Since I had my first daughter Marli, my dream was to have a loyal, family dog for my kids to grow up with. I knew I wanted her to have a pet she could come home to, snuggle with and love. I also wanted that instinctual protection that a family dog provides!
We had a dog when she was smaller, but it turned out that the dog we had chosen to adopt was incredibly aggressive towards females and I couldn’t train him to be calm around Marli. We eventually gave him to a friend that had older (bigger) boys and it was a perfect fit. At that point, I had given up looking for a family dog because I was honestly a little scared. I tried to tell myself I just wasn’t a dog person so no harm done! I was lying to myself, I wanted a sweet puppy so badly!

Fast forward several years, after my boyfriend and I had our daughter Maddy, his adult German Shepherd, Maggie became insanely protective over her. She was always around and would come running if she heard baby cries or fussiness! Maggie is super loyal and protective to all of us and she obeys Joaquin fiercely. Watching Maggie interact with the girls was amazing. I was in total awe of her ability to naturally know that Maddy and Marli were part of the “pack”.  Now that the girls are a little older, Joaquin and I went on the search for a pure breed, German Shepherd pup to add to our gang! It wasn’t easy, I instantly became emotionally attached to all the puppies that we came across because they were just adorable! Thankfully, Joaquin was much more level-headed in the search process. After some time, we eventually found the perfect little fur-baby girl to raise up with our tiny human girls! 

In my mind, the hardest part was over, choosing just one puppy was just plain torture! Boy was I so wrong! Puppies, especially energetic German shepherd puppies, are A LOT of work! She acts like a toddler herself, but she loves the girls, Maggie, Joaquin and I so much! She has a lot of training to work on, but so far, she fits our family so perfectly and has totally bonded to Maggie as well! Naturally, we have gone through trial and error in finding our groove, but we are getting there!

Here are some simple ideas to welcome a puppy into the family! 

1. Create his/her own space– Before you bring them home, make sure that you have created a space just for the puppy. In my case, I had bought a kennel because I knew I would kennel train, so I put her toys, a soft bed and a small snack in the kennel so she knew it was HER space. I made sure the girls knew not to play in the kennel (this was a devastating rule for my 18 month old… she wanted to sit inside the kennel with the puppy!) and I never forced Charlie inside the kennel. Especially in the beginning, puppies need to figure out for themselves where they feel most comfortable. This needs to be a space where the puppy can go when she is tired, anxious or just needs a break! Just like us moms, the puppies need to get away from the chaos every so often. 
2. Set boundaries immediately– Charlie had to decide for herself who each of us was to her. She would constantly sniff us out and go from each person to the next. In my opinion, we got lucky with such a loving dog. But, once she got comfortable, she began doing what puppies do best, she began to act naughty and push boundaries! I knew that if I wanted any training to stick, I was going to have to start right then. She was just a little fat ball of fur so it was pretty difficult to be stern with her, but it has paid off. She doesn’t jump up (as much) on the kids anymore, she stays out of the cat’s area and she quickly learned the word “out” after wandering into rooms and sneakily chewing on shoes! Trust me, it is super difficult to discipline a puppy but you don’t want those bad habits to sink in because it is so much harder to break. Charlie is still a puppy, so we have to correct her quite a bit. For the most part, because we set those boundaries and taught her early what acceptable social behavior was, she is quick to respond and stop acting out. 
3. Allow the kids to participate in training– Obviously my 18-month-old has no idea what we are doing, but even she gets to help out with training Charlie! My 9-year-old is learning to establish dominance with Charlie so she understands who is “boss”. I have set time aside each day, loaded my pockets up with very tiny treats for work! Whether it is on basic commands, sit, stay, lay down OR if it something fun like learning to fetch, the girls are involved. I teach the command and once I see that Charlie is understanding what we are working on, I allow the girls to take a turn. Marli (9) has learned some responsibility with training and she is getting more confident in her ability to lead Charlie. The baby, Maddy, just likes to take part in playing fetch, and will either throw the ball or run with Charlie to retrieve it. Watching them work with Charlie is adorable and it is teaching her who her “humans” are. We have a long way to go before we get to the more difficult training like what to do in a moment of danger, but so far, she is doing well and bonding with the family!
4. Treat the puppy like a member of your family – A dog is the most loyal animal you can have has a pet, they need that loyalty in return. Dogs are not meant to be adored in the puppy years and abandoned during adult years. If you are choosing to take in a puppy, they need to be treated like family and should be able to trust you. I call Charlie my third baby girl and she is spoiled rotten like Maddy and Marli. She isn’t left out in the backyard by herself all day and night, she gets played with daily and has quality time with all of us. Joaquin does a great job of making sure both Charlie and Maggie get their exercise. Now that Charlie has had all of her vaccines, she gets to go places with us and run around parks with Maggie.

It is so important to make sure that you are ready to take on the responsibility of a puppy and all of its demands before even looking at pups! Think it through and make sure that your family is ready as well because dogs are one of the greatest blessings!

I am so glad we made the decision to add Charlie to the family with the girls at the ages they are. She has found her place and is learning more every single day.

While your pet journey may be a bit stressful in the beginning, I hope that you connect with a sweet puppy and give it a great home. Puppies love unconditionally, sometimes I think the world just doesn’t deserve them!