Puppy Love

We knew life would change when we picked up the puppies right before Christmas.  I had forgotten how much fun . . . and work . . . puppies are.

First, we had to begin potty training.  When we first started, it was really cold.  Remember, it was January and February.  We had snow on the ground.  Wind chills were low, low, and lower.  Yet there I was in the back yard, freezing to death, saying, "Go potty, go potty, go potty, good boy, good boy, good boy."  Perhaps the neighbors thought I was crazy?  Jordy caught on rather quickly, and if we caught him going to the door, he rarely goofed up.  Nelson, not so much.  We are still having occasional accidents with him, but they are becoming fewer and farther between.  Now that the weather is getting better, they are able to spend more time outside, which is helping.  I knew that having puppies in the winter would be hard, but by summer, they will be trained, and it will be behind us.

Second, teaching them to sit/stay/come, etc. takes a long time.  They caught on to the rattling of the keys very quickly.  When I shake them, they come running and get a treat.  They are catching onto sit and stay, but it is taking a lot of repetition.

Third, the vacuum is getting a workout.  Their fur attracts every leaf, frond, and stick in the yard, and they end up all over the living room (mostly).  We have had to run the vacuum nearly every day, which is normal for some people, but unusual for us.

Fourth, they have stolen our hearts.  Their little faces, the way they wiggle when they see us, their curiosity, their rough and tumble play . . . and then their collapse when they fall asleep.  They make us laugh.

If we feel like this about a dog, I cannot wait to hold our grandbaby!