My Favorite Puppy-ish Things

Since we brought our fur ball home, we've been introduced to a whole new world: the dog world. My new favorite things have to do with dogs and things to do at home. Not shocking since we've been spending quite a bit of time at home...that's not really dog related, but more pandemic related. We've learned a lot in our two weeks of dog ownership. The biggest surprise for me is how much like a baby AND a toddler a puppy is. I feel it's like shadowing a toddler who won't listen, as I constantly say things like, "no bite!" "Leave it!" "stay there!" "Good job going potty! Yay!!"

Anyways, here's my list of things we've been loving. If you have any recommendations please share!

1.) We managed to teach Zeus his name and sit within a few days with Zuke's salmon treats. We're working on potty training, walking on a leash, and 'leave it' now. The treats come in handy.

2.) Hot days at home call for a sprinkler. The minis got this one for their birthday's. Kids and dog alike love this one.

3.) Also a birthday gift is the mini trampoline. The kids have a blast just jumping on it (one at a time). It's small and easily stored. How does a puppy fit into this one, you ask? Ah, yes, he likes to lay under it when no one is jumping.

4.) Since nearly all public pools are closed for the season, we've hit up local lake beaches. They're by far not my favorite, but they're something. Since we anticipate spending quite a bit of time at the beaches, we purchased a beach umbrella. It was great this past weekend when our all black puppy was ready to get out of the sun while the kids played in the water. Next time I may set it up halfway in the water, so I can cool off too!

5.) I didn't realize how important fish oil is for dogs (at least for labs). I quickly purchased a pump bottle of salmon oil. After price comparing several places, Amazon was by far the cheapest and best place to purchase.

6.) My bleach cleaner recipe is getting a work out since daycare fully re-opened after the shutdown. We use Nature's Miracle for cat pukes and doggie accidents (it works great!), but the bleach cleaner is used on all surfaces. Here is the recipe I've used for the past several years to help during cold and flu season especially.

7.) A good game on the cell phone to pass the time while the puppy learns to use the yard is much needed. I downloaded Word Tiles and have played it at 4 a.m., 2 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. Basically, you can play it anytime, anywhere.

8.) We started to watch Homeland while we were up on puppy duty. We haven't made it past the first season because kids + dog = takes forever to finish things, but it is great!

9.) Quick and easy dinners have always been a must for us, but especially the last couple of weeks. We've been relying a lot on GrubHub and sheet pan dinners.

10.) After a few rounds of bad blisters and a round of cellulitis in my small toe, I opted for new hiking shoes. Ironically, I haven't worn them hiking yet because it's rather difficult to hike with a puppy who doesn't know how to go on a walk yet, but I wore them on our beach outing and around the house. The Merrell Trail Gloves are amazingly comfortable with no breaking in required. I'm in love. They'll be perfect for summer hiking, but I'll definitely have to get a new pair of hiking boots for fall, winter, and spring.

11.) My new favorite drinks is Corona Refresca. Delicious plus how appropriate that it's Corona--the whole reason we're home so much anyways!

Zeus's First Weekend Home

We got a dog. A real life, the kid's finally talked me into it, puppy. And we love him! I took a couple of days off to get used to our new family member (and so he could get used to us), so we had an extra long, but busy weekend. I had to get used to middle of the night wake up calls, keeping shoes picked up, and spending a lot of time walking around my backyard saying, "go potty." I usually do this plenty in the bathroom with littles at daycare, but it's a first for saying this in my backyard. My neighbors admitted they giggle every morning when they hear us out there at 5 a.m.

In between the middle of the night potty breaks, we threw in a vet visit, baking nearly 100 cookies, and throwing a birthday bash for the minis. I was REALLY happy I had a long weekend so I could nap when the puppy napped!

Nobody was sure what to do on our way home. Zeus was exhausted and totally not sure about us, every time he moved the kids freaked "omg, what do we do? He's walking on us?" It was a memorable night to say the least, but I'll never forget being the first one to hold him as he was handed over to us with his soft fur and puppy breath.

We walked in the door as the cats greeted us (as usual). They were incredibly curious about this thing we brought home. They're still very curious, but they also spend time away from him because they don't like the way he attempts to play with them!

                                      

One of my favorite pictures from the weekend: the cat wondering why this thing is still here (top) and checking out all of his toys and watching him as he slept in his kennel (bottom).

The kids didn't want Zeus to be by himself, so they insisted on a living room slumber party. That lasted until about 12:30 a.m. when Zeus couldn't stop crying because he saw the kids and wanted to be with them. We've since figured out how he sleeps best--which is not in view of anyone.


As if we didn't have enough going, we threw the minis a drive by birthday bash. Read about it here.

Zeus got A LOT of attention all weekend long.

We had cookies leftover from the Birthday Bash, so we turned them into ice cream sandwiches for dessert one night.

The kids then decided they should be in charge of him one night. Around 1 a.m. they realized how much he wakes up at night and handed night duty back to me. They are also amazed at how much he sleeps during the day.

Since we were home all weekend, we spent a good amount of time in the backyard running through sprinklers and playing in little pools so Zeus could play too.

Sitting on the dining room table as if it's a normal thing.

Now for the funniest part of the weekend: to try to get Zeus to learn his name and come to us, we broke out the treats. Zeus wasn't interested at first, but the cat was. She realized they were salmon flavored treats and comes, sits down in front of however is holding the bag, and waits for her treat. So, I guess we trained the 14 year old cat instead of the puppy.