The Dog House Diaries –

The Calm Before the Storm

T’was the night before Dogmas and all through the house nothing was stirring, not even a mouse….

So, tomorrow is D Day, or to use the full name… Dog Day.  

It’s been a long time coming as we lost our gorgeous Chilli Bear back in November and it’s taken this long for us to even consider getting another pup.  

As luck would have it though our friend’s GSD breeder had just had a litter when we rang her.  The pups had all been allocated homes, but there was one she was going to keep for herself.  Not that Im glad she was having hip surgery, but it meant that she made a swift decision that it probably wasn’t the best time to be bringing up a ball of energy.  So, she offered him to us!!!! 

Did we want to go and meet him?

Let me think about that for a…..YES!!!!!!

Obviously about five seconds into the visit it was a done deal, as I don’t think there’s one person on earth who can resist the face of a GSD puppy.  Those gangly legs, the fluffy tummy, the sad brown eyes and the floppy ears. 

Who cares how much he was?  Who cares that we would have loads of events that we’d have to cancel?  Who cares about anything but those bloody gorgeous ears!?

And so it was written in the stars…. Barkley was about to get a brand new forever home. 

***

And here we are the night before D Day.  We are as ready as we could be, We have a crate, bowls, blankets, beds, food, the tiniest collar and lead available, and toys……lots of toys!!! 

I did have a read through the puppy training booklet that we still had from when we got Chilli about nine years ago, and it did kind of dawn on me that it possibly wouldn’t  be quite the walk in the park that’s been in our heads.  

Rose tinted glasses and all that. 

Both of us have conveniently forgotten the hours and hours of hard work that we put into training our beautiful girl, and had instead concentrated on the memories of how well behaved she was as a grown girl (well, most of the time).  

The book outlined the living hell of toilet training.  

The book outlined the fear associated with crazy puppy outbursts.

The book outlined the long slog of obedience training.

The book outlined the lack of sleep and life that we could expect. 

The book outlined the fact that our lives were about to be turned upside-down and inside out. 

I’ll be honest, the book scared the utter crap out of me.  

Still, too late now.  I closed the book, looked at a picture of our soon to be new housemate, and fell asleep dreaming of puppy cuddles.  

Fool. 

Sherry x

Click here for an article about navigating stiles with large dogs!

If you liked what you read, please applaud by liking or sharing this post so that more people see it!  If you like my style, please sign up to my newsletter where each week I share real life, tips and storytelling.  You can also hire me to waffle for you! www.adropofsherry.com