My family just got a Brittany puppy this past Saturday and she is proving to be more of a handful than I remembered a puppy being (my last pup was a poodle that I got in the 4th grade and he passed away after my college graduation-and he was 5.5 pounds of canine terror, not social at all). So now I am the mommy and we decided to add a dog to the family. My husband and I talked about this since we found out we were having a little boy (sorry, don't mean to be gender bias) over a year ago. My son is turning one and we figured now was a good time-I researched breeds, talked to rescue groups and the local shelter, various breeders of breeds we liked and we went with a Brittany. Why? The tempermant, when well bred is supposed to be excellent for kids, the size was good for a house pet, sporting breeds tend to be easier to train and are more focused on thier person, and the breed has not been overbred so they have fewer health problems than some of the other breeds we considered. Plus they are a very pretty dog with little coat maintenance. So all the reasearch done, we contacted a breeder of dual purpose dogs (to get the best tempermant and health). We visited, picked our little girl, and a week later picked her up. She is 11 weeks old and has lived with the breeder, litter mates, and her mom and dad.
I knew, really I did, that this would be tough-but I am about to pull my hair out and this is only day 5!!! She is home now while I am at work-I work 5 days a week, my husband works a rotating shift so she will only be alone 2-3 days each week. The 2 cats are getting used to her so she has them for company. But she is off the wall with energy. She knows sit, come, leave it, and is doing ok with potty training (the pee pads today will throw a curve in that I am sure). She is sniffing everything (bird dog) so I never know "is she exploring or ready to pee" so I take her out all the time. I don't think I have relaxed since she got home. And my husband and step girls aren't that interested in her after only five days. So I am up with her before dawn for a long walk, and all the ones in between, untill her long (30 minutes before she falls out on the ground like she cant go any more). I am back to no sleep mode. She is learning to be gentle with the baby, and PJ calls out "katie" all the time and looks for her everywhere. He even stuck his paci in her mouth today so I had to get that back-but one leave it from me and it was on the floor.
I just need to know it gets better?!? How long till the major puppy phase passes. And is this puppy behavior or getting adjusted to us behavior. She is jumping on everyone and I can't get her to not do that. Plus she is very quick to get on the sofa-that might be for safety sake, PJ is pulling on her a bit despite my best efforst. I watch a lot of "Dog Whisperer" and now I am watching all her actions for signs that she may later become aggresive. Am I paraniod? I know my two cats (shelter finds) drove me crazy for two-three weeks. I even thought of taking them back-but once we got used to each other all was well. She has let me clean her ears and trim her nails. I take her food bowl up and rub her face while she eats to show her she doesn't need to be food aggresive (our poodle was-I still have a scar on my arm from getting near him while he was eating).
When I took Katie in to our vet Monday he was amazed at what a wonderful Britt pup she is. He said that he has seen some poorly bred Britts that are nervous snappy dogs, but Katie was very good and calm and was a fine example of a Britt (he is a fan of bird dogs and wondered why the breeder didn't keep her for show use). So am I expecting too much of her. She is chewing on everything-bitter apple has been applied to every surface in the kitchen before I left her with her toys, crate, pee pads, water, and door gates closed. I want to be a good puppy mom but at 5:30 am today, walking her around the 1/2 acre yard for lap two of 4 in the rain, I just thought this was a huge mistake and I should try to take her back to the breeder asap. And I am trying to find a local puppy class with no luck-and my husband, who was all for the puppy, said she is a "money pit" and nothing else should be done with her that isn't free. And we talked about this prior to getting her-we agreed that this would be a $1,000-1,500 venture up front by the time we got her, all the gates, crate and toys, and vet bills. I just don't know what to do with her. I am really thinking she could find a better family, where everyone is involved with her care.
Bookmarks