Hey, everyone! My name is Taleah and I recently adopted a puppy!

This is Guinness

He is a little over three months old, he is a Plott Hound mix (no clue what he's mixed with though). I have had him for a little over a month now. He was rescued from a high kill shelter in Tennessee at 8 weeks old and had two brothers that also got adopted. He is currently in training to be a service dog!

When I got Guinness, I really wish someone would have told me all of these things beforehand, so here are some tips when getting a puppy.

1. You are totally not ready for a puppy. I had thought about getting a puppy before but never thought I was fully ready until a month and a half ago. Thankfully I have an awesome boyfriend who helps raise him, but even for two people, he is a lot of work. Looking back I was completely unprepared for what was about to come.

2. Remember how everyone always told you "Raising a puppy is like raising a child"? Boy, were they right. "Yes Mom and Aunt Mel, you guys were right." Granted I've never raised a child before, but crap this whole puppy thing has been hard.

Don't get me wrong I love my Guinnie more than anything but sometimes it gets to be a lot.

3. Puppies need constant watching. Guinness is very needy. Poor guy has massive puppy separation anxiety. Crate training had been almost impossible for us. Now as he's getting a little older he likes to venture and play alone for a few minutes but that's it. Thankfully my boyfriend works a great job where he can take Guinness with him every day to work and then we just swap when I leave work or school, but if one of us couldn't watch him we'd be screwed.

Even if we take our eyes off of him for a minute he's already taken a poop on the floor, raided the fridge and stalked the cat all in one minute.

Gotta stay vigilant!

4. Puppies have accidents — and a lot of them. Guinness has gotten better. He now only has accidents at night. We usually take him out once or twice a night, after having taken him out right before bed, but lately, he'll wake up and let me know he has to pee but he'll get outside and not have to go. Once we come back in I'll realize he already went or he's holding it in to go on the floor when we fall back asleep. Just realize potty training takes a lot of time, it doesn't just go away overnight. Be patient, and buy a lot of carpet stain remover. Puppy potty training can take anywhere from 4 months to an entire year!

5. Your dog and other pets may not get along right away, so be ready for a slow introduction. I have a sweet cat named Hemsworth (I know great name scheme, right?) and he loves everyone. He is the friendliest cat I've ever met! But he can't stand the dog most times. The dog has extreme amounts of energy, way too much for my poor kitty. So until the dog falls asleep, the cat wants nothing to do with him, but the second he falls asleep it's like they're best friends! So take your time introducing them, introduce them slowly over the span of a week and always watch them together just in case.

Not to worry they'll hopefully get along soon!

6. This one is more of a life hack: don't get a vacuum just get a dog LOL. Okay, I'm just kidding. But seriously: lock your refrigerator and cabinets because here comes a nosy, always-hungry pupper.

My sweet boy is a genius. He gets the cat to open the cabinets for him and then he goes crazy. He will eat anything in sight. ANYTHING!! He's learning to open the fridge with his paws and he'll eat all the cold cuts my boyfriend buys and then he's smart enough to hide the evidence! So be careful! He'll even eat anything you drop on the floor if you don't pick it up fast enough!

Also, don't leave any food out. I used to make pizza bagels or something and just leave it on the counter or the couch while I go do something else for a quick second, the second you come back they've magically disappeared.

So unless you don't want your pizza bagels I suggest you keep them high up.

7. Puppy biting. This is the worst thing in the world. The dreaded puppy biting stage. Poor Guinness is going through some nasty teething and I've tried everything to help him. Thank the Lord God himself that we were given a puppy who had ZERO interest in biting any furniture... so far! But give him a minute and he'll bite you good.

Puppy biting is to soothe their gums when they're teething, so I've got toys strewn around the house, so that no matter what room he's in he has at least 3 other things to bite. Sometimes he will bite my hand or a pant leg, not in an aggressive way, but because he's teething, I learned to just be patient and try to maneuver his attention to a toy that's better than my hand. But sometimes that doesn't work so well. Don't get upset if they really bite you, Guinness has broken the skin before but not because he means it. So instead give them a small scolding or turn away and then give him something else better to bite on.

Try freezing a Kong toy with treats and beef or chicken broth in them, that helps a lot.

8. Having a dog is scary! I'm always worried he will find a way off his leash, or bite someone by accident and they'll take it the wrong way. I am terrified to leave him at his puppy day care because puppy play fighting to me always looked so rough, but it's totally normal and you can't worry the entire time because then you won't enjoy your pupper.

9. It's like having your own child with half the work! The day I got him I cried my eyes out. My boyfriend has a video of me basically hyperventilating when the man gave me my puppy. I think I cried like 7 times that day lol. Now when I leave him at puppy day care my heart feels sad. I miss him every day at work. I feel that he and my cat are like my sons and I treat them as such!

10. BUT, the best thing about having a dog is coming home. Every time I come home from work or school or even from a quick jog it's like I've been away for years. He comes up to me and immediately cries, he'll run circles around me and jump up and try to lick my face all while he pees himself and It doesn't stop either, he'll go on for a good 15 minutes. Ahh it feels so nice to be needed!

Last thing to remember Adopt Don't Shop!

Thanks for reading!

Taleah Constantino