Ach wellโฆ most of it still stands. Better done than perfect, right? This weekend marked a month since DorkyDog joined our family. It has beenโฆ quite possibly the longest month of my life.
We have had no snappy or grouchy behaviour, just full-on enthusiasm and friendliness for everyone and everything she has encountered. Crate training is an absolute life-saver. Having a safe and secure spot to pop her during the day so I can get household chores and writing work done without being constantly tripped up has made a huge difference. Precious things have been moved to higher ground.
She now sleeps all night โ 9pm to 7am โ without needing to be let out for a wee. After almost a month of 3am wake ups I was starting to find myself back in the foggy head space I remember from having a newborn baby: loading the dishwasher but forgetting to turn it on, getting dressed without noticing that my clothes were inside out or back to front or on one occasion both. I will miss seeing those lovely clear Tassie night skiesโฆ but honestly not that much.
We are lucky to have a dog-friendly beach nearby and a big open park area just across the road โ both of which she finds very exciting.
Teaching her commands is deeply satisfying and totally satisfies my inner brag-mom. Puppy gastro. Bloody hell. The first time she took a solid two hour nap and let me get some work done was a revelation. Remembering how utterly miserable and resentful I become when my sleep is disturbed. It makes me wonder how any of us survived early parenthood. The silent, mental calculations that all three human family members are doing.
