I'm not a seasoned dog owner, I just play one on TV.

So, while it's fun to write about all of the fun things associated with puppy ownership, like the fact that Miles naps all day and then comes home and goes crazy, or that he is now barking at the cats before backing away and doesn't allow himself to be intimidated by ANY cats except for Ella and Bernie and that's cute. Or that he's currently licking the door, and on the way home from work today (between naps), he was licking the passenger seat.

I do laugh a lot, but like with any tiny creature that we would have adopted, there are times that I worry whether or not I have done the right thing, and there are times that I know that I've done the wrong thing. In the first five days, the list of the latter is much longer than I expected, particularly after doing some research. I understand that I can't be a perfect puppy parent from the get-go, but I find myself very worried sometimes, and that's maybe not healthy. For instance:

1. On the first and second day that we had him, I overfed him, to the tune of triple what he was supposed to eat in a single day. I misread the bag because I wasn't paying attention, and it said to feed him 1 3/8 cups per day. I misunderstood and fed him 1 3/8 cups at dinner on the first night, as well as the ensuing three meals the next day. It wasn't until Rob said, "that seems like a lot" and I argued that the bag said that that much was what we should be feeding him that it registered and I looked again. Whoops.

2. For his snacks to chew on, we have been giving him pig and cow ears. I have done some research about the choking and blockage hazard, and the reviews are mixed, which is to say that we will probably not give them to Miles anymore.

3. I cannot seem to get his "I have to peeeee!" signals when he's at work with me! I do everything that I'm supposed to do - I take him out right when he wakes up from a nap, if I have any -inkling- that he has to pee, I take him out. I take him out for extra time around lunch time to make sure that he has fully gone, and I don't know what to do! He goes outside EVERY time I bring him, and he peed on my floor twice today. Yesterday, he peed AND pooped on my coworker's floor. The only thing that I'm thinking is that he probably smelled the house animals and peed to mark his territory. There will be times that I bring him out to pee, we come back inside, and literally less than five minutes later, he'll pee on the floor. I just don't get it.

4. I think we might have introduced the cats and the dog too abruptly. This is one thing that I genuinely fear might have long-lasting implications. You see, our cat, Ella, has an anxiety problem. As such, she's a compulsive licker when she gets stressed. If you want to know what that's like, think licking herself until she's bald. Also, a whole lot of hissing. And growling. And batting at people. And scratching and biting. She's really not pleasant for anyone to be around except for Rob and I, because she's used to us. They're getting closer to interacting by the day, but it's going to be a rough road. Bernie is getting curious, but he's afraid of the energetic puppy that he sees and now lives under my dresser. I understand that there are ways of introducing animals gradually, but I thought there would be no harm in just introducing them. Clearly, I thought wrong. We are backtracking a little and making sure that the cats have their safe space, particularly when they're eating, because if they don't, then Bernie won't eat. Literally, the first night that we had Miles, I had to feed him under the dresser. I put a big pile of dry food under there and when I came back, it was gone. He's gotten progressively braver ever since.

Now, I understand that none of these have long lasting implications (except for possibly the second one and maybe the fourth one - and we'll know within the next couple of days, but the rational side of my brain is telling me that I'm worrying WAY too much and that it will be fine, but in my research, I read that someone lost their three and a half month old puppy because of a pig's ear and there went my sanity)

Anywho, he is fine. He naps all day, and he's so cute that I can't stand it approximately 110% of the time. WHOA. Ella just walked up and sniffed at him when he was napping, and came within this much space of him:

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He woke up, looked at her, and she hissed and almost batted at his face, and then backed away, but that is REAL progress. :) I also just learned that Rob keeps cat treats in his pocket, just like he keeps dog treats in his pocket, and that ups his awesome level quite a bit from its already quite high level.

Also, here's a cute picture from when he was napping on the way home from work today.