Pinky

I swear I have been trying to post this for about an hour..I feel like a new mother ha bc Charlie (and my family coming into my room to play with Charlie) keep interrupting me. I had a whole long post, but then I had to clean her crate, came back to finish it and I had been logged out and lost my whole post. Ugh! Here I go again...

Charlie's first 24 hours have been a total emotional rollercoaster. I went from regretting getting her, to almost giving her away, to falling in love with her. Our main struggles have been food and potty training. I'm so mad at her breeder bc the sample food she included, which to my understanding is supposed to be the food she's on, is dry food..Charlie wouldn't eat it. She literally only had half of a treat all day, I tried hand feeding her the food, mixing it with water in case it was too hard..nothing worked. Then my friend remembered the food in the crate when she arrived was wet food, not dry. I still haven't bought her permanent food since I figured she needed to be transitioned into it anyway so I had to settle for cheap grocery store wet food bc the store I was going to get her new food at was closed. The reason I'm mad at the breeder is bc INSIDE the bag where all of her paperwork was in...a place where no one would look and I only did to make sure there wasn't anything I missed before I threw the bag away...it said to feed her wet food. This was written on the bag itself where no one would look. Umm ok, then why send me dry food?! And why not put that somewhere that oh, I don't know..I could actually see it? This was after I had figured it out myself and gave her crap food out of pure desperation bc she wasn't eating. As soon as I gave her the wet food she ate it all up :( I felt so guilty for not realizing it earlier. Now I don't know what to do about her permanent food..the food I intended on getting her is dry, but obviously she isn't willing to eat it..at least not the one the breeder sent...should I keep her on wet food? I mixed in the food the breeder sent with the wet food but she wouldn't eat any of the dry food so I'm sure she's going to get sick from it but I'm just relieved she finally ate.

The potty training isn't going very well. She doesn't get that she's to go in the litter box but I already received good advice regarding that via PM so hopefully tomorrow is better. She seems to not be bothered by going potty in the crate so that defeats the purpose of "crate training" in a sense...should I still keep her in the crate overnight or put her in the baby playpen I have for her? Which by the way she pooped in earlier (in the playpen) on the puppy pad..but the stepped on it and put her paws all over the playpen..yeah that was a lot of fun cleaning up! Oh, and I also cleaned up her crate when I brought her home..I was pretty proud of myself ha.

Charlie is so freakin cute and sweet. She isn't hyper which is surprising for a puppy, but I like it that way..a hyper dog would just annoy me. I don't like the way she smells though. She's had 2 baths already and she just has this gross smell to her..I don't know if it's her natural odor or what but it makes me sick.

I swear I had more to say, but now I can't remember it ha. I'm sure it'll come back to me. I am so sleep deprived! Charlie was good, she only cried twice and she quieted down within minutes but I couldn't sleep bc I was so scared thinking of what I got myself into. I was expecting a little buddy, but she's a living creature with feelings and everything..it was totally overwhelming but I'm prepared to be a good mommy to her. I just had to have a meltdown first to get there ha. I haven't been able to get too many pics of her but here are a few:





My mom mopped the floor and in the first pic she wasn't able to get up ha ha it was so funny watching her. I'm hoping to get better pics to post tomorrow Today was more about just adjusting her and mostly myself, lol.

CharismaticMillie

I am so glad to hear Charlie is doing well! Being a doggy mommy is tough, but worth it! You have the right attitude and I have no doubt that you will give Charlie exactly what she needs!

schnauzerpoodle

She is still adjusting. You are still adjusting. So give both of you time. Don't rush her into anything. It's normal for her not to eat much the first few days. Regarding the odor, Nickel also had that puppy smell when he came in. But it will go away (or you will get used to it?) in like a week or 10 days.

Every time you are about to lose your patience, tell yourself: Charlie just left her mom and playmates and flew all the way here. Give her time. Give her time. Give her time.

You will be fine. Keep the pictures coming

Littleknitwit

Puppies often "mess" their crate the first night or so, until they realize that they don't like it. She is probably used to going in a crate, hang in there, she'll get it!

Just to warn you, hyper will come! hahaha...It's like having a newborn...they don't seem to cry in the hospital, and you think...oh they're so good, and then you go home and watch out!

Puppies are the same way... after she gets adjusted she'll start playing and biting and all that stuff... just be sure to be firm with her so she doesn't think she's the boss!

SnorPuddel

I would try mixing the good quality dry food in warm water so that it gets mushy and smells good...warming the food makes it smell more enticing, just make sure it isn't too warm when you feed it to her

ArreauStandardPoodle

Happy to hear Charlie made it to you safely. Once you guys figure out a routine, everything should fall into place. Like Schnauzerpoodle said....give it time. Once the two of you have bonded and she is all settled in, you will know- there is nothing like this in the world. Even the headaches are worth it. Please let us all know how your vet appointment goes. All the best.

fjm

So pleased to hear she reached you safely, and huge congratulations on dealing so well with the icky stuff! Sounds as if the two of you are bonding nice and quickly - I am sure many, many of us recognise that "Help! What have I done?!" feeling. Puppies are wonderful timewasters - I used to spend hours just watching mine.

Wet food - I have used Naturediet - do you have it in the States? It is definitely one of the better ones available here in the UK, but is not horrendously expensive. If she gets an upset tummy, poached chicken and white rice is an excellent standby.

Skye

Congrats! You are going through all of the normal emotions of new puppy ownership! So glad she is home with you now!

Here's a link to a page about puppy development that I found on another forum. Thought it may be helpful:

Developmental Stages

Best of luck to you!

faerie

congrats pinky and charly!
what size is her crate? when she's in her crate you only need enough space for her to lay down.

if it's too big, then maybe make a bit of a barrier. leave her in there for napping or when you are not playing with her.

when you take her out, immediately take her to her potty place and get her to go. praise and treat when she potties in the right place.
after playing with her, take her to her potty place. praise and treat when she goes. you will do this ALL the time at first (20 mins or so).

it takes a while.
but you can do it.

at least you aren't having to take a spoo puppy outside in freezing temps and snow in the hardest winter in 20 years like i did last winter. ugh. argh. *whine*

CelticKitti

Faerie I was right there with you!! But at least she was 4-5 months by that point! But we were still working on not having any accidents!

Congrats on the new puppy! I remember when I got Kodi, he was my first dog, and I was only 21. I was TERRIFIED, even though I'd been looking for a dog for about a year. Even when I added a second dog, I was excited, but still scared of how this was going to change my life.

Puppies don’t like staying in their own mess. So if you don’t give her room to poop in the corner, and then get away from it, she’ll learn she doesn’t like being so close to her mess(and really who would!) and won’t potty in her crate. The play pen might be too big to let her sleep in yet.

Over the next few days/weeks, you and Charlie will figure each other out. You have to put in some work to make her that perfect dog. They don't come knowing to potty in the right place, to chew on only their toys. If you put the time in to teach them and to set expectations, they will become your best friend. I have faith that you will figure it out, and fall in love with her. She will grow up to be a wonderful dog if you love her and give her some basic rules! Have you found a puppy class yet? They are invaluable for their training as well as socialization.

I can't imagine life without dogs. They make you laugh and smile and no matter how bad you feel, they know just how to make you feel better.