Puppy’s first night home!!! It is so exciting to bring home a new bundle of fluff (or not in my case since he is a Hairless Chinese Crested), but it is also a stressful time. Especially when you have a house full of various personalities. The twins would be easy I knew and 2 of our 5 other dogs would also be easy. The other 3 personalities would take longer to integrate happily.
Flying with a Puppy
I flew out to Chicago at 7:11am and landed back in Warwick, RI at 3:17pm. It was a whirlwind of a trip, but let’s focus on the first night home.
After I landed in Chicago I first had to find his breeder. O’Hare is a large and busy place, but I had no trouble finding her. I finally got to meet my newest little hairball in person. It was love at first sight. Finding a place for a puppy to go potty was not as easy, but we found a spot. Then it was time to say goodbye and for me and the puppy to hit up security.
Since I was flying with a puppy I had to check in at the counter. That was actually quick and painless. Security was somewhat annoying. You have to take the puppy out of the bag so I put everything else down on the belt and removed the puppy. We did get to skip the crazy x-ray thing because I had the puppy in my arms. I had to have my fingertips checked instead. No big deal.
Now we are in the middle of the O’Hare security checkpoint and the place is a total zoo! Puppy was a little nervous, but not shocking. He handled it all in good form. Then I start to think this should be done. Our stuff should be out. The machine broke with our stuff in it! So as it gets plucked out piece by piece and stuck into another machine I wait. The last thing to come through was the puppy’s bag of course so I was trying to collect my crap and juggle the puppy. Extra hands would have been nice, but again doable!
The pup handled the whole airport and flight like a total pro. He never made a peep. He slept in his Sherpa Bag under the seat in front of me the whole time. Nobody realized there was a puppy on board until we were getting off and they saw the bag!
A Whole Lot of Puppy Firsts
On the way home we stopped at the pet store for a quick trip in and out. He stayed in the Sherpa bag and rolled around the store in style!
At home he met my husband and kids next. Mike, my husband, had all the other dogs away in their crates with a food toy for this part. This puppy never missed a beat. It’s as though he grew up here. I will thank his breeder and Puppy Culture for that. He also met the cats who were floating around.
Later that evening after the kids went to bed he met Windsor, my 6 year old Miniature American Shepherd. Windsor is a great puppy raiser. While he may have no patience for big, obnoxious dogs he is the perfect gentleman with little pups.
As I suspected Windsor was great with the puppy right off the bat. Within moments they were playing with each other as though they had known each other forever.
Time for Sleep
When it was time for bed the puppy settled into his crate on my nightstand. He had a giraffe pillow pet and a few chew bones in there. He cried a little bit so I stuck my fingers in the holes and he went to sleep. He woke up once during the night, went out to potty and again fell asleep with my fingers in the crate. The puppy’s first night was a success!