Monday, December 5, 2011

Letting the Puppy Out of the Bag

Ok, I think I can finally admit it... we're adding a new member to the family.  And, almost like having a real baby, I have no idea the sex nor what the new member is going to look like.  Which is driving me crazy.

See, I've never gotten a pet like this before.  We've always been a family of "oh, look, free puppies" and picked one out of a box kinda crowd.  Or, "let's go pick someone out at the humane society" as I did with my other three fur-cat children.

I've never had to mail a check to someone, find out that I'm number something in line, wait until several other people have made their choice, and then get to choose from what's left over.  I've been more of the "let's play for a while and see which one I like best."  So this whole breeder thing has got me worrying about how this experience is going to play out.

But, let's talk positives:  we're getting an Australian Shepherd from a well-known local breeder.  We know that she tends to breed both working and family dogs with excellent skills and wonderful personalities.  And, I will be able to choose from the three girls that were born in the litter of eight.  In this picture, the three are the uppermost puppies on the left, a red and two blues (one being hidden by her brother in the picture.)

Of course, as soon as I said I had told the breeder I preferred a girl, DH said he wanted the black one on the bottom right (which is a male.)  I tried to explain female vs. male characteristics and traits, merle vs solid, and how we had to judge temperment, dominance level, sociability, etc to which he answered, "Fine, as long as it's the dark-colored one."  This is going to be a long 7 weeks...

2 comments:

betty said...

I think whichever one you guys get, it will be much loved and maybe a bit spoiled? How exciting though to be getting a new puppy!! (and just like a baby, look forward to those sleepless nights!) Do let us know which one you all get!

what will the cats think?

betty

Lori said...

I owned a female Australian Shepherd when I was a teenager. Her name was Tamsen, and she was blue. Her eyes were bi-colored. The outer half of each eye was light blue, and the inner half was either a darker blue or brown. She was SO beautiful, and so smart, and so loyal. She didn't care for men, much, and she was definitely MY dog. She'd be nice to everyone else in the family, but I know that dog would have done anything for me. I was GOD to her. She was a fast learner, and I got her at about 4 months old, so I was able to start training early. My sister, whose house abutted my parents' property, had ducks, and sometimes they would wander over onto my parents' property. Tamsen knew they weren't supposed to be there. She would herd them back to their own property, circling to the left, then behind them, to the right, and back again, just as if she were herding cattle or sheep. I look forward to seeing pictures of your puppy. Do get the girl! lol

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