Weekend Pupdate #2

We survived another week with Rosie.

She had fewer accidents in the house and the sleeping got better!

The other night she actually slept 7 hours straight!

Seven hours!!!!

Of course it was from 10:00 p.m. till 5:00 a.m.,but luckily I went to bed around the same time she did so I had almost a full nights sleep!

It was so nice that she slept that one night because my husband was traveling most of the week so I had constant potty duty.

I asked my niece to babysit Wednesday night because I was supposed to go to my book club.

Book Club ended up getting cancelled at the last minute but I had my niece over anyway.

I just needed to get out of the house for a couple hours. I felt so much better afterwards!

Rosie is still biting and chewing everything in sight.

My neighbor gave me some sour apple spray to spray on furniture legs and other things we don’t want her to chew on.


Of course that was after she started chewing the molding!  Lovely…

Rosie had her first check up at the vet.

I had a whole list of questions for her.

She told me to put habanero pepper on the things we don’t want her to chew.


Great, now my whole house will smell like a Mexican restaurant!

But hey, if it works, I will try it!

She also told me to fill a can with coins and shake it at her when she bites us while playing.

She also suggested that the kids roll her on her back and hold her there to establish dominance because right now she kind of treats them like her litter mates!

I thought I was so prepared for this!

For the past few month, I read so many books about dog training and now I feel like I can’t remember anything!

(Yes, I know it looks like I went a little overboard but I just read the puppy parts in some of them!)

Then, I found my first “tumbleweed” this week.

Yes, I am sure I will be finding these clusters of hair around the house for many years…ughh.

So, what are my feelings about having a puppy this week?

Well, let’s just say if you were on the fence about getting a puppy or not….

My advice to you would be…

DON’T do it!!!!

Just kidding…well, kind of…

Sure, I love her and the kids are so happy.
In fact, my 8 year old is still setting his alarm to help out with her in the morning!

And I do love it when she lays there with her cute puppy legs behind her!

I just think I need to get used to this new life I have!

If you have a dog, how long did it take you to adjust?

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22 Comments

  1. Awww, so cute! We have a peke-a-poo. He's 9 months, very mischievous, sleeps in his kennel, travels with us, and owns lots of toys! Gully chose to live with us after we lost our 17 year old Sassy, a Shih Tzu. We love our fur baby!! I train with 'treats'!!

  2. OMG. She's adorable. But whew…so much work. My boys are dying for a pup but I'm prolonging that as long as possible. I mean seriously, Whit was up three times last night. Last thing I need is someone else up in the middle of the night 🙂 Have a great Sunday. xo

  3. Oh, but look at that sweet face and those big cute paws. Get a big Nyla Bone for aggressive chewers for her to chew on. Bailey chewed up window trim, furniture legs, shoes and the apple spray did not work, in fact she liked it. The Nyla Bone works and she still chews it daily which keeps her teeth clean. She is four and has not had to have her teeth cleaned yet. That bone may be what she needs.

  4. Ahh, she's a cutie! Good idea with the bitter apple spray, Nala never chewed any furniture, we were very lucky, but we had lots of her toys chewed to bits! Nala had her own toy basket full to the brim and she used to pull everything out of it and even put things back in, so cute! Variety of toys is good till you find out what she likes to chew on (other than the walls) 😉 Sounds like things are going as well as they can do with a puppy! Onwards and upwards, she will get better every week with the potty training! xo K

  5. Just so you know — goldens are puppies for a good 2 years. I have had Cavaliers for years, but I have lots of friends with goldens, so if you have any questions let me know and I can pass them on. People with one of those breeds usually like the other breed — the dogs are not that different in personality despite their BIG size difference.Puppies are bliss, and a hella lotta work. A wise trainer told me, "Think of it as letting a 2-year old loose in your house, without diapers, and with a pair of sharp scissors."If you want advice on how to survive the teething stage, and also on housebreaking, let me know. We have owned dogs, but also ran a breed rescue group for years, and fostered DOZENS of dogs, many with real problems.I could house train an elephant.Well, probably.Good luck — she's a beauty!Goldens are my favorite breed, next to Cavaliers of course! My little dog Dion was so in love with my friend's big Golden girl, Jenny, that he used to pee in her dinner dish (AFTER she ate) to proclaim his devotion. He had good aim, thank goodness.(Not a big fan of the rolling over, dominance thing, especially with a "soft" dog like a golden. Better methods to teach your pup that the kids are higher on the food chain is to have them walk her on leash, have them feed her at meal times, and be the ones to give out treats. She will look to them as superiors then — as she will naturally look to the grownups as such.Oh man – you probably have read all of this — I'm off to bed, kinda jealous you have a puppy, but also kind of relieved I don't!hahahahaha — Cass

  6. I think raising a puppy is like raising a kid. There are no right answers.We roll on his back for dominance. We still do it now when he acts up.I took us a good 4-6 weeks before we decided that we didn't want to return him. There were lots of tears in the beginning….and now we are (obviously) obsessed with the dog.She'll be part of the family in no time!

  7. We just lost our dog in December and are now starting to think about getting another one. Puppy or one less than 2 years old? Our concern is behavior around our grandkids. So many to options available. I've been online at rescue/shelter sites for days. And I dread the potty training, chewing stage. Best of luck with your pooch – which by the way is adorable!!!

  8. I bet you'll like her better when she's all grown up! lol! We used to give our dogs these chewable things called "bully sticks". They weren't cheap, but the dog was so busy chewing on it that our shoes were safe!

  9. OMG she is soooo cute! Our two Yorkies never really chewed on stuff with the exception of one day when they chewed the whole claw off our antique claw foot dining room table!!! I have always held both of them on their backs as recommended by our vet…they actually love it :o)~Des

  10. Rosie is so darn cute and congratulations on surviving week #2!The chewing preventatives should help – the baseboard chewing looks familiar from my own past pup experiences.I'm glad your son is eager to help…once they learn to "go outside" and not in the house, you will feel a lot better. The chewing will go for quite a while – be prepared!If you can get a "puppy-sitter" once a week so you get some R&R to renew yourself, that might be the best answer for a while.In the meantime, think of how adorable she is (and how quickly she'll grow into an adult golden) and that might help the transition.Thanks, again, for sharing!!!Linda

  11. Rosie is just beautiful. Having a puppy is like having a baby for sure. Lucy was pretty good and only chewed for a weee bit. We bought some stuff at Pet smart that we placed on some items and she never did chew again. It will get better, and the joys will far out weigh your sorrows now, which are just short term.

  12. Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the comments and any advice you want to give me! I hope my "pupdates" haven't sounded too negative. I am actually enjoying her (sometimes) and the kids are in love. I just wanted to be totally honest about this whole puppy experience. It has not been easy for me so far…-Shelley

  13. We used the bitter apple, too. It worked pretty well, but we also wound up with a little chewed molding. Our guy also chewed up several dog beds until he finally figured out that they were better for sleeping if they weren't chewed up! Luckily they do outgrow most of the chewing. (Said the woman who went upstairs last night to find a DVD box in tatters.)

  14. Hi ! Im your newest follower :)Love reading your blog !Your puppy is sooo adorable :)I have 2 myself, Mini Schnauzers, my wee lil babies hehe. Lots of work and attention in the beginning but gets better by time. Was so much easier once we got nr2as she just followed and learned after our older one and now they just keep eachother company at all times and not having them follow me around everywhere I go ! xo Gaby

  15. Oh Shelley, she is so adorable! I know it's hard but it won't be long. I took Rio to Petsmart school when she was very young and then a professional obedience school at 4 months, it helped a lot! My best advice is give her lots of exercise! 🙂

  16. She is adorable and I have to say that your son must really love the puppy to set his alarm…you have a wonderful son!

  17. Shelley! She is so stinkin' cute! I love those puppy legs splayed out behind her!Thanks for keeping up posted on Rosie!Kerry at HouseTalkN…which has evolved into DogTalkN!

  18. oh my GOODness Shelley!She is so damn cute!They are so much workm SO much workin the beginning and they destroy so many things! And you hate it and wish you could get more sleep and you get mad and then you look down at their waggy tails and sweet little puppy faces and it is SO worth it all!If you think they are cute and adorable now, wait until she gets her real personality. Then you fall in LOVE. You are in the crush stage right now. She is just a ball of motion with needle teeth and puppy kisses. This will pass and when they become the sweet more calm and well-behaved animals that they are to become, you fall in deep forever LOVE!Don't forget these things I am saying, and then when you get to this new stage — write me back and tell me about it! Can't live without them. Best additions to our family. OMG…. we love our two retrievers. They sneak into you heart and never let go.:) Enjoy and take pics every single day.

  19. That reminds me that we would {gently} pull Wilson's tail and ears…as well as put him on his back. You also want to get in the habit of pulling his food when she's eating to make sure she's not territorial or growls. Wilson actually loves laying on his back now and he's really great around young kids who tend to pull on him more than we ever would. I'm sure her "cuteness" is what's allowing you to get through these weeks…but it will continue to get even better. Make sure she has lots of toys to keep her from chewing. Sometimes Wilson would go outside and chew non-stop on sticks and branches {good fiber I guess} but it was better than our baseboards!

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