Context: Me (30m) and my girlfriend (27f) got our little angel Blossom 1 month ago. She’s a 13 week old Shih Tzu that we took home at 9 weeks. Personally, I’ve always been surrounded by other people’s dogs, and gotten very close to a lot of them. But this is the first time I can officially call myself a dog owner. I’ve had a lot of thoughts about the process this past month that I felt like sharing, hence the purpose of this post.

1. I am constantly torn between two conflicting emotions. One being “I can’t wait until she’s old enough to be fully potty trained, done teething, and less chaotic.” The other being “I know 100% that I’ll miss the days when she was this small and young.” So when I catch myself thinking the former, I remember the latter and approach the chaos with a bit more gratitude.

2. I was not prepared for how getting a puppy would have such an immediate impact on me and my gf’s day to day. The life we were living when it was just us two is gone, and a part of me does miss it. But the moments of peace and fun with the three of us just reaffirms me that we made the right choice.

3. I surprised myself how quickly I’ve been desensitized to pee and poop. And on a related note, I should’ve known better than to get new beddings so quickly after getting her. Oof.

4. Everybody always believes they have the cutest puppy. Except they’re wrong. Bc I do 😁 (half kidding). But she really is too cute for me to handle sometimes, so I’m learning to control my “cute aggression” to the best of my ability.

5. I didn’t know it was possible to love a little creature this way. Note that I use the term “creature” with as much endearment as possible. I’ve always jokingly referred to myself as the “main human” to my friends and family members’ dogs. But to be the legitimate co-main human to a dog is like nothing else. Spending time with her fills my heart in a way that I didn’t know possible and I feel so so so lucky to be her dog-dad. (Pawrent? Still new to the terminology)

Idk what I was trying to accomplish from this post. Maybe after a lot more time has passed and Blossom is fully grown, I’ll come back to this and reflect on what puppy life was like. Til then, I’ll continue to learn and be the best human I can for her. Thanks to everybody who read all of this! Wishing all the other puppy owners strength and patience.

PS, I’ve been lurking on this subreddit for a bit now and you all have been a great help!