Growing Pains

My human cousins (3 girls) are coming to stay with us for a week. They arrive today! I am very excited to have some play mates. My mom said that kids are a lot like us puppies: unruly, have selective hearing and are full of energy.



Here are some stages we go through:
Birth to 3 months

They alternate between spurts of high activity and deep sleep. They are totally dependent on their parents/owners and can be very clingy and fearful around strangers. Food is a strong desire but only certain food is appropriate for them and problems can occur if anything "strange" is ingested. Owners spend a lot of time monitoring body functions!

3-6 months

They begin exploring their universe and they get into everything. The word they hear most often is - NO! Their bodies don't always seem to follow their instructions: "How did my head get between these railings? I'm pretty sure I can fit under this couch. Boy, those stairs are hard to climb up and down!" They seem to be trying to communicate and sometimes they even understand what you want. "Sit? Did you say sit? Oh, you mean, sit. Did you mean now?" Their adult teeth begin to emerge - everything ends up in their mouths!

6-9 months

They start to make their way in the larger world - dog classes, visits to exciting places, new situations. They begin to develop their unique personalities as they are exposed to different things. It's all the owner can do to keep their attention and not have them go running off to play with Spot & Rex. They go through some sudden growth spurts which often leave them physically confused. "I used to be able to get through this hole. These stairs aren't that bad." Their diet changes from "kid stuff" to more grown-up fare and if they haven't yet discovered people food, this is the time they will root it out - out of your hand, out of the garbage and off the counter.

9-12 months

The dreaded "H" word: hormones! Suddenly the boys are lifting their legs and the girls are flirting or snapping. What happened to that mild-mannered puppy of yesterday? One moment they're strutting, bossy, sassy, fearful, ignoring you! Then they are all sweetness and light, shy and bashful, wrapping themselves around your legs. All these physical changes are confusing. Please let this be a phase - tell me that my pup will settle down again!

1 year +

We're in the home stretch now. There are still a few kinks to work out and an inevitable crisis every once in a while, but now begins the test to see just how solid a foundation we were able to build during those early years. All those days of love mixed with discipline, compassion mixed with common sense and striving to understand, will begin to pay off. Now we step back, take a look and say "I helped create this wonderful being with whom I will be happy to share my life."

...I am in phase 3-6 months now. And ummm, yeah, last night, I ate my dad's favorite recliner. Well, now they all know its mine!