Luka is 8 months old now and I really wish I had started this blog back when he was 8 or 9 weeks old. As much as you don't want to forget a single moment, it's incredible how quickly you lose the day to day details of raising a puppy, especially as the puppy starts to grow and adapt to your life. Surprisingly, it's the not so pleasant memories that fade first. You forget how awful it was getting up eight times that first night when your puppy cried in his crate; you can't recall how many accidents you cleaned up or the number of times he nibbled on your toes. In fact, I have a theory that having a puppy is like having a baby: you don't have a second baby until you forget how awful it was the first time, and you don't get a second puppy until you've forgotten that your dog wasn't always that mature, calm, well trained dog he is now.
I thought if I read enough dog training books and dog breed books that I would be prepared for anything. Dog training books make raising a puppy seem so simple. Each book has a set of steps to follow and if you follow those exactly you should have zero problems. I remember reading a book that explained that if you tied a leash to your belt loop so your puppy could never be too far away from you and took it out right after playing, waking up, drinking, 22 minutes after eating, 6.9 seconds after sneezing, etc, your puppy should never have an accident. Tie my puppy to me? No thanks. What if my puppy doesn't pee on your schedule? Not a single book talked about how to learn about your own puppy, to trust yourself about your puppy, and to expect mistakes from both of you.
What I wish a book had bothered to tell me was that I could read every book in the world, but Luka hadn't. He didn't know he was supposed to follow those "puppy rules." I wish someone had told me that it was going to be MONTHS before he slept through the night, no matter how diligently I picked up his food and water so many hours before bed. In short, no one tells you that you're going to have good days and bad days, instead everyone tells you that if things aren't perfect you must be doing something wrong.
Recently I posted a picture on Instagram of a Christmas puzzle I was doing and added #tiredofpullingpiecesoutoflukasmouth. A friend of mine commented that she liked the tag because it makes Luka seem like a real dog. Of course he is! But no one goes around advertising the worst about their dogs. I certainly wasn't eager to share when Luka had an accident or chewed off a sprinkler head. The truth is that you cannot compare your behind the scenes to everyone else's highlight reel, and that's what these dog books are.
Life with your dog is different than anyone else's experience. Each dog learns and develops differently, similar to children, and each dog needs a different approach. Do not allow someone to make you feel like a failure because your dog didn't learn to fetch as quickly as theirs; do you get frustrated because your puppy had an accident and the dog training book says he shouldn't have. Enjoy your puppy, the good and the bad, expect set backs, and remember that it will be worth it.
-Allie and Luka
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