What's in a name?

After much debate within the family, the puppy got a name. It's not Lily, which my daughter wanted but which is the name of another dog we know. It's not Kenzie, which I wanted but The Girl didn't want (possibly because I wanted it, but honestly I don't think Husband liked it either). It's Tessa!

Meet Tessa!

So far my daughter loves her but is a little frustrated when the puppy gets distracted away from her, as puppies often do. My son loves her but gets distracted and forgets about her, as he often does. My husband loves her but doesn't love sharp puppy teeth, as no one ever does. Payton the Wonder Whippet has been surprisingly patient but has, of course, asserted her dominance here and there as she has deemed necessary. Mr. Beagle still thinks Tessa is a little odd and possibly scary, but he's played with her several times. They are a good match. (When Tessa's big enough to jump up on the sofa, though, Mr. Beagle is going to get a rude awakening!) Papillon Spark thinks that this might all be a bad joke and requests that the annoying little thing please go back where she came from right away. I was hoping they would be friends but I suspect they will eventually mostly ignore each other (which is what Spark and Payton already do).

Since Wednesday, Tessa has:

• seen two airports 
• flown in the cabin of a plane
• ridden in the car several times
• gone for a friendly, fun vet visit
• gone to an elementary school at pick-up time and got treats and pets from many children
• met a neighbor boy of a different race 
• walked on stacked dogwalk boards and climbed over concrete blocks and various other surfaces
• stayed quietly (and not-so-quietly) in an ex-pen and crate
• learned to wear a collar
• experienced a leash (she thinks leashes suck)
• run through an agility tunnel
• chased rolled discs and balls 
• played with a bunch of toys
• played several games of tug
• started learning new things (sit stay, down, stand, spin, her name, come, and place). 

I'm going to try to keep track of the new things that she experiences every day so that I can make sure that at the end of the socialization period, she's done all that she needs to do.That's it for now!

See you later!

 Click here to shop at Clean Run!

THINGS have happened.

I haven't posted here much recently because we came to the very sad decision that we could not keep Smoke. We were unable to get him to behave safely around my Papillon, Spark. Smoke isn't a bad dog at all, but there were several instances that just made it clear that this was not going to work.

Telling the kids was horrible. I agonized over finding Smoke the right home before I told the kids, so I kept my suffering silent for a week and a half.

Luckily, we were able to find him an outstanding home with loving people who have two older Border Collies. He seems to have fit in there very smoothly. The family has sent me several photos of Smoke enjoying his new life, which I think is just awesome.

My son was sad and my daughter cried. But we did have news to soften the blow: we decided to get a female Border Collie puppy.

I had talked to dog training friends (one of whom knows all my dogs), Border Collie breeders, and owners of both BCs and Papillons before determining that getting a female puppy to raise with my dogs (including the male Pap) would be the way to go. Fortunately, a friend of mine that I met through working with the United States Dog Agility Association is a great breeder with a long history of breeding just the type of dog I was looking for. Amazingly enough, she had puppies available, and one sounded like the sweet, middle-of-the-road puppy that we were seeking.

The news that a puppy would soon be ours helped the kids have something to look forward to when Smoke was gone. The darling puppy, a tri-colored BC currently named Fig (but who might soon be named Lily, or possibly something else), arrived from California today, accompanied by the breeder's boyfriend who had business to do in my area. She was apparently an angel on the flight and so far, she's been amazing for the half-a-day that she's been here. She's sleeping next to me on the floor in an exercise pen right now.

This photo was taken of her a week ago. Thanks to breeder Karen Moureaux, Contact Point Border Collies (and Contact Point Photography) for the puppy and the photo usage!

So far she's already learned to be respectful of my senior Whippet, who is the queen of our doggie family. She's fascinated by our Beagle, who thinks she's awesome but he's ready to turn tail and run if she grows a second head or does anything that he might think is bizarre. He's a smart guy, that Beagle. Friendly but cautious with strange dogs. And the Papillon.... well, he's a bit afraid, but she's been friendly toward him and Spark seems to be loosening up a bit.

More to come!

 Click here to shop at Clean Run!