Meet Auggie!

 Hi friends! Meet Auggie, our new puppy!
Auggie is a Miniature Schnauzer male puppy who became a part of our family back at the beginning of July 2020. 

For several years, Kendall has been asking us if we could get a dog. We always knew we would get one someday and she never missed an opportunity to ask. Two years ago we had just moved into our new house and had a 4 month old baby, so I was NOT interested in adding a puppy to the mix. But when Tolar mentioned to me at the beginning of this summer that some good friends of ours were getting a schnauzer puppy and wondered if maybe it was time for us, I said yes!

Adding a puppy to our family has come with its own set of challenges, but he also brings us so much joy! The kids love to play with him and I love when he snuggles beside me on the couch at night. He started out like any newborn and wanted to sleep a lot during the day. But now that he has gotten older, he is awake longer and loves to run around and play. 

Schnauzers by nature are protective of their homes and family. In the last month, Auggie has really come into his own and barks anytime someone enters our house. At first, it took him awhile to calm down when someone new was in the house. But now he is learning that we are not in danger when we allow people in and he doesn't bark as long. Don't get me wrong, he still barks anytime he hears the front door unlock, but he is learning to calm down faster. 

Where did the name came from?

The first time I realized that Knox knew about dogs and what to call them was Thanksgiving 2019. Tolar's cousins had brought their two dogs with them and Knox bent down to pet one and said "auggie," which was his way of saying doggie. I thought it was adorable and said "I think Knox just named our first dog." So now we have Auggie, the Doggie.

How much does he weigh/how big will he get?

Currently Auggie weighs 10 pounds. He was just 4 pounds when he first came to live with us! Miniature Schnauzers can weigh anywhere from 15-20 pounds.

How is potty training going?

I will be honest, potty training was the biggest reason I put off getting a dog. I've never had a puppy before and wasn't really gung-ho about potty training a puppy. Potty training started out ok, especially if we were diligent with taking Auggie outside every hour. However, there were plenty of days where he had many accidents in the house and I started to think he was never going to be potty trained. But in the past three weeks or so, he has really turned a corner and barely has any accidents in the house. Luckily our downstairs is hardwood floors, so we keep Auggie downstairs primarily to make for easy cleanup. We only let him upstairs when we go up with him, because I don't want him sneaking upstairs to use the bathroom on the carpet without my knowledge. Once he is fully potty trained we will let him go upstairs as he pleases.

Does he sleep through the night?

The first night that Auggie was with us was rough and we were prepared for that. Obviously he had been used to sleeping near his mother and brothers and sisters, so we expected him to be lonely. Tolar and I decided to sleep downstairs on the couch so that we could be near him (we are keeping his crate in the living room). He slept some, but around midnight he woke up howling and crying. It was tough to listen to, but we did make it through the night. He probably spent the first four nights waking up and howling, but eventually he quieted down and now he sleeps through the night just fine. He can sleep for at least 8 hours and sometimes wants to sleep longer. In fact, there are some mornings that I open his crate to let him out and he wants to stay inside and sleep.

What has his biting/chewing been like?

At the very beginning, Auggie would lightly bite when we were playing with him. Unfortunately the kids got more of this than anyone. His biting of us has subsided, however he has started biting/chewing on things around the house. We have figured out that he is a slightly aggressive chewer and likes to chew wood. He started chewing on the bottom corner of one of my kitchen cabinets and I quickly started looking for solutions. A friend on facebook suggested that he needed some bully sticks to satisfy his need to chew things. So I immediately went to a local pet store and found some. While there, the owner also suggested that I try some bitter spray to deter him from chewing his favorite spots. But the owner gave me a terrific tip: I needed to give him some of the bitter spray to taste as soon as I got home. Then once I determined that he didn't like the taste (and he definitely did NOT), I was to have him watch me spray the places I wanted him to stop chewing. Genius. Any time I've used the bitter spray, I make sure that Auggie is with me and sees me spray it on areas I don't want him chewing. 

Useful tip:

Our friends who also got a schnauzer puppy told us about the app PUPFORD. It has been great! It is full of tutorial videos teaching you how to train your dog on all sorts of aspects: leave it, sit, biting, chewing, come when called and more. The first day that we tried the app, Auggie was able to pick up what we were teaching him in 15 minutes. I highly recommend this app if you have a new puppy!