Getting Adjusted

Getting a puppy and having a baby have an awful lot in common.  If you remembered the reality of either, you would never go for another round.  And so it might be with our new addition to the family.  

We wanted something sweet, lovable, and cuddly.  But we seem to have forgotten about the getting up in the middle of the night and the incessant peeing.  Not to mention those needle teeth that seem to find their way into the bottoms of whatever pants I have on.  And the bark of our little Ari is enough to send shivers down your spine.

We had also requested “feisty”, or at least not complacent like our wonderful old black lab Dylan, who hardly moved except for food.  We definitely got what we asked for here.  Ari is often in perpetual motion when he is not sleeping.

The thing we both failed to realize was that our lifestyle would need to change to accommodate our new puppy.  We could no longer pick up and go off for museums and lunch without securing an Ari-sitter or crating him.  We have resorted to the latter a few hours a day just to have some free time to do the things we always did before Ari arrived.  So far he has not adopted the crate as his “den” the way the books promise, but rather seems to throw a temper tantrum with screaming and kicking for a long time after being imprisoned.

Just today we may have turned a significant corner.  Ari slept from 11:30 last night until 7:00 today, giving us both some much-needed rest.  Today he has been opting for the treat-every-time approach to pottying outside instead of puddling on our inside floors.  

I can with certainty say he will be the last puppy of our lifetime, but I think we are going to enjoy seeing him grow up as we grow old.

Ari vs. The Stick

We wanted a dog with spunk and we most definitely got one.  Today Ari found a stick much larger than he is.  He raced back and forth across the back yard with it, growling ferociously at it.  He loves his back yard!

Day 3 with Ari

You might wonder where the dog in this photo is.  Ari seems to have the same escape artist instinct as Jake did.

We are attempting to periodically crate train him so we don't have to keep a constant eye on him.  Especially after yesterday's fiasco with turkey hotdog bits offered as treats, which caused him to drink and therefore pee constantly.

Midmorning today I put him in the above crate with his favorite toys and went to practice the piano in the living room, still forbidden territory for Ari with its rugs and furniture.  He immediately began crying like a baby in earnest but then settled down for 20 minutes or so.  When I came down to answer the phone, I was utterly amazed to see Ari prancing up to greet me, as if to say "Look what I was able to do!"

He had obviously gone out through the top of the crate after turning over the Playmate cooler and standing on the blue side.  I can't even imagine how he managed to pull himself up and over with no apparent injuries.

Today we have seen only one accident and that was when I corralled him for a few minutes in a doggy playpen.  He is insisting on freedom and is being fairly convincing.

One of his favorite spots to nap is on a cushion under my husband's desk.  When asleep he looks angelic, but then so do most babies.

Ari At Last

It was reminiscent of preparing for our first-born.  We had acquired all the necessary things -- crates, toys, food, treats, a car harness, etc.  We were all excited as we drove the 2-1/2 hours to pick up Ari and bring him home today.

When we arrived at Fox Creek Farm, another family was meeting his sister Roxy for the first time.  They are in the DC metro area, so we quickly started planning play dates for the 2 puppies who had never been apart for the last 8 weeks.

Ari easily settled in for the car ride home, moving from one lap to the other.  I took the above picture as he slept in the crook of my arm.

Once home he began exploring his new surroundings in earnest.  Can you imagine going from 12 square feet to an entire house (or at least the non-carpeted parts of a house)?  Here he is taking a break in my lap.  At this point he still had a perfect record for accidents in the house.  That would soon change.

We are trying a positive approach to training Ari, rewarding him for things like asking to go out.  He is also training us to read his cues.  

He is definitely not the complacent dog that Dylan was.  He is full of spunk but ready to snuggle when he gets tired.

Below he is enjoying the bed Jake slept on.  You could fit at least 12 dogs his size on it.  But he seems content to luxuriate in the extra space.

I am starting to wonder how his first night will go, when we confine him to his crate and get up every 3 hours or so if he wimpers to go out.

This is just the beginning of what I hope will be a long and loving relationship!

Our Introduction to Ari

The whole family made the trip out to Berkeley Springs today to meet our new puppy Ari.  It was a beautiful drive through the peak of Fall leaves as we made our way to Fox Creek Farm, the home of his breeder.

We were greeted by the excited barks of the 15 adult golden doodles and poodles that live there.  We sat excitedly in the "meeting" room of the kennel while Amy went to get our puppy.  He greeted us enthusiastically and seemed quite content to be passed around.

We spent some quality time with Ari, in the company of two other families who had come to meet their puppies as well.  Ari seemed quite happy to run around in a little enclosure with an older puppy who is destined to be twice his weight.

He was in motion most of his time with us, meaning that he will not be the complacent dog Dylan was. In many ways he reminded us of a very young Jake.

After a while, Ari missed the company of his littermates and went back to join them.  Every one of them was as cute as the next.

In just two weeks we will pick him up and bring him home.  Meanwhile we are making lists and acquiring puppy things.  It is somewhat reminiscent of getting ready for a new baby!

Big Puppy News

Today we learned which of the 7 male puppies will be ours.  Meet Ari, by far the best fetcher of the lot according to Amy, the breeder.  On Saturday our whole family of 4 will head out to Berkeley Springs, WV, to meet him and spend some time playing with him.  The interesting thing is that of all the puppies, he looks the most like Jake did when we first met him.  I'm sure there will be more pictures after Saturday's field trip.

Below is his 4-week photo (puppy on the left).  It's amazing how much they have changed in just 2 weeks.

Puppies at 4 Weeks

We just got the latest photos of Taylor and Levi's puppies at 4 weeks.  We still don't know which one will be ours, but it will be one of these 7, which are all males.  Do you have a favorite?  I still like the little guy on the right in the above photo.  He's the one with the tiny white spot on the top of his head.

Puppy Update

Which one will it be?  Our puppy was born to Taylor (and Levi) on September 17.  This picture was taken 2 days later.  At this point we have submitted our preferences and we know we will be getting a male.  We know there are at least 5 males in the litter, but we haven't seen a photo of the puppies by gender yet.

We are so excited at the thought of once again having a dog in our family.  We will visit the puppies when they are 6 weeks old and after the breeder has determined which one best fits our criteria.

Our puppy will be named Ari (which means "lion" in Hebrew).  I hope he lives up to his name and is a gentle lion.

Here is an update of the puppies at 2 weeks.  They are just starting to open their eyes.  Aren't they adorable little golden doodles?

Going for Gold

Over a year ago I first mentioned to my dentist a sensitivity in one of my upper teeth.  At that point it was slight and intermittent, so he said we should just watch it.  But I recently realized I was no longer chewing on that side of my mouth and any change in temperature sent me through the roof.

The odd thing was I went in this past week swearing it was a tooth that already had a crown and a root canal.  How could that possibly be?  But when my dentist touched a piece of ice to the molar behind that tooth, I knew just how wrong I was.

One hour later I walked out of his office with a temporary crown and high hopes that I wouldn’t need a root canal.  It all seemed so painless and easy, except for the $1675 charged on my Visa.

The immediate relief of my symptoms was so profound.  I could chew on both sides.  I could drink water with ice in it and hot tea without wincing.  Even though I have only the temporary crown, it seems like such a permanent fix.  In a month or so I will have my new gold tooth in place.

I am struck by how we often accept gradual changes in our bodies without paying much attention to them.  It was only when I was in agony that I realized I needed to get my cracked tooth repaired.

I wondered if a person with dementia has the same experience.  Is the very gradual loss of one’s mind even perceptible?  

I also wonder about my hip-back-gait issues.  I’m sure they collectively are worse than they were a few years ago, but the change is so gradual.

Unfortunately not everything can be fixed as easily as a broken tooth, and some things are just not fixable.  

1 Prius + 1 Prius = 2 Prii

We didn't waste any time in getting a replacement for the old Volvo.  It's not exactly where we had thought we were going, but it's a very nice addition.

Several years ago when we went to a car show at the Convention Center, we had determined to get an electric car as our next car.  At that point the Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Volt, and the Ford Focus seemed just on the verge of reality.  But they haven't come into production as quickly as promised and there are still a lot of unanswered questions about how they will function.

So we decided not to be on the cutting edge, but at the same time to go with one of the most fuel efficient hybrids on the market, which happened to be another Prius.  Having had absolutely zero problems with our 2005 Prius, we thought it was a logical choice.  Besides the new Prius gets even better mileage than our old one, advertising 51+ MPG on the highway.

There are now bigger Priuses and smaller Priuses on the market and we tried them all.  The Prius V is the station wagon model which adds inches in every dimension and therefore feels quite roomy.  But the extra weight reduces the gas mileage to 44 MPG.  I also envisioned parking in DC with 9" in additional length.  A great car for a family, but we are just two people and (hopefully) a dog.

Feeling somewhat like Goldilocks, we looked at the Prius C, a zippy little car with the same engine as our current Prius, but a lot less space.  I was set to get one of these, especially since the price is considerably lower than that of the other two models.  But after our son pointed me to a Consumer Reports video on the little Prius, we both decided against it.

So we have a very deluxe standard Prius, a dark gray like many of the other gray cars on the highway.  It has fake leather seats and a console that looks like it could navigate an airplane.  The really cool thing is that the car has voice recognition, meaning you can use the GPS and make and receive phone calls without ever taking your hands off the steering wheel.  It also has a little hologram in the lower part of the windshield which reflects your speed so you don't have to look down to see it.  No more excuses for speeding!

The hardest thing for me to get used to is the fact that everything works!  There will be no need to replace duct tape.  The doors all lock and unlock at the push of a button.  The speedometer works.  And on and on and on.

It would seem we are set for many years.  There is the little matter of what happens when the battery in our 2005 Prius goes.  But I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it.  For now, I am luxuriating in hybrid luxury!