There's no way to break it gently. Brace yourself..
We got a puppy. Yes, you read that right, we got a puppy. This has been something on the planner for 2 years. For one thing, the other dogs are almost 6 and 8. They won't live forever, which sounds like a morbid thought but to me, is a valid one. I like to space my dogs out so that the older one can help raise the younger, so they kind of live on in a strange way. I don't want to start from scratch with a new baby.
It was more a matter of when, and what. We had decided either this fall, or next spring would be the best time. We're moving in June, moving with another dog isn't a big deal, but training in a brand new house can be. I prefer fall puppies as the weather is good for several months to work on housetraining. There's a lot of new experiences while they're young (fall leaves, snow, Christmas lights), and the diseases are fewer. School activities also are great socialization.
The what was much more difficult. I wanted a puppy this time, and so that meant most like a purebred, unless I happened upon the right litter of mixed breeds. I was strongly leaning toward a German Shepherd Dog, or cross again, but there were 2 things that changed my mind: A - Lance has been blowing coat like he's moving to Death Valley all summer. B - With the move coming up, I wanted something a little smaller.
So the criteria were: smart, high drive, wanting to play ball, something with some hair, and ready to go. Medium size. I also am a firm believer in herding dog, or sporting dogs. In my experiences, I knew I favored border collies, collies, shelties, shepherds, and the like. I also love a few sporting breeds, including poodles. Yes, poodles are a sporting breed.
So who did we end up with? Well... Meet Ramses. He is a miniature poodle, about 5 pounds now, he'll probably end up around 14 pounds and 14 inches tall. Everyone is having so much fun with him! He already is 99% housetrained, knows sit, down, stay, recalls to front, and even knows the illusive cue "What do you have now" the signal to race off with his contraband and hide.. And the name?? We let the kids name him. They wanted a pharaoh's names. I like Ramses, it reminds me of the character in the Elizabeth Peters books. He's startlingly like him in personality.
We got a puppy. Yes, you read that right, we got a puppy. This has been something on the planner for 2 years. For one thing, the other dogs are almost 6 and 8. They won't live forever, which sounds like a morbid thought but to me, is a valid one. I like to space my dogs out so that the older one can help raise the younger, so they kind of live on in a strange way. I don't want to start from scratch with a new baby.
It was more a matter of when, and what. We had decided either this fall, or next spring would be the best time. We're moving in June, moving with another dog isn't a big deal, but training in a brand new house can be. I prefer fall puppies as the weather is good for several months to work on housetraining. There's a lot of new experiences while they're young (fall leaves, snow, Christmas lights), and the diseases are fewer. School activities also are great socialization.
The what was much more difficult. I wanted a puppy this time, and so that meant most like a purebred, unless I happened upon the right litter of mixed breeds. I was strongly leaning toward a German Shepherd Dog, or cross again, but there were 2 things that changed my mind: A - Lance has been blowing coat like he's moving to Death Valley all summer. B - With the move coming up, I wanted something a little smaller.
So the criteria were: smart, high drive, wanting to play ball, something with some hair, and ready to go. Medium size. I also am a firm believer in herding dog, or sporting dogs. In my experiences, I knew I favored border collies, collies, shelties, shepherds, and the like. I also love a few sporting breeds, including poodles. Yes, poodles are a sporting breed.
So who did we end up with? Well... Meet Ramses. He is a miniature poodle, about 5 pounds now, he'll probably end up around 14 pounds and 14 inches tall. Everyone is having so much fun with him! He already is 99% housetrained, knows sit, down, stay, recalls to front, and even knows the illusive cue "What do you have now" the signal to race off with his contraband and hide.. And the name?? We let the kids name him. They wanted a pharaoh's names. I like Ramses, it reminds me of the character in the Elizabeth Peters books. He's startlingly like him in personality.
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| Yes he is a purebred miniature poodle - you don't have to trim them to look like one. He's 9 weeks old in this picture. |
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| He may be a little toy crazy. |
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| He loves big brother Lance |
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| And sleeping on pillows. |
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| Playing tug |
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| Cuddling up with Neptune (and beating up Mercury - Bella controls him with a death stare. |
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| Looking adorable |
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| Playing with any ball. |
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| Even little ones. |
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| Cute little poodle tail :). |
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| In reality, I temperament tested 11 puppies to find him. He was the 2nd to last one. I wasn't going to take any of the others, but he retrieved, focused on me, sat at my feet and wanted a job. He is simply perfect! |
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| He's gonna be a frisbee dog someday, don't let that size fool you! |
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| But he leaves the pom alone. |
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| With his stash. |
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| After his first bath. |
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| Playing in the grass. |
Awww he is a cutie!
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