Nearly six months ago our life changed forever (ok well for about the next twenty years since Chihuahuas have one of the longest average life expectancy rates for dog breeds).

I have had a lot of conversations about dogs since then and although I know that we got super lucky to have an awesome pup – we also followed some guidelines that I feel REALLY helped us get to where we are and have more to learn/teach Twix in the months and years to come.

But before I get into all that I’ve noticed its a trend for young couples to get a dog before kids come into the picture (we, of course fit this mold). While I think having a dog is an awesome trial run for parenting I also have had several friends get a dog just to rehome it several months or years later so here are a few things to think about BEFORE YOU COMMIT TO A DOG:

1. If you travel frequently who’s going to take the dog (thankfully our parents love Twix like the grand-baby he is). However even with that our ability to go on trips every weekend like we were has decreased and we have to plan a bit more in advance now.

2. Who’s going to be there for potty training? No dog can hold it for 8+ hours as a two month old so do you have the ability to be there to let it out?

3. I know everyone doesn’t think this way but honestly how willing are you to keep this dog (and train it to be a forever pet). In this dogs life you will have babies, toddlers, move several times etc. When you bring a dog home please don’t just think will this be fun for a year!

Ok ok now to some of the fun and/or mom stuff – a lot of this information comes from my dear friend @ruby.smoot she is a dog trainer and has shown me/told me the best things to do.

Preparing For Arrival:

• Get a Kennel (check the size for your dog Twix’s is an 18inch): The kennel should be just large enough for them to stand up and turn around. Kennel training Twix has been one of the best things (even though he sleeps in our bed a lot now if he stays with someone else or we don’t want him sleeping with us for a night he is fine in his kennel).
• Order this spray incase they are a biter!
• Here are a few of our (and by that I mean Twix) favorite toys:
• Squeaky Carrot (this was his first favorite toy & our friends with a hunting dog got the same one)
• Crinkle Fish
• Small Dog Puzzle | Use this for larger dog | Perfect for a girl dog
• Order a box of Greenies – dogs love them and they are dental treats
• I also love these treats – Not all treats are made the same but these are rated as some of the healthiest! Use a treat EVERY TIME your pup goes to the bathroom outside for at least a week – don’t wait til you are inside give it to them as soon as they go not only will it potty train them but it will also teach them to come to you after they are done “going.”
• If you get a larger breed our friends LOVE this car hammock
• This is my favorite dog shampoo – have it before hand so you can give them a bath a few days in.
• These wipes are great for in-between baths or after hikes before we get in the car etc.
• If you are ever going to walk your dog of course you’ll need some poop bags.
• Also not needed but Zac and I had a fun date night before we got Twix where we each made one of his dog bowls – it was really fun and now we love his food bowls!

Kennel Training

Ok this is probably the hardest part for the first few weeks because all you want to do is cuddle your little pup.

But every time he/she falls asleep you need to remove them from the couch/your arms/wherever and place them into the kennel. They will typically wake back up don’t let them out until they stop whining – even if that stop is just 10 seconds.

Your pup will keep falling asleep because they sleep so much when they are little and eventually they will not wake up when you put them in the kennel – or they will and then will fall asleep again a few minutes later.

For short naps like this if you are watching them it is ok to have something soft in the kennel but at night don’t have anything other than whatever smells like their mom either over the top or next to them. Also yes you may think oh no my dog will freeze but we did it with Twix and he only weighed 1.8 pounds! This was THE HARDEST thing for me to do but Ruby encouraged it and it was the absolute best.

We didn’t let him feel how soft the bed was for at least two months and for the first two weeks we had him he slept in his kennel without anything soft on the bottom (no bed) this made him a great sleeper quickly – somehow he never had an accident in there but you want then in without something soft so if they do have an accident its on a solid surface (a lot of breeders train on puppy pads so get the urge to go on rugs out of their system).

Then during the day make them spend every second you are not interacting with them in their Kennel. You have to avoid bathroom accidents, and if their kennel is the right size it will feel like a bed to them – once time we left Twix for too long and no joke he pushed himself against the side of his kennel and dropped one outside of it because he didn’t want to soil his bed! haha

Also the moment you realize that when they are done playing they choose to go to their kennel to nap you know you made it! It becomes their safe space 🙂

Food / Potty Training

At least until your pup masters potty training feed him 2-3 times a day (normally puppies need to be fed three times but after a month you can go down to two times). They work like clock work so by only letting them eat a few times you know when they really have to be let outside!

I am also not a big fan of puppy pads – unless you have to use them and plan to use them forever. But they train your dog that going inside the house is ok and that they should go on something soft. Even small dogs can learn to go outside as long as you start them off young!

Take them out, if they go potty they get some playtime if they don’t back to their kennel and try again in 30 min – 1 hour. Then repeat again and again and again.

Also plan to wake up several times during the night at first to let them out – every breed and dog is different on this but read up on it more.

Tricks

Now most people say Chihuahuas are dumb or untrainable but really they are a smart but stubborn breed. Honestly I think any breed can be trained. We taught Twix his “puppy training” commands and are just now getting into advanced training – which we will use a trainer (Ruby) for.

I recommend following these videos for puppy training! Believe it or not “sit” is not the first command.

We started by teaching him the same commands she does but then branched off so far he knows.

• his marker
• his name
• Sit
• Down
• Army crawl
• Up
• Place
• Secret Agent (under my leg)
• Jump
• Spin
• High Five
• And are currently working on wait (stay)

By following her training now we can pick what to teach him, work on it for a while and after a few days he typically knows the trick well enough that if we give him the hand signal he will do it.

Parenting Responsibilities

Ok I know some people just rolled their eyes but I am serious on this. When humans have kids they talk about who’s going to stay home or plan daycare etc. But what about sharing or at least assigning who is going to take care of your dog?

Just make sure if you are the one pushing for it your roommate/spouse/casper and you are clear on what each of you are going to do.

Being a dog mom has made me happier than I can express! It really is the best.