We got a puppy - meet rooney!
Last Monday Ryon and I went to pick up our sweet lil pup and I thought it would be fun to recap how our first week went with our little man! The week has honestly been a blur of emotions and lack of sleep to be honest! I think that nothing can prepare you to have a puppy (much like a child) unless you’ve had one before. This is both my fiancé and I’s first time having a puppy other than we were were kids and not taking care of them (thanks mom and dad). Here are a few key takeaways from what we learned/did our first week with our new family member!
His first night he woke up every three hours.
Yup, every three hours on the dot and was ready to party and play at 5:30 am every morning! This is obviously because he isn’t used to being in a crate and had to go potty. But as the nights went on he was able to sleep a little longer and realize that he only get’s to go out of the crate when he needs to go potty during the night. As of last night he woke up at 2:00 am, 4:00am & up for the day at 6:00am. Hello sleep deprivation! We have been taking turns who wakes up with him and that has helped a lot.
We decided that crate training would be our best option for getting him on a schedule so we have spent the last week trying to get him used to his crate and learning that it’s a safe space not a scary one. This is hard! He was used to roaming free at his prior home so for obvious reasons he was not keen on the crate. I would say that today he has taken all his naps in the crate and that’s a HUGE win.
we started training right away.
Rooney is a miniature Australian Shepard, which is a working breed – aka he is smart AF and very very active. From the research we had done prior we knew we were going to be dealing with a smart dog who not only needed to be physically stimulated but also mentally. Therefore, we started teaching him to sit, lay down, rollover, kennel up, go to bed and play fetch within the first week. Since he is a “working” dog (herding) we knew that if we started him early on tricks and commands he would have a better temperament in the long run by training him to “work” during the day.
don't leave the water out all day.
Rooney was going pee nonstop and I couldn’t really understand why other than thinking he has a small bladder since he’s a puppy. When I talked to a trainer on the phone today he suggested that I only put out his water 5 times a day so that he can get on a more consistent potty schedule – makes sense! We also take away his water about 2 hours before before to eliminate multiple potty breaks in the middle of the night until he is old enough to hold his bladder for that long. Now I hope we can get him on a more consistent schedule so that we don’t have to take him out every 20 minutes!
Frozen chew toys are your best friend.
Puppy teething is REAL. They want to chew on anything and everything – including your hands/pants/shirts, etc. A couple tips we got was to get a Kong Toy and put peanut butter or pumpkin puree in it and put it in the freezer. This has been great for when Rooney gets super nippy/won’t stop biting. We just give him the kong so that his focus changes from being in a biting frenzy to being focused on the Kong and also getting relief from the cool feeling on his teeth.
Puppies are work... but so worth it!
To be totally honest, this past week has completely challenged my patience and at times I was thought I was crazy for getting a puppy all together. I am here to serve you REAL content and not just “OMG I got a puppy and it’s been the best week ever!” lol. Maybe some people have a super chill puppy and that’s great but they aren’t all like that. I will say that since we were strict with getting him crate & potty trained right away our nights/days have only gotten easier. When he is sleeping he is an absolute angel and him cuddling up to our feet is soooo heartwarming. He has gotten the cutest personality and it’s been so fun getting to know him and having him form his place in our family. Please leave any questions you have on our experience below & I will be sure to answer!
xoxo, Courtney