Dakota Dude is home at last

He's been absolutely fantastic for the last 4-5 hours... No separation problems, which I was concerned about because he was quite bonded to the breeder. PLayed with Ripley for about an hour and then slept for 2, then ate, played, and slept again.

He's everything I wanted so far. Aside from a little dominance, that is.. He's quite toy-motivated, loves to play with his 'squeakies' and is sitting (unreliably) for me already. I love my Dakota boy.

I took a bunch of pics earlier, they are awful quality but, meh.. *shrug* That's him!

That's a great puppy! It looks right at home

Chazhound

What an overwhelmingly adorable little fuzzball! It's going to be sooooo hard to get after him when he's naughty - and he's going to figure out all sorts of fun mischief to get into with Ripley before too long. I can't wait for the stories to start.

aww we need more pictures of the cutie!

Ack, Renee, he's already a manipulating little monster!! Just now he tipped over the office trash can with shredded paper in it, and dragged the paper all over before I could get ahold of him, and the second I caught him he licked my hand and rolled over on his back.

Ah, I've got my work cut out for me with this one, all right.

Oh, he sounds like he's related to Kharma! You are in sooooo much trouble - and you're gonna love every minute!

OH MY GOD. This dog has the biggest ego and the most SENSITIVE feelings... I can't even say NO in a stern tone! He goes and gives himself a little time-out in the corner until I call him back!

I'm gonna be pulling my hair out one of these days. LOL

Ha Ha. Looks like you've got your hands full...He is just adorable though. You won't be able to stay mad at him for long when he does something bad.

Are you SURE he's a Border Collie? He sounds more like a Fila! (roflmao)

Maybe this is preparing me for Fila-ownership.. ROFLOL

He's the most awesome dog so far.. He's actually very obedient and 'in tune' with what I'm doing.. But, it's only day 2. I'm waiting for the chaos to kick in.

Wait a few months . . . until . . . he's a TEENAGED PUPPY!

Oy vey.. I went through the teenage blues with Ripley, even considered selling him 'cause I thought he just hated me and wasn't bonding well to me, after all my efforts.. but, it just turned out to be the teenager in him, so I'll have to stick it out with Dakota too.

Kharma's gotta be at that age now, isn't she? About 5-6 months?

She's 7 months and she's not just a teenager - she's a teenaged GIRL! And she's just like I was! She knows when she's doing something, like not coming in when I call, and you can see that brain working, deciding if the consequences (if she gets caught) are worth it or not, then either going on her merry way (usually) or coming and doing what I want her to do. I am sooooo paying for my past. She's also perfectly capable of just completely ignoring anything anyone tells her.

Shiva was easy when she was a teenager. All I had to do was cut a switch one time and flick the back of her legs when she wouldn't come home from Herbie and Stanley's. All I ever had to do after that was ask her if I needed to cut a switch and she'd toe the line. Kharma is just too much like me. Being switched didn't even phase her. It just made her more stubborn. Being ignored is the worst thing that can happen to her, so that's the key. She's getting better now, so hopefully the worst of the adolescent months are over.

At least with dogs, it's months, not years!

Are you sure Kharma and Ripley aren't distantly related? Ripley seems to contemplate if there's anything in it for him before he does ANYTHING for me.

I think having dogs to watch out for has made me grow up a little bit. When I was 13, I was pretty much stupid & careless, I didn't have to watch over anything or be responsible for much.. Now, having 2 puppies in the same house is comparable to having a baby. I haven't sat down for 10 minutes at a time in the 2 days that Dakota's been home, because if I'm not chasing after Ripley who's doing something bad, I'm chasing after Dakota who's doing something bad.. And when they finally sleep, it's only in 20-minute sessions and then they're back up and at it again.

Man.. I dunno if I could handle kids, since I hear that dogs are so much easier than kids.. Dogs give me a good run for my money!

Well, Grace, I can see by the time signature that you aren't getting a lot of sleep - even accounting for the regional difference. (lol)

My sister is 6 1/2 years younger than me, and I've had a dog since I was 2 years old. She cured me of wanting kids of my own. I love kids, and if there's a problem child that's the one that latches on to me every single time, but I'd be scared to death of spawning one of my own! What if it turned out to be like my sister?!?!? She was everything you never wanted in a little sister - and more! Now she's a corporate attorney. I knew she'd be successful - and turn out badly! (rofl)

On the other hand, I still have dogs . . .

It sounds like Ripley's a little jealous right now. Enjoy it! (hahaha) Just wait until he figures out it's more fun to gang up on you with Dakota!

Oops, the wrestling match in the middle of the floor just got too wild for Bimmer's taste and he ran over in the middle of the two girls and told them to chill. Now Shiva's laying very quietly where she stopped, and Kharma's laying across my feet.

You need a Bimmer dog, Grace! Nothing like a German Shepherd to keep order and make sure everyone uses their "house manners!" My sister's rescued female GSD, Obie, keeps Braec, the Jack Russell, in line and won't let him be alone with her step-kids since he bit one of the boys. Not that the child didn't deserve it; he'd been told time and time again not to sniff in the dog's ear (strange, hmmm?) and Braec finally got mad enough to bite him.

Sniff in the dog's EAR? Um, sounds like an odd kid... lol

I really do need a Bimmer dog... I wish Shiner was still alive, (I found out she passed away a couple weeks ago ) she would really keep this crew in line. I'm hoping that I can find a more serious dog in the future. Not that I don't like these crazy demon puppies, but I want a dog that will reprimand them if they get out of line.

Weird is right. Oh, well, at least he wasn't sniffing the dog's butt!

So sad about Shiner. You'll have to share some Shiner stories with us.

Awwww....he's adorable! I love that little fuzzy puppy fur.

Ok, I'm gonna say this, and some fellow parents on this board may disagree with me, but...

I truly felt that the first few weeks with Sophie were harder than the first few weeks with my kids.

Sleep? Forget about it. With my babies I was up every 2-3 hours, but I just had to latch the baby on, nurse him/her, and go back to sleep. With Sophie, I had to take her outside every 2-3 hours, either woken by her cries OR by the alarm I set to prevent her from peeing in her crate, and stand outside in my pajamas in the cold/rain/wind at 4 in the morning saying "Go potty, Sophie...go potty...go potty...c'mon...go potty"

Activeness? Babies eat and sleep. They don't move much early on. Puppies? As soon as I can find the Mexican jumping bean inside my puppy, maybe I'll get to sit down for more than 2.5 seconds when she's in the room.

Chewing? Babies don't chew on anything. Puppies chew on everything.

Training? You don't need to train a baby to do anything. You need to train a puppy to do everything.

Stealing? Sophie is a little thief. She spots something, sneaks up on it, yanks it, and takes off. Then the chase is on. If it's my keys and we're just about to leave, this can be annoying. If it's Barbie's sister Kelly and the four year old is screaming "MY KELLY! SOPHIE HAS MY KELLY!", this can be annoying too.

Cuddleness? Babies are far better cuddlers. They also don't lick your face when you talk to them.

Bathing? It's easier to bathe a baby and you don't have to hire a groomer for anything - for a while at least.

Vet visits vs doctor visits - with our healthcare insurance, I can say that my dog's medical care expense far exceeds the total out of pocket expense for a family of four. I pay $45 for a doggie shot, and $0 for a kiddie shot.

(It's also much cheaper to feed a baby. Breastmilk is free. Dog food is not. )

That said, I don't expect the experience of raising a puppy to be anything like raising a child, and it irks me when people get pets for "practice." That isn't preparing you to raise a child?! The only thing I think it does prepare some people for is the care of another being besides oneself, and owning pets prior to children did prepare me for that. But I don't think that dogs are, per se, "easier" than kids. Much different, but not in a sense "easier."