Like many families around the world, my family is a dog family. We just don’t feel complete without man/woman’s best friend. So, when our beloved cockapoo (cocker spaniel-poodle mix), Mosby, had to be put to sleep in December 2013 at age 13, we were all heartbroken. It took time, but a year later, we finally decided our house was too quiet and our mailman too undisturbed. It was time to add a new pup to the mix. Enter Cooper, a golden brown Cavalier King Charles-poodle mix (cavapoo, cavoodle, cavapoodle, etc.) straight from the Build-a-Bear workshop. It’s safe to say we did not know what we were in for. Here are the 4 stages of getting a new puppy:

1. Bliss

Who isn’t in heaven when they have the cutest four-pound puppy living under the same roof as them?! It’s what I would assume bringing a newborn baby home is like. You "ooh" and "aaah" over everything he does and fight over whose turn it is to hold him (plus a million jealous visitors who do the same). You attribute every bad thing he does to being so young and think, “Oh, he’ll learn eventually.” I’m pretty sure this whole scenario is where the phrase “ignorance is bliss” comes from. It’s EXTREMELY easy to forget the terrors puppies become when they are so cute and cuddly. I’m pretty sure my family even threw around the phrase, “Wow, we are so lucky we got such a well-behaved dog!” Yep, ignorance is bliss.

2. Reality Check!

The beginning of the end for this blissful world of puppy heaven started as Cooper rapidly grew and became more comfortable in our house. He quickly learned how to jump out of his puppy play pen (see a pic for proof below), acquired an obsession with chewing anything he could get his teeth on (hide your shoes, hide your hair, hide your limbs), and went to the bathroom wherever and whenever he felt like it. Our now six-pound puppy was running things, and he knew it.

3. Fifty Shades of Cooper

Enter the trainer, a.k.a. our lifesaver. After telling us we were doing everything wrong (oops!), she set us straight. We are now in the “Fifty Shades of Cooper” stage as my mom has called it, trying to gain back our dominance over him. Poor little guy didn’t know what hit him when we took away almost all his toys but the ones the trainer approved, stopped picking him up as much (can’t be dominant over someone when you’re at the same level), and put him in time out for going to the bathroom anywhere but outside. This requires EXTREME self-control because, I mean really, who can say no to that face???

4. Love Love Love

The stage that makes it all worth it: love. I haven’t met a single person who hasn’t melted over a picture of Coop or gone all googly-eyed while holding him in their arms. Yes, puppies can be terrors and a lot of work, but nothing beats the excitement on their faces and love in their eyes when you get home from work. Even when he’s driving us crazy (running full speed in tiny circles at 11 p.m.), he’s our buddy and we love him.