Puppy Adventures

Before we got married, a piece of advice I received several times was "Before you have kids, get a pet to practice on!" This sounded like a great idea, so we started looking forward to the day we'd get our puppy - our first child. Now that we have a puppy, this makes even more sense to me than it did before! We knew she would be a big time and financial commitment, but I wasn't expecting how fast and how much she could turn our world upside down.

Taking a nap. She's really mastered the art of sleeping.

Though we had put much thought into the responsibilities that come with a puppy, the reality of it didn't seem so real until she was really ours. However, Charlotte has made things easier on us by being a stellar puppy. One of the biggest ways she's impressed us is by sleeping through the night! YES! She's also been relatively quiet, which I know might not stick since she's a hound dog, but for now it's a blessing, especially living in an apartment!

I know she'll grow up way too fast, so I want to remember as much as I can about what she is like as a puppy. Here is a list of Charlie's quirks that make her who she is.

Charlotte is 10 weeks and 6 days old, (born 7/14/14) and weighs 11 pounds.

-Charlie LOVES people. When we take her outside, she gets so excited if she sees someone new. Her little tail wags so fast, and she is so happy to get to smell and kiss someone new. If you ignore her, look out - you'll have a little basset puppy chasing you down! Thanks to Charlie, we've met at least half the people in our apartment community.

Charlie sits and waits for her friends in the office to come back.

-Charlie gets nervous around other dogs/cats. Her tail goes in between her legs, and she might try and hide behind something. She stays very quiet until they leave.

-It took her a few days, but she mastered the art of stair climbing. Once she got that down, she decided that it's way more fun to have someone else carry her. Going down the stairs is terrifying! She's made it halfway once, then started crying for help.

-Do you remember being a young kid, and always wanting to walk along the edge of the curb? That's exactly what Charlie is like. She enjoys balancing on the curb and the center of speed bumps.

-The first 2 mornings, Charlie woke us up at 5. After that, she started blessing us by sleeping in till 6, at least! She will just whimper a little. The one time she cried the most was when she was in "time out", which has only had to happen once.

-She takes lots of little naps every day. She enjoys being near us, but her other favorite places are in the bathroom or on a small ledge under the piano.

-Her favorite things to chew include her toys, the bathroom rug, newspapers, and us.

Vicious Charlie attacks a poor innocent toy.

-The only place she'll try to dig is when we let her on the futon. The futon, though only 1.5 feet off the ground (at most), is our place of refuge when she gets nippy.

But sometimes, we let her up here anyway!

-She loves to have her belly rubbed. We finally found that sweet spot which will make her little legs kick when rubbed.

-She has the cutest little groan/grunt that she'll make when we pick her up, when she's stretching, or other random times.

-She's currently not allowed in the office or bedroom. She will make every attempt to get in whenever she sees her chance.

-She goes from a full out sprint to lying down in .008573 seconds. I never know what I'm in for when I take her outside. Will she sit there and chew on rocks for as long as I'll put up with? Will she do her business then climb up the stairs and be done? Or maybe she'll see someone and take off after them in what will end up to be a jog around all the apartment buildings? There's no way of knowing!

-Those ears! Our goal is to grow them out so she can beat the World Guinness Record of "Longest Dog Ears." (It's currently 13.75 inches, we've got a ways to go.) They get wet when she drinks, and then she shakes them off and they whip all over. She trips over them when she walks. She does not appreciate our efforts to keep them clean.

-Her first visit to the vet went perfectly - she put up with everything they had to do, and she learned about puppy treats!

-When going for car rides, she would much rather sit right between us than stick her head out the window.

-She's so cute, I really want to get pictures of everything she does, but the only time she's still enough for a camera is when she's asleep - therefore, I have many pictures of her sleeping. :)

But no matter what happens, Charlotte will never be remembered as "the most impulsive terrible mistake we made this month." My new haircut? THAT was "the most impulsive terrible mistake I made this month"!

"Selfies with Charlie" round 1: Charlie hates selfies. See her scowl? Grrrr.