Kylie and I have started the "getting ready" process for our new addition to come home! I filled out a frequent shopper card at one of the pet stores. We also checked on puppy classes. The three family members, plus the new addition, will all be in attendance!
On a funny note, my good friend Heidi's mom, Sandy, told me we should have a puppy shower!!!! Hmmmm....
This past Thursday I went to a great breeder in Conifer - Rocky Mountain German Shepherds. I was so impressed with her dogs and her set-up. I highly recommend this breeder. She welcomes you to visit her place and meet the puppies, the parents, etc. And she's a very cool lady. I took my friend, Heidi, to meet the two 4 1/2 week old Black and Red females that are available. SOOOOOO cute.
The two dogs had very different personalities; one was very calm and just snuggled, the other one wagged her tail alot, talked a lot, and made eye contact with me several times and seemed to be connecting with me.
Today was our second scheduled visit to the breeder so that the rest of the family could meet the puppies! Tim wasn't able to make the trip today. He's a little lost in calculus so instead, he went to the Learning Lab to get tutored. I went ahead and took Kylie so that she could meet the two puppies; Yellow and Orange. I took video of both of them playing so I could come home and show Tim!!
Meet Orange
Orange lets anyone hold her and is very mellow. She's a total sweetheart. She's very calm and curls up and takes it all in.
Meet Yellow
If you try to hold Yellow, within about 10 seconds she'll let you know that she would prefer to be on the move, playing, running, always busy.
Which Puppy will be the New Member of our Family? I plan to get Tim up within the next week because next Saturday is "D" day (decision day)! We have first choice of the two females and have to choose a puppy so the other people know which one they are getting.
At this point, Kylie likes Orange because she lets her hold her. Tim likes Yellow because of the cute, playful personality (I brought back video for him to watch). I am so confused that I don't know what to do! They are both darling. I really want to turn the final decision over to Tim.
My family and I are embarking on the wonderful journey of adding a new family member to the Wright-Dappen clan! No, not another child, a German Shepherd! I am starting this blog to chronicle our adventures over the first year of our puppy's life.
Tim is very experienced with training dogs. He's owned two previous German Shepherds and had dogs as a child. My father is allergic to fur, so growing up we had parrots. (I have an African Grey parrot named Birdman that is 19 years old. Birdman says, "Hey Dog!" all the time so I know he's very excited to meet the new dog!) My only previous dog experience has been with young/already trained dogs.
Tim's last German Shepherd, Tasley, was the greatest dog of all times. I came into her life when she was 8. I have had previous roommates with dogs as well, but I've never had to train one. And of course Kylie is only 6, so she has no experience with dogs. All that she knows is she has wanted a dog for as long as she can remember. German Shepherds require a lot of training and Kylie and I will be learning from "Master Tim" along the way!
Kylie also knows that part of the deal if we get a dog is that she has to pick up poop. Stay tuned as we document her willingness to fulfill her obligations.
If all goes well our new dog will be coming home the day after Easter, April 5, 2010! So join us as we chronicle our first year with our puppy!
