He’s cute isn’t he? Well, they both are. 
But I’m talking about the fluffy, adorable puppy. He’s such a love.
Things are hectic with a new puppy, and 4 young kids. The puppy needs 2 walks/run times a day, and to be taken out frequently. That’s the easy part. The hard part is getting him to behave IN the house. We resorted to using his leash in the house, since when he has free roam he tends to get into trouble. We figure this will continue until he learns to settle down in the house, and not chew EVERYTHING on the floor (including the kids!) We moved his crate to the kitchen, so he is sleeping through the night, and his turning around in the middle of the night doesn’t wake me up anymore. He’s doubled in size since we brought him home! It’s amazing how fast he’s growing!
Now on to the expenses. These expenses are for his first month. We have a 2nd vet appointment scheduled this month, and expect to purchase a “tie-out” for the yard this week. Other than that his only expense will be food. In May we will begin puppy kindergarten with a local trainer, which should cost around $200. Well worth it if it gets him to behave in the house!
March Puppy Expenses
Purchase of dog: $400
Beginning Supplies: $298
Includes crate, toys, shampoo, nail trimmers, brush, leash, collar, leader, training treats, treats, travel crate (will sell this at a later date when he outgrows it)
First Vet Visit: $112
Includes shots, worm check, flea/tick medicine, and well checkup.
Additional food/toys: $65
We found the food we were giving him wasn’t proper for a puppy, so we had to spend another $27 for food, and an additional $38 for rawhides (he likes to chew!) and a several more toys.
1 Visit from Puppy Trainer: $55
Worth every penny!!! She was amazing with him!
Total Expenses for 1st Month: $930
I anticipate we’ll be spending an additional $400 over the next 2 months, plus the cost of neutering, and then expenses should level off to include only food and a few treats now and again. After we are through the next few months of expenses we will start putting $50/month into a savings account for pet emergencies.
Of course all the expense is WELL worth it. We are so happy to have a puppy, and he brings us a lot of joy and peace.
Kelly
One thing about having a new puppy at home is that I have little to no time to waste on Facebook crawling, clearing my GoogleReader, and sleep!
While it is a huge amount of work, it is well worth it, and here are several of the lessons Appa has taught the kids and us these last 2 weeks.
Kids
1) always put your shoes away: it wasn’t enough that mom asked you to do it, or that you couldn’t find them when you are looking for them, now if you don’t put them away the puppy eats them
2) watch where you walk!: since we’re still house training and sorting out the “poop” spot, the kids need to watch their step
3) don’t run in the house: before mom would yell at us if we ran in the house to get outside!, now if we run in the house Appa will jump on us and try to playfully bite us (he thinks we are one of his 10 siblings)
4) don’t yell in the house: ditto above, when we get excited the little teeth come out! (don’t worry mom and dad are training him)
5) put your toys away: much like your shoes, Appa will chew on your toys when you leave them out. no one wants to go looking on the other end for the pieces that are missing!
6) MOST IMPORTANT LESSON OF ALL: love him, and tell him what a good boy he is every day.
Mom and Dad’s lessons
1) Never take your eyes off the puppy, the second you do he is going to do something that is NOT good.
2) All the puppy wants is love, give him lots of it. (just like the kids!)
3) Never take your eye off the puppy, the second you do he is going to do something that is NOT good.
4) Be patient. He will eventually learn the couch is not his bed, and your right shoe is not his toy.
5) Never take your eye off the puppy, the second you do he is goign to do something that is NOT good.
6) Watch out for wet spots and brown spots. (eww)
7) Never take your eye off the puppy, the second you do he is going to do something that is NOT good.
Appa is a great puppy, I mean just look at him! He loves people. So much so that every time someone is walking ACROSS the street he wants them to stop and say hello. Such the social butterfly! We are working hard on training him right now, which is WAY more work then I thought it would be (especially since I have to do so much of it!). But like raising the kids it’s a lot of labor at first and then you fall into routines and get used to each other.
He is also a little stinker. But then you look at him, and <sigh>.
Kelly
PS I was the only one in the family in the anti-puppy camp. Guess who changed my mind?
