Puppy Problems

Our puppy problems began the first night I brought our bundle home. I was so excited at the thought of raising an adorable little puppy. I just knew she was going to grow up into a beautiful well behaved dog. I had dreamed about having a dog to be at my side everywhere I went and to look out for the kids, a protector, a companion.

Doubts began to creep in to my dream right after she walked into the living room to meet the family. She immediately squatted in the middle of the room and pooped all over the light beige carpet. This was only about 20 minutes after I gotten her out of the car.

This was not in my dream, a puppy pooping all over the carpet. I guess I had forgotten puppies do not come out of the womb, housebroken.

Shortly after I took her back outside and tried to get her to finish the deed she had started in the living room; she met the family with squirming, licking and barking. The family, which consisted of my two daughters and my husband, fell in love with the warm fuzz ball in minutes.

There were several minutes of hugging, giggling and joy then I decided it was time to establish a few house rules. I wanted everyone involved in the raising of our puppy. Everyone was to have a role in the training of and the caring for, our new member of the family.

So, I took this cute little critter out to the laundry room to settle her down for the night. I had a new puppy bed, soft and plumb waiting in her new room. I didn't want any interruptions while we discussed how we were going to raise her. This was when the next little puppy problem arose.

The minute I put her in her comfy, cozy little bed she began to whine, and by the time I had left the room and shut the door, the howling began. Shortly after I had walked about 5 foot from the closed door, the scratching began. Scratching on the wood door of the laundry room. This was not going to work as smoothly as I had dreamed.

I couldn't allow this to go on for long or we were not going to have a door left on the laundry room. So when scolding had little to no effect, she came back to the living room and I entertained her on the floor during our family meeting. Everyone took on a new responsibility and we decided we would vote on a name for our new family member tomorrow morning.

The next puppy problem was about to be the worst puppy problem. I tried to put her down for the night, which it was almost midnight, but she would have nothing to do with the $60 bed I had for her in the laundry room. Howling, barking, scratching at the door was all she would do. No sleeping for anyone under those circumstances.

What to do? My solutions were:
1. Stay up all night with her while everyone else got some sleep.
2. Take her to my bed
3. Throw her outside
4. Make someone else in the family spend the night puppy sitting.

I did not want to stay up all night with a puppy, I needed to work in the morning. I knew if I took her to my bed my husband would be awake all night too. I didn't think it was fair to make someone else stay up all night with her since I was the one who brought her home. So throwing her outside was the option I choose next. Surely, she would settle down out on the back porch, it was warm outside, the porch was covered and screened in, she could still have her bed and she would be far enough away to not keep everyone awake if she howled a little.

I took her outside with a bowl of water and her new bed. I sit her down on the floor and looked her in the eye and said, "go to sleep, and be quiet". I tried to make it to the door before she did, but she was way to quick. I got a cute little squeeze toy and distracted her by throwing it across the patio. She chased it and I ran for the door. One the second attempt I finally made it into the house before she did.

I went to bed, but it wasn't for long. Even on the patio I could hear her, howling pitifully, whining and begging to come in. I thought after awhile she would tire and realize I was not coming to get her. No, she was persistent, she yelped and howled for over an hour and a half. That was my limit, it was after 1am and I knew the neighbors would be ready to call the cops if I didn't do something to shut her up.

So, needless to say I spent the rest of the night playing with the puppy.

We all came up with a name for the puppy, Alexis, she reminded us of a friend we had that was very high maintenance and always required attention. She lived up to her name: very high maintenance and always requiring attention.
Every night for the next week and a half we went through the ritual of getting her to go to sleep. Every night someone had to stay up and play with her most of the night and of course the next morning she slept until afternoon (lucky dog).

On a daily basis, no matter how many times we took her outside, she came inside and pooped or pee'd on the carpet. She never chose to make a mess on the tile floor in the kithchen, always on the carpet. I began to believe she just loved to watch us clean it up.

Then the chewing started. She had toys, lots of chew toys, but it didn't matter. The furniture tasted far better than any old chew toy. If we left her alone for more than 10 minutes she was nibbling away at the furniture, shoes, clothes. It did not matter what it was, as long as it was not a bone or a toy, it was fair game for her to chew on.

After about 6 weeks all of us were ready to give in. We had teeth marks in the furniture, we had stained carpet, we had all lost pairs of shoes and clothing to the jaws of the mad puppy. No one in the house was happy except Alexis, she was the new master of the house and we all were just catering to her every whim.

Something had to change, sleepless nights were definitely catching up to all of us. I had to do something. My husband wanted to give her away. He said we should find someone who could handle this devil puppy better than us. My girls didn't want to give her up they just wanted me to take care of her and keep her quiet and out of their rooms.

As usual, I had to find a compromise. I started looking for answers on the internet of course. I came across a DVD, Dog Training Uncovered. it sounded like this was made for our puppy problem. It promised to help us tame this mad puppy we had taken into our home.

I decided to order the DVD, Dog Training Uncovered. The DVD arrived and we listened and followed the instructions to the letter.

After about 2 weeks we began to see miraculous changes in our puppy. Slowly, but surely we were bonding with our furry friend. Alexis was becoming a part of the family and not a fiend. No more carpet messes, no more shoes destroyed, it was great.

If you make the decision to get a puppy this could be the best friend you ever have.
Dog Training Uncovered.

If you decide to bring a soft and cuddley puppy home to raise be sure you know what you are bringing home. You are making a very big commitment when you bring home a puppy.

Choose the right puppy for your home. (size is important)

Make sure you have time to raise a puppy. (many hours of involvement)

Be sure the entire family is ready for a puppy (ready for responsibility)

Be ready to spend money on vet bills, toys, and food.

There are many things to consider before getting a puppy. Do not go into the purchase without careful consideration and help. The DVD we found Dog Training Uncovered helped us in our time of need. I suggest before getting a puppy you purchase this DVD.

Photo of black puppy by macropoulos on flickr
The Longest Night photo by .klash on flickr
More Puppy Problems by Teri Bain on flickr
I Can't Take it Anymore by drsteve on flickr
A Solution to Puppy Problems by goldenpaws on flickr
What You Must Know by Trojan Llama on flickr