Chandler

In my last post, I explained a bit about how I arrived at the decision to get a puppy. Here’s the fun stuff: what our first few weeks have been like together!

When I got him home he immediately found a favorite spot in my house… Underneath the kitchen table (a.k.a. the toughest spot to try to pick him up from). I learned quickly that he loves squeaky chew toys, that gross fake spray cheese (string cheese too), and was not a fan of “walks”. We had a fun first few days, but I truly had underestimated the amount of attention he would need. Thank god he’s cute.

Over the first few weeks, I really learned a lot about his personality. He’s really not super food motivated, but he LOVES belly rubs. This makes him lots of fun to cuddle with, but a terrible student for obedience school. He just started to LOVE going up and down the stairs which is lots of fun for me to witness… but I don’t have the same amount of energy he does to always keep up with him! He loves to chew and thankfully he pretty much only chews his own toys and steers clear of furniture, carpet, etc.

I also feel like I hit the JACKPOT with him because he has been really easy to potty train. I’ve been diligently crate training him. Sadly for me, this means no dog sleeping at the end of the bed. Chandler spends the night in his crate. And he does a great job with it! During the first three nights he woke up around 4:00 am and got my attention to go outside. Ever since then he’s slept great through the night with ZERO overnight accidents in his crate. The only times he’s gone in the house are when 1) I’m too preoccupied to take him out the moment he gives me a warning sign, or 2) I’ve left him during the day for longer than a few hours in his crate. It’s the little things, people.

Other things of note:

• He was NOT a fan of walks at first. I think he hated the collar pulling around his neck. I quickly decided to get him a harness, and so far that’s working so much better. Now he loves when we take a stroll around the neighborhood or the park.
• Chandler is great at bath time! He stands still and wasn’t scared at all on his first visit to the groomer either, and his groomer commented that he’s got a great temperament. Another score.
• So far he’s been pretty quiet. He’s barked a small bit when he hears something really loud outside, but mostly he’s just a super sweet guy. If you meet him, be ready for him to jump up to give you a kiss!
• Last week he passed the behavior exam at Doggy Daycare. Yahtzee! This means he played well with the other puppies and can come back anytime he wants to. I plan to take him at least weekly for now to get him socialized and to help him expend some extra energy.

It has been an absolute blast having Chandler. I’ve got lots more that I’ve learned about being a first-time dog dad and can’t wait to use this space to share it.