About a year ago I started campaigning for a dog. It had been a few years since we lost our beloved boxer Rusty and the hole he left in my heart was undeniable. The search was on (even though my husband was adamant that it would be many more years before we got another dog.)
6 months ago I started visiting shelters and meeting dogs of every shape and size just to get my puppy fix. Lucky Dog was playing non stop in the house and I constantly spoke in terms of “when we get our dog we we going to xyz”. Then it happened. After many shelter visits, waiting lists for dogs (we were second in-line on a few who went to the first on the list) and Adopt-a-pet meeting-ups we were put in touch with a family that had a potential match. A puppy whose mom stopped nursing him early and the fluffiest ball of hair I had ever seen. So I FaceTimed hubby at work and said “ HE NEEDS US…CAN WE GET HIM?” His response was, “I love you Nikki.” I took that as a yes.
We brought him home and named him Bailey. It was love at first snuggle and I wanted to do everything right. I dove deep into the puppy training rabbit hole of the internet. I read articles on everything from how to stop puppies from biting too hard when playing, when to start teaching commands and the best way to potty train. I am a wealth of information at this point because there are hundreds of different opinions on how to do all these things.
What I have discovered is that raising a tiny puppy follows the same rules as raising an infant, in that no matter what you chose to do you will make mistakes. It’s going to be hard work and at times very frustrating. However, if you just keep doing your best and give them lots of love it will be totally worth it.
My best advice is if you want to get a puppy (or dog, or cat or bunny) and you have the time and love it takes to raise them don’t wait another moment there is an animal out there right now looking for you too.
Oh yes, in case you were curious if my hubby likes the puppy…..He loves him. It doesn’t hurt that he is Bailey’s favorite human in the house.
To follow Baileys training progress and cute puppy content follow on
More Than Words by Nikki 
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