Life on Lofty Lane: Puppy Love--- Meet Reese!

In early July, a friend posted pictures on Facebook of a new litter of puppies that her female German Short-Haired Pointer just delivered. They were ADORABLE. I mean A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E! I had been wanting us to find a family dog as I wanted our kids to have a pet to grow up with and when I saw her post I couldn't resist the urge to get more information. I convinced Frank to drive out to South Lake, which is a 45 minute drive, so we could see the litter. They were so adorable and we picked our puppy from the litter, assuming we would return to adopt her when the time came. She was just a few days old and couldn't open her eyes yet. Just so precious!! It would be a couple of months before she could be adopted. After we left from the visit we did a lot of talking about what we should do and we thought about what we should name her. I liked Reese since she is brown like chocolate and a girl. Everyone seemed to like it, too! After lots of discussion we decided to go for it! We returned in August to see her again and she was so much bigger!! Then, Labor Day weekend we brought Reese home! The kids were happy all along, but they were not crazy excited at first... I don't think they really understood. :)

The first few days were rough with the initial adjustment, constant barking and we were just starting potty training. It is good she was so darn cute, because it was a pain!! I would watch her like a hawk and still she managed to have an accident... all. the. time!!! I would walk her and for a puppy she was incredibly strong! So strong that I managed to pull my neck muscle, and that HURT! I had a few visits to the chiropractor and massage to get back to normal! :) Then she was chewing on things... plus the barking when she was in the kennel! We decided she needed a puppy training class because we definitely needed some help! So we started a 6 week course and I went every Thursday night with Reese to the class. She did pretty well learning some basic commands, and it helped to get the input from the PetSmart trainer.

Still, she was still wearing me out with the little things that puppies do... to the point where I was really thinking it was a bad idea. I just was exhausted and frustrated by it!! It is such hard work that we really do not think we will ever want to get another puppy to train again. Ha ha... This is what we tell others to make it clear how tough it is! Still, I did not want to give up on Reese and on us figuring it out. The kids loved her and I knew we just had to keep working at it. At this point, I was getting a few "I told you so" comments from friends who thought I was crazy when we adopted her. It was rough, but here we are now with a 6 month old puppy who is doing so great. She, of course, has an insane level of energy... she can play with my brother's dog for hours and not want to stop! But she is the sweetest little dog...so happy always and the kids both LOVE her. Especially Cameron, who loves to hug and kiss on her in more of a wrestling manner. She has learned how to play with them without hurting them it seems as well, thank goodness. Those puppy teeth are killer!! :)

We have some things we will continue to work on, but I say for a 6 month old puppy she is doing great. We love our sweet Reese!! Here are some pics of our favorite four legged family member! :)