First 2 Weeks Home

Wow... Has it already been 2 weeks since Waffles has been home with us?? It's been a crazy whirlwind of different emotions throughout this puppy mommahood journey. The first week I was a complete wreck. I was waking up twice a night to take her out to pee, then waking up to go to work. For those of you that don't know me, I LOVE my sleep. I love it like a fat kid loves cake! I'm a hot mess without it. My poor kids at work probably felt the brunt of that. Thankfully it was only 3 days of grumpy teacher. :P

Which leads me to the next point.

Thank GOD for the boy. If he wasn't around to help watch her while I was at work, it would have only intensified the stress levels by 10967 fold. He helped entertain her, helped potty train her, and best of all, loved her with his whole being. He set the strong foundation of trust and respect in the crucial first few days. I truly couldn't have survived without him. I'm willing to be a hundred bucks that Waffles feels the same way too. :)

I'll be real with you guys and put it out there and say the first couple of days without the boy were absolutely miserable. I wanted to DIE. Giving her back was definitely an option for me. Not only was I backlogged in sleep, but I learned fast that she was an absolute terror. She constantly ate rocks, she ate EVERYTHING in sight, it took her forever to do her business, and her puppy urges to play were out of this world! Hot damn! I was ready to give her back! I definitely questioned my ability to handle her and be her pack leader. At my most desperate moments, I even went as far as calling dog trainers to get some professional help. There was one named Steve who I will write a separate post on, but he was a godsend. Because of him, I was able to survive my first week and truly enjoy week 2 of puppy mommahood. I got a better handle on her by learning her behaviors, her habits, and signals. Now, her and I are inseparable and I can't get enough of her!!

Some things that makes Waffles, well... Waffles. This is her in a nutshell.

Her Loves:

• Sleep - this girl loves her sleep. I believe that your pet is a reflection of you, and this one matches to the tee. After some fun play time with momma or dadda, she sleeps for a glorious 2-3 hours. It's absolutely heavenly. I've also learned that when your puppy sleeps, it is absolutely mandatory that you take advantage and sleep as well.

• Bull's Penis - Yes, you heard that correctly. Our little girl loves to chew on a bull's penis. It's her wooby and she carries it everywhere she goes! Her first day of discovering this delicious piece of meat, she actually debated whether to drink water or put down the bull's penis. You get one guess who won that one.

Her happy place. She only brings toys that she absolutely cherishes here. She loves digging it in the crevices of the cushions so nobody can steal it.

Will take it in her crate too to help her fall asleep.

• Tennis Balls and Alligator - She can play fetch for HOURS if her puppy parents had the energy for it. She also loves playing tug a war with her alligator friend. 

• Rocks - Oh. My. God. Does she love rocks. She loves to go hunting for them and will eat them any chance she gets! It drives me bonkers!!

• Water bottles - It's magic what a cheap water bottle can do for her. We spent so much money on buying her fun toys, and then we find out that all she really needs is a watter bottle! Wth?! She loves the crunching sound it makes and loves chasing it around on the floor. It's endless entertainment for her which means guilt free TV time for momma and dadda! :P

Her Hates:

• Camera - I loooove taking pictures of everyone and everything. If there's one thing you can count on me doing right, it's to take a million pictures of everything. So you can imagine how sad it made me to find out that she's not a fan. Right when I take the camera out, she looks away, up, down, left, right, anywhere but at the camera! It's a win for the day if I can get a good one of her looking. See what I mean??

Neener Momma. You can't get me to look!

• Digging for anything in her mouth - Wow... it's a battle on a daily basis between her and I. Her mouth is like a treasure chest. You can never know what goodies you're gonna find in there. And this little rascal will fight to the death to keep it in there. I've found things like pebbles, plastic tags, feathers, torn paper, plastic everything... And the crappy thing is is that she KNOWS when she has something bad in her mouth. She will get on her belly, keep her head down with her devious puppy eyes looking right at me calculating how long it's gonna take for me to take notice. She's too smart for her own good!

• Reflections in Mirrors - It's hilarious watching her look at herself in the mirror. She will paw at it and bark at it and eventually run away.

She Can:

• Sit - Two afternoons and a gazillion treats later, she learned how to sit. Right now, she can do it when she sees a treat or when she wants to be held, but anything other than that, she refuses to be my monkey. Damn it Waffles! What good are you if I can't be entertained on demand?? I've failed as a teacher with an extrinsicly motivated fur baby.

• Sohn - So I'm trying to teach her to be bilingual. I say "sohn," which means hand in Korean, and she gives me her sweet little paws! The boy didn't believe me, but we showed him!

• Do Her Business - She's been pretty good about going to the bathroom outside. We will only have about 2 accidents a day, which isn't bad at all! However, we've been her chauffeur and have been taxiing it to her pee spot. We now need to try to figure out how to teach her to tell us she needs to go. It's gonna be hard! 

• Sleep Through the Night - This was HUGE for me! I wanted to punch myself in the face twice a night when I woke up to take her outside for potty time. Thankfully after about 3 days, she's been able to sleep through the night without any accidents. She'll wake me up at about 7 AM, but will sometimes be very generous and will let me sleep in until 8!

Her Personality:

• Social Butterfly: If I had to use one word to describe her, it'd be hands down, sociable. She LOVES meeting new people. She gets excited and pees all over herself when she hears the door bell rings cuz she knows that only means one thing: GUESTS!! She has zero problems going up to people and wag her happy tail for some love! Unfortunately, I only have 1 picture with her and a friend. So far she's met neighbors, my family, the boy's mom, and friends. Researchers say that a puppy needs to meet about 100 people before she reaches 3 months to help build her socialization skills, so I'm happy to report that we're well on our way!

• Curious: She is such a curious little puppy. She loves playing explorer and sometimes sits quietly to hear what's going on around her. I always wonder what goes on in that developing brain of hers when she's in her thinking mode.

Hi neighbors!

• Sweet and Loving: Waffles is the epitome of a cuddlebug. She loves being scratched, played with, being held, and gives a million kisses to your face at every opportunity!

Waffles, some days are a serious struggle, but for the most part, your dadda and I love your sweet face! You've got so much spunk and personality in you that we hope you never lose. You're getting so big already so we're trying to soak up and embrace every puppy moment we can! :)

How can you not love this sweet face?!