On Thursday of last week, we added two adorable puppies to our household. They are delightful and all that. So, today’s topic is “Puppies.” Thanks this week go to pfmDesigner, the wife, and some other guy for the questions. Now, without further adieu…
1. What advice on training are you looking to get?
We are getting trainers and potentially sending them off to a puppy boot-camp as well… in other words, all the help we can get.
2. What kind of puppies did you get?
We got 2 Vizslas, a 10 week old male and an 9 week old female
3. What made you select this breed?
This breed is relatively hypoallergenic and pretty darn smart. Vizslas are known for being active as well, and the wife would like a dog that did not mind running. They are a very loving breed that often end up on your feet and on your lap.
4. What are the puppies’ names?
The boy’s name is Chewie and the girl’s is Francesca
5. Did you have names picked out? How did you come up with names?
The daughter named Francesca a few weeks ago. She was choosing between Francesca and Gabriella (Gabby). It seems like the wife and I are leaning towards calling her Cesca.
Little Man named Chewie. He had to choose between Chewie and Barnaby P Winkleton. I was leaning towards Barney P Winkleton, but Chewie won out for Little Man. He has been living up to the name.
6. Cage or free-range in the house?
We are using the crate to train them, but eventually they will have relatively free-range of the house. hell, they will own everything in our lives in about 3 weeks, who am I kidding?
5. Do you approve or disapprove of the finger-snap method of attention-getting (for the puppies, not others in your life)?
I sometimes approve of snapping fingers to get attention from anyone. I will clap, stomp, raise my voice, plead, growl, bark whine, snap, and punch a child to get the puppies’ attention. Well… I won’t punch a child… well, not one of MY children
6. People food, or strict dog food diet?
We are at least starting out as strictly dog food. I am sure this will change as time goes on.
7. Weren’t you a “cat guy?”
I still am a cat guy. I have always loved and will always love cats more than dogs. I like the independance of cats. I like that cats typically look where they are putting their paws. I think I will always prefer cats, however, if allergies could go from 0 to 4, where 0 is no reaction and 4 is a nasty reaction. Well… the daughter would have a 6 for cats. So no cats for us.
8. Do you at least like dogs?
Somewhat, these pups are awfully cute though, so they are breaking that barrier.
9. List the body parts that you have seen people refer to when they say “puppies.”
feet
breasts
biceps
shins
hands
10. Do you refer to any of your body parts as “puppies?”
I have rarely on occassion referred to my feet as “tired puppies.”
11. Are the puppies rescue or from a shelter/pound?
No, do to the hypoallergenic needs of our household, the puppies were purchased from a reputable breeder in Kentucky. I drove about an hour and a half to pick them up.
12. How is their sleeping at night?
So far, not too bad. They usually quiet down for the night at around 10:30 and then get back up around 5:30… it will be great when that 5:30 migrates to 6/6:30
13. Why did you get 2 puppies instead of just 1?
Since we are a working family, we felt that we should get 2 so they could entertain each other when we are not around. So far that seems to be working out fairly well.
14. What is the most unexpected thing so far with the puppies?
How annoying they can be because they want to mouth everything.
15. How much poop have you picked up so far? I'll take your answer in British Stone.
.42 st
16. Who do the puppies tend to gravitate towards?
The wife. It makes sense, she is not crazy frenetic like the kids and is much more loving than I am. Plus she is around them more (to tell the truth, everyone likes my wife more than me and understandably so.
17. What do the puppies eat?
We feed them Iams Large Breed Puppy Food… The pups are only medium sized breed, but the large breed food is really good for their joints.
18. Do the kids help out with the puppy generated chores?
Not as much as the wife and I would like them to, but they are trying.
19. Who's a good boy?!? Who's a good boy? Wodgie woshzie woozy
Chewie’s a good boy! Yes, he is.
20. Who's a good girl?!? Who's a good girl? Wodgie woshzie woozy
Francesca’s a good girl. Yes she is.
To recap!
PUPPIES!!!
My delightful wife is launching a new aspect of her business tonight
Take a gander
The weather was gorgeous today
Supposed to be even better tomorrow
The pups are playing tug of war with a chew toy fox
Turns out the most effective place for winning a tug of war is straddling your opponent from behind
Live and learn, I guess
Looks like we will be purchasing a minivan soon
That's a transition to adulthood I did not expect
The kiddos want to do things with their friends and don't want their friends “riding on the luggage rack” (they'd be “tied to the luggage rack” safety is job 1 and all that)
Oh, and the mother in law is living in our guest room for the moment because she sold her house and the mother in law apartment that is being constructed is not ready yet
The M-I-L reads this…
It's going great!
Couldn't be happier
Have a great week everyone!