Hi friends! So outside of books I’m not only a mom of humans, I’m a mommy of an almost 9 month old puppy named Atlas. I feel like we’ve had him forever. We’ve had dogs before but my kids were really young when we had them and they had passed away. I feel like Atlas is the dog that will be remembered during their childhood and watching them bond is the sweetest thing ever.

Atlas is a mixed breed, supposedly a dachsund mix…but he is all terrier! He looks like the twin of a dog I had in my 20’s. So definitely a terrier, not sure what kind though. He is the cuddliest boy.

There was a moment when I thought the kids wouldn’t bond with him because he had razor sharp puppy teeth. My son was afraid of his teeth and puppy energy (he had the zoomies for a good 2 months!!). My daughter didn’t care if his teeth got her but I minded a lot so I had to train my kids and Atlas at the same time, one not to bite and the others to pick up his signals and to train him! It was a challenge…I almost regretted having a puppy. 😫😭 I had raised two puppies but that was before I had children so it was a new venture for me for sure.

With a lot of consistency in keeping his schedule, training, playing and more training…he is pretty much potty trained (if we leave the house sometimes he can’t hold it when he hears our car pull up in the garage). He is so cuddly and always wants affection. He is sort of obsessed with my parents, his grandparents who come over once a week to my house – oh his excitement when he sees them. It’s a little bit uncontrollable lol…but we are working on that. I’d say neutering him and his adult teeth finally coming in really calmed his energy down.

He has a favorite pair of fuzzy socks that belonged to my son – but he carries them in his mouth and whines every morning and drops them in the lap of my kids. It’s so sweet and they thank him for the socks. He also has one favorite squeaky bone toy he plays fetch with outside. I’ve tried different toys but the bone is his favorite, so yes I had to hunt for a pack of it on Amazon!

Atlas and my daughter are like puppies together! They are the youngest in our family and have quite a bond. She never feared him even in his wild early puppy stage when he was learning. Now she can’t even pick him up (we had him when he was 3 lbs haha…he’s now much heaver) but that’s okay, he flops down into her lap constantly.

As for my son, I had my son start doing his lunch and dinner feedings and taking him outside to potty. I told him when he stays consistent with his routine they will bond and sure enough – now he isn’t afraid of his teeth. Now I catch the two of them playing fetch outside together without adult supervision. I’ve found Atlas in his bed a couple times cuddled up next to my son and it makes me so happy.

Atlas was the perfect fit for our family and he has really grown into a loving, affectionate dog. We are still working on socializing him (he gets afraid of other dogs – especially big ones) but he’s much more curious on his walks so that’s good. I can’t believe he’s not even a year old yet, it feels like we’ve had him forever!

Do you have any pets? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading. 😘 ~ Yolanda