This past weekend Justin and I drove to modesto to visit the litter and pick out my puppy. We drove along the highway and progressively saw more and more cows along the way. When we finally arrived at the breeder's, we were greeted by an amiable black standard poodle. The puppies were little balls of sleeping fluff on the floor of the garage. I think I was paralyzed by the cuteness for a few seconds. I would have loved to spend all day playing with
the puppies, but we only had an hour to pick out the future Lucy. I knew I wanted a girl but briefly considered one of the boys since they were very cute and playfu...and there were so many of them left. The two remaining girls were labeled F2 and F3, which means F1,4 &5 were spoken for (F for female and M for male...5 girls, 4 boys in the litter). F3 was sleeping peacefully for a while and I tried to wake her up to play with her. She was calm and mellow when I suspended her above the ground and when I cradled her in my arms. (These were a few of the puppy tests recommended by the books). She was completely cooperative and didn't mouth my hand or struggle. She seemed almost too cooperative... After she was awake for a while, we got to see a little more of her personality. She licked my face when I put mynose up to hers. She was content eating her puppy treat despite the commotion around her. Her sister F2 who was the more active and larger pup had a ball in her mouth. F3 tried to get the ball from her sister by reaching her paw across a few times but was unsuccessful. I can't categorize F3's personality with full confidence, but she definitely wasn't the alpha dog. If she is a more shy pup, I hope with increased socialization and confidence building exercises,
we can make her more neutral. In any case, I'm really excited for her to come home with me in 3 weeks. I've prepared the puppy area of my apartment and started shopping for her things. I've read most of the training books I received for christmas from justin's parents and have begun to strategize and plan a timeline for development. I've started a group list on google to try to keep in touch with other owners to have play dates and family reunions. My mind is swimming with all these images and ideas of what life with Lucy is going to be like, but I won't really know until she is here. There's so much anticipation. I know that it won't be all fun and games and raising her to be a well-adjusted, happy dog will be hard work, but I know she will be worth it - and the inspiration of many future blogs.
the puppies, but we only had an hour to pick out the future Lucy. I knew I wanted a girl but briefly considered one of the boys since they were very cute and playfu...and there were so many of them left. The two remaining girls were labeled F2 and F3, which means F1,4 &5 were spoken for (F for female and M for male...5 girls, 4 boys in the litter). F3 was sleeping peacefully for a while and I tried to wake her up to play with her. She was calm and mellow when I suspended her above the ground and when I cradled her in my arms. (These were a few of the puppy tests recommended by the books). She was completely cooperative and didn't mouth my hand or struggle. She seemed almost too cooperative... After she was awake for a while, we got to see a little more of her personality. She licked my face when I put mynose up to hers. She was content eating her puppy treat despite the commotion around her. Her sister F2 who was the more active and larger pup had a ball in her mouth. F3 tried to get the ball from her sister by reaching her paw across a few times but was unsuccessful. I can't categorize F3's personality with full confidence, but she definitely wasn't the alpha dog. If she is a more shy pup, I hope with increased socialization and confidence building exercises, 
we can make her more neutral. In any case, I'm really excited for her to come home with me in 3 weeks. I've prepared the puppy area of my apartment and started shopping for her things. I've read most of the training books I received for christmas from justin's parents and have begun to strategize and plan a timeline for development. I've started a group list on google to try to keep in touch with other owners to have play dates and family reunions. My mind is swimming with all these images and ideas of what life with Lucy is going to be like, but I won't really know until she is here. There's so much anticipation. I know that it won't be all fun and games and raising her to be a well-adjusted, happy dog will be hard work, but I know she will be worth it - and the inspiration of many future blogs.
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