A new family member

My house is a mess. There are gates at every opening. There are towels on the floor. My plants are now 3’ off the floor. There are toys all over. I (we) have to watch every step. I’m setting my alarm for 2am. It’s like we have a baby in the house or something. Well…we actually do, a now 11-week old Golden Retriever. She’s a bundle of fluff and super cute, and also a typical puppy. I knew what I was getting myself into when I got her, so I timed it where my race season would be over (what was of it at least), so I could devote my mornings and middle of the night wake up calls to taking care of a puppy. So far it’s been good, she’s super sweet, and pretty calm for a puppy.

My son and I have been watching a lot of You Tube videos to remind ourselves of all the training tips that are involved, from house training, to stopping the nipping, to introducing her to our cats, and several other videos. I’m learning (or remembering) that these first several weeks with her are crucial to her brain development and her overall behavior. The neural pathways she makes now can impact her the rest of her life. While older dogs can be taught new tricks, it’s much easier to start when they are young. And that is one of the main reasons I chose to get a puppy not a rescue dog, as I wanted an office dog again and felt that by training her from the start, that was the best way to form the habits and patterns that was the best fit for the dog and our office and household.

I’ll provide her with the same sort of holistic, healthy living that I talk about – with a healthy diet, positive play time, rest, and chiropractic care. Her bones are still maturing, as her skeleton doesn’t fully become mature until about 2 years old. Someday she’ll be outside as I go running, for now it’s short little dashes in the backyard. And eventually we’ll teach her how to fetch. For now, sitting and not play biting is more important 

Here are some photos …. https://www.instagram.com/p/CS5Ma8otqVp/

See ya all next month!