Today marks 3 months since our family brought home our Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, River!
The last time we had a puppy in our home was over 11 years ago. I was knee deep running a very busy dayhome, studying for my real estate licence and raising my own small children. The chaos at the time just melted into endless days similar to groundhog day. When you are chronically tired, you don't seem to notice how much work it is to actually raise a puppy. I was living on auto pilot fuelled by caffeine, baby shark on repeat, the sound of children, endless dishes, laundry and the words MOM, MOM, BECCA, BECCA, MOM, BECCA.
I have tried to look back on those days and think about how many times I got up at night with Gunner (our puppy at the time), how often he went out to the bathroom, how I trained him not to bite, how I trained him to only chew his toys, all the vet visits, verbal commands, leash training and everything else in between and I honestly don't remember any of it.
I remember some of the scary moments, like the time he ate an entire silicone pan and needed emergency surgery to remove it. I remember how he was an absolute garbage truck and would eat anything we left out on the counter. We got really good at remembering to make sure the counters were cleaned off of anything food related before we went outside, watched TV or left him at home for any period of time.
What I do remember is all the beautiful moments we had with him. I remember all the times when Gunner was there for all of us no matter what mood we were all in. How every single time any of us walked in the door he was there wagging his tail, full of excitement to see his people. I remember all the silly things he did, like sitting perfectly still in my flower pots like he was a magical statue for everyone to see. Gunner was the best dog. He was the best because of how he made our home feel complete. How no matter what, he loved us unconditionally.
For over a year the house felt empty. There is something to be said about coming home to the most loyal faithful companion you can ever have. As a family we decided that we were ready to add a puppy to our home again......
IN WALKS THE DRAMA QUEEN.....RIVER
Drama Queen isn't even the right term for River, but it is the best term I can come up with for how she is as a puppy.
Remember how I said I don't remember puppy training? Well, let me tell you what I was not prepared for after not having trained a puppy for 11 years.
I don't think I will ever sleep again (now i'm being dramatic), but seriously, she gets up all the time. It is like having an infant in the house again. Floor squeaks, a voice that is not soft enough, a new smell, sound or anything out of the ordinary, River is up. She has gotten better over the last month, but holy moly, the lack of sleep is slowly killiing me. I am back to caffeine fuelled frenzy, potty training while talking with clients, puppy classes because she is scared of her own shadow, vet visits because everything worries me, teaching her not to jump, nibble or shove her face into ant hills.
I forgot how long this phase goes on for. Potty training has been a breeze though. Right from the start her cues to go outside were evident. The only accidents she has had in the house were purely because we were not paying close enough attention to her needs.
River is my shadow, I have been working from home for the last 3 months to make sure she gets the attention and proper training she requires. Our whole family is over the top, head over heels in love with her. People have told me how amazing Berner Bears are, how loyal they are, how easy they are to potty train, but I never expected just how much she would steal our hearts. She makes all the ant hill rolling, snake shed chasing, bouncing off the walls hyper, shoe chewing shenanigans worth every second.
River is the show stopper, head turner, bougie drama queen that we never new we needed.
You can see some of her crazy antics on my YouTube channel where I perodically upload some of her ridiculous shenanigans.
Becca,
(the most tired realtor on the planet...)
