When we first told our friends and family that we got a puppy, most people responded with excitement and the usual "Ahhh I can't wait to meet her!!". But, there were a few people who were more skeptical about our new bundle of joy. They asked questions like "who's going to watch her while you're at work?", "How are the cats going to react?", and "Are you sure you're ready to take on a puppy?"
We had, of course, thought through the majority of the issues that we would be faced with. We knew that taking on a puppy would be challenging (but, so rewarding!) and that it would change many aspects of our lives. In fact, one of the reasons that we decided to take Lucy in was because we craved a little bit more responsibility. We wanted to learn to cope with and enjoy taking care of another living being (cats don't count because they're so easy to take care of!) and to learn to become more flexible. Really, we wanted to take on the responsibility of something other than just the two of us.
Given that we took a week to "prepare for puppy" before we adopted Lucy, we were pretty set when she arrived. And thankfully, she has turned out to be a pretty flipping awesome dog! She fits right in with our little family and it's so fun to be able to do things with her and to take her places. However, I will say, that raising a 10 week old puppy (now 12 weeks) definitely has its challenges! In fact, I may now be one of those skeptical people whose first question to those considering adopting a puppy is "Are you sure you're ready to take on a puppy?"
So, because most of my days lately have been filled with puppy-duty, I thought that I would share a few things that I've learned so far. Just in case one of you gorgeous gals is considering getting a pup and you've never had one before, here are some things that you may encounter:
10 Pieces of Advice For New Puppy Parents
(from a new puppy mom!):
We had, of course, thought through the majority of the issues that we would be faced with. We knew that taking on a puppy would be challenging (but, so rewarding!) and that it would change many aspects of our lives. In fact, one of the reasons that we decided to take Lucy in was because we craved a little bit more responsibility. We wanted to learn to cope with and enjoy taking care of another living being (cats don't count because they're so easy to take care of!) and to learn to become more flexible. Really, we wanted to take on the responsibility of something other than just the two of us.
Given that we took a week to "prepare for puppy" before we adopted Lucy, we were pretty set when she arrived. And thankfully, she has turned out to be a pretty flipping awesome dog! She fits right in with our little family and it's so fun to be able to do things with her and to take her places. However, I will say, that raising a 10 week old puppy (now 12 weeks) definitely has its challenges! In fact, I may now be one of those skeptical people whose first question to those considering adopting a puppy is "Are you sure you're ready to take on a puppy?"
So, because most of my days lately have been filled with puppy-duty, I thought that I would share a few things that I've learned so far. Just in case one of you gorgeous gals is considering getting a pup and you've never had one before, here are some things that you may encounter:
10 Pieces of Advice For New Puppy Parents
(from a new puppy mom!):
1. PUPPY CARE- You will have to find some sort of 'puppy care' or arrangement for your new babe, especially if you work during the day. Even though pups can be crated, they can't be crated for an entire day. Their little bladders can't hold it for more than a few hours and they really need to get out and get exercise. They are growing, after all! We had a few unforeseen issues in the puppy care department. But, we were lucky enough to figure something out with a few of our (very amazing) neighbors.
2. MORNING ROUTINE- You will go in and out of the house approximately once every 20 minutes (while you're trying to get ready for work) and stand there (for at least 5 minutes each time) while trying to convince your puppy to do their business outside and not inside your home. Plan your "getting ready in the morning" routine accordingly. AKA- Get up at least an hour and a half earlier than you normally get up. I now know that my morning routine will never be the same. From a fashion standpoint, it's much harder to plan a fashionable outfit when you have a curious puppy to keep busy. I hear that this interrupted morning routine will get better once she's potty trained. Let's hope it does! ;)
3. POTTY TIME- The phrase "go potty" will become deeply ingrained in your mind. Those two words will become the most used words in your vocabulary and you may start saying "go potty" while you dream at night.
4. TREATS- If you're using treats to potty train your puppy, you will find treats in every pocket of each clothing item that you own. Embrace those little suckers.
5. KONGS- If you buy a Kong, you will be so thankful that you may consider writing the Kong company and its creators a letter of deep appreciation. Kongs have seriously saved meal times for us.
6. TOYS- If your puppy is a biter, you will have to buy a slew of toys for her to play with. These toys will be your saving grace. Always have one around to be able to quickly stuff in her mouth, in case she starts chomping on you. Puppy teeth hurt like a mother!
7. PLAY PEN- Unless you want your puppy to roam the entire house (and leave you little 'treats' every which way), you should consider buying a play pen to contain her. This will help save your sanity.
8. LEAVE NOTHING IN REACH- If it's within her reach (more specifically, on or close to the floor), she will claim it as her toy and chew it up. You will have to find a place up high for every single thing that is close to the ground. This includes everything on your coffee table and all of your shoes and purses. Clothes that hang on coat racks are also game. And be prepared to find your puppy with a completely unrolled roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. We've had to take our TP off the roll and put it up high.
9. POTTY PATTERNS- Here we are, back to the potty subject! You will pick up on your puppy's need-to-go-potty patterns. I'm actually surprised on how fast we have picked up on Lucy's. Two important 'potty times' to remember is that they will need to go out as soon as they wake up and about a half hour after they eat or drink water.
10. DISCIPLINE AND LOVE. This one was a tough one for me at first, but, puppies need to be disciplined. If you expect to have a well-behaved dog, you can't just give in every time that they give you puppy eyes. Otherwise, that little pup will overrun your house and you won't know what happened until it's too late. So, say "No" and mean it, and set some ground rules. That being said, these amazing animals are so filled with love and they want to please you-- so, love them hard and enjoy the new little love in your life!
Any good puppy advice that y'all have for me? I'm all ears!
And for those who didn't come here for puppy talk, here are some looks that's I've worn to work lately. ;)
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| Peach blouse (Exact old; Similar here, here, here; Love these sleeveless options here, here, here)// Seamless cami (Exact here)// Printed skirt (Exact here; Cute version here)// White pointy toe pumps (Exact here; Similar here, here, here)// Necklace (Similar here and here)// Rosette cuff c/o Sira & Mara (Exact here) |
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| Leopard print blouse (Similar here; Similar here, here, here, here)// White ankle pants (Exact here; Similar here, here, here)// Gold cap toe pumps (Exact old; Almost exact here; Cute pair here)// Pearl necklace c/o Avery Lane Boutique (Exact Sold Out; Similar here, here) |
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| Dana dress c/o Catch Bliss Boutique (Exact here)// Black peplum jacket (Exact old; Similar here, here, here)// Black opaque tights (Exact here)// Pink pumps (Exact here; Similar here, here, here)// Chunky pearl necklace (Exact old; Similar here)// Skinny black watch (Exact old; Similar here, here) |
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| Crochet top (Exact old; Very similar here; Cute versions here and here)// Ivory collarless jacket (Exact old; Similar here, here, here)// Red skinny pants (Almost exact here; Similar here, here, here)// Nude pointy toe pumps (Exact old; Similar here and here, and love this pair with ankle straps here)// Earrings c/o Blossom Jewelry Design// Rosette cuff c/o Sira & Mara (Exact here) |
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| Short sleeve cheetah print top (Exact old; Similar here, here, here)// Green blazer (Exact old; Similar here, here, here)// Skinny Dress Pants (Exact old; Similar here, here, here)// Gold cap toe pumps (Exact old; Almost exact here; Cute pair here)// Champagne pearl cluster necklace & Gold crystal bow bangle c/o T+J Designs (Exact here and here) |
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Caroline top c/o Sugar Love Boutique (Exact here)//
Black opaque tights (Exact here)//Black round-toe pumps (Exact here; Similar here, here, here)// Crystal frosting necklace c/o T+J Designs (Exact here)// Skinny black watch (Exact old; Similar here, here) |
I didn't know this before I got my dog so I will pass it on. Seems like common sense but nothing you would think about if you had no need to. Please never leave Lucy in the car in the summer, even if the windows are rolled down. It is far too hot and a dog will overheat and die within minutes if left in a hot car.
ReplyDeleteI also made sure that when my dog was a puppy and was eating, I would get down near his face and food bowl or put my hand near his face while he was eating to prevent him from developing food aggression.
Good luck with Lucy! Dogs are a true joy in life. How about a picture of her?
Love the outfits too!
I think the best advice is to not stress the small things. Your puppy will eventually "get" that she needs to go outside. I spent so much time stressing and worrying about my dog being housebroken that I just laugh at now. He figured it out all on his own. We just needed to regularly take him out.
ReplyDeleteHi Yasi,
ReplyDeleteLove your blog! Have been reading for a long time now, but was hoping you might consider a slight change to how you link to the clothes you are wearing. Instead of linking to "here" (as in, Cropped Red Blazer, similar "here"), if you could actually say which store it is in the link - for example: "Cropped Red Blazer, similar "ASOS", "Target", "Forever21"...).
I'm from Canada so we don't have a lot of the stores that are in the states - it would be mega helpful to know the store just by glancing rather than having to click on every link in the blog post :) Would save me tons of time and disappointment when I see a piece I like.
Otherwise keep doing what you're doing. And enjoy the puppy love (although I'm a cat girl myself).
I love how fun and colorful you always look! We have been through two puppies now, and it was so worth it...luckily they do grow out of that crazy puppy stage and become a little more mature!
ReplyDeleteI noticed that you wear a ton of The Limited's pants and you have mentioned that you are on the shorter side. I'm wondering if you order their petite sizes. Love your combinations!
ReplyDeleteLove everything!
ReplyDeleteVery cute outfits I love the white jacket!
ReplyDeleteWe got a new puppy at Christmas time last year and he is about 10 months old and just stopped having accidents in the house within the last few months. My husband and I had never had a puppy before (we have a full grown chihuahua as well) and we were unaware of his "needing to go outside signs." Here is a nice little horror story for you... The VERY first night we had him after my parents left him with us, he kept waking us up at night and would not sleep for anything. After not getting more than an hour of sleep at a time, we finally put him in his crate thinking he would calm down and sleep. Turns out, his "insomnia" was him telling us he needed to go potty. The next morning, there was poo and vomit ALL in his bed and crate, even on the outside of the crate and on our carpet!! I felt so sorry for the little guy - he was just trying to tell us he needed to go outside and we punished him :( We think he got nervous and sad and just exploded in the crate. After that incident, we spent a couple weeks waking up once in the middle of the night to take him out but those 15 minutes were DEFINITELY worth it to not have another enormous accident.
ReplyDeleteSo all in all, like you said, learning their "potty patterns" is necessary. Also, I think it's best to take them out AS SOON as you get home! We were taking our puppy out every 2 hours when we were home and now we are at the point of only going out about 4 times a day so don't lose hope - it gets better!!
Stacy
www.astoldbystacy.blogspot.com
I REALLY like some of your outfits in this post (especially the crochet top), but my favorite feature was your Top 10 list of Puppy Must-Knows! :-) It's all true. I get up about 30 minutes to an hour earlier than I "need" to every morning just so I can enjoy a nice walk with my dogs before work--and so I know they have adequately done their business and will have a comfortable day until I get home!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Your sense of style is awesome. Have you ever done a makeup tutorial or listed any of the products you use?
ReplyDeleteAfter my boyfriend and I got our puppy, I came home at lunch everyday for months to let her out. Once she was neutered, we started taking her to doggy day came at petsmart a few days a week. A tired puppy is the happiest, best behaved puppy! We started obedience classes at about a year old. There were puppy training classes available that I wish we had taken her too. Also, we lived at an apartment complex with a dog run, which was great for socializing. Being that she's been around so many dogs and people since a young age, we can take her pretty much anywhere with confidence that she will behave. Good luck!!
ReplyDelete*doggy day camp!
DeleteYeah! Puppy!!! :) Would also love to see a pic or just know what kind you actually got. :) I have 4 dogs of my own and I'm also a dog trainer. Sounds like you are off to a great start! Just remember no blankets or beds in the crate until the pup is over a year old. That way, he/she won't use the potty on it or worse, get bored and chew on it. (Bound to happen!) No string toys unless supervised, then put it away where they can't get it. Its one straight line from the mouth to the end, so anything your puppy eats (strings, part of blankets, cheap toys, etc) can get "lodged" on the way out. It costs about $1000 on average for the surgery. Very dangerous. Any toy by Kong or Nylabone are doggie approved, you can leave those toys with your toys with no worries. :) Stay away from rawhide, once it gets wet (ie: doggie slobber) it can grow bacteria.
ReplyDeletePuppies are also great training for future kids! ;)
Have fun with the puppy! :)
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions! ferrickhead28 at gmail.
Love the clothes, love your blog, want your closet! :D
Heather
So funny reading this today...we also got a puppy recently (Feb 14th) and it was really hard the first month but now she is potty trained and her grown up teeth are coming in! Good luck and enjoy!
ReplyDelete