{"id":274,"date":"2022-09-30T07:46:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T07:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeisamother.space\/?p=274"},"modified":"2022-09-30T12:18:10","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T12:18:10","slug":"puppy-training-or-lack-thereof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeisamother.space\/?p=274","title":{"rendered":"Puppy Training or Lack Thereof"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As you may know, we have a golden retriever puppy. He\u2019s 8 months old. We decided to bring him home when we were still reeling from the unexpected loss<\/a> of our last dog Sadie. And now, as we are in the thick of it, we realize that puppy training is so hard! Many of you are probably thinking, “uh, duh?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a rushed decision. I\u2019ll admit it. A decision we did not think through. I\u2019m all about honesty here in this space. Now, Sadie came home with us before Bryan and I were even married. No kids were in the picture yet. We had all the time in the world to train a dog! And at that time we picked a breed (cockapoo) that didn\u2019t get very big and had a pretty laid back personality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feeling like we did a complete 180 by bringing home a golden retriever puppy. Our conversations when we were deciding to do this, \u201ca big dog will be fun\u201d \u201cthe boys will get to grow up with him\u201d \u201che will be so different from Sadie, it won\u2019t make us as sad\u201d (ok, the last thought was really just mine). So we brought him home at the end of February. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would say for the first 24 hours we thought \u201coh he\u2019s so great, he\u2019s so cute\u201d and then our mindset shifted, the potty training was hard. And it was the middle of winter so that involved taking him outside on a leash in the snow every 30 minutes. I am slightly embarrassed to admit the amount of times we both said \u201cwhat\u2019s the return policy on this dog?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Murphy
A few days after we brought him home<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We made it through potty training \/ kennel training. Then the biggest struggle was the jumping, the nonstop excitement with people at our house. And of course, he keeps growing – a 15 pound puppy jumping on you is one thing, but a 60 pound puppy? Totally different story! This summer before we moved out of our house, we started working with a local dog trainer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I figured if we just had some guidance we could work with him on our own. Well, we have had 2 sessions with her now. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I do think it\u2019s helping us. But we have two boys, we are currently pseudo-homeless, and are moving across the country<\/a> in 8 weeks. We love you Murphy (I think), but training is way, way, way on the back burner for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, and in our current pseudo-homeless situation, we no longer have a fenced in backyard for him. My husband had a moment this week, not his finest, he will admit that, but he was convinced we needed to just rehome him. Puppies are hard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We lived in this nice, na\u00efve world when we brought our first puppy home! No kids, no other responsibilities – it was no problem. Now, in this current phase of life, he\u2019s just a lot, a lot of work on top of all our other responsibilities. I truly would not recommend getting a dog if you have children as young as ours. Wait, I promise you won\u2019t regret it. Wait until your life chaos feels manageable. I can guarantee you will just be adding to the chaos if you get a puppy! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I feel like I can type all this out and complain because we have a new plan with Murphy. We are sending him away. Not forever I promise! But for four weeks, he\u2019s going to live with a trainer <\/a>and other dogs and get the training and attention he deserves. He will get dropped off this weekend and we will pick him up at the end of October. I\u2019m feeling really good about this decision. I found this particular place through a friend who used them for their dog. She had nothing but good things to say about their experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Murphy
He’s a good boy…or at least he will be soon! \ud83d\ude09<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So, for the next 4 weeks there will be no Murphy news. I\u2019ll be sure to give you an update once we pick him up in a month! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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