Hey! - it’s Susan once again with another update on my progress with my new little addition.

Well, it was bound to happen.  I should’ve known better, all my friends tried to tell me, but I just wouldn’t listen.  I’m getting ahead of myself- let me explain how I got here.

For weeks, months, even years I’d been planning for the big day.  No, not my wedding, not even the birth of a child – the big day was the day my LAST child moved out and went to college.

Now, I’m not like many of my friends. 

They’ve been dreading the day their “baby” would leave home.  Not me.  I was actually looking forward to it in a way.  Of course, I love all of my children, but the parenting is for the most part over and the friendships have taken root. 

I’m equally close to both of my daughters and my son and feel proud of the way they have turned out.  My husband and I are truly blessed to have “good kids”…most of the time…but that’s another story. 

The conversation started four days before Kayla (my youngest daughter) was to leave. 

I’m helping her do laundry and pack her clothes when she turns to me and said, “Mom, I know you’re going to be lonely when I leave and you’ll only have Dad here with you…and let’s face it, he’s not much of a talker… so…I was thinking you should get a puppy.” 

You have GOT to be kidding me! 

A WHAT?!  No way!  Absolutely NOT! 

I finally get the house back to myself and can have it redecorated, recarpeted, repainted, whatever I want!  Why would I want to get a PUPPY.

I didn’t give it another thought until about two weeks later.

One night I’m sitting in my favorite chair reading my latest ‘good book’ and listening to the total peace and quiet.  It was so quiet it was almost annoying. 

Jeff had already fallen asleep in his recliner, and I’m thinking to myself, I’ve not felt this alone in a long time…Then the next thought that came to my mind totally hit me from out of the blue…”You should get a puppy!” 

I’d worked out in the yard earlier in the day and figured I must just be totally exhausted from the sun, so I went to bed. 

But when I woke up the next morning, there it was again…that little voice whispering something about how cute and cuddly and playful a puppy would be.  To have noise and excitement in the house again.  I could feel the pep in my step. 

I thought I was so ready for the “empty nest”, but it turned out to be a little bit quieter than I’d imagined, and a LOT more boring.

I immediately went in the kitchen to find Jeff making his first cup of morning coffee.  I approached the idea casually with him and he looked at me with those eyes that have known me so well for close to 29 years and said, “I was wondering how long before you’d want to stir things up a bit.” 

He smiled and I smiled back.  At least we were in agreement…or so it seemed…

That was 17 days ago. 

That day I began looking in the paper for a puppy.  We both talked about it and finally decided to go to our humane society and look for a puppy. The younger the better because we didn’t want to take on someone else’s problem.

Jeff and I drove over to the shelter to pick out a puppy.  They were all soooo cute but this one just stuck out to me. 

It was the smallest female and looked like a cross between a sheep dog and who knows what else. She instantly was drawn to me and I to her.  She cuddled up in my lap and I knew I was in “puppy” love. 

We brought her home, went to the store and got all the necessary items for her to survive, and then the horrifying thought set in… I HAVEN’T HAD A PUPPY IN OVER 20 YEARS!  I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO HOUSEBREAK HER!

Trouble is, Jeff wasn’t much help. 

And even though all the kids sounded excited about “Josie” over the phone, none of them offered to come over and help train her… which is why I never let them have one before now.

Here I was on my own.  And after two days of cleaning up pee and poop off my carpet, I hate to say this but I realized I was in way over my head. 

Josie was so cute and sweet…most of the time…she would cuddle on my lap and fall asleep with her little front paws over her eyes and she was so adorable. 

She would even put her little head down in my shoe to fall asleep sometimes.  But unfortunately she didn’t sleep ALL of the time.   She also liked chewing, nipping, yipping, and peeing – a LOT.  Something had to give.  I came very close to taking sweet “Josie” back to the shelter I had got her from! 

Why didn’t I listen to my friends when they tried to warn me?

The last straw was when I took her outside to pee and she wouldn’t go.  So I brought her in and she stares right at me, squats and pees right in front of me less than 30 seconds after had I brought her in!  I couldn’t believe it… I was at my wits end.

I was close to tears as I stomped over to the computer and began a frantic search on the internet.  It was too late to go to a bookstore and I didn’t feel like trudging through those books anyway.  I had no time for that! 

There had to be some help.  I found a few free tips but nothing that seemed like the “total package” for an older woman who had a puppy and no idea how to train it.  Then I found it… what I like to call my puppy training secret. The real name is How To Train My Puppy.

I downloaded the material and was reading it in a few minutes. (It was nice not to have to wait a week for a book and have another week of ‘puppy training mistakes’. From the very first day I saw improvement… No, it was not perfect but I saw the glimpse of hope.

This puppy trainer gives you a lot of stuff, but for now I just needed to know how to housebreak my puppy. He laid out step-by-step instructions and the next day, I went to work following them.

I found out about being the pack leader before being her mom. I found out how to use a kennel to help with her bladder control. Bottom line- He taught an old dog new tricks and I’m not talking about the dog.

I was doing everything wrong.

I had to literally start over… But the good news is in less than a week, it was working. As long as I stayed consistent, it was a breeze.

I wish I’d had this from the first day I brought her home… or before. Trey even goes into detail with several different breeds and what to look for in a puppy. I think I was lucky because you couldn’t give me another puppy, now that she pees outside.

I’m so proud of her. She pees on command- OUTSIDE.

Looking back, I cannot believe how close I was to giving her away. Several of my friends told me not to get a puppy that it was too much for a woman my age (not sure how to take that one) but thanks to Trey and his honest, practical and easy-to-understand website, I’m so glad I took the chance. What’s funny is in the process I not only gained a trainer but a friend…

So there you have it: I’ve just given you my puppy training secret. I hope this helps you as much as it has me and the dozens of other testimonials you’ll see on his site. Go check it out-  you’ll quickly see I’m not the only one bragging about this puppy training secret.

Sincerely,

Susan Baker