07/17/2021
School’s starting early this year! In 56 hours we’re going to welcome an eight week old puppy to our already crazy home and begin training him to be part of the family. Not sure who will learn more, him or us…
When the youth group music director at our church said she was breeding her English lab to raise money for I felt the tug on my heart. Help to end s*x trafficking by getting a(nother) dog?
And not just a dog but a puppy! We talked about it as a family and agreed that the benefits outweigh the costs (financial, furnitur-ial and frustrational). At first I had it my mind that it could be “my” dog as opposed to Jack (our 7 year old American lab mix) who everyone knows is “Ken’s” dog. But then 10 year old Autumn, our youngest student, began talking about it as if it was going to be “her’s”…
“okay!” I thought, “let’s do this… the school way!”
So Autumn and I began researching puppy training videos on YouTube, collecting appropriate inexpensive toys from thrift stores and puppy proofing our house. We found a nice new crate for Jack (he was due for a size upgrade and I want him to feel extra special too).
We talk about different training methods and styles, what we do and don’t like about them and how we have to agree on the rules for the puppy’s sake.
Two weeks ago we visited Stephanie and met her dog and their eight beautiful pups. Stephanie has been wonderful giving each pup a name and colored collar right from the get go. She knows their personalities and has been working on house training. Four had already been spoken for and after playing with them for a bit we narrowed it down to two. I sent Autumn, Raven, Kyla and Joy across the yard and then let the two go. At first they just hung out by my feet, so I jogged over to the kids. When I turned around I only saw one pup trotting towards us, the other had walked a few steps in the opposite direction and laid down to nap. And so, the choice was made.
His name is currently “Red”. Autumn is excited to get to know him and give him his new name soon! I’ve typically been the name giver around here, and honestly it’s a little hard to give that up, but she’s going to be the mom this time. I did make one request, please choose something British to honor his lineage. Maybe even a literary figure? Bilbo Baggins perhaps? (See? I said it was hard to let go.)
I joined a Dog Behavioral Group here on Facebook, asked a question, got some good advice, friended the trainer who gave it, became thoroughly inundated with the myriad of possible dog problems, remembered that we are only getting one puppy (and cannot possibly have all the problems I was reading about in this group) and then left said group.
I also stumbled across Charlie the Golden on YouTube and love the way this lady interacts with her dogs and cat.
Today Autumn and I will write down a basic schedule for the first week (mostly potty breaks) and then we’ll watch some funny dog videos together.
I’ve decided to chronicle this adventure for several reasons, Autumn is my last official student, I know it’s going to be hard so if I write down the excitement and steps along the way I can find encouragement on the hard days, this will be a little like adding another baby but I get to view it from almost a third party perspective and finally maybe you’ll enjoy the journey with us!
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