Pup-date

[mrissa]

I want to say up-front: I'm posting this because many of you have clamored for information about our puppy search. I am not looking for advice on how to handle this situation; offering me advice, especially if you don't know much about our home, family, past pets, etc., is unlikely to go over very well. So if you're absolutely certain you know what we should do, great: you can be smug if it goes that way and shake your head and sigh to yourself if it does not.

So we went down to meet these puppies. When I'd talked to the breeder, she'd indicated that, of a litter of five, three were still available: two males and a female. We want a female, so we were going to keep an eye on this one. Well, when we arrived, one pup came trotting out of the kennel with a "something new to explore? let me at it!" air about her, and I thought, ohhhhh, I hope that's our girl. And in fact it was, and she was the little explorer, the daring one, the one who managed to untie the breeder's shoelaces and make the rocking chair rock by patting it with her little paw.

None of these pups was the kind you sometimes see from breeders who don't pay enough attention to intelligence or temperament: they were not incurious or afraid of their own shadows. When they approached the big new human people, they were clearly looking for an adventure rather than a protector. This seemed good to me. But the little brown one was the best.

We met the puppies' grown relations (mother, father, great-grandmother, aunt, cousin, half-sibling, and "no-good uncle," as markgritter describes him), and we played with them, and it was very clear which dog was the right dog for me.

But when I mentioned it, the breeder said she wasn't sure if she was keeping that one or one of the other females she'd said was available. And she was sure we could enjoy either dog. Well...the other little pup was a very nice puppy, but the world is full of very nice puppies. So we're waiting to find out what the breeder decides. If she's willing to let us have the little brown girl (and no, there was no ring), our choice will be extremely obvious. If she wants to keep her and offers us the silver, we'll have to think about how much it's worth to wait for another "exactly right" puppy or to bring a very nice, bright-eyed, good-tempered puppy into our home right now. I kind of thought we'd know today, whether we could expect a puppy in mid-July or not. But now I'm not sure. We'll have to see what happens and what we think of it with a little more time to think of it.

There will be pictures, but they're likely to go over in novel_gazing tomorrow or Monday.

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Puddles. Miniature puddles. And that's a key: an adventurous small dog will not yap and cower as much, and while they can certainly make mischief, they can't do nearly as much damage as a dog that outweighs me. I wouldn't know how to pick a big dog, because I'm sure it's very different.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yah, I had a larger-end toy before, and she was brilliant and lovey and not at all high-strung. (Less so than, oh, say, me.)

Only one of the dogs we met today, the afore-mentioned "no good uncle" was a poodlespaz. That seemed like a good thing. The great-grandmother was exactly what I want in a dog: she started out adventurous and mellowed into a sweet old dog who still wasn't going to take crap from any oversized mammals.

The dog will also be living with markgritter (who is 6' tall) and timprov (6'2"), but neither of them is dog-experienced, and neither has signed on to be the primary dog-disciplinarian. So yah, my size is an important factor.

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Good luck getting the puppy you want!!!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the update. I was wondering about this in a general sort of way. Is this a breeder who shows?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yes. We won't be showing, though. Not My Thing. Nor will we be breeding whatever dog we get; she will be spayed as soon as it's reasonable.

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

Nor mine, although I could with Cole. I don't have the patience for the smooze end of it. And, I would not have thought you would even in an alternate universe. Cole can't be neutered because of my contract. Although, Cindy (the breeder) is really cool, and I doubt would fash; it's a contract in my mind.

I asked because the traits you mentioned would also be the ones I would look for if I were planning that. There are comformation issues too.

You know I have the three dogs right now, yes? The two kees, and a mini Dasch. They are all very different. Rose was a shelter dog and a lot of work and I am really glad I did this but wouldn't take on a project like that again.. right now.

Both Sara (the daschie) and Cole are outgoing and dominant, but Cole became that way after joining the household. When I got him he also had all the signs of a few bad experiences.

(This is informational not advisorial. Your reactions sound right on to me.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I had not realized you had three. That sounds lovely, but I don't think I have the energy to do that and also all (or even most) of the other things on my agenda.

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

That sounds right. You'd have to bear in mind, that I have pretty much always lived alone; but, I actually only chose the two kees and they were consciously spaced in terms of age and personality. Sara is a different story. I probably would have the two by preference. But we all go on together quite well now.

Not so much the energy as other resources. Cole takes quite a bit,not as much as the first year though, because he needs a lot of exercise, and grooming. This is good for me but wouldn't be for a lot of people.

Again similar to the thinking you probably did, looking at the breed, and then w/in that the mix of personalities, including mine. ;-)

[copperwise.livejournal.com]

Yeay puppies! I like puddles, Ryan does not.

I have yet to end up with an animal that I've deliberately gone out and picked. Our fate, apparently, is to have them gifted to us by the Universe. Even the new one...went to the Humane Society to look at a litter of puppies. Puppies were all on hold for other people but this one was new and had just been dropped off. And we fell in love.

You will, I hope, post many adorable puppy pics. :D

[copperwise.livejournal.com]

I've never been fond of cocker spaniels, but we ended up with him and I like him. May be the same way for Ryan and poodles. Though I'd prefer a standard, I'm a big dog girl myself. Mostly. I still want a shih tzu.

Have you met a Labradoodle yet? Awesome, awesome dogs. All the best poodly and labby bits together.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

My mom has a friend who breeds Labradoodles. This breeder is horrified by the concept, but she's a pedigree-and-show breeder who happens to also consider intelligence and sweet temperament important.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I will certainly try to get you some puppy pics soonest.

[poeticalpanther.livejournal.com]

Good luck getting the one you're after. I'm sure you'll find the one that's right for you. :)

Not sure if I introduced myself, btw. I added you a few weeks ago, can't even remember from where now (perhaps ozarque, now I think about it?). And I just realised I don't think I'd said anything, which can seem a bit creepy, so sorry about that. :)

And, given that I speak of introducing myself, perhaps best if I mentioned my name, which'd be Cait, well, is Cait, actually. Um, hi.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Hi, Cait! Thanks for introducing yourself. I know how it is when you get lost in how you found whom exactly. I do that myself.

[ellameena.livejournal.com]

Big dogs and small dogs require exactly the same amount of effort to raise, which is a lot! And the size of the owner has precisely nothing to do with it, unless we are talking about a dog with such a horrible temperament that it should be euthanized anyway. You don't ever really need to alpha roll your dog and all that stuff. I really recommend the dog training book by the monks. It's a really good read. I'm tired just thinking about you getting a new puppy. Have fun! One information tidbit you might want to know is that the puppy who is most forward and adventurous of the litter is most likely the alpha pup of the litter and will grow into a fairly dominant dog. That comes with advantages and disadvantages. Calmer, happier. But also more likely to guard food, get on furniture, nip at guests, etc. if not trained properly--just because she thinks she's in charge of the pack. I will be getting a nice, dominant male for my next dog. I'm sick and tired of neurotic females who are insecure about their pack position. :-)

I love dogs! Enjoy!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

You can train them in the same ways, but some of the stuff I know is small-dog-specific. If I'm teaching them to walk on a leash quietly and they keep pulling ahead, I cannot pick up a half-grown Doberman and say, "No" very firmly in its face the way I can with a puddle.

Actually, our little adventurer did not look to be dominant with her sibs. She wasn't a pushover, but one of the other dogs was more interested in that sort of thing. She had better things to investigate, I guess.

[ellameena.livejournal.com]

It *is* extremely handy to be able to get a small dog out of bad or naughty situations by picking them up. Are you planning to do any obedience training or puppy socialization classes? We loved doing this with our dog. And poodles do really well going to school. (Being extra smart dogs and all.)

(With a big dog, you'd just do some rapid direction changes on the lead to get his attention. No biggie, and it works for tiny dogs, too.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

We're still looking into what's locally available for puppy socialization. I'd rather have a good class than no class, but I'd rather have no class than a bad one. My family's last dog was well-socialized with dogs and people alike and didn't have a class, so I know I can do it if I have to.

[ellameena.livejournal.com]

We took one obedience class at a place that in retrospect wasn't very good. They started us with a pinch collar, but since then we've learned pinch collars are really not such a great idea. Later we found a great trainer that we took classes with until Nala flunked. (The next class was off-leash, and Nala just wasn't trustworthy enough for it.) You can always socialize a puppy by simply including them in your social life. Walks, trips to the park, houseguests etc. Everyone loves a puppy. We had to work at it because we got Nala at 12 months and she'd been isolated from other dogs and people for her whole life. She was raised with a baby, though, so at least that aspect was okay. If I had to do over again, I'd have blitzed her with social contact before she hit adolescence at 18 months. We didn't realize how bad her problem was until then. Bleh. But this is only relevant to a rescue situation, where you get a dog with baggage. My next one will be a puppy that I raise myself, like you're doing. (Of course it was really nice not having to housebreak her. :-)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yah, we're otherwise glad that we have friends with small children, but I think it'll be good for the pup, too, to be around little kids who are gentle but still, y'know, little.

The breeder was saying that dogs are not allowed in any of the parks in Winona. That's just so strange -- barbaric, frankly. I can see setting up dog-free areas if you have problems with people not cleaning up after their dogs, but to have no parks where a dog can go on a leash with his/her people? Ridiculous.

[ellameena.livejournal.com]

Wow! That's crazy. Is that the town you live in? I hope not.

Dog parks have been a hot issue in my town forever. A lot of people around here want a park designated for running dogs off-leash. It's hard to practice certain kinds of training with a leash on at all times, and dogs develop better social skills off leash. But for some reason it just repeatedly won't fly. I don't see why they can't have *one* park for this purpose. We have SO MANY parks.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

No, Winona is a far piece south of here. We live in Eagan. Thank goodness.

I know of two off-leash fenced dog parks in the Minneapolis area. They're lovely. You can go in without a dog, and the dogs will bound up and play with you. Not that I've ever done that, of course.

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

i hope that you end up with a dog whose intelligence and wisdom scores are similar, and not too high. i have a chi/terrier who is int11 and wis11, and a sheltie/doxie who is int18, wis3. so miss josie is surprised by gravity (she's getting better; she's now surprised weekly instead of daily) but knows deep in her heart that Doorknobs Are Important (i'm getting scared) and and miss pirate who doesn't think of these wacky highjinks but also doesn't accidentally scoot herself off of things backwards.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Heh. Many puppies seem to believe that the world extends forever behind their butt. (Human babies/toddlers go through this phase, too.) I hope we get a dog who mostly grows out of it.

[writingortyping.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hope you get the pup you want. And you are so right - choosing a dog definitely depends very heavily on the breed. When we got Toshie, I was very careful to turn both pups we had the choice of over on their backs, because herding breeds can have real dominance issues. Toshie's brother was a very sturdy pup who objected strongly to being turned over. Toshie didn't love it, but he put up with it. Tosh was also far more interested in people than the brother was. It was as close to a no-brainer as we could get.

[greykev.livejournal.com]

So Cute!! Good luck with the puppy!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I am trying not to pounce on the phone and hover by the e-mail while the breeder makes up her mind.