"For the very first selection in today's NFL draft, the Detroit Lions select... Placekicker, from Saginaw Valley State University, ....."
That is how I often wake up on the first day of puppy selections. A cold, terrorizing sweat...And it is usually about 2:43 AM...
These can be scary days for me. I get so nervous about helping, or hurting, someones selection of a puppy.
Questions I always expect to be asked:
Q: What kind of food do you feed them?
A: Purina ProPlan Puppy "Focus" Chicken and Rice formula. Some of the bags recently changed color and wording, so it may be slightly different.
Q: What size leash and collar/harness should I get?
A: For the first few days, or longer, the puppy will not run far from you, and they don't run very fast anyway. Feel free to wait a day, and then take the puppy with you to the store and get the "perfect" set at that time. (Especially if you like unknown people coming up to you and saying, "OH. MY. WORD! What a beautiful puppy! My sister used to have one like that....")
Questions I have heard in the past: (A representative sample of the type of questions I receive)
Q: Will they get along with my neighbor's cat?
A: I really don't know, they have never even seen a cat, but they get along with our other family dogs.
Q: My husband is afraid it will eat his shoes? What should we do?
A: Start by moving the shoes up, off the floor, and then make sure the puppy has enough toys so they don't think shoes are the only thing to chew on.
Q: Is it true that if I feed my puppy after midnight they will possibly turn into a people-hating monster?
A: No, but they will be more likely to need to go to the bathroom when you had been planning to sleep.
Q: I read somewhere that sometimes these dogs go on crazy growth spurts and sometimes they grow bigger than our house, and then we'd have to move to an island and there aren't any islands near us. What do we do?
A: Stop believing that children's stories are true, and don't name your puppy "Clifford" - just to be sure.
Q: Will they like to swim?
A: Sometimes they will, and sometimes they won't - just like people. Historically, poodles and retrievers are very happy around the water. If you train them on how to swim, just like you would with a child, the odds of them liking to swim are much improved.
Q: My sister's boyfriend - we don't really like him - raises Iguanas and sells them online, in Facebook Marketplace, or something. If she doesn't dump him, and he brings an iguana over to our house, what should we do with the puppy?
A: Use your best judgement...
I'll stop there... I could go on forever.... I've been asked a lot of great questions, and also some that i have to pause for a moment before answering... I'm happy to help; it's what I do...
Now, for some pictures... (finally!) Yesterday was the first day I felt was warm and sunny enough to get the puppies outside to play on the grass. They had fun! It was also the day I started weaning them from their mom. It's a slow process, but this is their first "real food", and I will slowly make it more frequent and more "real" over the next few days so they can stop relying on Piper to feed them. (Piper will appreciate that!)
BOYS: Yellow, Green, Black, Teal (Light Blue)
GIRLS: Gray (white in these pictures), Red, Blue, Purple, Orange
Starting with Purple, then clockwise, Mr. Black, Miss Gray (White), Miss Red, Miss Orange, Mr. Green, Miss Blue
Mr. Teal - watching and wondering
Top: Mr. Black, Miss Orange, Mr. Green, Miss Blue, Mr. Yellow, and another one..
Top: Mr. Black, Miss Orange, Mr. Green, Miss Blue, Miss Purple, Miss Red, and (left) Mr. Yellow trying to swim in the food.
Mr. Green, Miss Red, Miss Orange, Miss Gray (White), Mr. Black
And here is a short video of them playing around outside. I'll have more later, Thanks!
