Bringing Home Charlie

I’ve had a lot of questions over the last month on my new puppy so today’s blog post is all about Charlie. Let me preface this by saying previously I was not a dog lover. I didn’t not like them, but I didn’t really think I’d ever have a dog or be a “dog person.” I have a lot going on. I travel. I teach. I design. I sell. I blog. I like my house to be clean. Dog hair just won’t work. Big dogs sometimes scare me. In general, dogs are cute; I’ll pet your dog. I can’t dog, not right now, probably not ever.

Enter Charlie. After seeing some of my friends’ pets, I began to wonder if a dog could be a good fit for us. I researched Goldendoodles at the beginning because they are non-shedding. When I realized how big they could get, I wasn’t sure if that would be a good fit for me. While researching, I came across a breed called a Bichapoo (Bichon Frise and Miniature Poodle mix– both hypoallergenic, non-shedding breeds). Hmm.. maybe. For about a month, I looked at photos and made phone calls to breeders all over PA and OH. I would bring it up to my husband and he would say, “No dogs.” He liked dogs, he had a dog as a child, but he knew I never had one before. He also knew I liked little dogs and he insisted the only type of dog to have was a big dog.

One day, Erin and I made a trip two hours east to visit a litter of Bichapoo puppies that were 7-weeks old. I had found a particular puppy online that I fell in love with. I was just going to look at them and see if I liked the breed. We pulled up to the family’s residence and saw 4 of the cutest little puppies I’ve ever seen playing in the yard. There were 6 in the litter and 2 were already claimed. We ran over and began playing with them. There were 2 girls and 2 boys. The puppies weighed about 1.5 – 2 pounds. The two girl puppies ran over to me and Erin, one jumping and excited, the other sat in my lap. Spoiler alert: The one sitting in my lap was the one I saw online and loved. The one sitting on my lap would become my Charlie girl.

During that next week, everyone I asked questions about pet ownership to told me all of the reasons that I shouldn’t get a dog– that it’s a lot of work, that I don’t know what I’m getting into, that she would be up all night crying, that I’d have to potty train her, that puppies chew things. I knew all of this, but listened. I already had made up my mind anyway.

Also, during that week, I prepared my home for the puppy. One of the best things I purchased for Charlie was her playpen. It’s like having a really big suite instead of a crate. She loves it because she has room to play when she wakes up from her naps. I found it on Amazon and highly recommend it! I also got several other things for her from Amazon; some of my favorites are this bowl set, harness, the cutest package of designer-themed bows, and a pink collar. One of the most important things I purchased from Amazon was her Smart Snuggle Pet. This helped Charlie sleep at night. It’s a stuffed animal (hers is a puppy) that has a heart beat. She still snuggles with it, but we don’t need to turn on the heartbeat anymore.

One week later, we went back and got Charlie (now a day past 8 weeks old). We decided it would be best to have her over Memorial Day weekend for her first weekend home. I couldn’t believe what a good girl she was. She laid quietly on my lap the entire ride home. We stopped on the way home at a rest stop and to our surprise, she went number 1 and 2 in the grass. She did cry the first few nights because she was in a new place, but after less than a week, she was sleeping all night (about 8-10 hours). In fact, we usually have to wake her up in the mornings!

She had very few accidents in the house. She goes to one of the doors when she has to go outside. (We are now starting on training her to ring the bell.) She did this since week 1 of being home. We would take her outside frequently, so she kind of caught on quickly. She never ever goes in her playpen when we leave her at home either. We don’t use puppy pads because Charlie didn’t like them and prefers the grass.

To put it simply, she has stolen both of our hearts. She loves to play with her (super mini) tennis ball, eat peanut butter from her mini Kong, play with her rope toys, run around outside, and watch Disney movies. She likes to cuddle at night time when she finally wears out (and then we carry her to her bed).

Today, Charlie girl is officially 3 months old! She was born on March 30th, 2017. At this point in time, she has mastered the following: “Come,” “Sit,” “High Five,” and “Lay Down.” We currently have some more tricks in the works! Right now, she is about 4 lbs. At full size, she should be somewhere around 10 lbs.  If you are thinking about getting a puppy, assess your situation and make the decision that YOU think is right. I can tell you that she brings a lot of joy and I am so glad I followed my heart and made the decision that I felt was best. Yes, she chews. Yes, she needed potty trained. Yes, she kept us up (but only for 3 nights). Yes, she is a good bit of work. But in addition to all of those things, each morning she gets so excited for me to come downstairs and can’t wait to be right by my side. Each night, she snuggles up against me or on my lap. When I come home, even if it’s 10 minutes later, she greets me like it’s like the first time she’s ever seen me. I’m a teacher. I’m a blogger. I’m a million things. And now, I’m a dog mom. Do I wake up in the middle of the night and make sure the puppy is breathing? Sometimes. But I’m a little bit crazy. (I don’t do this as much as I used to.. lol) I don’t know if we got really lucky in getting a very smart, well-behaved dog that doesn’t shed at all, but I know the right choice was bringing her home.

xo,
Ashley & Charlie