A little over a month ago my husband and I adopted a puppy. We’ve had two dogs before, the short story is that we rehomed them due to the military, and they are super happy now with friends of ours who adopted them from us. But everyday for the past six years we’ve thought about them and wanted more once our circumstances let us.

In February we moved into a building that allowed dogs. Knowing we wanted a puppy, we wanted to wait until it was warm to adopt one (taking a puppy out in the snow every three hours didn’t sound fun). We also knew we were going to Spain for a few weeks in May and I wanted to wait until after that trip. So in June after looking for a long time (there’s a lot of competition for dogs in DC) we found our pup.

We think he was born into foster care, and was in foster care until we adopted him, so he doesn’t have any issues as far as being neglected or beaten or anything. A little separation anxiety but I think that’s just him being a puppy. Today he is 4 months, but in these photos he was closer to 3 months and weighed 19 pounds. He’s probably gained several pounds since these photos (tear!).

My husband and I spent several days trying to come up with the right name. I wanted something a little unique, but not hard to understand. I was thinking of artists and writers and Hemingway just seemed perfect. We call him Hemi for short, but I prefer the formal Hemingway. We aren’t for sure on his exact breed, but we’re pretty sure he’s a terrier/hound mix.

For Instagram hashtag purposes he needed a middle name and I didn’t want to use our last name, so we went with one of the first names that didn’t make the cut — Smith. So you can find him #hemingwaysmith on Instagram anytime you need your fix. I am trying not to be a crazy puppy mom and post him on my Instagram everyday, so it’s about once a week at this point.

So far no shoes or handbags have been harmed. I keep the closet door shut and a close eye on him. So far he’s ruined his first soft crate — chewed through the netting within a few days (why do soft crates exist…?), a few stuffed toys, and a few socks. We have a bunch of old towels around until he stops teething, then I’ll get him a bed in the hopes that he won’t ruin it immediately. He loves to chew on the towels for some reason…trying to break this habit.

I don’t know if it’s just teething or that he’s a puppy or what but the dude is a chewer. I just always try to have a few chew toys around constantly so that he chews on them and not anything else. He can chew on a bone for hours. So far, these are his favorite toys:

He is obsessed with this wishbone bone. I think the shape makes it easy to chew on and it’s flavored. But it’s one of those really tough bones so it lasts forever. Of course, the Kong is his fave. Especially when there are treats or peanut butter inside. A trick I used to do with our old dogs was put peanut butter in the Kong then freeze it over night so it would take them longer to lick and occupy them longer, especially when we are leaving. I think he loves that also because he’s teething and it feels good on his gums. He just got this bristle bone, that has treats in it, from his doggie friend Gus and he’s been chewing on it ever since. He’s obsessed with these Kong Tennis Balls. He loves to chase them and play with them. They squeak, you’ve been warned. He loves that. But he also loves to pull the green fuzz off and chew on it, so I find myself trimming the fuzz off so he won’t eat it.

Would love to know all of your dogs favorite toys, please tell me in the comments! I need strong toys that can withstand aggressive chewing. Even though he’s only 4 months the dude can chew. Stuffed toys only last a few hours so I stopped buying them. Small raw hide bones don’t last long either, so I have to get medium sized ones.

Having a puppy in an apartment is definitely different from when we had two dogs in a house. Our house had a huge fenced-in yard and we could just let them out to run around and go to the bathroom. We also had a tiled basement where we fed them and they could hang out if they were dirty or wet. Also they entertained each other. So it’s very different having one, that you have to take out every couple hours. He’s too little for dog parks or daycare — he has to get the rest of his shots and get neutered — which is happening soon. I think he’s dying to play with other puppies.

Every time my husband or I walk him we get stopped by people telling us how cute he is. Obviously I’m biased here, but he is adorable. He’s super friendly and loves everyone and will take any petting or love he can get. No stranger danger for this pup. I love it, because he can bring a smile to almost anyone’s face. It’s kinda fun to see random people on the street smile.

He gets bouts of energy where he runs around the apartment like a crazy dog, and that’s our cue to take him on another walk or play catch with the tennis ball. Otherwise he is a super chill dog. When we were looking at him and his sister and brother to decide which one to adopt, the little girl in the foster family said that he was the “lazy one” and we were like — perfect!

He loves anything comfy and cushy. The bed, the couch, a huge pile of laundry — he’ll plop right down on it like it’s his. He sleeps in his crate, but when my husband takes him out early in the morning we’ll usually let him snuggle in bed with us for an hour before we all get up. I’ve just been resistant to get him a bed because I don’t want him to chew it up in a day. He ruined the pad in his crate the first day we had it. Anyone have any dog bed recommendations? He’s probably 25 pounds now and might get up to 40-50 pounds. He also loves to put his head on pillows. He’s like a human, it’s hilarious.

Enough about Hemingway for now, but you’ll be seeing him in posts here on the blog (he’s just too cute not to include!), on my Instagram, and if you want a daily dose, you can find him on Snapchat just about every day — user: megbiram. But not too too much, because that’s annoying.

SHOP THE LOOK

White Lace Up Dress
Mine is no longer available but there are tons out there:

Black Illesteva Sunglasses / Pink Madewell Sunglasses

Black Michael Kors Sandals

Cluse Black and Nude Watch

Silver Anna Beck Ring

 

Photos by Laura Metzler