Rewind a Bit

I realized after publishing my last post that I sort of skipped a bit between the post where I said I had puppy fever, and the post where I said I was going to pick up a puppy. Much of this was discussed on Facebook, but sometimes I forget that the entire world is not on Facebook. Or looks at my particular Facebook. All twenty or so people that read this blog...

Anyway!

Trudy hails from the same rescue that I adopted Xander from four years ago. Jerri Carter has been running Southeast Border Collie Rescue League for over 25yrs, and I was lucky enough to find her when she rescued a pregnant momma dog four years ago, and hence came Xander.

I had gotten the puppy bug and was stalking a couple of litters, but also emailed Jerri to keep an eye out. Fatefully enough, she told me she happened to have a litter of 3wk old pups, which was exactly the age when I had found out about Xander's litter. The only difference was that Xander had been the result of a border collie/border collie breeding. I knew basically what I was getting.

This litter was different. Momma dog is a very sweet, black and white, split-faced border collie. She was dumped over Jerri's fence and gave birth a few weeks later. It is anyone's guess what the dad (or dads) identity was, as there are pups with very differing characteristics.

Some pups look very much border collie, others perhaps german shepherd, perhaps lab or aussie. Who knows?

Given that I love to do agility, and knowing what type of dog you are getting helps determine structural and behavioral compatability with the demands of the sport, it is a bit risky bringing home a dog of unknown parentage. At least, that's what I told myself when I went to see them for the first time at 5wks old.

There was immediately one pup that caught my eye. I knew I wanted a female (as the testosterone levels in my house were already high enough), so that narrowed it to five puppies immediately. The other six, although adorable, had penises, so they were ruled out. No offense boys.

Of the five girls, two were tricolor, and had sweet personalities, but one was somehow special.

She happened to be the smallest as well. Considerably smaller than some of her brothers. Confident, independent, curious, and balanced at five weeks, my interest was piqued. However, I cautioned myself not to make an impulsive decision, and decided to think about it for another week. As Jerri is located in Deland, around 1.5hrs drive south, I knew that deciding to make a return trip the next weekend would mean that I was seriously considering it, but still had the option to say no once I saw them again at six weeks.

Buster indulged me, although expressing valid concerns about having FOUR dogs. I thought long and hard about all the pros and cons throughout the next week as I looked at the pictures and videos I had taken during my first visit.

As I pulled into her driveway to see the now six week old pups, I finally decided to listen to my heart and let that make the decision. If I saw her again and felt that she was the one, that would be it...logical or not.

I saw her and immediately texted Buster and asked him not to divorce me.

So from then it was two weeks wait before I could bring her home. I didn't really talk about it much. I think I was afraid to jinx it.

Now that she is here, I am so thrilled. She is everything I could want in a puppy. She is condfident, affectionate, fearless, fun, bold, curious, sweet, and smart. She has adapted remarkably well in a very short time and is making my job relatively easy. Xander was the most difficult puppy ever and was afraid of everything and everyone. He is still a weenie....

Trudy is not daunted by anything and loves to make friends with new dogs and people, as well as experience new things. She does scream when initially confined, but settles eventually, and has gotten very good about her crate at night. She uses a potty patch in her ex-pen during the day, and wakes me up when she needs to potty at night, so no accidents in either place!

She LOVES to tug (which is of key importance to me) and on her very first clicker session switched seemlessly from tug to food and back and forth again. Love that! She also retrieved a ball the first few times, although now she prefers to play keep away ;) She walked happily on leash from the very first time and never looked back. She hasn't so much as whimpered for vaccines or to have her nails dremmeled. Truly nothing seems to phase her.

At 9wks and weighing in at 5.6lbs, I imagine she will be small, but I am not sure how small. My friend Alanna who is a vet is betting on roughly 25lbs. I did WANT a smaller female, but hopefully her dad wasn't a pomeranian. Either way, she is tremendous fun, and both Buster and I are completely smitten with her. Regardless of how she turns out, I am very happy with my decision, and glad I listened to my heart. I am both enjoying every second of her cuteness, as well as looking forward to what her future holds!

Very confident!

 

Tiny even compared to Kaylee!

 

I love to play!

And ocassionally sleep....

Sweet baby :)