I've Been on Puppy Leave? | Little Cloud In The Valley

Guess who’s back…back again?

I’ve been MIA for a few months simply because of this little guy:

Here he is after his second time at the groomer’s. Looking sharp, Hammy!

This is Hamner. He’s a medium Australian Labradoodle and I love him so soo sooo much. I’m such a proud dog mama and I’ll let everyone know it. If you want to follow him on Instagram, do it! @Hanginwithhamner

People have asked about the origin of his name. TL;DR of it all is that there’s a place in New Zealand called Hamner Springs. I went with the BF and his fam one Christmas vacation and had a lot of fun. We thought the name Hamner would be fitting for a doggo and so we named him thus. Plus, his nickname is Hammy and he is a ham and it just makes sense.

Here’s a precious slideshow of his time from a wee pup of 6 weeks (when we first met and chose him) to an active 6-month old boy who has matured early (i.e. he humps pillows a lot):

8 weeks old and we got to take him home!

When he was younger, his eyes were a gray blue and now they’re hazel.

Rests on his dad during stretch sessions.

Hammy’s first time at the beach! The waves were a bit frightening…

Takes up much more of the couch than he used to! Probably around 5 months old here

I’ve never had a dog before so all of this is new to me. I could write a million posts about different aspects of dog parenting - which I likely will at some point - but for now, let me just highlight a few of my biggest learnings:

Puppies have baby teeth. I did not know this but it makes sense now. They are called ‘milking teeth’ and they are sharp as hell. The first few months you have a pup, you will get scratches all over your body. I was honestly a bit scared of Hamner when he was a wee lad because he used to nip at our legs and draw blood. He’s in the processing of losing them now, which is hard to watch because you can tell he’s in pain and it’s sad :(
Until your pup is potty trained, or at least capable of sleeping through the night, your sleep schedule is a goner. The BF and I would trade off. He’d stay up until 11 or so and take Ham out. Then I’d wake up at 2am and take Ham out. Then the BF would wake up at 6am. But honestly, Hamner was easy. It was maybe 2 or 3 weeks of this and then he was able to make it through the night. Still, I was a raging bitch during this time because occasionally I would have to take the 2am and 6am shift and I need like 9 hours of sleep to function and so…I was not a nice person.
Waiting until your pup is 13 weeks before you can take him outside is ROUGH. From weeks 8 to 10, having a little backyard works. But from then on, it got tougher because Hamner has so much energy. He needs a lot of exercise to calm down and our home just wasn’t big enough for him. Plus, books keep telling you to socialize your pup with other dogs but it’s hard to do if you want to be extra cautious and wait until your pup has had all 3 shots (plus at least a week to let the last one settle in). Tip?
Cuddling doesn’t necessarily happen overnight. For the first 4 months of Hamner’s life, he was an independent sleeper. He liked spreading out and didn’t really care for people cuddling up next to him or resting their hand on him. And thennnnn…he discovered the couch. Now, more than 5 months into his happy life, he will now move to snuggle next to you if you’re on the couch. Sometimes he stays for hours and sometimes just for minutes before he relocates to a more spacious area - but it’s heavenly no matter what.
Your puppers might have tummy issues. As we transitioned Hamner’s food from one kibble brand to another and expanded his treat options, we had a few nights of waking up to diarrhea on the floor. Luckily, we have wood floors but if we didn’t…oh man. Poor boy would do his best to make it outside but couldn’t reach all the way! He hasn’t had an accident in awhile now but he does still occasionally throw up, usually because he ate something he can’t digest (rocks, branches, a piece of a toy…). I feel like there’s only so much you can control in terms of what a puppy gets into and sometimes he/she is going to get at something they shouldn’t have. My advice? Try to limit the amount of protein-filled treats with your puppy. Giving a puppy free reign of a bully stick too early on can lead to an upset tummy. Also, if an accident does happen, don’t be upset with your pup! They didn’t mean to and I’m sure it’s not fun for them either. It’s a learning curve for both of you!