It’s been three weeks since my wife and I adopted our dog. This post is intentionally brief:

Our walks started off far too ambitious. Our dog needed more time to get used to our neighborhood, as well as the sounds of the city. (I had no idea how loud downtown Toronto was!)

I used to go on long walks with my previous dog, with the assumption that she enjoyed it and needed to burn off energy. I needed to update the expectations and norms that came with that experience.

Getting her emotionally comfortable now, with these brief walks, will set her up for success later. Being hard on her is not constructive.

The neighboring condo has a big round driveaway, with beautiful in-ground lights. I never appreciated this until I walked the dog at night. Beside that, there’s also a patch of grass with a water feature I love listening to. I spend a lot of time near that condo now, because that’s where one of the quieter pockets around my condo are, and our dog feels safe there. 

My wife and I wake up at least an hour earlier than we used to. We prefer walking the dog early in the morning when it’s quiet.

We had hoped to introduce our cat, who just turned 15 (!), to her by now. That will probably need to happen later, if ever. Again, this needed more time than we’d thought.

We can keep them separate because we live in a two bedroom condo. Last year, we lived in a studio condo in New York City, with less space and separation, so the possibility of adopting a dog felt very distant.

Many dogs pee when they’re excited. I had no idea this was common behavior, let alone that it even happened. Again, I needed to update myself.

Hiring a trainer was a very good idea. The lessons we learned and practices we implemented after the first session created positive change within days. The trainer also interpreted some of our dog’s behaviors with an expert lens.

Before getting the dog, quiet time at home used to feel boring. Now, quiet time at home feels peaceful. It means our dog is relaxed and maybe resting, so is our cat, which means we can also do the same.