Why having a puppy is like having another child! – Mummascribbles

They say that having a puppy is like having a child and they are so absolutely spot on! In fact, there are times when I think having a puppy is HARDER than having another child – because they will never ever learn to talk and tell you exactly what they want! Is he barking for food, for a poo, because he wants to? At least as children grow up they can start actually telling you what they want and need!

So life in our house has gotten crazy with the arrival of Buster. We absolutely adore him (less so when he is bitey or digging up the garden, but we still love him!), but having a dog is really not easy and very similar to having another young child in the house. Here is why!

You get that initial shock on the first night at home

I mean with the dog, it was a lot more like “what have I done” – but that first night is so similar to having a baby at home. You know when you leave the hospital, walk through the door and are like, what now?! That. It was all like, where will he rest? Will he sleep at night? How can we settle him? Why is he crying? What does he need? How will we navigate around bedtime? Will he wake the other children with his noise?

Going home with a baby is a massive shock to the system and honestly, so is having a puppy at home. I had so many doubts that first night, but thankfully it didn’t last long as the following day, with a fresh pair of eyes, everything got better and now he is just a part of the furniture – literally!

When they go quiet, it means they are up to no good

The amount of times I have to get up from the dinner table, or my comfy seat, to check what he is up to. If he isn’t hovering around, he is somewhere getting up to no good. I usually find him on the mat in the hallway, which is the place he runs to when he nabs something that he isn’t supposed to have – like one of the boys hats, a shoe, or my slippers! If he is quiet – he needs checking up on, just like the kids!

They make loads of noise when they sleep

Kids make so much noise in their sleep – the snuffles when they are babies, the groans as they roll over, the little snores, and the talking! Well I can tell you – dogs do too! From his heavy breathing, whimpers when he is clearly chasing something in his dreams, or growling when he gets himself all comfy. They really are very noisy sleepers!

They are only happy when they sleep in the same room as you

We tried him downstairs in a crate. He howled and cried and scratched and barked. The other half spent two nights on the sofa next to him before we realised we had no choice but to let him sleep in our bedroom. And that is where he remains. Still in his crate (we can’t guarantee that he won’t wake up and chew some stuff up while we sleep), but in our room. In fact now when we go upstairs to bed, he just walks into his crate, lays down, and goes to sleep.

And just like our Oscar pants, he quite likes his mumma to be there too! There have been nights that I have been in Oscar’s bed and Buster has been crying and barking for me, only to settle as soon as I have re-entered my own bed next to his crate! And two nights ago, because Oscar was sleeping on me downstairs, I went straight into his bed at bedtime and Buster wasn’t happy about my absence at all. Thankfully he calmed pretty quickly and once he is asleep, he tends to just sleep! But yes, we have a co-sleeping dog!

They follow you around everywhere

I mean I am used to this because Oscar still follows me around, especially when I am on the toilet! However, it was starting to get more and more that I would manage a pee by myself if I snuck there and hurried. Now however, the dog comes with me! When he first joined us, he followed me EVERYWHERE. I couldn’t leave one room to go to another without him being behind me. He has got better, but if I am out of the room for too long, he will come and find me!

They will put anything in their mouths

Literally anything. They will have all of their toys dotted around the house but they will find the things they shouldn’t. The discarded balloons in the bin, the tiny bits of Lego that the boys have dropped, the marble that has just gone rolling along the floor. I am forever removing things from between those mighty jaws that he has got hold of, just like I was forever removing things from Oscar’s mouth when he was crawling around!

You get a long way with bribery

Buster is doing pretty well with his training (although I am about to start some classes with him), but he will really only listen to me if he knows there is a treat involved! In fact, depending on what part of the training I am doing, he knows exactly when he is going to get a treat!

One of the first things I needed to get on top of was his friendliness to other dogs, At first he was really reserved, would often hold back and sometimes growl. Every time we met a dog and he didn’t growl and was confident, he got a treat. And he got so used to that, that now when we meet another dog, he comes round to the side the treats are on and looks at me expectantly! He is now very, very good with other dogs. It’s all a bit like toilet training a toddler with chocolate buttons. Which I probably need to do because Oscar really needs to conquer this now!

They have mad moments when they over-tired

Yes – just like witching hour, if Buster hasn’t had enough rest, he has crazy moments where he runs around like a loon until he collapses in a heap and falls asleep. It is like watching Oscar and Zach at 6.45pm every day!

So there you go. If you are thinking about getting a sweet little puppy, make sure you are ready to take on what is basically a baby all over again. It is hard work, there is a lot of poo involved and A LOT of training. But they are wonderful! Oh and make sure you re-home. If you didn’t know, Buster is from Bulgaria – he was born to a street dog and we rescued him from the wonderful Street Hearts BG. They ALWAYS have puppies and older dogs that need homes!

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