5 Things I Didn’t Know About Puppies

Till we got Scooby

We never owned a pet before. As a kid, I was bitten by stray dogs three times. And, this was the time when they gave anti-Rabies injections right around your belly. 14 times. So, in all, I received about 42 or so of them.

This was before I was ten years old so I am reasonably proud of bearing through that ordeal. My wife was extraordinarily scared of dogs. On a glorious summer afternoon, as she was strolling through a park, an energetic pup bounded up on her. She let out a howl that froze him in his tracks. Despite all these, we knew we were dog people. And, if we were ever going to have a pet, it would be of the canine kind.

The decision to get a pet got turbo-charged under a sustained campaign by our son. We caving in was an emotional decision. We were worried that it will be hard. Our friends confirmed our fears. As we are still in the middle of the pandemic, I was pushing to get a puppy once my son gets vaccinated at least.

I couldn’t imagine that we would be getting a dog right in the middle of a Covid situation. In the second week after my son had tested positive for Covid, we had no choice but to take the plunge. We watched some classic puppy movies (‘Marley & Me’, ‘A Dog’s Purpose’) and added to the sob-fest in the house. With little choice on the emotional and tactical front, we made our move.

On a quiet Tuesday evening, we drove to a town two hours away to pick up our boy. Since both the kids were at home from school, they could get a chance to bond with the puppy. It could be a welcome distraction or a chaotic nightmare. I couldn’t predict. With nervous excitement, we pulled off an exit to meet the breeder on an empty road.

Though I thought we could have done something creative with the name (“Scooby”), I grew to like it. It has a simplicity to it that stems from innocence.

In this short time of living with a puppy, I have realized a few things. All of these are familiar to most people but experiencing them first-hand was still special. And, I always like to share special things.

Dogs are needy

Dogs are beings of energy. Cats are happy with or without you acknowledging their existence. But, dogs. I knew they were needy (for attention) but that’s an understatement. Every time (& anytime), I walk into the room — he is ready. In the first couple of days, I found this neediness exhausting. It was 3 AM for crying out loud. His tail is wagging and he is ready to jump out of the crate.

It also meant that Scooby was going to be useless as a guard dog. Any stranger that came visiting our house was greeted with the utmost exuberance. I did not think his tail could wag so much at the sight of someone he has never seen. But, there it was. He would jump up, lie down, present his belly — making it very clear his need for attention.

Puppies are like kids

My 3 yo walks in and settles in my arms. She has just woken up and that’s her routine. As soon as she walks in, Scooby is up on his paws. He wants to get out of his playpen and climb up on me. He wants the same treatment that my daughter is getting. It is amusing to see that he is jealous and thinks of her as his sibling. I have to constantly train him to treat my kids as owners rather than his siblings or peers.

Our breeder did a fantastic job of getting him potty trained. She was aware of the Covid situation in our house and us being first-timers in the pet world. So, it has been a little bit (a lot, actually) easier on that front. But, I also have to give credit where it’s due. Scooby is super smart. He picks up tricks at an amazing pace.

On one of such ‘innocent’ occasions where he was trying to jump out of the playpen, that it almost became an unmitigated disaster. I was boiling a pot of coffee when I see from the corner of my eye that he was about to leap from his playpen. Trying to discourage this behavior by not giving him attention, I stayed back.

As he leaped though, a part of him got stuck on the playpen and he howled in pain. I rushed over as he continued to cry out in anguish. I quickly helped him to get unstuck as he whimpered. My heart was pounding and my mind was racing — was it hurt bad? What do I do? Thankfully, he recovered and was running around within the next minute.

It was a stark reminder, as a parent — we can never be sure of the safety of our kids. It is a near-constant radar that keeps humming — day & night. I researched the playpen and got rid of a couple of weak spots that seemed to be the trouble. I was hopeful that he had learned his lesson. But, two hours later, he jumped out again. Sigh.

So smart

It is amazing how smart Scooby is. He picks up things in a snap. Before we got him, I was a bit worried that I would not know how to communicate with him. He gives solid eye contact and there are things that he can communicate as if he understands what I am asking. There is still the occasional bark, a growl which means I don’t understand him well enough. This is especially true when his energy is amped up from being around kids or after a play in the backyard.

Finding routine in chaos

Before Scooby, our morning routine was chaos. With two young kids getting ready for school, there is a lot going on in the morning. I am not a morning person but thankfully, my wife is. She runs the morning show while I groggily stumble around — trying to help but mostly staying out of the way.

With our new addition, the chaos has reached mayhem status. But, within this new realm, there is some amount of sanity left — magically. As I sip my morning beverage, Scooby lays at my feet and gotta admit that’s an amazing experience. I take him out for a morning jog in the backyard while I pace around with him in the cold morning.

The nighttime winding down sessions has improved as well. My wind-down schedule was pretty chaotic. But, I need to take him out for his mid-night potty break. For this, I have to try and turn in earlier or else I won’t get enough sleep. This has been a forcing function.

Dogs may not love the drive — initially

I was always under the impression that dogs love car drives. In all the movies, that’s the impression I have got. But, it’s not true. Not right away at least. Scooby gets really nervous. In fact, when we went to adopt him, he was shaking quite a bit on our drive back. As he sat on my lap and calmed down, we formed our bond.

My wife was driving and I sat with Scooby and my son in the back. I noticed that he was constantly yawning. It seemed a bit excessive and every time he yawned, he would look at me. I was amused as it looked like he was complaining to me about how my wife was driving.

But, after several minutes of these yawns, I looked up on the internet. Sure enough, it seemed like this was a sign of motion sickness or anxiety. I never knew dogs could also experience motion sickness.

Once we returned in the evening, as Scooby and I were lounging in our backyard, he started a low growl. And, then I hear a belch and there it was -he had thrown up in the garden. Thankfully, he was fine for the rest of the evening. He continues to display a lot of odd behaviors like barking and growling and anxiety getting in and out of the car. Guessing it is a matter of continued practice for him to get used to this.

It is a little early to celebrate the welcoming of Scooby to our family. In this short time, he did bring in a whole new perspective on things. I am still worried that he might accidentally end up biting the kids. Keeping my fingers crossed and progressing on this journey.