Puppy Parenting

Although it still weirds me out a little when people refer to me as Tucker's "daddy", I've now been a puppy parent for almost three weeks. Having never had a dog before, it's been (continues to be) an experience. I anticipated a lot of work in raising the little guy, but I still underestimated it. And from what I've gathered, he's a well behaved puppy. But a puppy nonetheless. Which is a good thing about 90% of the time.

Some random things I've been experiencing so far.

1. My sleep schedule is completely screwed up (early to bed, early to rise makes Spencer a sleepier person than he already is).

2. I really do feel like a parent. Putting him to bed is like putting a child to bed. He can be dead tired, but as soon as it's time to sleep, he gets uber hyper and wants to play. It's hilarious and exhausting at the same time. For example, as soon as his four little paws touch my comforter (yes, he sleeps on my bed. Please don't judge me.), he starts digging. I don't exactly know why, but he'll have a burst of intense digging, with intervals of rest, then he'll start again. This is usually coupled with the laps around the tv room and my bedroom.

3. I think of myself as a person with a lot of patience. But there are definitely times where those limits are pushed. It's humbling. And makes me hope that this will simply make me even more patient when I have kids some day.

4. I'm a sucker for puppy eyes. Sometimes I look into the dark pools of melancholy when he's sitting there, and it breaks my heart. For example, right after he's played with his siblings (a friend of mine has his older sister and litter brother) and they have gone home, he looks for them. You can tell he misses them. Reading his eyes kill me everytime.

5. I love the way he sleeps. I don't care if you're not a dog person. Watching him sleep (and dream sometimes) and seeing how cute he is... as my brother says "you just want to eat him up!". (Hopefully he doesn't mean figuratively. Of course, we are Chinese. I kid, I kid.)

6. I have become that guy. That guy who not only picks up the poo, but carries it for another mile. At least I've been trying to fight becoming the guy who only talks about one thing: his dog/child/car/job/etc.

7.  It's been fun watching him grow up. This past week he started responding to his name. Plus he's gotten to know B and I. He now comes over and sits at our feet, or rests his head on our leg, just so he can be petted or held. It's very enduring (he's actually came over as I was typing this and laid down).

8. After reading the previous 7 items, he's made me sappier too I think.

So that's where I am with the puppy raising. Overall, Tucker's been a blast. And for the times he's not, I've been trying to remind myself to enjoy his time as a puppy, and that all this work is to make him an awesome adult dog later...