Trip Preparations

It seems odd to be packing for a trip in my mini-van without getting things ready to take a dog along. For 40+ years, dog show trips have been a part of my schedule, though far fewer now than in the past. Because I haven't had a class dog to show this year, I've only shown Argus as a special very occasionally. Hopefully next year I'll be showing one or more of the Josie kids, plus a puppy from Boji's litter.

And then there is Indy, my stud fee puppy from Watson and Janet. I keep thinking I should sell her, or at least find a good local co-owner for her, as she really needs more time and attention than she is getting right now. But she's got such a great personality, and there are so many things I like about her. Oddly, even grumpy old Sid likes her, although he has warned her that she may NOT swing from his ears and throat skin the way she does with Argus & Watson and Josie. Indy is super smart and very busy, although she has great crate manners and was amazingly easy to housetrain. Raising a puppy take a big time commitment, and my days all seem too short! Hopefully Ron will take her to PetCo this weekend, or for a few small walks in the neighborhood so she can greet friends - everyone is her friend, and she especially likes small children, having been raised with a toddler for the first 10 weeks of her life.

Argus will not be please about being left behind, and will miss our evening walks for the next few nights. He's such a hoot, my little Trash Collector. As we walk along he keeps a lookout for plastic bottles, soft drink cups, small carbboard boxes and empty fast food bags. He carries them along until he finds an appropriate spot to bury them! His favorite spot is in the gutter under fallen leaves, so fall is a great season for pursuing his hobby. Argus buried lots of trash in the snow last winter too. Wonder what the neighbors thought when the snow melted? I wonder if this is also an inherited trait? I've never had a dog quite so determined to bury things as Argus.

It will be interesting to watch personalities develope on the the Boji babies and see which traits they inherit from each parent. Boji has super high prey drive, and like my Josie, she lives to chase squirrels and rabbits. One thing the pups should inherit from both parents is extremely outgoing personalities.

Can't wait to get over to see them again next week. Glad I won't be missing my favorite puppy time - 3 weeks. That's when the little spotted blobs suddenly start to act like little dogs. They walk quite well, notice their littermates, start to play and to recognise the existance of people, wag their tails, and try to get away from their beds to pee. It's just a wonderful week of puppy watching. Wonder if Dawn & Tom have an extra bedroom for me? When Josie had her pups last spring, I thought I was going to have to set up a guest room for my friend Vonda. Pups are SUCH fun to watch. (And Tom gets to change the papers this time!)