Cutest, sweetest, stinkin adorable PUPPY! We just recently got Ollie, an English Cream Golden Retriever at eight weeks old. It’s been one week and he’s been doing great! He’s getting the hang of crate training, knows the sound of his food bowl, knows exactly where the water bowl is, and loves chasing his other siblings around. The only issue is I’ve totally forgotten how much work puppies can be. They chew on fingers and sweaters and toes and everything else in sight!
As I write this, Ollie is currently sunbathing and chewing on grass. Now I know a lot of you will say “this is normal”, “dogs do that all the time,” “maybe he has an upset stomach”. No, what he’s doing is chewing grass, pulling it up, spitting it out and moving to the next patch. He is shoving his nose into the deepest nooks he can find and then ravaging it with his tiny shark like teeth. I hope he grows out of this but it is pretty cute as he sits there and rolls over on his belly and then finds a new spot.
He adjusted extremely well to the family, the boys are just in love with him!But as with any other new animal it’s been kind of tough. There’s always that one person who takes on majority of the responsibilities. Can you guess who that is? Yep, that’s me! But I’m not really worried about it. Matt has been extremely helpful the boys are constantly wanting to take him out, they’re even taking turns with who gets to hold the leash and who gets to carry him down the stairs.
I must say I was a little worried about how Henry, our 13-year-old disabled dog, would react to a new puppy. Henry seems to not mind so much as long as all he doesn’t touch his arm (which he’s done a few times). Duke is starting to ease up around Ollie. The first few days he wanted absolutely nothing to do with him but definitely wanted all of our attention. I think he was a little jealous. We made sure to also give him lots of love and spend quality time with him and he’s finally come around to letting Ollie jump around him and on him as long as he doesn’t get carried away. =)
Ollie has also managed to find the cats Bucky, Cali and Biggie. He seems to favor Biggie the most, because he is the one that runs away the fastest. Cali gave them a good swat a few times, but she has no front claws, so it just startled him enough to know that she’s not one to mess with. Bucky has made sure that he is taking higher ground so that Ollie has no access to him. So all that’s left is Biggie. After all, Biggie he is the one who’s always “In charge.”
It wasn’t easy the first few nights, he did not like his crate. He crrriiiieeeed! I’m sure he missed his mom, he was in a new place, probably scared out of his mind, in a dark place by himself. But now he goes in and he knows that it’s time to go to bed, he’s had zero accidents in his crate* knock on wood*. Nonetheless it’s been a little exhausting taking a puppy out every 30 to 45 minutes trying to remember that he has a small bladder, making sure there’s no extra wet spots on the carpet, puddles on the floor anywhere, and that he stays out of the cat litter boxes.
The puppy stage is definitely the cutest stage. He sits there and he gets excited, he looks your face chews on your fingers, he snuggles up with you and relaxes and falls asleep. All he is definitely been a great addition to our family, at an age where are the boys will remember everything and are able to help out. Here’s to all those pet parent struggling with puppy training. YOU GOT THIS!
Might I suggest for those late night trips outside for potty breaks is a leash with a built-in flashlight, that has been extremely helpful. Remember, Pets are blessings and so are the owners. ❤️
XO
