I caved! Last week we brought home a Rottweiler puppy — her name is Stella. Here’s the thing — remembering the pain of breaking in a puppy is a lot like the pain of labor — you forget how painful it is until you are trapped in a no way out situation. The morning after we brought the puppy home I laid in bed terrified thinking we made a terrible mistake.  My husband took the practical approach. While prying my fingers from the door jamb he reasoned  — “millions of people have dogs, how bad can it be?”

I marched downstairs ticking off the reasons that made me qualified to handle a puppy. (I raised four children, I’ve already handled a virtual menagerie  (2 dogs, several hamsters, a birds,  an iguana, 6 cats, fish), and my ace in the hole — I lived with my Nana for twenty years.  That’s when the smell hit me — diarrhea! I cowered in the doorway yelling for help.  And so it began.

It’s been a week.  We have started to develop a schedule– I use the word schedule loosely. In, out, in, out — I’m getting excellent training — I’m not so sure about Stella. Today she ate her poop twice.  I was horrified! I have no choice but to forge ahead — thank God she’s cute.