I saw a woman with a newborn baby the other day and asked her how old the child was. “Twenty days,” she told me. I laughed to myself. I remember counting my childrens’ age in days, then weeks, months and now years.
It’s very much the same way with our puppy, who really seems more like a dog now, than the itty bitty baby we brought home eight months ago. It goes by fast, and just like with my children, there are things I wish I had done differently.
I certainly wish I had taken more pictures and videos of her when she was impossibly tiny. It seems unthinkable that she once sat on my lap while I typed on my computer. I wish I would have taken a picture of that. I guess I was too busy cleaning up after her to grab the camera. There were plenty of Kodak moments to be had, I just didn’t take the time to document them. There definitely would’ve been more magic puppy moments captured if I could do it over again.
I wish I had been better prepared for the changes she would bring to the house. I didn’t realize how this little ball of fur would change our lives. I know people warned us that she would chew things up and destroy a few things, but somehow I just didn’t expect it. If I knew then what I know now, I never would have dreamed of taking off shoes within fifty feet of her, and my books would have been banished to another room. And I would have been much more careful with the two laptops that got damaged. Who knew?
But I also wish I had been more patient. Just like with my children, I wish I wouldn’t have rushed through each stage. “I can’t wait until they’re done with formula…I can’t wait until they’re walking…I can’t wait until they’re potty trained.” What was the rush, really? It was such a short, short slice of time. Same thing with the puppy. Yeah, she was peeing on the rugs, but I should have just lived in the moment and enjoyed this little creature and all of the troublesome bumps along the road. It really didn’t last that long. (Although at the time, I felt like I would forever be wiping up the floors.)
So here we are with our almost grown up dog. Soon enough, we won’t be able to call her a puppy. It’s like transitioning from saying you have a baby to saying you have a child. But just like everyone says about having kids, enjoy it because it goes by fast. You may have your dog for 12 or more years if you’re lucky. But you only have a puppy for a very short time.
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Have you missed any of the articles in this series?
If so, you can find them at:
The Bringing Up Puppy Series page.
Related posts:
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – What’s In a Name?
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – Second Thoughts
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – Something New
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – The Dog Binky
- Bringing Up Puppy Series – Instincts
