I'm getting a dog in 5 days. Because the one thing missing from my life was a greater variety of animal poops to clean up.
At this point all I know is that he'll be a male.
I don't know what colour he'll be OR what I'm going to name him. For someone who makes their living by stringing words together in a clever or entertaining fashion I've found my Achilles heel is with naming pets.
And writing sexy novellas.
My dog is coming from a respected long time breeder who does extensive genetic testing with her litters.
So why a breeder for my dog and not a rescue like all of my cats? Because I wanted a purebred dog, with specific attributes and a known health history.
You may have noticed I haven't told you the breed. Don't worry, I will in my next post when I finally have him here with me but you might be able to tell from the photos. If you're clever like that.
The reason I don't know which dog I'll be getting is because the breeder has a big hand in matching puppies with families because she's the one who has come to know the dog's individual personalities over the past 8 weeks.
Since she has and breeds show dogs, the breeder wants to make sure that the puppy with the most championship show potential will go to someone who is actually going to show the dog.
I will not.
I will not show the dog.
I will not show the dog because I don't have time to add another thing to my life.
I will not show the dog because I don't have time to add another thing to my life even though I bet I'd really like it and it sounds like fuuuuuuuuuun and who doesn't like the Westminster dog show?!
NO. No, no, no.
But maybe competitive agility training would be fun.
No.
But maybe.
So I won't end up with the dog that has the most show potential. Which is fine - I want a puppy with the best *pet* potential. Show potential in puppies is best judged when they're 8 weeks old. The same age they usually are when they go to their homes.
So it takes that long for the breeder to decide which dog to hold back for showing.
Once the breeder has picked out the show puppy at 8 weeks, then she starts assigning puppies to families based on the puppy's personality and the needs and wants of the family.
This litter has white puppies and black puppies.
Both of the colours are nice and when I went to meet them for the first time last weekend they were all beautiful, friendly, rolly polly balls of fluffy fur that I'd be happy to take care of.
It could be him ...
Or possibly him ...
Please enjoy this view of my dirty gardener fingernails.
There are two other hims that it might be as well.
I've never raised a dog before. But I'd never visited a tumbling cyclone of puppies until a week ago either and I did really REALLY well with that so I should be good.
Plus I've watched 10,782,540 hours of YouTube videos on dog training in the past 2 years.
Although I've watched 10,782,541 hours of YouTube videos on how to curl your hair and I still can't do that so ...
I haven't been this joyously excited about something in a very long time. It's kid at Christmas kind of excited.
No name. No idea which dog. But a whole mess of chew toys. That is where I am today.
He'll be home with me and Ernie on Saturday.
I bought calming phermones for my cat Ernie and calming phermones for the puppy. In turn, the puppy and the cat will act as calming phermones for me, plus I have CBD butter for myself if needed.
If all goes well I expect we'll be living happily together without any stress by about year 2.
The official puppy introduction post will come in a week or two.
I expect the perfect name will come to me about 6 months after I've already named him.
Barb
oooohhhh he's a POODLE!
I had my beautiful black poodle Max for 15 1/2 years until last year. He was a smart, hilarious, adorable, a food opportunist supreme and cuddle bug (but only when he wanted to) member of the family. I miss him terribly!
You made an excellent choice! He will be the love of your life, for sure. My daughters and I still tell Max stories almost every time we talk. Poodles are just the Best. He loved agility, and so did I. He was an ace at obedience training and would do ANYTHING for a treat.
One caveat: a black poodle is a real challenge to photograph. I have many many pics of an adorable black blob!
On puppy farts: once Max farted such a nasty one it woke me up from a dead sleep.
A recommendation: a good doggy daycare is worth its weight in gold for socialization and peace in your household. A tired dog is a good dog! A fun day at daycare is worth three days of peace at home. ;)
Karen
Thanks Barb! And I've signed up for socialization classes plus my neighbour walks and has a very small doggy daycare. Just 2-3 dogs at a time. :) ~ karen!
Karen
This is amazing news!! So happy for you!
Jody
EEEEKKKK!!!!! Whichever pup he is, he is pup-a-licious.
Deb from Maryland
Congrats again, and I can't wait for the all the anecdotally funny posts about raising a puppy. It is total immersion into crazy town for the first six months, but oh, so fun. I'm happy your search is over!💕
Karen
6 months??!! Somebody told me it would be fully trained and easy to care for by 2 weeks! ;) I'm fully prepared mentally. Skill wise - not so much, lol. ~ karen!
Em Dirr
We’re knee deep in doggos at our house, including two puppies. Hoping you’ve discovered the youtube videos from your neighbors in Hamilton, McCann Dogs. We raised a pandemic puppy with their help. Great info!
Doesn’t look like you’ve chosen a shedder, haha, otherwise you could join me as an expert on vacuuming.
Can’t wait to meet your boy…(we also we have the same trouble with naming…consider hundreds, choose the least objectionable, find the perfect one a month later).
Karen
Yup. That'll be me. Trying to change his name 3 months into his life, lol. And I've watched allll the McCann videos and have signed up with them. A lot of people train there. My sister took her first Golden Retriever there and I was stunned when she actually trained it to not step on carpet. ~ karen!
Tina B
Congratulations on your new puppy! Wait until you discover the benefits of raw feeding your four-legged housemate...you’ll go down that rabbit trail and start searching Facebook Marketplace for used freezers and groceries who will give you bulk pricing on meats.
Can’t wait to meet your new boy.
Karen
Hi Tina! I thought for sure I'd be feeding him raw food, but I've asked a lot of vets about it and they all seem to agree that it's very risky for dogs to be on raw food. :/ I'm going to keep looking into it so I'm not 100% decided but I was disappointed when I realized I might not be going that route. ~ karen!
Cindy
When I used to breed Saint Bernard's, I would start the puppy out in a litter box. Large one of course. Kept near their food bowl at first. Then blower and closer to the back door. They took to it quickly, by the third day usually. At first firvhavebto put thr puppy in it after they eat and drink, or play, or nap. They soon do it automatically and seem to enjoy the litter digging to cover their poop just like they attempt to in the outdoors.
Melissa
Congratulations!!! Check out nsd.on.ca (nation service dogs website). Lots of great dog names on there, you may find the right one.
Recently realized what great indoor pets rabbits make (I am so in love), was thinking about you writing a post on that, but alas too late. Maybe you need one of each?! Think of the cuteness factor, puppy and bunny, the blogging jackpot!
Karen
You're absolutely right. Puppy + bunny = $$$$ on a blog, lol! ~ karen!
Terri TM
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Looks like beautiful Standard Poodle pups!! Oh, MY HEART!! :)
I've had two black female standards from the same awesome breeder (Sierra & Tango). Sierra just passed at 17 years old and Tango is 2.5. Best dogs we've ever had. Easy to train, SO very loving, tons of personality & no shedding!
Can't wait to hear more about your new bundle of joy!!
Karen
You had a standard poodle that lived to 17! Wow! I can't wait to find out which one is mine! ~ karen
Jen
Well now you're pretty much the perfect person. I associate people's character with those who like or dislike animals in general, and those who have dogs or not, and finally, those who are willing to do something they've never done before or not and well, with that measure, you're just awesome!
You are going to loooove having a dog. You are also going to think at least once while he is a puppy that maybe you've made a huge mistake because they are wonderful and also A LOT. But don't worry--that will pass (and then happen again, but only occasionally!) and you'll wonder how you ever went through life without a dog. :)
Karen
Both of my nieces (who own dogs) already told me that I'm going to really dislike this dog at certain points and thoughts of sending him back will fly through my head. So I'm prepared, lol. ~ karen!
Debbie from Illinois
Congratulations!!! Having a dog is a lot of work, but so much fun. Be prepared to meet a lot of new people when you go for a walk with the puppy. Everyone like to stop and talk to a puppy! 🥰🐾
Lynn
Dogs are good for the soul and can help heal your heart--we got our second Golden--Daisy Ditto--after losing Original Daisy. And sadly--that was not the worst loss of that fall 2 years ago. Daisy Ditto gave us something to focus on besides our heartache and has been a joy since she came through our door. Get yourself LOTS of treats for house training and every time he does his business outside like a good boy--praise him like he just discovered the cure for cancer. Welcome to the joys of having a puppy fur baby!!
Karen
Thanks Lynn! I feel like I'm completely LOADED up with treats around here, but now you've made me think I'd probably better buy more, lol. AND I still need to cut them all up into smaller pieces. ~ karen!
Melissa Wilson
Oh Happy Day! My husband who is a veterinarian and I have been married 45 years. Early in our marriage he had a client who breed and showed beautiful standard poodles. Late one night he had to go in to help her favorite bitch birth a large litter, 13 puppies! Exhausted but successful. The smallest and the last was hand raised and a gift to us because she was “special”. We were raising 2 small children and hadn’t made the decision yet when we would get a pet. But he had worked with this breeder for so long and knew she was one of the most dedicated in her field. We continued to add a second male a few years later. We loved our standard poodles, they are smart, loving and a great addition. You will be over the moon in love!
I then fell in love with cavaliers and joined a rescue and had poodles and cavaliers. Currently we own a Rottweiler which I found in our local shelter, best dog ever!!
Karen
Thanks Melissa! I've noticed you don't see a lot of Rottweilers around anymore. They had that period of everyone being terrified of them years ago, but any I've met in my life were the most docile dogs ever. And I love little Cavaliers! ~ karen!
Bubb’s mom
The Rottenweiler I once slept with kept me from all harm while my husband was away on sabbatical for a year. It’s been 20+ years since he passed and I think of and grieve for him every single day.
Sherry (BTLover2)
I could not be happier! Congrats, friend. What a lucky little fella! I cannot wait to meet him :)
lmc3103
Three years ago, after years of taking care of (and loving) "the family dog"....meaning everyone claimed her for the fun but I got the work, when she died, I adopted a dog for myself. Meaning NO ONE helped but no one could argue about training, diet, couch/no couch or anything else.
It was purely an accident. I didn't mean to go to the shelter to make a donation, and I certainly didn't intend to visit the puppies just in from the Puerto Rico rescues (13 months after the hurricane). It was not a plan to make eye contact with this one brindled retriever/aussie lab mix who was just returning from a trip to the local summer camp to play with the campers..... because she was PERFECT in every way. And I was certainly not intending to fill out the paperwork on the spot.
Three years later I have not regretted it once. I made the decision--she was not foisted upon me by whining offspring. She has been there to spark joy as these past two years have gotten so difficult. Pandemic, the failing heath of my parents, financial turbulence.
Kaja just comes to me and wiggles her backside a little bit and says,
"I have an idea!!! Hear me out, hear me out. I don't know how I thought of this but I think we should...... GO PLAY!!!!"
And we do.
So Karen, I wish you the same joy that I experience when I GO PLAY.
Karen
“I have an idea!!! Hear me out, hear me out. I don’t know how I thought of this but I think we should…… GO PLAY!!!!” LOLOL! And thanks. :) ~ karen!
Katt Philipps
Wait a few days once he is home and see if he names himself. Beware of calling him something like ‘peckerwood’ or what ever you yelp when he messes up on your run the first time (its funny but hard to explain at a dinner party full of inlaws). So excited for you, grab a peanut butter benebone for when he goes through his chewy phase :)
Karen
Peanut butter benebone?? Googling. ~ karen!
Anita
That's awesome news.
If I've learned anything about cats.... take the time for Ernie and the puppy to smell each other for some time, don't rush it. You want to have harmony in the house not terror.
All the best 😍
Karen
Thanks Anita! Oh yes! I'm going to have them completely separated for the first while. Not even on the same floors of the house. I'm going to gradually introduce them the same way I introduce new chickens to the flock.😆 ~ karen!
Edith
Congratulations Karen! He will change your life for the better…guaranteed. And since you research and tackle everything in your life “by the book” you’ll have this puppy trained in no time! The key is to be consistent and calm.
I’m so happy for you !
Karen
I'm actually working in advance with blog post writing so I can have minimal work for the first week and can devote it to dog training. And yeah, I've done a bit of research, lol.😆 ~ karen!
Carol
Congratulations! I think you should call him “Bert”.
You will be a wonderful fur mom!! Agility training is great until your little darling decides he doesn’t want to play anymore and stops half way in the tunnel and won’t come out. Mine (Prince Louis) did just that. Side note - all my pets are named after the British royal family. Louis being a papillon was almost crowned Charles, but I just could not do that.
Dogs love you unconditionally and there is nothing better than to have your buddy curl up beside you on the couch. They get you perfectly.
Karen
I loveeeee Papillons! They are SO cute and SO smart! I guess I could name him after royal bloodlines as well. I think I'd go for Archie. ;) ~ karen!
Kathy
Your new best friend!!!