Meet April

Over the last few years we talked about getting a dog. I grew up with two dogs and knew how much work they can be so I was hesitant. But Adam has always wanted a dog and kept pushing the idea on me. We thought we might get one after the embryo transfer so the dog would be trained and comfortable by the time the baby came. Well, after the transfer failed, and we were both sad and depressed, the idea of a dog became even more appealing.

9 weeks old
Adopting a dog was the plan. We liked the idea of saving one, and maybe getting a dog a couple of years old so they were already house trained. However, after speaking to people at the shelters in our city, none of the dogs were recommended to us because of Emma's age. The shelters here don't get many surrenders, but find the dogs abandoned. So they don't know the background of whether they're good with children, especially young children who don't understand animal boundaries.

This left us looking into getting a puppy who would grow up with Emma. We did our research and wanted a breed that would fit in well with our family. This quickly led us to Golden Retrievers. We found a breeder a few hours from here that had some puppies available. We went to meet them and came home with the runt.

Meet April.


Now if you were to ask me if I'd recommend getting a puppy while having a toddler, I'd straight up tell you nope! Those first 6-8 weeks were so hard. I can't sugar coat it. With Adam working full time, potty training was left to me during the day. Taking a puppy out hourly while having a toddler scream at you at the back door is no fun. And having to clean up puppy accidents in the house while your child jumps in the pee like it's a puddle outside is insane.


We got through it though. But it was hard. Thank goodness April loved her crate from the get go. Crate training can apparently be taxing on your sleep but she quickly slept through the night and barely made a whimper in it.

6 months
April is now almost 7 months old. Her and Emma have quickly become friends. Or rather sisters - they love each other one minute and the next minute Emma is yelling at her for stealing a toy. But the patience April has shown is incredible; from Emma petting her roughly, to checking out the dog teeth, to pulling on her tail. April usually responds to all these things with giant slobbery dog kisses on Emma's face.


And I'm excited for spring to show up so we can go on more adventures with her. Adam takes her for walks now but it's hard for me to go out with them when it's slippery out or the weather is too cold for Emma. But come spring, we can head to parks and go for walks on the trails here. It'll be fun.


Now to go get me some doggy snuggles!
~Jen

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