Puppies!!!

In November we brought home two puppies. Yes, two of them. No, I don't recommend it. I love my puppies but they are a handful. It's not two dogs, it's two puppies. Two baby doggies figuring out the difference between what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do. Two puppies potty training. Two puppies pooping and peeing all over your house. Two puppies crying all night because they don't want to be in the kennel. Two puppies vomiting when sick. Two puppies jumping on you, chewing your stuff and not listening.

Between Sadie and the two puppies my hands are full. Recently Logan fenced off part of the yard in order to give me a break from watching the puppies and preventing them from destroying my house all day long. Since they now spend the day light hours outside my life has improved. In the evening, when we are in the main part of the house they can lounge in the living room; otherwise they stay in their kennel and rest after a fun filled day of chasing each other, barking at birds (and motorcycles) and digging for gophers.

I can proudly say my puppies sit and come on command (if and when they see a beautiful shining treat in my hand). They love to lick Sadie clean after she eats. They love to have their bellies rubbed and are an excellent addition to our life. Welcome puppies, welcome.

However, the past two nights have been filled with puppy whining and barking. Two nights ago I dragged myself out of bed to deal with it and had a doggie who wanted to go potty outside 3 in the morning. Last night I ignored the pleading and this morning we were greeted with diarrhea from two puppies. No bueno. Thing 1 and Thing 2 have also destroyed nearly all the plants in the front yard, chewed up my crocs that were sitting outside and somehow found my $600 nightguard and chewed it. That was the ultimate offense to me. MY NIGHT GUARD??? The one piece of plastic in the house that would upset me if it disappeared. All of Sadie's cups sitting around the house, ignored. Night guard? Chewed to tiny little pieces within minutes. They are lucky I like them as much as I do.

I was warned that a puppy is like having a newborn. I will admit that it is not a one-to-one similarity but there is something to the argument that puppies are more than a handful. They certainly can be overwhelming when you throw a toddler into the mix who attempts to destroy anything you do. Leash training? Well, Sadie will throw a tantrum because I forbid her to hold the leash and pull on them for no reason. Cleaning up pee from the floor? Sadie will step in the pee you just told her not to step in and when you yell at her she will fall face forward into the pee. Unfortunately when that happened yesterday my patience meter ran dry for the day. I continued my day with a frazzled bitter smile and counted down the hours until Logan came home.

Moms, if you're bored and need something to destroy your things, eat your time and give you a headache - get a puppy. And just for fun, get two.