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.
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My dog is a chewer/shredder and can have any stuffed or rope toy apart in seconds. He loves any toy made by West Paw Designs (we started with the Hurley Dog Bone and went from there). They are guaranteed indestructible, recyclable, and dishwasher safe.
Elk antlers are also the best bet for bones. They are much tougher than rawhides. It’s worth the $12 investment to occupy my dog for hours!
Thanks so much for the recommendations!!
Congrats, lady! Hemi is so cute! Have a great Monday!
Huggle Hounds makes great toys lined with mesh as does GoDog toys. There’s also Tuffy’s Toys (http://www.tuffietoys.com/) but my terrier doesn’t love them.
He is super cute–contrats!
Awesome, thanks! Will check it out!
Deacon, our family’s massive GSD, has a pile of Tuffy’s Toys. He destroys everything, but these last him a few weeks each! They have them at Wylie Wagg: http://www.tuffietoys.com/
Perfect! Will test them.
I subscribed to Barkbox about 2 years ago and absolutely love it! They source really really good products that are made in the USA, including treats and dog toys. The toys are meant to be a tougher, but you can let them know that right now, you don’t want stuffed, floppy toys and would prefer the stronger options. They’re super great and it gets delivered in a box to your house once a month with a selection of goodies based on a theme. It’s so fun!
Oh ya I totally forgot about that!
He looks like he might have some Jack Russell in him! So adorable.
I don’t remember the brand but I got Dobby a rope at a specialty store when she was that age. Cheap ropes did not last, but this one was made of stronger material and wound very tightly, so it took a while for her to get through her first, and she still has the second a couple years later. It also had a minty scent for doggy breath!
Nylabones and Kongs are must haves for sure. I also had the wobble Kong you can put treats in — that’s how I gave her meals when she was a puppy! I put her puppy food in the wobble Kong, and she would chase it around my apartment for at least half an hour trying to get all of her food out. It was a great way to wear her out. Kong also makes a rubber squeaky ball — I gave her that instead of tennis balls to avoid the fuzz chewing.
I also hung a bell on my front door and trained her to tap it when she needed to go out. Thankfully she was mostly potty trained when I got her so we had very few accidents.
I thought about doing the bell. I think we’ve potty trained him, he goes and sits by the door. And I just take him out pretty frequently, also to give him some exercise. But he pees when he gets excited, so that’s really what I’m dealing with mostly is the excited pee.
Hemingway is absolutely adorable. You can never share too many pics of a puppy!
Well good because I already shot two more posts with him 😉
Congrats!!!!!!!! A dog is the best, seriously. My guys bring me the most complete joy possible!!! I also love Barkbox, it’s a LOT of stuff, it always comes with treats, a chew thing, multiple toys that my dogs are always obsessed with. I volunteer with an animal rescue, and the beds they use Kuranda beds. Perfect for those who destroy!
This is kind of gross but when I was training my dogs and I couldn’t trust that they wouldn’t excited-pee everywhere I used a male wrap. Now that they’re older I kicked that thing to the curb!
I’m so excited for you and Hemingway looks so happy to have you!!!
Thanks for your comment! I will have to look up those dog beds for sure! I might have to try BarkBox!!
Meg– Hemi is ADORABLE! Where did you adopt him? I have been looking to adopt a pup too!
We adopted him from here >> http://www.homewardtrails.org/
This is super random, and maybe weird, but I dog sit regularly and would be happy to watch little Hemi if you ever go away or need him taken out. I live in Logan Circle. Not sure if you remember me but we met several years ago when I worked at Canvas Co/work. Anywho, happy to dog sit.
You are so sweet! I might be emailing you soon…