As I write this blog post, it’s been over 12 years since I rescued my heart dog Sally Pants. She’s my baby girl, my everything. I cannot imagine life without her. She’s now 13, as her birthday is July 1st. And she still acts like a puppy, even though she is developing some arthritis, and lower back pain issues, she is still so happy and energized. She’s suck a happy senior dog!
About 3 years ago I started wanting another dog. It was weird, as I just started to think what life would be if we brought home a second dog. And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted one. It took some nudging to get Jamie on board, but finally we were ready. Or so we thought we were. Heheh they say that when some woman hit their 40’s they start to accumalate dogs…hehe…guess that’s me.
Initially I was looking for a rescue dog, and almost got a 10 month old Saluki boy. Saluki’s are easily my favourite breed and I have always wanted one. So when this boy became available I jumped on it and asked to adopt him. But as it turned out, it wasn’t in our cards. Even though we were a perfect match the rescue said ‘NO’ to us adopting him because we didn’t currently have a fenced in yard. This broke my heart as I was so excited to bring him home. I think I cried for a week.
But then Jamie and I started chatting and we realized that a smaller breed would be a better fit for our family. This is because we have a small house and Sally Pants’s comfort level played a key role in our decision. She’s not a big fan of big dogs. And I still wanted a sighthound, as I have fallen love with these skinny angels…so the Italian Greyhound became our dog of choice.
Sally Pants, our senior dog, rules the house, and when we started to talk about bringing another dog home, she was our priority. We wanted her to still feel loved, admired and get lots of attention. And you can say she’s is a little ‘big dog reactive’, which is why we wanted a small breed and a puppy. We hoped bringing home a puppy would give Sally Pants the opportunity to teach it and bond with it. LOL, fyi…bringing home a puppy hasn’t been the smoothest transition as Sally Pants is a bit grumpy in her old age and hasn’t taken to Hoss’s puppy energy yet. BUT she is slowly coming around. I know she secretly loves him as she sleeps beside him on my lap and in bed 😉
When we brought the puppy home (oh his hame is Lil Hoss…Hoss for short) we give Sally Pants and Hoss their own independent time with us AND we give them lots of time together with us. Hehe daily walks helped create a bond between Sally Pants and Hoss as they got to sniff new and exciting things together. AND they both get lots of treats during our daily training activities. Hehe Sally Pants may have put on a few extra pounds because of this 😉
Now, it’s time to talk about my experiences bringing home an Italian Greyhound puppy! And I would like to say that it’s been easy and fun, but that would be a lie. How do I put this into words that can express my emotions and thoughts. Bringing home a puppy has actually been a lot of hard work, sleepless nights, and I have never cried so much in my life. People and everything I have read to prepare for Hoss said it would be hard…but that was an understatement…It’s been sooooooooo hard. BUT it has been a lot of fun too. Being told it will be hard isn’t reality…until you live through it.
So here are a 3 things that we went through. And I am being fully honest here and hope no one judges me on my feelings and emotions I am about to reveal. I just want others to know what it was like…through the eyes of a new puppy owner.
1. Dog Mom Guilt.
Dog mom Guilt is a thing…as I had it first hand. I didn’t even think about this when I was preparing to bring Hoss home. I knew that Sally Pants wouldn’t take to him right away and I thought I would be okay with that….I expected Sally Pants to leave Hoss alone and Hoss to kinda leave Sally Pants alone…boy was I nieve and wrong. Instead of leaving Hoss alone, Sally Pants would get all upset at everything Hoss did, whether it was him playing or just walking. She would snap and try to bite him. And she would not ignore him…she would get all upset and charge at him when he wanted to play, which was all the time. And Hoss couldn’t read her ‘body language’ or growls and snaps, He just thought she was playing. Thus, I developed really bad Dog Mom Guilt for bringing home a puppy Sally Pants wasn’t happy. The sadness and other emotions I felt because Sally Pants didn’t seem happy was so overwhelming. These feelings made me cry all the time and I felt like a bad dog mom. Why would I bring home a puppy when Sally Pants was clearly unhappy. It pained me so much seeing her sad or mad. I know that I am anthropomorphizing this…but I love sally pants and I know her inside and out. And it was a big adjustment for her.
And this dog mom guilt lasted months and brought me to tears all the time. I just wanted Sally Pant and Hoss to be happy! And it didn’t seem like they were, however. Fast track 6 months from the day we brought Hoss home, they are now getting along better (cue happy dance), even playing with each other…well until Hoss gets his long string-bean legs going and flaring…and then Sally Pants is like WTF put those away lol. So it has gotten a lot better and my dog mom guilt has slipped away. PHEW.
I also did a lot of reading and research and dog mom guilt is also like Puppy Blues…which is related to the sad feelings you get during the puppy stage. You feel like you aren’t doing anything right and maybe you made the wrong decision to get a puppy. BUT let me assure you that these sad and guilty feelings do go away. For me, it took about 6 months for me to not feel guilty. Also know that I loved Hoss from the moment I met him and brought him home…I just develeped really bad dog mom guilt that did pass.
2. Puppy Behaviour. Being a dog photographer, I have photographed and met a lot of amazing dogs and puppies. And they were always so well behaved. LOL. To prepare for Hoss, I read about the teething stage and that some puppies are ‘biters and chewers’, and I thought…oh this can’t be that bad?
Guess what? Hoss is definitely a biter and chewer and it was a difficult puppy behaviour to go through. Every chance he got, Hoss would bit and chew EVERYTHING. I mean everything. We couldn’t leave anything on the floor, coffee table, or table as he would get it and chew it to pieces. He chewed toys, rugs, couches, chairs, coffee tables, cardboard and so much more. In addition to chewing he was a biter. He was a land shark and would bit my hands, arms, clothes every chance he could, especially during play time. I understand why he did this as puppies experience the world around them with their mouths BUT it still played with my emotions and patience. The biting really got to me as Sally Pants was never a biter or chewer and through positive reinforcement and training I found he just wasn’t getting it…he just kept on biting me. I was taking it personally. BUT as time went on, and I continued to work with him, train him and love him, his biting has gotten less and less. Hehe an now at 14+ months old, he still bits me when he’s playing…but we are working on that.
3. Potty Training. When researching this breed the first thing that always came up is that Iggies are notoriously hard to potty training. It can take up to a year and sometimes they just don’t get it. But I was like, oh I can do this and we will get it fast…fast forward 12 months and he is still NOT fully potty trained….ahhhhhhh!
Now, he does go potty outside when I take him (every 3 hours…phew), BUT the thing is, he wont tell me when he has to go the bathroom. So, I take him out on a routine so he knows he has to go….BUT, one very raining days (he hates being wet), we will ‘hold it’ and then go poo either in the bathroom or beside our bedroom door. SIGH.
I am currently trying the ‘bell’ by the door trick…but he doesn’t seem to understand that when he rings it he can go outside to go to the bathroom. This has tested my patience…but I am confident we will potty train him! It’s just hard because some of the Italian Greyhound forums I am in, have Iggy parents saying their puppy was potty trained in 2 weeks or even two months…and it’s been 12 months for us and he still isn’t fully potty trained. lol but the majority of Iggy parents says it can take a year to potty train…hehe so I will have patience….We got this.
So to be honest with everyone, because of the 3 things above, I have never cried so much in my life. It has been hard and my emotions have been on over drive. BUT, it has also been really REALLY fun, amazing and rewarding too. I have been able to watch him grow, change, experience so many new and exciting things. He is the goofiest dog I have ever known! He sleeps and plays funny. He has the best facial expressions. And OMG his ears…they have a mind of their own as he puts them in so many different positions.
Oh my goodness, I would get so excited when I would find one of his baby teeth and I’d squeel and say Oh my baby boy is growing up. I have even kept all the teeth we found so that I have those memories.
I have loved watching him meet new people and dogs as he loves everybody and all animals. He even made friends with Harry, our neighbour orange cat.
And Hoss is a cuddler…his spot with me is right beside my thigh when I am on the couch or chair. He curls up and rests his head on my leg or stomach. As he does this, Sally Pants is laying on my legs…this is my happy place with them. When they are cuddling with me they are both quiet and peaceful hehe.
Oh and I love watching him run. When he is at full speed his legs are horizontal to the ground and he looks like a bullet. It’s actually so beautiful to watch…one of my favourite things to do. Since he loves to run, we put up a 5 foot fence in the backyard. This has been the best thing we have done and I cannot believe we didn’t do it sooner. This gives both dogs the freedom to play and roam around…and it gave me peace of mind knowing they are safe in my backyard. LOL, fun fact, Hoss doesn’t always run around and play in the backyard…he usually just walks around looking for and eating worms. And yes, he eats and loves worms. Yucky right! Watching him eat worms is both yucky and hilarious as it looks like he is eating spaghetti…he actual slurps them up. lol
Hehehe after his run and play, he loves to sleep.
So, yes I have survived the puppy stage. And I love our little man soooo much! He is so unique and loveable! He is my fur son and my comic relief to my day. I wouldn’t change anything about him or our experience.
Now we are entering the teenage years. Stay tuned for my experience during this time 😉
If you have a puppy and would love to get photos to document their ‘puppy look and stage’, please email me at candraschankphotography@gmail.com as I would love to hear and learn all about them.
