Tomorrow will be my first day at my new job, and my first day working since we’ve had Zara. I’ve been really lucky to have 2.5 weeks off to focus on her. She has definitely been challenging at times, but we’re also seeing improvements and about 75% of the time she is very sweet.
Housetraining was the one thing I was really hoping to make strides with while I was off and I’m pleased to say that Zara is learning fast. In the past couple days, she has started to go over to the door, whine, and jump up to paw at the handle when she has to go out. I didn’t teach her to do that, so our frequent bathroom breaks have been paying off. I think she easily forgets about going outside, especially when we are upstairs or downstairs and not near the door, but I’ve been really careful to let her out after every nap, play session, and mealtime. At night, she has gotten a bit better as well. When we first brought her home, she was crying to go out up to four times a night. Now, it’s only one or two. She did sleep through the night once, but that was after a long day of meeting other people.
Chris and I interviewed a dog walker last week and they’re going to come twice a day on the days when Chris is not working from home. I was impressed by the knowledge and experience they have. The company is called Doggie-Do and it was started several years ago by a husband and wife team. They now have over 400 clients and 11 employees! I hope that I can start working from home once a week after I get settled into my new job, but they seem like a good solution for now. Later on, once she’s had all her shots, we may also consider taking Zara to doggie daycare.
I am looking forward to getting out of the house this week. Some days I feel similar to how a new mother must feel, with barely any time to get dressed or do my hair because I constantly need to attend to Zara. However, I know I will miss having a sweet puppy sleeping in my lap as I sit at my computer!
