Coming home from Madison only to be forced to live with my parents was not the ideal situation. I lasted about two days before I became restless and needed to spice up the family scene. My sister and I have been begging my mom for a puppy for as long as we can remember. Finally, after she literally had no excuses, we got a puppy during quarantine. My puppy’s name is Julep, and she is the cutest girl in the world, and I love her so much. Since this whole thing was in a bit of a rush, there are a few things that I wish we’d gotten down before the puppy came to live with us.
- A Name
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I know this sounds a little strange, but we really didn’t have a name for the longest time. In my head, I had always imagined getting a boy puppy and naming him Kevin. There was seriously no other option. We picked up our girl puppy and realized we didn’t know any girl dog names. We spent the entire night and the next day calling her different names to see which one she responded to. It was embarrassing when my friends asked what her name was and all I could say was my family is indecisive. We decided on Julep because the drink, Mint Julep, is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby, and my family goes every year. I suggest that before you go to pick up your puppy you have a name in mind or at least talk about it with your family.
- Toys
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We probably sound like the worst puppy owners when I say we didn’t even have toys for her to play with. Since we are in quarantine, we didn’t know if the pet store was open and kind of forgot that she would need something to play with/bite. My sister took a pair of her long socks that she doesn’t wear and tied them together to make some type of rope. We also gave her an empty creamer carton which entertained her for a while. We eventually got some toys for her, but I felt so bad that we were such terrible parents. It’s ok- she loves biting our fingers more than her toys anyway!
- Bells
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This may sound like an odd necessity, but they are really working. Every time we take her out to pee, we make her paw hit the bells. Now, after two weeks, she rings the bells by herself when she has to go outside, and we can hear them throughout the house. It is helpful with potty training but doesn’t work every time. She is a little stinker sometimes and forgets she has to pee when she is playing and goes into the house. The bells are a good habit for puppies to get into because it will work for them when they get older.
- Treats/Food
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Food is obviously necessary because the dog needs to eat, but treats are just as important. I have learned that she will do just about anything if I have a treat in my hand. We use them to train her to sit and stay and also to go into her crate. Bones are nice when we want her to chill and lay in her bed. She will gnaw at them for hours. They are also helpful when she is trying to bite my hand and I just shove a bone into her mouth instead. They are also nice if you have to drive somewhere with the pup or just need to get them to come to you.
- Sleep
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I’m talking about the puppy and you. My pup sleeps a lot but never when we want her to. She is so tired in the morning when we are all getting up, and she is super awake when my sister and I have to do school work and my parents are working. She doesn’t like to stay in her crate at night because she is so in love with us. She barks and cries for a solid thirty minutes before she falls asleep and then cries every hour the rest of the night. We sleep whenever we can, but that is normally the time she is up. I’m not sure if this is every puppy, but mine is crazy and likes to make us sleep-deprived.
I am absolutely in love with my puppy and she is the cutest thing on earth! We spend every second of the day together, and I’m scared when quarantine is over, she is going to have major separation anxiety. I wish we had known a few of these things before we adopted her, but I think she is going to turn out just fine.