It's been 6 days since we've adopted our puppy, Skylar. And boy, let me tell you, I forgot what puppy training is like. And if you don't know from experience, it is A LOT of work. But that's an understatement. I don't regret adopting her for a minute, because I know it will be worth it. She is is absolutely adorable (which makes her puppy behavior more tolerable). Here, see for yourself! I've only taken a million photos of her.
(Side note: Drew thinks I've overwhelmed the social media platforms of pics of our pup. He's probably right, but who doesn't love pics of puppies? If you don't like them, unfriend me... We probably aren't meant to be friends anyways.)
The name Skylar came to me while I was driving home and it just popped in my head! I wasn't even trying to think of names, but for some reason my brain randomly bursts out the name! I thought it was perfect. It fits well with the name Luna, and stays within a theme without being to blunt and naming my kids Moon and Sun.
As for her middle name. Had to keep the theme going again. Luna's middle name is "Vino" because we are big wine afficianatoes. We also like beer. Let's just say we like to drink. When we were thinking about what Skylar's middle name we knew it had to be booze related. So, we came up with "Hops" (the flower that makes beer, beer - read more on Wiki). And that's how we came up with "Skylar Hops".
You might wonder WHY we decided to get another pup. Why would we add chaos to a scenario that was finally settling down? The answer is quite easy, why the hell not? We love Luna and want a companion for her and obviously the more the merrier! We knew we were going to eventually get another dog sooner or later, so why wait? I sold Drew on getting another dog by laying out the pros and cons. Here's my list:
Pros:
You might wonder WHY we decided to get another pup. Why would we add chaos to a scenario that was finally settling down? The answer is quite easy, why the hell not? We love Luna and want a companion for her and obviously the more the merrier! We knew we were going to eventually get another dog sooner or later, so why wait? I sold Drew on getting another dog by laying out the pros and cons. Here's my list:
Pros:
- Playmate/companion for Luna
- Distract me and keep me busy
- We both can walk a dog.
- Easier to train since Luna will be there
- More dogs = more love = happiness
Cons:
- Double the cost:
- food
- crate
- vet/medicine
- leash/collar, food bowls, toys
- camp bow wow or overnight stays
- lot of work, more overwhelming, more responsibility
- might be completely different than training luna
- might not get along with luna
- Harder to find baby sitters for 2 dogs
- Double the loss
Although it seems like there are more cons than pros, the one that sold Drew on getting a second dog was bullet #2 of the Pros. For me it was the last one. But to each there own, and who cares since I got Drew to say YES to getting another pup!!! I'm now BEYOND excited and searching PetFinder every day about 5 times a day (at least). Then when I was about to give up, I found a dog named "Bailey" who looked like the light brown version of Luna. I contacted the rescue, and they got back to me super fast and I talked to the adoption lady for an hour just talking about dogs.
"Bailey" was being fostered in Danville and we met her to make sure that Luna and her got along. At first they didn't want anything to do with each other: Luna was too interested in the senior dog that the foster family had adopted. And "Bailey" was very timid and scared of Luna. She was watching Luna from behind me. But after 20 min or so, the pup got some confidence and started messing with Luna. And they played great. That's when lady running the adoption looked at me and asked if we wanted to adopt her and pull the trigger. I immediately said yes (without consulting with Drew–but I figured he was getting the same impression I was).
She got spayed, and we took her home the next weekend. The first couple days Luna was having a hard time adjusting, but she soon came around. And now Skylar and Luna are two peas in a pod. Skylar LOVES following Luna around and tugging at her tail, paws, ears, or whatever else she can nibble on.
Potty training. Oh boy. I forgot how much of a pain in the ass potty training is. It doesn't help that I'm now on the third floor and have to go down 3 flights of stairs to get Skylar to grass. I have to admit, my calf muscles are looking pretty lean, though. So, thank you Skylar!
Overall, everyone is adjusting well, minus a couple little hiccups that one dog verbalized that they were not happy and the other immediately stopped. I'm sure there will be more obstacles to come and fun things to post about how awesome 2 dogs are. Luna now has a great companion to be a big sister to :)
Peace and Blessings!
