Skyler's Scoop: The Real Poop On Puppy Power
By Cal Orey
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, No! It's Puppy Monster!

It's March 3, and it's been one month since I've been blessed with the puppy moves of my blue merle Australian Shepherd Skyler. I admit change has its ups and downs but this young Aussie's energy is exactly what this house needed. There's new life and we're all feeling it--a canine-type hurricane, tornado, earthquake has hit our home with a p-u-p-p-y! And the aftermath is in the air...

                         

Zen, my fearless, laid-back Siamese-mix cat has accepted this ball of fluff that keeps going and going. (After all, he gets his ears licked in the morning and night by the new dog.) And Simon, my senior Brittany? He's warming up to his new canine friend.  Hisses and growls are no more.  Car rides, snacks, and squeaky bones/balls keep these two docked tails wagging (and my tail, too) and noses sniffing each other in private parts that I don't go.

I don't know who coined the phrase that adopting a puppy will keep you younger. What were they thinking?  But, looking at the photo above I'm thinking, "I am the big 60. So, what am I doing with a monster puppy? Is it residue from the Seventies era of drugs?"
Thanks to Skye's 4:30 AM wake-up calls to go potty, eat, drink water and, "Hey, let's play hard!" I've tried to go with the flow and keep up with this four-legger young enough to be my great grand kid.
Read: I've been dealing with the hardship by going to bed earlier and back at the resort pool to swim/hot tub at 7:00 ish AM every other day to keep sane. Monitoring a 13 week old pup (now 16 pounds) is like having an infant-toddler around and you cannot be sedentary.
We're working on the word, "Drop!"(not so easy; my hands have red bumps that look like measles) and "NO!"  but he's got "Sit" and "Sit up" down. And he walks on a lead like a TV show dog (sort of). The multi-colored fluff ball keeps me active as well as helping to brush up on the forgotten word--patience. I think his double coat needs brushing again. The thing is, we all like this energized bunny rabbit of sorts, especially when he's calm--not herding us from room to room. 


Flashback to yesterday. It was the third round of puppy shots. It seems like the ordeal whooped him and me. He is a perfect canine gentleboy in the vet's waiting room. I asked the vet tech, "Will it hurt?" I got a quick "no." But then, I heard LOUD crying in the back room that lasted 10 seconds, reminding me of the World Series quake in '89. When my furry bouncy boy returned to me I asked, "Was that my little Skyler yelping?" Yep, evidently one of the shots burns... 

Welcome to Puppy Monster

On the upside, the night was peaceful in the waterbed having two calm, cuddly dogs curled up at me feet while watching "Turner and Hooch" to make me feel better while watching another human deal with a puppy monster who has a huge heart.

So, do I regret my choice to be a puppy mom? Pregnant pause. For the most part, it's all good in between the potty accidents, chewing my rugs, comforters (fave is shredded), sweaters, books (horoscopes gone thanks to the energized Sag), and there is a small scratch on my beautiful Siamese pussycat's nose. My life consists of baby gates, a dog box, toys, and household clutter. Would I do the puppy ordeal again? Ask me when the puppy stage is over.  Welcome to the real poop on puppy power. "Skye?" "Where are you?" Quietude with a pup is not a good sign. "Skyler!"