Getting a pup soon

[puppp]

It's been a long time since I had a pup. What have I forgotten?

Hopeful bump.

Get plenty of sleep now.

How much they bite at first.

You have forgotten the massive regrets!

How exhausting it is, like having a new born.
Having to let them out every 30 mins when trying to toilet train them.
Having to play.
Things getting chewed when they are teething.
Needle sharp teeth.
Needing to go out for walks in wind, rain or sleet.
Not being able to spend hours and hours out of the house because you have to go home to the pup.
The cost of kennels when going on holiday.
Vet bills.
Puppy breath -although I actually love the smell of puppy breath.

That's it such hard work, you need one eye on them at all times to make sure they aren't eating/chewing something they shouldn't.

You will probably need to enforce naps, puppy's need a lot of sleep and they generally won't settle themselves because everything is so exciting. When they don't get enough sleep they are little bitey arseholes and nap times are the only time you'll manage to get a minute to yourself of crack on with work/chores.

Standing in the garden in the rain at 2 am saying go wee wee endlessly to a bemused blackball of fluff.

puppy tummies, ace.

puppyproofing the house and garden.

that you can’t leave them alone at first.

zoomies.

Getting to 7 o'clock in the evening and realising you haven't had time for a wee since 6 o'clock in the morning.
Everything smelling of puppy or puppy food or puppy treats. Or worse.
Getting through ten poo bags a day, staggering to the dog bin with armfuls of the bloody things.
Realising you missed a bit, picking up in the dark and rain about 2.30 a.m, and only finding it after after walking over the textured doormat.

How quickly they learn, how much they love you and how you can't be without them.

That they can fit through much smaller gaps than you think.

We had an awful shock with ddog when she was 8 weeks old (we'd only had her a couple of days). We opened the back door, she wandered out, I nipped to the kitchen and back and she was gone.

After frantically searching the house and garden we found her at the front of the house on the drive, sniffing around under the car. She'd got out of a gap under our back gate that I would have bet my house on was far too small for her to fit!

The puppy blues!!! My god

Thanks everyone!!

Torch and easy-to-put-on shoes for the visits to the garden, day and night

To book up puppy classes early as they fill up quickly

Lack of sleep

How relentless it seems at times

How expensive it all can be

pet insurance

tick/worming stuff

car crate

toys, toys and more toys

puppy blues

remove any visible wires, move expensive/valuable/important toys, books, remote controls, ornaments etc out of reach

How despite all the problems and stresses, they’re cute and adorable

That it's no fun being systematically turned into a colendar

it appears you've forgotten the photo!

They leave puddles everywhere, even when you've just taken them out for a wee they'll produce an extra one just for fun.

They bite. All the time. They leave holes in your clothes (and flesh)

When in the garden they try and eat every stick, feather, stone and anything else inappropriate.

Initially they don't go to sleep where you want them to.

They chew everything you don't want them to. They might swallow a sock, which involves a trip to the vets for a vomiting injection costing hundreds of pounds.

You spend loads of time getting up, and sitting back down for ten seconds before having to get up again.

They have the zoomies most evenings, usually when you're trying to watch your favourite program.

Haven't got the pup yet but when I do I'll add a photo!!

I found puppy hood easier to navigate with good comfortable headphones and loads of podcasts.
A lot of puppy related activities are pretty dull (standing in the garden waiting for a miracle poo or playing tug for the 50th times in a day) and being entertained helped me coping with that.

Also, it goes so fast. My pup is now 5 month old and he happily sleeps all day.