Søren
Søren gets social
Upon learning that I was getting a new puppy, random people shared various dire warnings about all the ills that could befall a new puppy. The first was about parvovirus. I heard a lot of “parvo will kill your dog.” So, with that in mind, I was told that Søren had to stay inside until he’d had the full series of puppy vaccinations because, living in San Francisco, there is no dog-free area for Søren to play. Not even our backyard. Since parvo apparently lives on the ground for months after a dog “sheds” it, no place where adult dogs frequent is safe. The result is that Søren can’t go outside until he’s almost 16 weeks old.
The other dire warning that I heard was that, if we waited to expose Søren to other dogs until he was 16 weeks, he wouldn’t be properly socialized and would have a whole host of behavioural problems. This formative window, from 8 to 16 weeks old, is when dogs learn good dog manners, to be social and not scared of other dogs, and to not play too rough.
So, I was faced with a dilemma. Did I want to expose him to deadly disease or make him socially retarded? The answer came in the form of “puppy socials.” Of course, this isn’t completely safe. But, to attend the puppy social, you must prove your puppy is healthy and had the appropriate vaccinations for his age. And, there are no adult dogs who might be unwitting carriers of the parvovirus.
I was afraid that Søren would be intimidated. He’s short. And, he hasn’t been around any dogs since he left his litter mates a few weeks ago. But, I didn’t need to worry. He was momentarily intimidated by the friendly barking of a large lab puppy. Soon, though, he was zooming across the room, herding a timid german shepherd puppy, and happily getting tackled to the floor by the lab puppy. He ran underneath the legs of the taller puppies and got way too friendly with a beagle puppy who was the only dog as close to the floor as he is. The beagle puppy put him in his place and he zoomed away to get tackled again. He has no idea he’s short. I’m not going to tell him.
Even though his ears aren’t up yet, he’s definitely all corgi. He was the bossiest puppy in the room. I wanted to get some pictures, but I was too busy being a nervous puppy owner. When we got home, he faceplanted into the floor and went to sleep immediately.
Søren frisbees
Søren has demonstrated a real aptitude for frisbee. He doesn’t seem to be deterred by the fact that the frisbee is bigger than he is. He growls, trips over it, and shakes the frisbee into submission.
Søren and I had kind of a tough day. We had guests in the morning. He loves new people and got pretty excited…and since people who have never trained a dog don’t think about what kind of behavior they are encouraging…Søren ended up more amped up than he’s been the entire time we’ve had him. If there’s a next time, I’ll know to put a stop to it. But, when we went out to lunch, he blew off some steam by shredding his housetraining pad. There were tiny tufts of white pee pad fiber all over the kitchen by the time we got back. Bonus: I was able to discover that Søren is not scared of the vacuum cleaner.
Next Sunday, we’re going to puppy social!
Søren FRAPS for the first time
I’m a research type of person. So, when I decided to get a puppy, I did a fair amount of breed research. I soon noticed the mysterious acronym “FRAP” coming up everywhere when I was reading about corgis. Frantic Random Acts of Play. Apparently, this consists of sudden bouts of running in circles and figure eights and then flopping down on the floor as if nothing had happened. Most dogs do this as puppies. Corgis do it all of their lives. Since I’m not one to act my age, I can appreciate the same tendencies in my dog.
Søren's ears are showing a little lift
I hope to one day catch this phenomenon on video.
PuppyPrep
I’ve spent the day cleaning and organizing in preparation for Søren to come home tomorrow. I’ve read books about corgis and books about training puppies. I’ve bought a crate, and toys, and puppy toothpaste flavored like peanut butter. I’ve watched videos of corgis. I’ve been unexpectedly single-minded in my focus on being a good dog owner. I didn’t even know that I was capable of that kind of focus. I never seem to be able to focus that well on legal briefs.
I do love animals. I have always wanted a dog. It begs the question why I went to law school at all. I should have opened a doggy daycare so I could play with puppies all day.
Peanut butter toothpaste sounds delicious. I’m tempted to try it myself.