What Were We thinking

What Were We Thinking?

So… let’s talk about Mocha Teal. Or, as she is more commonly known around DaGirls RV these days, The Land Shark.

For those of you thinking, “A puppy in an RV sounds like fun!” — allow us to provide a small public service announcement.

At approximately 8 weeks old, a chocolate Labrador puppy apparently comes with the following operating instructions:

Sleep:
Requires 18 to 20 hours of sleep per day for healthy growth and development. Sounds wonderful, right? The catch is they somehow manage to fit all their chaos into the few hours they are actually awake.

Biting:
Currently experiencing what experts lovingly call “Land Shark” or “Velociraptor” behavior. Those tiny razor-sharp baby teeth are apparently designed to investigate everything—including fingers, shoelaces, furniture, pant legs, and occasionally your patience.

Bladder Control:
Let us just say… planning your day around potty breaks has become a competitive sport. With a bladder the size of a thimble, potty trips are required every 20 to 45 minutes while awake, plus a couple of overnight outings just to keep life interesting.

Feeding:
Three to four meals a day, totaling about 2 to 3 cups of quality puppy food. Judging by her enthusiasm, one would think she has not eaten in weeks every single time food appears.

Vaccinations:
Still in the middle of her puppy shot series, meaning public adventures are limited for now. No strolling around campgrounds greeting every human and dog she sees until she is fully vaccinated.

Exercise:
No forced marches for this little traveler. Short bursts of free play and supervised roaming are best while those puppy joints continue developing.

So, if anyone is wondering how life is going with Mocha Teal, the answer is simple: we are tired, laughing, occasionally bleeding from puppy teeth, and completely smitten.

Still… somewhere between the midnight potty runs and the latest chewed object, Susan and I occasionally look at each other and ask:

“What were we thinking?” 😄

Now, before anyone thinks life with the Land Shark is complete chaos, let us be fair—Mocha Teal has actually developed some pretty impressive sleeping habits.

Real life at DaGirls RV now looks something like this:

9:30 PM — Bedtime.
And to our amazement, she settles in and sleeps until somewhere around 5:00 to 5:30 AM. Not too shabby for an 8-week-old chocolate tornado.

The morning routine begins immediately—straight outside for the all-important morning pee and poop mission. Timing, as we have learned, is everything. Hesitate too long and, well… let us just say the RV carpet loses.

After that comes about 10 to 15 minutes of playtime and training. We are quickly learning that with puppies, any time is good for training time. Sit, come, leave it, no bite, good girl—repetition seems to be the name of the game. Even the smallest moments become learning opportunities.

Of course, training sessions usually last until either:

1. Mocha gets distracted by a leaf, stick, bug, or imaginary object only she can see… or
2. The Land Shark personality returns and fingers suddenly become chew toys again.

Still, every day we are seeing little improvements, and honestly, it is hard not to smile watching her learn and grow—even if she does keep us moving at full speed.

As a side note, our little Mocha Teal is growing like a weed. She is now tipping the scales at around 14 pounds and is coming up on 10 weeks old.

For a chocolate Lab, we are told that is right about where she should be—although from the amount she eats and the speed at which she can move when she spots something interesting (or chewable), we suspect she may secretly be training for the Puppy Olympics.

It is amazing how quickly they grow. One minute she seems tiny enough to fit in one arm, and the next thing you know, the Land Shark has longer legs, a bigger appetite, and just enough confidence to remind us daily that she now officially rules the RV.

Susan, Tilly, Mocha, me and as always Dakota in sprit

Safe travels and journeys.

P.S. Yes I am using AI, if it is one thing I have learned, never look a gift horse in the mouth. 

I have learned, that writing, paragraphs and sentences, that AI will put into order Vs me rewriting it several times. Spelling is corrected along with other items. Plus I can add additionals thoughts to it and it will be included in a way that the blog flows together.