The dog stays

So. A cryptic series of emails between Mr. A and me yesterday caused me to believe he didn't actually want a puppy at all ... which caused me to freak out and decide she had to go back, for the sake of my sanity ... which caused him to freak out and say he couldn't believe I was getting rid of the dog ... blah blah blah. It was probably the worst fight we've ever had, and in the end it turned out it was all over a misunderstanding. We both want the dog.

It's really the only way this could ever work for me. I would never, ever, ever in a million billion years get a dog if I wasn't 100% sure he wanted one too. I just don't need that kind of stress in my life. These tv shows where the husband keeps showing up with a new 200 lb. mastiff every year or so, to the dismay of his wife and little daughter ... Or baby-hungry women who get pregnant on purpose even though they know the man doesn't want a baby -- I just don't get that at all. I'm nowhere near secure/stupid enough to take on that kind of responsibility with an ambivalent or hostile partner. It would be easier and feel safer just to do it alone.

ANYway. Today I'm feeling a lot more of the joy and excitement I've been wanting to feel about having Bea in the family. She's more like a dog than Tater, who's actually kind of more like a person -- have you ever known a dog like that? You can see it in the way he looks at you, like a person trying to understand someone speaking a foreign language. He's intensely sensitive and motivated to connect with humans. Bea seems to be more independent and she's definitely more into other dogs than Tater is -- she wants to follow him around everywhere and do whatever he does, whereas Tater mostly only wanted to sit in my lap and interact with people. In two weeks she'll be able to go to puppy socialization class, and later in the summer she can start puppy school. I think she's going to enjoy both of those activities a lot more than Tater ever did.

The house training is going OK. She's still a little too young to have a lot of control so I'm taking her out to run around in the yard every couple of hours -- necessary for her, good for me, not so good for my statistics class. I don't think I mentioned I found out I actually have a bit more time to finish than I had thought, but I still need to wrap it up in the next few weeks. It's definitely do-able. But it's been hard to concentrate. I'm hoping to get a lot more done this weekend after it stops pouring rain, and we get a puppy run built that I can put her in while I'm working. There really isn't any place yet in the house or yard where she can wander around safely on her own, so right now she has to be either in her crate or under my direct supervision. Burning off energy by running and playing with me (since Tater isn't really interested) -- this is what allows her to be relaxed in her crate, so I really can't skimp on that part.

I'm also seriously considering puppy daycare, at least occasionally for awhile. Or maybe we'll make some new friends in class and can meet them to play sometimes. She already likes other dogs, and I want her to grow up feeling comfortable with them so we can go do dog things together without worrying about whether there will actually be other dogs there.

I can't wait to take her swimming! The creek, the river, the beach -- she seems to love water and it's such great exercise for a big dog. We'll get her a puppy pool for the summer and see how that goes.

One thing I've noticed is that she doesn't seem as snuggly and cuddly as Tater. I have mixed feelings about that. I do love to snuggle with dogs. But I don't expect Tater would be very happy about sharing the attention. Right now it isn't much of an issue, because if we're inside she's mostly in her crate. But eventually she'll be housetrained, and big enough to jump onto the couch and the bed. Glad there's plenty of time to figure out how we're going to deal with that when it comes up.

Did I mention how soft her fur is? You can't even believe how soft.

My brain is so full I could go on and on ... but I'm too tired, and I have too much to do. Just wanted to report that my ambivalence has resolved itself. Everything is A-OK.