We weren’t planning on getting a dog any time soon – or at least Mason wasn’t. I had begged and begged and begged literally since the day we got married to get one, but we lived in a duplex that didn’t have a yard, so our living situation wasn’t really ideal. Mason told me that if I saved up enough money to build a fence, we could get a dog… so that’s exactly what I did! After he found out I was completely serious and was counting every spare dime I could find, we decided to wait until our lease was up to move into a place with a yard >> and that my friends is a true example of “happy wife, happy life.” I’m totally kidding… (kind of).

Our plan was to move into this new place with a yard, then go to the shelter and find a dog that was old enough to already be potty trained, but still young enough to be considered a puppy. One day Mason came home from work and told me his friend’s dog had puppies, and that we should go see them. I told him several times (to make it 100% clear), “if we go look at them just know that I WILL pick one out, and we WILL take it home. We ARE getting a puppy if we go see them.” He never vetoed those words, so here we are! 6 months later with a little fur ball of energy.

Okay, so I’m a little obsessed with Ranger, but let’s just take a minute to see how much he’s grown. He used to fit in my hand, and now I can barely pick him up! I can vividly remember meeting him for the first time – he was the first one I picked up and it was like God was shining a halo over him and all the other puppies were invisible – practically love at first sight ;). As if I need yet another reason to post more pictures of him, here you go!

Now let me be the first to tell ya – having a puppy is HARD work. Training him has been so much fun but comes with lots of challenges. Here are 10 things I didn’t expect when getting a puppy:

[ 1 ] I get really sad when I have to discipline him, because he looks so sad and I know I’m hurting his feelings. I thought I was going to be so good because I know how important discipline is – especially during training – but I’m such a softy. Mason is so good at it, and it makes Ranger respect him more. Let’s just say I have a lot of work to do in this area!

[ 2 ] He is SO smart. He had only been with us two days (at 7 weeks old), and had learned how to sit within minutes of us teaching him. By now I think he can clearly understand English.

[ 3 ] I’m way too attached to him – which I figured would happen, because I love animals – but it’s seriously like he’s my child. When we left him for the first time (honestly, every time) I worried about him a little too much. This is probably because I spent all my time with him for the first couple weeks we had him, but hey, no shame.

[ 4 ] He has so many personalities. He gets the zooms every afternoon and will run around the house like a maniac for a few minutes, and then fall on the floor to take a nap. He’s also extremely clumsy and tumbles off the couch almost every day.

[ 5 ] It’s so fun to have a little family – it’s kind of like we’re parents (I know, I know, it’s completely different than having a child, but let’s just pretend). We get to take care of him and act like responsible adults.

[ 6 ] Dogs are expensive! When we got Ranger, he had fleas AND worms, which required multiple (and costly) trips to the vet. Add in his regular shots + getting him fixed + removing his extra claws + getting him microchipped + food and any other supplies we need. It adds up.

[ 7 ] He tests his limits and likes to see what he can get away with. Some days when I take him to the park he’ll decide that he doesn’t want to get in the car when I tell him to, and instead will run back to the trail. I get so angry, but when he realizes he messed up he has the guiltiest look on his face – then I become a softy again.

[ 8 ] He helps me get my daily exercise. Okay, not quite. I used to take him for a walk almost every day, but when our schedules get busy that becomes less of a priority. Now that he’s bigger, he likes to run faster and longer, so it requires more time. Let’s just say I get my weekly exercise from him.

[ 9 ] My schedule revolves around him. I have to be home at certain times of the day to feed him and let him out, and we have to plan errands or road trips accordingly. Y’all… I even schedule when I’m going to sweep the floors because he’ll just chase the broom the whole time and I won’t get anything done.

[ 10 ] He brings lots of joy! I get so excited when I come home after class to his happy face in the window, or wake up to his little (or big now) nose tickling me in the morning. Let’s be real, what dog doesn’t bring happiness?

There are a million things I didn’t expect, but these are the most noteworthy. Ranger has been a whole lot more work that I expected, but I’m also a whole lot more obsessed with him than I expected, too. At the end of the day, the hard work that goes into training is SO worth it.

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