So many times I hear people say I thought about having a kid so I got a puppy to test my patience lol While this is a similar situation I’ll be the first to burst your bubble and say….puppies are so much different! Well, in a sense. They will both make you loose it when they have shredded the entire LAST roll of toilet paper and you are waddling with your pants around your ankles, piecing together enough to wipe with! You can feed the puppy a cup of uncooked broth prepared food and they are perfectly content. The baby requires much more preparation and meal time doesn’t end when you pour the cup of food in the dish. In fact it seamlessly transitions to bath time and bedtime all in one because after eating, you and baby will be covered in food, milk, spit up and no telling what else (depending on age) and you’ll want to dive straight into the closest hot soapy water to get clean and the bed will never look so welcoming at the end of the day! Except don’t get too comfy because unlike those crated puppies, the baby does.NOT.sleep! Some get pretty fortunate but for the most part you’ll be lucky to get in 2 hours at a time! So, when weighing it out…don’t use the puppy trial to make the decision. Look at the actually differences and THEN make your decision.
Now, if you’re getting a new puppy…congratulations! It’s a huge step and as a puppy owner I want to share some tips and tricks that have come in handy!
1.) Having the kids first so they can help clean up the messes lol Getting some doggie bags help them to stay germ free but still be able to help.
2.) This poopie scooper is so handy! To help keep the yard land-mine free! we find that they tend to go near the same spot each time it needs to be scooped or you will have a smelly yard. With time of course it would just add nutrients to the yard like compost but in the mean time it could be more if a mess. We opt for clean up! 🙂
3.) Probably the most important is the food choice! We have had a lot of trial and error but I found PawTree through my best friend and it has literally been a lifesaver! Its 100% guaranteed or your money back for 90 days! No more runny piles and no more gas! I don’t have to worry about lifting the heavy bags at the store (or forgetting to get it altogether) cause they ship it straight to my house as often as I choose! PLUS it’s so good for them! They even have seasonings that you can add to switch up their food. Just like us they like having a little something different every now and then. 😉 Our vet was pleasantly surprised when she read the ingredients! Use code BETTYANN to get 20% off your first purchase sitewide!
4.) A Crate! I know it’s debatable and some don’t like it but it really is the easiest way to train them and our puppies love their crates now and go in them without being told. Im not an expert but we feel like dogs ”in nature” are use to a den and as long as you creat the safe space feel in the crate they actually find it comforting. We never crate them as punishment and keep the crate as a safe place to bed. At night, after their last potty trip outside they go straight to the crate and we give a treat. They lay down and get all comfy and we don’t hear a peep till morning. Maybe I’ll do a more in depth post on how we got to this point later on.
because of preterm labor and I didn’t appreciate that. I had already been laid off at my job due to company closing just a couple months prior so I had to go from working, to piddling trying to stay busy, to full blown bed rest! After 3 weeks I was induced and delivered our baby girl, Taylar Paiton. She was perfect! Literally! The doctor said she was “textbook” perfect! All was perfect except when I stood up for the first time, urine pooled at my feet! Yes, that’s right, I said it, I was 21 years old, married a little over one year, fresh out of bed rest, first time new mommy, with a prolapsed bladder!!!! However, I did not mention this to my doctor because I thought it was normal! There was a lot of “young and dumb” moments prior but this one topped it! I went home and unsuccessfully dealt with this until my first appointment a week later and my doctor was so deeply saddened and sincerely concerned knowing how hard it had been for me. I had worn teenage goodnight diapers for a week while wondering WHY NO ONE TOLD ME about that part. Now I realize it’s because that part wasn’t normal. Along with that, I cried…all.the.time! I cried because my newborn was beautiful, because she would eventually go to kindergarten, because I wanted her to sleep but didn’t want her to sleep, because she wouldn’t wear her tiny clothes for long and one day I’d have to shop in bigger sizes, and well…I cried for anything that crossed my mind good or bad. My doctor was again concerned but also aware of “baby blues” however, at my second week appointment we realized it was more than that. I was referred to a behavioral health clinic in our very small town and there I was basically a Guinea pig because all they treated was addiction and abuse so I didn’t really fit into any of their “programs.” We bounced around to a couple of these before my doctor done some research and found a women’s life cycle and post-partum specialist a couple hours from us. At this point, I was 9 months in, reoccurring fleeting thoughts of suicide and one incident where I ran my bath with scalding hot water in efforts to kill the pain. Please don’t let yourself get to that point! Reach out cause there is help! When I seen the specialist for the first time, it became very clear, I had major depressive disorder and needed help! She assured me of what I already knew but My condition had zero to do with Taylar! She was beautiful and perfect in every way. As lovely as I had dreamed her to be. But in my mind, there was a chemical imbalance that took place during the hormonal roller coaster I had got on a year prior! No one can say for sure whether it would’ve happened without the pregnancy right then or if it had been years later but having a mental illness was inevitable it just happened to introduce itself THEN! The doctor rearranged my medicines and within the week I could catch a thought and was finally able to smile again! She referred me to a urologist within the same network and 3 months later I had a mesh sling implanted for my bladder and it instantly solved that problem. I was feeling human again! Those 9 months were a living nightmare! Jesus, my newborn, my mom, step-dad and husband were the only reason I pulled through it and am where I am today, which I’ll write about in following blogs! I hope everyone that ever reads this has that support but if you don’t still reach out because there are people just like me that sincerely CARE and will go to extreme measures to help you! 
Rae’s Daze 