Bringing Luna home just before Christmas felt magical.
That first evening, everything felt calm. She explored the house with confidence, sniffed every corner, and acted like she’d already decided it was hers.
But when night came… reality kicked in.
Not in the way we expected, though.
The First Night: No Crying, Just Restlessness
We’d prepared for tears.
We’d read all the horror stories about puppies crying all night long, missing their litter, howling until sunrise.
Luna didn’t really cry.
She just… didn’t sleep.
We put her in her cage with a cuddly toy that had a little heartbeat inside it — something to mimic her littermates. It definitely helped when she eventually drifted off.
But staying asleep? That was another story.
She wanted to be out.
She wanted to be with us.
She wanted to be involved in absolutely everything.
So when she wouldn’t settle, we’d get her out, let her curl up on us, wait until she fell asleep, and gently place her back in her cage.
Sometimes it worked.
Sometimes it didn’t.
Sleeping Next to Her (Literally)
For that first week, we slept downstairs next to her cage.
Not because she screamed.
Not because she panicked.
But because we wanted to get toilet training right from day one.
Every time she stirred or woke up, we took her straight outside.
And honestly? It made a massive difference.
She had very few accidents in the house.
But it came at a cost.
Very long nights.
Very broken sleep.
Very tired humans.
It was worth it — but it was work.
The Toilet Training Mission
We made a simple rule:
Wake up → straight outside.
No hesitation.
No “maybe she’ll go back to sleep”.
And Luna picked it up quickly.
She’s a confident, inquisitive little thing. Always watching. Always learning. Always testing boundaries — but she understood what we were trying to do.
For a young puppy, she was actually incredibly well behaved.
The Chewing Phase (AKA Everything Is Food)
Of course, no first week is perfect.
Luna tried chewing:
- Furniture
- Walls
- Shoes (especially shoes)
- Anything remotely chewable
She was curious about everything.
Nothing was off-limits in her mind.
But compared to what we expected? She was actually brilliant.
She wasn’t destructive — just curious.
Meeting the Family (But Not the Dogs Yet)
She met the family during that first week, just not the family dogs yet.
And she absolutely loved it.
Luna loves people.
Anyone who walks through the door is instantly her new best friend.
She greets everyone the same way:
Licks.
Kisses.
Snorts.
Excited little grunts.
She’s dramatic, loud, and very vocal.
But she’s also unbelievably affectionate.
Biting… But Only Us
She didn’t bite visitors much.
Just us.
Classic puppy behaviour.
Hands, sleeves, ankles — everything was fair game.
She wasn’t aggressive.
Just teething. Exploring. Testing.
And occasionally turning into a tiny land shark.
Her Personality From Day One
From that first night, Luna made one thing very clear:
She wants to be next to her human.
Always.
If we moved rooms, she followed.
If we sat down, she climbed up.
If we lay down, she found a way onto us.
She’s confident.
She’s inquisitive.
She’s dramatic.
She’s loud.
She’s snorty.
And she’s incredibly attached.
Was It Easy?
No.
It was exhausting.
We were tired.
She was restless.
There were moments where we questioned whether we were doing it right.
But there were also quiet moments in the middle of the night when she’d fall asleep on us, completely relaxed and safe.
And that’s when it hit us.
She wasn’t just settling into our home.
We were becoming her safe place.
The Beginning of Something Bigger
That first week shaped everything.
The effort.
The sleepless nights.
The consistency.
It built trust.
Now, when Luna curls up next to us or runs to the door to greet us, we know it started there — in those long nights downstairs beside her cage.
It was the start of her journey.
And ours with her.
Four Small Paws 