First of all, there are the sleepless nights. For the first few nights after little W arrived, I got around 2-3 hours of sleep each night. She really wasn't happy in her crate and wasn't quiet about it. If my neighbours are reading this, I apologise! She has settled down a little now and I'm hoping the day when she goes to bed at night without a doggy temper tantrum is just around the corner.
Second, there is the toilet training. I'm getting up at least once a night to maximise her opportunities to be clean; she's not always making the most of it. We have had the classic 'stand outside in rain and snow for hours to no avail, but come inside for 5 seconds and have her wee on the floor' scenario far too many times. And she's also managed to sneak away from our 'constant supervision' and poo under the kitchen table more than once. Some times it's hard to remember it's never the dog's fault...
Last, there is the matter of having to watch her all the time. I guess we should put her in her crate more often but she makes such a noise, it's impossible to concentrate on anything else- so we 'keep an eye on her'. It's not just for toilet training purposes; puppies don't come with an inbuilt set of rules apart from 'if it's on the ground, it belongs to the hound'. Obviously, a pup who believes this isn't going to be welcome in a house with 4 kids, so much of our time is spent removing things she isn't allowed to chew and replacing them with things she is allowed to chew.
She seems to be getting the idea but this may just be because we now have more dog toys scattered around on the floor than kids toys; the chances of her picking up one of her own is statistically much greater!
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