There are things you think about, when preparing to bring a dog into your family. Things you consider and wonder about, things you prepare yourself for.
      Dangling participle notwithstanding, the responsible, conscientious dog lover has lots to think about before bringing that little beastie home.
      …and a whole bunch of things he never really considered.

We thought about…

• Having to take a dog out to potty…
        …but not about how to teach a dog to hurry up in the snow.
• Patiently taking a pup out every hour…
        …but not how to do that and get sleep.
• Picking up your dog’s poo in a little plastic baggie…
        …but not how gross it is to knock another dog’s poo out of her mouth.
• Using only happy voices around her…
        …but not how to stop yourself from cursing in that same sing-song voice.
• Playtime and teaching her fetch…
        …but not about what to do when she thinks playtime comes at 4 a.m..
• How expensive good, grain-free food is…
        …but not how pricey non-Made-in-China toys are.
• All the fun we’ll have doing obedience and rally training…
        …but not about how to get her to recognize her own name.
• How to responsibly introduce her to other dogs…
        …but not how to prevent them from introducing themselves.
• Keeping her tethered to us while housebreaking, to minimize the chance of accidents…
              …but not how to pay attention to her and work/tv/book/game/each other.
• Using a command word for potty time…
        …but not how strangers walking-by will laugh at you saying “Cowabunga, Venna.”

      I am absolutely positive we’ll find more as we go on. This first week with Little Miss Innocent Butterflies – aka Venna – has been one adventure after another. I was the one who over-thought every little thing and still found myself unprepared for… well, everything.
      Wasn’t prepared for how much time five minutes every hour is, or how annoying it is to take her out and have the neighbor’s dogs jumping around on her so she can’t focus long enough to potty. Wasn’t prepared for how everyone stops us when we’re out and about to say “What a beautiful puppy!”. Wasn’t prepared for teaching her not to whine when Daddy is sleeping, or while Nubby is working, or while Nubby is sleeping (poor thing has a lot of weird hours to deal with!). Wasn’t prepared for how little you can get done while “watching” her like a hawk to prevent accidents.
      We love her. And she definitely loooooooves her Mark. Can’t do much but take it one day at a time, but… she’s a good dog.
      Good Dog, Venna, Cowabunga!

Note: Photo from SXC.hu by “atruncale”.

Edit: Made a big ol’ meme, just for funsies.