New Puppy

Picking up our new puppy

Adding a new puppy to our household was not the greatest planned event in our life.

My husband likes dogs, but he was done with them when we got a wild child early in our life as husband and wife. If you’ve ever watched Funny Farm with Chevy Chase, we got dog number one.

So, when my husband texted me that he was at an account with a bunch of cute puppies, I thought nothing of it. He likes looking at puppies but he had sworn off ever having a dog in the home again. The next day he was back at the same account, and he texted that the puppies were all cute, but one was really cute. Something in that text stood out, a soft spot. A little something more than just a “cute puppy.”

When he told me about the puppy that evening, I knew his wall was crumbling. The next day he told me I should come down and see them. As I drove down to his account, I was resolved to get this pup. I didn’t care what the breed was, I didn’t care what it looked like, I just knew this would be my chance to get another dog. But I also didn’t want to get my hopes up because I kept thinking my husband would remember our first dog and that little soft spot would close up like Fort Knox. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. I fell in love with her at first touch. My husband’s soft spot opened wide and we declared ownership/familyship, whatever you want to call it.

We waited five long days to bring her home. As we waited, I dove down the puppy-training rabbit hole.

Day One with our new puppy

Pandora came home with us on March 27th. She is an Australian Cattle Dog and, according to the lady we adopted her from, “1/8 Border Collie.” We are all suckers for Pandora’s expressive eyes, she has us wrapped tight around her little tail.

Day one went well. Much better than I anticipated. You see when I dove down the research rabbit hole, I came across many warning videos of ACD’s. What to know before you get one. And some of the information was concerning. But most people quelled that concern by making sure we spend lots of time on training.

What Pandora Knows

The lady we got Pandora from had already started training her to “sit.” We are incredibly lucky that she seems to be doing that all on her own, even at the door before we go outside.

So, we continue with “sit” and also are working on “Leave it.”

The First Night

First day home we ooh-ahhed and molly-coddled her. We let her sleep with us. This wasn’t fully intentional. We didn’t have a crate. Amazon is overwhelmed right now so the crate won’t arrive until the end of April.

So we figured “why not? maybe we don’t need a crate.” Thankfully, the next day I was back on Amazon and ordering the kennel. We have a cat crate that she fits in, so we’re saying a prayer that the crate will hold her until the kennel gets here.

Nothing bad happened the first night, she was super happy and did fabulously. I took her to bed at 11:00, she woke for a potty break at 4:20 and then back to bed until 7:30 am. That seems like a pretty sweet system.

Day Two

Another great day, but I made a note, that I’m going to have to leave her alone at some point. Right now, I have her by my side all the time. If she’s not with me, the kids are tasked to watch her while I shower or grab a bite to eat.

Pandora’s favorite activity so far is the pull toy.

The second evening went well enough. We put her in the crate, she whined and then screamed for about 5 minutes before settling into a whimper and finally falling asleep. She slept until 5 something, ran out for a quick potty break, and back to sleep until 7:30.

She is getting better with “leave it” in an undistracted environment.

Day Three

Pandora is fairly calm. She’s only eight weeks old, she still sleeps a lot.

She entertained herself for a few minutes. So proud of her.

We have progressed more with “leave it” and she is starting to take a bit better to the leash.

The Third Night with Our New Puppy

I must remember she is still a new puppy. She has been doing well, but she spoiled me the first couple of nights.

Last night we (Pandora and I) were up at 3:00 and 5:20. She went back to bed quickly after the three o’clock potty break. Not so quickly after the 5:20 break. I got her to rest for a little over an hour and napped at the same time. Final wake-up call 7:30.

Current Day (day 4)

She has been sluggish this morning. Growth spurt? Too many training snacks? Ate something she shouldn’t have outside. She’s a cross between a Dyson on steroids and a goat. She can suck up anything in the blink of an eye and doesn’t care whether it’s edible or not. I’ve fished rocks, twigs, weed tree seedlings, deer droppings, and moss from her mouth.

She’s been stealing the cats’ toys and I had to do a Google search to make sure all the catnip she inhaled is okay for dogs. Apparently, it’s fine, it acts as a tranquilizer. Maybe that’s why she’s sleeping so much?

As I started this post I was concerned that maybe she was sick, but since that point, she has gone on a major tear. She had me running in the yard (good exercise) and I have her on a leash because I’m trying to nix all the nibblings. Because the little land shark attacked my boots. They aren’t even real Uggs, just some fake ones. But apparently, they are super awesome to attack.

Things started getting chaotic with her running over, ripping at my boots, and then dashing off and trying to grab anything to eat (I feed her plenty). I tugged on the leash a few times before I tried “leave it.” That was successful twice, so we’re making progress, WooHoo!

She’s learned “look at me” in a mostly distraction-free environment. Still, need to work on it more.

Tomorrow is her first check-up with the vet.

If you want to follow Pandora as she grows, please check out our Instagram account: @SubbornDogNoviceOwner. 🙂

This piece was originally posted on my other website: DianeDeMasi.com on March 31,2020.
Edited: September 19, 2023