We’re almost four weeks into this great adventure and it’s starting to feel more comfortable. Buster is still really bitey, but it’s getting better. We’ve nicknamed him Biteymcbiteypants, which is useful for hashtags. We’re starting to recognize his routine, and the signs that indicate that he’s sleepy or bored or has to go out to relieve himself. We don’t always read him right, but we’re starting to understand him a bit better. He’s such a new little being! Not even three months old. He still has a long way to go before he’s a grown up, settled down dog.
Before we got Buster, I was obsessed with watching training videos on Youtube and I was very anxious to start out on the right foot with him. I didn’t want him to form bad habits, some of which we experienced with our other dogs. Easier said than done. One of the first things they tell you is to start out as you mean to go on. For instance, if you don’t want your adult dog jumping on you for attention, don’t give your puppy attention when he adorably puts his paws on your leg to be picked up. HAH! Just try to get all your friends (or even your husband!) to ignore an adorable puppy who comes over and jumps up on them!! You feel like a serious killjoy if you say something like, “please ignore him until he sits properly”. So far I can’t bring myself to be that killjoy, so I’m afraid one bad habit is already forming. I hope that can be rectified at some point, and in fact, I remember training Abe not to jump up (Abe was our German Shepherd/Rottweiller) and he was over a year old when we got him. It was absolutely imperative that he learn not to jump up because he was a big, scary dog. Buster will never be that big and scary-looking but I still won’t want him to jump on people as a way of greeting.
Getting used to not being able to call our time our own anymore has been an adjustment. When Buster is awake, it seemed at first as though we had to spend every minute entertaining him. However, he has already changed quite a bit since those first days, and, while keeping one eye on him to monitor his toilet needs, and make sure he’s not eating the furniture, I can now do the dishes or some other chore, pretty successfully. I don’t want Buster to be dependant on us to be entertained. I haven’t had the courage to bring out my knitting while he’s awake, though. Just the idea of him snatching the yarn ball and taking off down the hall with it gives me the willies. Therefore my knitting time is significantly reduced and I miss it. Knowing it’s not forever helps a lot. My friend, Naila, who got her BT, Madame Jazz, last summer, claimed to have a Covid-related loss of knitting mojo last year, but now I suspect it had more to do with having a puppy!
The other things that have mostly gone by the wayside since becoming puppy parents: a remotely tidy house, my “Media empire” as Dave calls it (i.e. my knitting podcast and this blog), my usual exercise routine, and I find myself practicing trombone on a need-only basis. If I’m not expecting to work in the next week, I barely touch my horn. Ah, well, it’s temporary! I’m glad we have a pretty light schedule during this crucial time of Buster’s life and with our retirement coming up we’ll have even more time to devote to this little guy and still do what we need to do to keep ourselves happy and healthy.
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