Puppy Love is what I have for Zsiga. I love everything about his puppiness. I love his flopped-over ear and his awkwardness and his curiosity about how the world works and what the rules are and even the fact that he doesn't seem to know that he has hind legs, let alone know how to use them to jump up on furniture and things like that. (I know that soon enough he will be a huge, gangly adolescent and our problem will be keeping him OFF furniture, which is why I'm enjoying these early days so much.) I even love his sharkiness. That's how we refer to his enthusiastic use of his sharp little teeth on everything. I don't mind getting up in the middle of the night when he has to pee. In fact, over the years of raising puppy after puppy, I have somehow come to love those middle-of-the-night excursions to the backyard -- me half-asleep, enjoying the rare quiet in my neighborhood and looking up at the stars while the puppy sniffs around looking for the perfect spot. Somehow it is always winter when I have a brand-new puppy, and always cold, although, this being Arizona, it is never cold enough even at 2 a.m. that I have to put a jacket on. I love it when he's done peeing (and lets me know he is by starting to chomp on mesquite pods instead of sniffing around looking for the perfect spot) and I get to go back into my ever-so-soft and warm bed and put Zsiga back in his crate and snuggle up next to Tim for a few more hours of sleep.
I love training him, too. He is so smart, so alert, so responsive, and so willing to do what I ask. He is a little sponge. He already knows "Sit", "Down", his name, "Leave It", "Touch", and he's well on his way to learning "Stay". He is extremely food-motivated -- so nice to see in a shepherd -- and will work forever for food, even if he just finished a meal. (And when we fill his bowl and put it down for him, he is so excited he spins and spins and barks. He just cannot wait. He is like a little Lab.)
I love watching him learn about the world. He has learned that cats are sharp, especially McP, that Hilda will bite but Sunny will not, that his spot is on the rug by my computer, that when we call his name there is at least a 90% chance that food will be involved, that the clicker coming out is a good thing, that the crate is his den, that when he's in the car he rides on the floorboards (not much longer, not in Tim's Jetta anyway), that he has to sit and stay if he wants to go in or out a door, that peeing and pooping are done outside, not inside, and that people skin between his teeth is a no-no. Tomorrow we will take him to the V.A. hospital, where he will learn that wheelchairs, canes, and walkers are normal, that stairs are not scary, and that old men are nice people who might feed him. All of the above adds up to Puppy Love.
And then there is Puppy Fever, which is what I have so bad for my new Aussie that I can hardly stand it. She will be four weeks old on Monday, which means I have three more weeks till I can bring her home. (Maybe four.) Her name will be Arizona Annie Oakley, and her call name will be Annie. (I am embarrassed to admit how often I look at her puppy picture on the breeder's website, so I won't.) The other day her breeder put up new video of Annie's litter as well as the other litter she has (11 days younger than Annie's litter). I've watched the video about five times and am so, so in love with that whole litter. The other litter, too. Annie is an adorable red merle with a gorgeous full white collar and white blaze, which I love in Aussies. There are also two beautiful blue merle females, one of which is already sold and the other one of which is still available. Then there are three gorgeous red tri males. I have wanted a merle female for such a long time I cannot believe I still look at those red tris, but I do. Baby Aussies look just like guinea pigs -- fat and round with the same basic color patterns as most guinea pigs. I just can't wait to pick up that new puppy and, now that Zsiga is starting to get a sense of self-control as well as the whole housebreaking thing, start in again with a whole new blank slate who doesn't know anything.
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