I’m a dog mom now

Wow it’s been awhile since I last wrote a personal blog post. Latest big update in my life is that my boyfriend and I now have a puppy.

I’ve always wanted a dog but my parents never agreed to one so when my boyfriend agreed to take care of one together, I was ecstatic! An adorable pup to call my own!

Finding a puppy wasn’t easy. Because of covid, many people stayed home or worked from home and therefore, became open to raising a pet. Dogs became a hot commodity and prices soared. I’ve always kept an eye out for local pet shelters and rescue organizations, but it was rare to find a puppy at such places and even more rare to find the breeds I was hoping to adopt.

Many people gave me the “adopt don’t shop” lecture when I asked around for recommendations on breeders. I know there are bad breeders and puppy mills out there, but there are also good breeders too. I understand it’s always better to adopt, which is why I have monitored local shelters and rescues over the years, but realistically, the chances of finding the right dog for me were slim.

You see, I’m not some saint. I’m not here to save all dogs on the planet. Yes it sucks that there are dogs out there who need a home, but I’m not necessarily the right owner for them. I’m here to raise one dog who will actually be happy living with me in my home and with my lifestyle. So yes, I was open to breeders and I was also open to adopting as long as the dog met my requirements.

Because I live in an apartment, I focused on finding a small breed (10lbs and smaller). I don’t think a big dog will be happy living in my apartment, especially because we are not on the ground floor and have no backyard for a dog to run around. I was also hoping for a non-shedding breed so that limited the breeds I was searching for to the following: toy poodle, bichon frise, miniature schnauzers, maltese, terriers and select mixes of any of these breeds.

We ended up with a maltese puppy and yes, we had to pay for him and he was $$$$. He was around 11 weeks old when we first took him home and because of his white fur, we decided to name him Tofu.

It’s been almost 3 weeks since Tofu has joined our home. Some highlights of my life since then:

Good boy Tofu

• He is very cute and smol
• He likes us!! Gives us lots of kisses
• For the most part, he doesn’t pee or poo on the grey carpet in the living room
• Potty training has been progressing steadily (pee pad style)
• No diarrhea!
• Biting is minimal – he is teething so he likes to chew and bite on things but his training on not biting us has been going really well
• He sleeps quite a lot! Around 18 hours a day
• Doesn’t bark at night
• Doesn’t seem to be afraid of adult strangers
• My parents like him a lot and call him grandson – wtf mom and dad why didn’t you let me have a dog then?
• Loves babies! He will kiss them many times
• Loves his toothpaste so toothbrushing has been very smooth
• He was apparently an angel during his vaccinations at the vet
• Learned how to sit after 1 week
• Learned how to spin
• In progress: learning how to give his paw
• Generally lets us brush him without too much trouble
• Pretty good at wearing his harness

Bad boy Tofu

• Biting his pee pads – this drives us crazy
• Barking and whining when we eat lunch and dinner without him
• Eating his own poo – SO GROSS DON’T DO THIS TOFU
• Separation anxiety – one day I had to go into the office for 6 hours and he peed on the carpet twice!
• Playing with his food and water bowls – sometimes he tips them and spills water everywhere

To sum it up, he is cute but my boyfriend and I have been exhausted. For the first 2 weeks, my life revolved around his pee schedule (which is around every hour). I am a first time dog owner so I have felt so frustrated at times that I burst out crying. In the bad boy moments, I’ve even had feelings of regret creep up on me.

It hasn’t been easy and fun all the time, but I tell myself that it gets better every day. He is still a baby and is still learning and I suppose so am I. Little by little, Tofu is teaching me how to be more patient and understanding and I think that in itself is a pretty crazy thing. I mean the guy hasn’t even learned not to eat his own poop yet but he is teaching me patience and understanding?!

When I think about Tofu and how happy he is just to see me wake up in the morning I realize that he loves us and as long as we are patient with him and continuously training and teaching him, I’m sure he will slowly get rid of his bad habits and become the good pupper everyone thinks he is when they see his pictures.

This is the beginning of my dog mom life. Rip me.

Sincerely, Loewe