hardly moved.
His first day? Mostly spent in his crate. He was just so overwhelmed that I think he felt that if he stayed in his crate at least that was a smaller less crazy start. He did warm up considerably with the addition of very tiny tennis balls that he could fit into his mouth and play with.
His second day he was more like a puppy and less like a cat. He played. He licked. He chased things. And each consecutive day is another step closer to success. My mom already thinks he's a genius, but I guess that's natural for all grandmothers to say. But he can recognize his name and sit on command so it says a lot about him. He knows his puppy parents and he loves us enough to give us many snuggles and licks. He's had a few visitors lately and has been a very nice pup. I hope it helps his socialization to be showered with so many different people and smells and positive experiences.
He's pissed off at the mop and growls at it but he is absolutely shaking frightened by the vacuum. The pup hates the vacuum and will cry and hide in the kitchen far far away from the noise. He loves his toys. He loves laying directly on top of me when he naps so I am immobilized. He is very timid about outside apart from the small bit of yard he's decided is "safe" and every loud car or motorcycle stops him in his tracks.
I get the feeling that being the most passive of 18 puppies likely meant that poor Pupperoni was also likely the most taken advantage of by his more aggressive peers. So being the sole puppy in our house will be good for him to grow and assert his independence. I was a little concerned that having just one dog would mean that our dog would be lonely and starving for companionship but sweet Pupperoni would be dominated by anything. If our fish could jump out of his bowl I'm sure even he would be more of an alpha male than Pupperoni.
He's not half as troublesome as I had prepared myself for. He does chew but he's a baby...he's teething. He doesn't chew excessively, let's put it that way. He hasn't destroyed my sofa or made it a point to chew my shoes to shreds. He does rather enjoy sitting directly on top of my shoes with his head laid out on top of them but I think it's got more to do with the scent of his humans and less to do with destruction.
We've been talking about it ever since we first moved in together way back when, but I would never want to force a puppy to live in an apartment with me. I'd also want to avoid the massive pet deposit I'd likely never see back again. Thankfully we have our house now and Trevor works at home and can take the puppy out at regular intervals and stimulate him. I don't think you're giving a dog a good life if he's alone the vast majority of the day while you work, shop, do chores, etc. and 8+hours every night when you sleep. You wouldn't do that to a baby. At least your kid is stimulated in daycare by other kids and teachers. Your poor dog has nothing better to do all day except destroy all of your beloved possessions and make a gigantic mess to show you he's seriously pissed off.
But all seriousness aside he brings us a lot of joy. My parents came over with their camera yesterday purely to take pictures of their puppy grandchild and coo over how smart he is. Clearly they are ready for grandbabies, STAT. But the furry assortment will just have to work for now because we have a lot on our plate without adding severe nausea and swelling to the picture. It's easy for everyone else to say we should have babies, it's quite another thing to actually be the one carrying that kid around for 9 months. Mom thinks he's a sweetheart. Dad's constantly bribing him with treats so they'll be best friends. It's very cute.
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