Lucy Olive Comes Home

I can't believe almost two weeks have flown by and this is the first chance I've really had to write a blog about the homecoming of Lucy Olive. We went to pick her up from the breeder's farm in Modesto. The first week was virtually complete puppy immersion. I felt like my life revolved around Lucy - feeding her, taking her out to go potty, setting her boundaries (i.e. following her everywhere with a spray bottle to correct her behavior if she put her mouth on something she shouldn't), socializing her with the new city environment, meeting people and other dogs , buying all the puppy things I didn't think of ahead of time, bringing her to work and getting her used to everything there. The first three days were quite overwhelming. I felt like the parent of a new born baby, anxiously waking up every three hours to check on her and bring her to bathroom so she wouldn't soil her crate. There was no mental break from having her in my life. I hadn't felt physically that tired since I was in investment banking pulling near all-nighters. I didn't know how I was going to survive at that rate. Even though it was a terrible comparison, I felt like I was dealing with new diabetes again thinking "how am i going to do this? how is this going to work out?" and being overwhelmed.

Seeing how it's the day after valentine's day, I'll indulge myself just a little. Justin, as usual, as been incredibly supportive through everything. I've learned that I get stressed out fairly easily at times and tend to worry a lot, probably much more than I need to about certain things. I was on the verge of puppy motherhood crisis by day 3. I felt like I was going to burn out at the rate I was going, being so mentally/physically exhausted that random triggers would make me cry. Things won't always work out as I expect them to, regardless of how much I try to prepare myself (I was reading several puppy training books before the big weekend to pick up Lucy). But I know he's there for me to lean on when I need him.

Lucy has been SOOOO good. Even though it may sound like she's a handful, for a puppy, she really is low maintenance. I've only had her for about two weeks now and she's adjusted to my lifestyle. We commute more than two hours each day in the car where she is usually just passed out now (rather than whining and scrambling like on the trip home). She can go up and down stairs (there are a lot of stairs where I live). She can "sit" and "down". She can play fetch. Sometimes she comes when you call her... She's been getting better and better at walking on a leash (instead of sniffing EVERYTHING along the way). She is such a joy and provides us entertainment just watching her try to solve problems or encounter new objects, such as the door stop or a pigeon or her own reflection.