Pupdate: Lucia’s First Weekend With Us

With getting our first dog last week (read the blog post on how we got her here), it didn’t feel right to do a post on anything but her since that is all my life has been consumed by for the past several days. Puppies keep you BUSY, and I feel like everything else has been put on hold for a few days to help get her comfortable at our house with us. Keep reading for a little update on Lucia, how we’re training her, how she’s behaving and what we’re looking forward to most with her!

I worked from home with her the first two days she was with us and it was a lot of time for her and I to get to know each other. She needs lots of attention, but also lots of naps, so that helped me get things done and recharge to run wild with her when she woke up again — and that’s no exaggeration when I say “run wild.” She’d wake up from a nap, be sleepy and cuddly, then want to play, then start looking for trouble (AKA chewing on things she’s not supposed to), run wild, then crash again. She keeps us on our toes, that’s for sure!

Saturday we went out to lunch with her and spent the day with my parents for Justin’s birthday (pictured above), and we headed to his parents’ house to play with his family’s dogs on Sunday. Lucia was so friendly and good with them, but they were a little annoyed with her here and there for climbing all over them — can’t blame them there 😂. It was a good experience and she seemed to have fun based on the fact that she crashed when we got to the car and slept pretty much the whole way home!

As for sleeping, she’s been doing AMAZING. We’re crate training her and her sleep schedule is around 10:30 p.m.–5:30 a.m. right now without crying or barking during the night, and that’s amazing to me. She loves her crate and wants to go in there for the most part when she’s sleepy. She dreams a lot and has the occasional snore, kicks her legs and sometimes lets out a little whimper or bark in her sleep. It’s so cute and we’ve developed a nighttime routine with her that’s been working well.

As for training, we’re planning to bell train her for going to the bathroom outside. Basically, you hang a bell on your door and the dog learns to ring it when they need to go outside. We just Amazon-Primed one that will be here tomorrow, so I’ll keep you updated on how this goes! She’s had a handful of accidents in the house (pee only, thankfully, but she’s little and that’s bound to happen! My mom gave me the tip to dilute laundry detergent in water and use that to wipe up her accidents (specifically ones on carpet), and it’s worked wonders! I really acts fast at getting it up and eliminating the smell — I recommend it!

I’m also curious what your thoughts are on puppy pee pads. I’ve used puppy pads with our family dogs growing up, but I’ve heard they can be bad because they teach your dog in some capacity that it’s okay to pee in the house. For that reason, Justin and I have chosen not to implement them (at least not currently). Instead, we take her outside every 30 minutes or so (except after she goes to bed) and that’s worked well for us. She pees almost every time!

We’re also teaching her that she’s not allowed on the furniture, mostly because she can’t stop biting and scratching. We have A LOT of battle scars from her already, but that’s puppy life for ya! She’s been good at going on walks and walking on a leash as well, except for her little revolt today (which we suspect is because we left her alone all day for the first time), laying down mid-walk and refusing to move. She cracks me up and I find it hard not to laugh sometimes!

Something I’d been the most nervous about was leaving her home alone while we’re at work. We tossed around different ideas of what we should do with her, and we ended up deciding on an activity pin inside for now. We got a size large one from Petco and did a little test run Sunday evening to see how she would handle it before leaving her for an entire day. We gave her a kong toy with peanut butter in it and quietly left without making a big deal out of it. To our surprise, we can home to a sleeping puppy! That gave me so much peace to leave this week for work and again, she was found asleep without destroying her bed or anything when we came home. We’re so proud of her! We also put a shower curtain with a sheet on top of it under the pin to protect the floor and help clean up any accidents.

If we’re being real here, Lucia has absolutely changed my life. She makes me more active, I look at my phone less, spend more time outdoors, and I feel a whole new level of selflessness and even more love. It’s crazy to think she wasn’t even in our lives a few days ago and now I can’t imagine not having her around. The somewhat impulsive decision to go “meet” her, leading to us bringing her home, is one of the absolute best things we’ve ever done. She’s everything to me and I can’t wait to give her a good life in a home where she is so loved and wanted. Okay, I’m about to cry.

She has completely pulled me out of the funk I was in that I’ve talked to you about here on my blog and she really reminds me to focus on the important things: family and those that you love. She is such a blessing to us. If you’ve thought at all about getting a dog and feel ready for the change, I can’t say enough good things about it. Though Justin and I both grew up with dogs, this is our first pet as a couple and all the responsibility is in our hands, unlike when we were kids. It’s a big decision to take on another family member, but it’s such a beautiful thing.

We’re excited to have her for all the little things in life, but also just incorporate her into our daily routines — taking her with us to sporting events at Justin’s school, going to the park, eating outdoors at restaurants and so much more. We are already enjoying her so much and are excited for all the firsts that are still ahead!

I hope you guys enjoy these little updates and all the posts I’ve been sharing on my Instagram story (I’ve saving pretty much everything under my “Lucia” story highlight). I want to cherish every second of her at this age and not forget a single thing! Thanks so much for reading and check back for another new post on Wednesday!