Milli turned 6 months old this week! I know a lot of you have gotten "Corona puppies" or are thinking about it. Probably 2 months ago I would have said "DON'T DO IT!!!" but now I would say GO FOR IT!! It had been a while since we had a puppy so I just forgot how hard it is at first.
It's so much like having a newborn. I had to watch her every second. I took her with me into the bathroom every time I took a shower. I spent most of my day outside saying "Go potty". It was just a lot of work. And I was starting to regret adding more work to my life. ha!
But it just takes time. Look how little she was! She has grown so much in the 4 months we have had her. We think she may be close to full grown. She's bigger than we were expecting. She's a Cavapoo. She gets mistaken for a golden doodle every where we go. But she won't get THAT big. We chose this breed because she doesn't shed and is semi hypo allergenic. Harper has allergies and Milli doesn't bother her at all. And Cavapoos get to be around 20-25 lbs. And they are so cute and smart dogs.
She's been so good with the kids. She and WH wrestle a lot. She gets a little rougher with him but he is rough with her. She is so excited when the kids get up every day. She loves to go on long walks with us. She loves to get in creeks.
She was also pretty wild at first. But she has settled down and she takes a lot of naps. She still likes to tear things up like all my shoes. And any paper product she can find. We have learned to keep things up and away from her.
The Corona Quarantine has been so good for her. She is fully potty trained and so happy to have us with her all the time. She's going to be in complete shock in a few months if we all go back to school and work. We have left her briefly when we went on bike rides and she acts like we were gone for six months.
I did find her on the dining table the other day. She looks completely guilty.
I had planned to crate train her but in the end I just couldn't do it. I need my sleep. So she slept at the foot of our bed from day one and I gave the crate away. So many people have told me that bell training worked great for them and I had almost started that when she finally just got it. We have a doggie door so our training is a little easier. It finally clicked and she learned she can go out that door. We have a toddler/dog fence that we set up in that room around the doggie door if we need to leave. We keep her bed and food in there and she's set up. We took it down since we have been home all the time. By the time we finally go back to being gone from the house - we probably won't need it - she will just be able to stay in the house and go out when she needs to.
She's been a lot of fun during this time and a lot of comfort. Petting a dog really does ease anxiety. And she gives a lot of company. I have gotten very attached to her and I didn't know if that would happen again. If you are on the fence of a dog - I say go for it. Know it will be hard for a couple of months and then very worth it.
