Getting Adjusted

Getting a puppy and having a baby have an awful lot in common.  If you remembered the reality of either, you would never go for another round.  And so it might be with our new addition to the family.  

We wanted something sweet, lovable, and cuddly.  But we seem to have forgotten about the getting up in the middle of the night and the incessant peeing.  Not to mention those needle teeth that seem to find their way into the bottoms of whatever pants I have on.  And the bark of our little Ari is enough to send shivers down your spine.

We had also requested “feisty”, or at least not complacent like our wonderful old black lab Dylan, who hardly moved except for food.  We definitely got what we asked for here.  Ari is often in perpetual motion when he is not sleeping.

The thing we both failed to realize was that our lifestyle would need to change to accommodate our new puppy.  We could no longer pick up and go off for museums and lunch without securing an Ari-sitter or crating him.  We have resorted to the latter a few hours a day just to have some free time to do the things we always did before Ari arrived.  So far he has not adopted the crate as his “den” the way the books promise, but rather seems to throw a temper tantrum with screaming and kicking for a long time after being imprisoned.

Just today we may have turned a significant corner.  Ari slept from 11:30 last night until 7:00 today, giving us both some much-needed rest.  Today he has been opting for the treat-every-time approach to pottying outside instead of puddling on our inside floors.  

I can with certainty say he will be the last puppy of our lifetime, but I think we are going to enjoy seeing him grow up as we grow old.