Pugly
Well, I did it. I found a puppy. The timing is just perfect.
He is a fawn-colored, pure-bred pug, born on March 1rst in a litter of six; he won’t be ready to come home until the end of April, which gives me five weeks to clean house and puppy-proof everything — talk about motivation with a deadline. I do work best with a deadline. While I’ve given him a name that fits in with the theme of the names I’ve given my other pets, in the theme of giving aliases to everyone on this blog, he shall have the alias “Pugly” on this blog.
Last night, I went to play with him, and he is just the most precious, adorable thing ever. Only a few weeks old, so he’s wobbly but he’s definitely curious and he was full of puppy kisses and so was his mom and the other mom on hand.
The woman who breeds them aslo has show cats about who play with the pups so he will be used to cats by the time he comes home. I had been worried abut his reaction to my cats but now I just have to worry about their reaction to him. I think they’ll get used to him in time, but Needy is such an anxious cat that I might call the vet and ask about how best to go about introducing Needy to the new puppy.
I think it’s good that he’ll start off smaller than them, though I’m hoping that all that puppy engery will help exercise the kitties because Needy really needs to lose about two pounds. He’s about the weight Pugly should grow up to be.
Anyway, I’m very excited about the whole thing. I’ve got pictures on my laptop, my work computer, and my palm pilot. I’ve been carrying around a printout of one to show people too. 
I sat down and made a list of everything that needs to be done in the living room rather than looking at what needs to be done in the whole house. I figure if I break it down into areas and set deadlines, it’ll be easier to do and not get overwhelmed. So by the end of this weekend, I should have the living room put in order and I won’t have any piles of things waiting to go to other rooms that are waiting to be cleaned either. I’m going to go ahead and put them in the uncleaned rooms. That stuff will just be gotten to with each room. I figure the last room will be a real big mess. Oy.
If my plan goes right, the fifth weekend will be spent setting up for the puppy and doing last minute stuff like making cardboard puppy guards to keep puppy from going behind the fridge or piano. After talking to the breeder, I’ve decided to crate-train Pugly which kind of breaks my heart because I hate locking up puppies, but I’m learning that it’s appropriate for some small indoor dogs. So, I’ll also need to set up a crate, either in my kitchen or my office. I’ve also discovered a trick for keeping dogs out of the litter box so I’ll get that set up.
I’m going to start making a few changes now with the cats like where I feed them and where their litterboxes will be so they’ll be used to those changes by then. I also started spending extra kitty time with them and I’m going to make sure that I spend extra time with them once the puppy arrives so they know they are still loved. It’ll be important, especially for Needy to know that he isn’t being replaced.
You may also enjoy...
4 comments
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
on March 22, 2006 at 2:46 pm
Kathy said:
Okay, here goes — this is gross, but keep your puppy away from the litter box! If he ever gets a taste for cat poop, there will be no breaking him of it. We have learned this from disgusting personal experience. Also, introduce your new puppy slowly; keep the cats in a separate room with the door closed until they start to get curious about the new addition. It’s good that he’s already used to cats. He probably won’t be aggressive with them, and they’ll get comfortable once they realize that. Our cats and our puppy are great friends.
Most of all, have fun! Pets are wonderful.
on March 22, 2006 at 2:59 pm
The Naked Truth » Blog Archive » Tired of Spinning said:
[…] I know it seems like I’ve been preoccupied lately with my depression and depression in general and my birthday and my new puppy. (Have you seen my new puppy?) However, believe it or not, I’ve been keeping up with the news and online back and forths when my internet wasn’t down. I’ve even added a few new voices to my online daily reads. […]
on March 22, 2006 at 3:22 pm
n. mallory said:
Oh, yeah. Thanks! One of my co-workers told me to get those litterboxes with the covers and then face them toward the wall in such a way that only the cats can get in the entrances. I had been worrying about that too. Especially since my one cat, Needy, has some sort of Litterbox anxiety.
I’m trying to decide if a soft crate or one of those metal crates would be better. I’ve never crate trained a pet before.
I wish I could be one of those ladies who brings her dog everywhere in her purse.
You know, with him peeking out at everyone. Somehow I suspect the Panera Bread people would not appreciate his precense during the weekly write-ins.
on March 24, 2006 at 7:35 am
neca said:
I bought a “puppy play pen” for my dog when we first got her. It is larger than a crate and more open. I bought my at PetSmart or one of those places. It’s about 6×3 feet, and folds up nicely. If you don’t like the thought of a crate, you might check that out.