Search Results for: leroy

We are pondering a last-minute name change for Leroy, since he hasn’t really been called much of anything yet.

Anne Davis posted a message on Maria’s Facebook page the other day. “I feel way too sorry for him,” she said. “Way too much will be expected of such a young puppy,” she declared.

I was uncharacteristically speechless when she told me this, although we both did start to laugh as the dog pens, crates, treats, puppy training, special puppy food and chew sticks and balls began to pile up in the house.

Really, Anne? Sorry for Gus? Perhaps Anne ought to read the news or visit her local animal shelter.

Will we be helicopter puppy parents? Push him towards Yale or Harvard? Perhaps we ought to start saving for guitar lessons.

We do expect a great deal of him. We expect him to be happy, healthy and much loved. It’s tough to be a puppy in Maria’s house. Wish I could try it.

Maria and I had a fierce and brief fight this morning,  a kind of gender fight, I think, because I want to hire someone to patch a gaping hole in our roof where a bird had a nest last year.  Snow and rain comes right into the hole.

Maria says no, no way, there might be babies in there. I said the hole is growing and every time it rains, the roof is rotting and we do not have thousands of dollars to repair a roof at the moment.  It doesn’t matter, she said, wait till winter.

I thought she was going to throw me out of the car. We took some time off, but this argument will resume. I did wonder at someone feeling sorry for our puppy.

Sometimes these kinds of  Facebook messages make you laugh, sometimes you want to cry. Really Anne, replied Maria, there are so many people and animals on the earth to worry about, why not worry about one of them? What is sad, I suppose,  is when people lose their perspective. I am still getting messages from people telling me it is cruel to take a puppy home after eight weeks, they need more time, 10 weeks,  a few months, even a year.

I encourage the senders to mind their own business, but on social media, that is literally like taking a pea to an onrushing tank.

We are thinking a lot about Leroy as the time draws near for him to come home to us – a week from Friday, to be exact.  Friday, we are going to find a good pet store and buy more supplies, we want to be ready.

This morning, we returned from a one night visit to Brattleboro, Vt. to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. We talked about the puppy much of the way there and back.

Driving through the beautiful green mountains, we started talking about the puppy’s name. As a border collie owner, I always give the border collies a single-syllable name,  it is quicker to say when shouting commands in the field.  Our other dogs, Frieda, Lenore, had two syllables.

I started thinking about Leroy’s name and another name popped into my head: Gus. Leroy might be a Gus, I said to Maria, and we both started saying the name out loud. Maria was the first one to say, “he’s a Gus. That’s just who he is. It’s a nice smushy name, just like his face.” I said I liked it because it was an old-fashioned, working class kind of name, a no-nonsense name, and it seemed to me that Leroy was a Gus, that was just the way it seemed. He seems a gentleman to me.

So we both agreed to think on it for a day or so. I called Robin Gibbons the breeder and asked her what she thought of “Gus,” and she said she liked it fine, it was up to us. “He’s your dog,” she said. I told her she wouldn’t last long on Facebook.

So we are leaning that way. More tomorrow.

I hope Anne feels better. I’m a little worried about her.

A week from Friday, Leroy comes home, the end of his eighth week of life. We went to see  him again this morning, Robin Gibbons, his very conscientious breeder, is always gracious about letting us see him. She says we can get him next Friday if we’re ready. We will be ready.

Maria and I had a puppy planning meeting tonight, we are both excited about Leroy. He is a bit of an old soul, loving, curious, but also fairly calm, especially in relationship to his hellion sisters, both remind me of Fate. Leroy is a bit Lab like, he is in no great hurry and seems quite secure. Both of his sisters beat up on him almost continuously while we were there, he will be ready for Fate.

He came up to us both this morning, he licked me on the neck a few times and nuzzled happily with Maria. He fended off his sisters and then took a nap for a few minutes. I like his style.

His face and body are filling out, but he is still quite small. This is the time for us to get ready for him. I’ve done this many times, fortunately, so I think I know what we need.

We have two crates for Leroy, one for the bedroom, one for downstairs near the door – very handy for housebreaking. He will eventually get upstairs, as all of our dogs do at night, but not for months. The first night or two, he will be yowling when left alone in his crate in the dining room (Fate still has  a crate there, she is in it whenever we leave the house.) No separation anxiety, no chewed up furniture, no garbage on the floor when we come home.

For me, crates are a battle that must be won.

They are essential to housebreaking, calming training and grounding. Dogs are pack animals, they appreciate confinement as well as freedom.  Dogs must learn how to be still within themselves, how to be quiet and alone, how to do nothing. We have lots of stuff for Leroy to do, on the farm and off.

Usually, it takes me two days to housebreak a dog, Leroy might be longer, he is young and with a very small bladder. Whatever it takes, we will do it.

Leroy will rarely be alone. We have two other dogs and both of us work at  home, but he must be at ease in the crate. We will feed him there, put toys and treats inside, block off half of it until he grows. We will make it a welcoming and safe place. There, he can escape the big people and big dogs and have his own secure space. He can listen to himself, something all the great dogs learn how to do.

I am always sad to hear people tell me they can’t bear the thought of crates, that they are cruel. This is much like saying it is cruel for carriage horses to pull carriages in Central Park, or for border collies to herd sheep.

There can be no greater favor I can give a dog that showing him to be comfortable within him or herself, and not be a loud and intrusive and needy animal. For his sake and ours.

We will get him some appropriate hard chew bones and soft toys, I don’t permit balls and throwing in the house, but I want him to have some toys always available wherever he goes. That way, he will focus on chewing on his stuff, not mine or Maria’s. I will feed him in the crate, wait 10 minutes and take him out on a leash. When he eliminates, praise and a treat. He will not run loose in the house until he is housebroken.

He will not move freely in the pasture for months, until we know all the animals recognize him and know he is a part of our lives.

As soon as he gets his shots, he’ll start his therapy work training, and also meet the donkeys and sheep and barn cats in a safe and controlled way. I wish for him to be a therapy dog, but also a farm dog.

We have the crates and some puppy chow. Today I ordered a steel pen for outdoors, we’ll put it in the back kennel area. Maria and I will go shopping together for some more toys and training treats this weekend.

We are very drawn to this puppy, he is a gentleman with a big heart. I think we need him here in odd ways that have not revealed themselves. I am eager to share this trip, my first venture into the world of the Small Dog.

We went to see our new puppy Leroy today  and his very conscientious breeder Robin Gibbons. She lives just a couple of miles away, and doesn’t go to work (she is a bartender at the American Legion) until early afternoon. She is very gracious about encouraging as many visits as possible. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten to now a puppy as well as Maria and I are getting to know Leroy.

He changes every time we see him.

Leroy is six weeks old, two weeks away from coming home with us. We already have two crates – they play a central role in my puppy training – and some food ready. He will be sleeping in his crate in the bedroom for four or five months before he comes out, and will probably want to get into bed with us, knowing the breed.

He will be in the crate often until he is housebroken, I read that small dogs often take longer to housebreak because their accidents are so small they don’t bother people. Hmmm….

Leroy is precisely what I look for in a puppy. He was the only puppy available from the litter of three, but he is precisely the one I would have chosen. I always look for what I call the “MIddle Dog.” Not the one who rushes out to greet me  first, not the one who is the most active or boisterous or demanding, not the one who is the slowest or the most sluggish of the litter.

His older sister is extremely active and playful, she crawled up my pants leg and wanted to mix it up with my finger. She is the dominant puppy. All three puppies are active and lively, but Leroy took a bit of time before coming over to me and Maria. He sniffed and wagged his tail, crawled up to Maria. When I picked him up and put him near my shoulder, he looked at me, licked me,  gnawed on my finger a bit, and then fell asleep.

This morning was his first time outside on grass, and the puppies enjoyed it. I can’t introduce him to other people until he has all of his shots, a week or two after he comes home. Then we’re off for therapy training and socialization, which I don’t think will be a problem with these dogs.

They appear to be affectionate, curious and playful. They have a great mother, and the father lives a few miles North, he is said to be sweet and and grounded, just like the mother, Hannah.

Of the three, Leroy seems to focus on people a bit longer, he was interested in me and the camera, he was quite at home in Maria’s lap, a wise choice for any puppy. He is definitely the middle dog, not too cranked up, not too hesitant, his sister is clearly going to be a handful, she has a lot of personality.

We have enjoyed getting to know Robin, she pays lots of attention to these dogs and makes sure they are clean, handled appropriately and warm. That is good to see, dogs that are well cared for in the litter are often great dogs, it is an important way to start their lives. Dogs that feel safe and secure and that can focus on people and not just be made crazy, often turn out to be the most trainable and responsive dogs.

The rest is up to me. Getting a dog is a huge responsibility for me, and I want to do it well.

I will ask a lot of Leroy, and every time I see him, I feel better about getting him. Maria feels the same way. So far, so good. I think I got the Middle Dog without even asking for it.

We are getting to know Leroy, our new Boston Terrier puppy. Because Robin Gibbons, his breeder, lives so close to us, we are able to visit him often and it is startling to see how much he changes in between visits. We are learning about him. He seems sweet, calm, adaptable.

His two sisters beat up on him relentlessly, and he sees find with it. He seems fond of Maria and went to sleep while I held him. We feel good about our choice, In a week or two, Robin says we can take him out on brief excursions into the town.

I am a big fan of socialization in puppies, the more they are out in the world, the  more adaptable and grounded they will be, the easier to train. Dogs are an integral part of my life, I keep them with me as often as is possible and appropriate, I do not need to bring them everyplace I go. And I will have no trouble leaving Leroy in a kennel when we go to New Mexico in October, and whenever we go away for more than a day.

These dogs, like many small dogs, have a great sense of entitlement. Because because they are small, nature has convinced them that they are huge, and they act accordingly.

I am a fan both of crates and good kennels, and of vacations from my dogs.

I am beginning to get a sense of Leroy, although he will change in the next few weeks. This breed is very social and affectionate,and also quite busy and assertive. Right up my alley. He likes to be held and have his stomach rubbed. The puppies are busy and curious, but not manic.

I like the feel of him. He will teach me a lot.

Each time we see him, we are happier and more excited about him. We have two crates ready, we have puppy food and are assembling some toys for his crate. No balls in the house.

Maria is a huge fan of the breed already, we are impressed with Leroy’s mother, Hannah, who has beautiful eyes and a wonderful disposition.