HAHAAH, hi everyone! If you’re coming here from IG, then you’ll already know but today’s Weekend Recap post is going to be special because …
… we brought home a second dog on Saturday!
But let’s back track a bit first, ok?
friday
Thursday and Friday leading into the weekend, none of my kids had school because of Veteran’s Day. There’s also a crazy backstory to us bringing home our puppy this weekend that I’ll go into further detail with on a post later this week but to be brief … there was a day or two this week when I actually thought the puppy would NOT be happening this weekend like we’d planned. Late Thursday I found out that actually we’d be bringing her home after all so Friday I tried to take advantage of our last puppy-free day and do *all the things*.
J & D went to go get haircuts …
and I took the girls to run some errands (a trip to the bookstore!) as well get our nails done!
We also had lunch and of course had some goodies from Starbucks …
and then I dropped them off at home so I could take care of a few things by myself (stopping by the bank, quick trip to TJ Maxx for puppy toys, etc). I also took that time to load up Kylo and take him to our friends’ house to be watched while we were gone. I was a little nervous about leaving him because he’s a really jittery dog and uses aggression as a means to make sure EVERYONE KNOWS HE CAN’T BE MESSED WITH but it turned out fine, thankfully.
By the time I got back home from dropping Kylo off, J had already told the kids they needed to pack one change of clothes because we were going to be heading out for a long drive and staying at a hotel overnight for a big surprise that I would tell them when I returned.
I came back to three very confused but excited kids and this was their (screenshot) reaction when I told them where we were going!
LOL .. in some ways it feels anticlimactic because they didn’t weep tears of joy but I promise they were super pumped about it. I think they weren’t as over the top with their reactions because we’d told them already that we’d eventually get a second dog “next year maybe”. We’d already talked a lot about what kind of dog they’d want and what they’d name it, if they’d want a boy or girl dog, etc so … it wasn’t completely out of the blue. J also says that I am constantly surprising them and spoiling them and well, when everything is a surprise then nothing is.
Anyway, we got everyone in the car and then headed on the road for an almost 4 hour drive to SLO County where our puppy was. I was CRACKING UP when we got to the hotel because …. the hotel itself looked fine but immediately when I opened the hotel room, this is the view I got:
A giant … awkward… tub? Probably for shmexy time? LOL? In an “altar” type setting with a huge TV in front of it? IT WAS JUST SO BIZZARE! I took the picture above in the morning but just imagine .. the pull out bed you see in the right of the picture was still folded up as a couch and I’m standing right in front of the hotel door. So you’d open the door late at night, when it’s dark out and you’re exhausted, and all you see is a giant ..altar bathtub 😂 Ok, anyway – maybe you had to be there.
saturday
Saturday was puppy pick up day! I slept pretty well considering I was smooshed into the same bed as A and she coughed for a good part of the night (I think she has another cold :/). Our pick up time wasn’t until 11 am so we just killed time in the hotel room together, ordered room service, watched TV until it was time to go.
I was feeling pretty excited (and so were the kids and J) as we drove to the breeder’s house to pick our puppy .. I was also a little nervous because I KNOW how hard the puppy days are and I was like … ready or not, here we go! I’ll be honest, and this might be dumb (but I don’t think it is), I prayed a LOT during the drive. I was asking God to have the right puppy picked for us and one that we wouldn’t regret bringing home LOL. Hey, we can talk to God about anything, ok!?
One last family picture before we head in to see the puppies…
THEN PUPPY TIME! The way this breeder did the litter pick was, you didn’t pre-pick your puppy before pick up day. You picked your puppy on the day you bring him/her home, in order of where you were on the list. We were third pick of a litter that had seven girls (and three boys) so we essentially had five puppies that we’d be able to pick from.
GUYS IT WAS SO HARDDDDD. We were really torn between two puppies – one was smaller, a more poodle-ish face (SUPER cute) and the other was slightly bigger and more of a golden retriever face. D & J reallllly loved the smaller one but E had a REAL connection with the bigger one and I was a little partial to the bigger one, too. The breeder said temperament wise, they’d both be the same but considering we already have a dog at home, having a larger puppy might be helpful otherwise the tiny one *could* get totally dominated by Kylo.
We seriously waffled back and forth for almost an hour but when it was time to finally decide I told J to make the game time decision and … we settled for the larger, more golden retriever looking pup.
Everyone, meet Daisy.
We are SO. IN. LOVE. I had looooong talks with the breeder about temperament and the issues we sort of had with Kylo and how while we’re willing to work with any dog, we REALLY want one who will be SWEET and cuddly and a great companion. She was super confident that we’d be happy with a dog from this litter and so far, as of writing this post, she is absolutely right. Daisy is a DREAM.
But guess who really loves her, guys?
He held her for more than half the ride home even though I offered to hold her because he was driving. People keep asking me how I “convinced” him to go for this second dog when we clearly already have our hands full and all I can say is … it’s not hard to convince a person who wants to be convinced, you know? LOL.
Daisy was SO good on the way home. It took longer to get home because we had to stop a few times to let her pee, drink water, etc. Here’s us having a lunch break all together at a McDonalds on the drive home. The breeder sends home all the puppies with this litter box that the puppies know how to potty in (like a cat?).
We got home after a LOOOONG drive and Daisy all but LEAPT out of my arms to go potty on the grass! Don’t get me wrong, she’s definitely had a few potty training accidents at home already but she knows to go on the grass! I remember it took Kylo a few days for that to click. It probably helps that we already have a dog using the lawn as a bathroom … the scents and everything.
Once we got home, I think she was definitely missing her littermates. She cried a lot and was just sad and anxious in general.
J went to go pick up Kylo from our friends’ house and I held my breath because I wasn’t sure how he would do ….
I’m not going to lie, it went pretty rough 💀 Like I said, Kylo is a nervous dog … we brought him home RIGHT before the pandemic lockdowns and he got NO outside interaction/socialization during a really critical brain period for him so EVERYTHING makes him nervous. He growled a lot at her and she was SO SCARED of him. He even snarled/snapped at her and she was crying so much 😭😭😭 I went to bed feeling really overwhelmed.
sunday
The first night home was HARD. Daisy cried a LOT in addition to needing to be taken out for potty breaks. Dang, her cries are LOUD too … I swear, I’ve never heard even Kylo cry that loud EVER and he’s twice her size. J was a trooper and stayed up the night with her but I still woke up every time I heard her cry and would half-listen to make sure she settled down ok after waking. We both woke up exhausted (although he was way more tired than I was, duh).
We streamed service from home on this day. We were both so tired and Daisy was still so anxious and sad it didn’t feel right to leave her on her first full day at home.
During church service, we let Kylo and Daisy roam a little bit to get more acclimated to one another … we saw a little bit of progress. He didn’t snarl at her at all but did growl. And she seemed a bit more curious to be close to him versus SCAMPERING away with panic at the first sight of him.
We spent most of Sunday adjusting to life with a puppy; learning her rhythms and getting her comfortable. Guys, puppy life is HARD. Like, I knew … but dang. I also forgot. HAHAHA. J & I both think this will be our last puppy. We’ll probably always have dogs but I don’t think we’ll start from the puppy stage ever again. We’re going to be too old and tired to do it by the time Kylo & Daisy are gone.
Some things I want to remember and note: my kids LOVE Daisy and she is sooooo snuggly, she loves being held by them. They’re still so scarred from Kylo that THEY flinch every time they come near Daisy and I have to remind them that she will NOT bite them or lunge at them suddenly like Kylo does (or did before he went to reform camp 😂). A is the most obsessed with Daisy, she’s been great at being an “older sister” and chasing/playing with Daisy outside. That part has been great!
As the day progressed, Kylo & Daisy seemed to become more comfortable with each other. We had a big post-lunch play session outside and towards the end of it, the two of them even started romping together. I am still holding my breath but I’m a little more hopeful that maybe this wasn’t the stupidest idea I’ve ever had.
We’re trying really hard not to compare Daisy to Kylo or even to Spartan because each dog is their own dog, you know? But I will say … even at this age, it was very clear to us with Kylo that he was different. He NEVER napped the way that Daisy does. He was a constant, frenetic energy which I guess is what happens if you have a dog with some Australian Shepherd in them. Daisy reminds us a lot of how Spartan was … playful but sleepy and cuddly.
So… yes. this was our weekend 😂 So in love, soaking in all the puppy snuggles, and fingers crossed that we look back at this day and say it was the beginning of something great.
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