Puppy Notes

The ticket to Seattle to pick up my puppy next month has been purchased.  The hotel, well, not so much... but I'm working on it. 

Now, It's time to start figuring out which puppy will be best for me.  I'm sure I won't know who I'm taking for sure until I actually get on the plane with him, but here's what I DO know:

 

Green Boy is very pretty.  He's active, but not the most active in the litter.  This could be a good thing.  He is also looking like he's going to be a little more on the hairy side.  Considering his Dad is a total hairy monster, this could is something to keep on eye on.  Lots of hair can hold in heat and make him more likely to overheat when running in harness. 

 

Orange Boy is Mr. Cool of the litter.  I'm not gonna lie, I LOVE mellow dogs.  I think he would be extremely easy to live with.  He's so mellow I have to consider the possibility that he's too mellow to really be a good show dog for a first timer.  There is a definite element of showing that involves showmanship and "spunk" and it can be hard for a newbie like me to get it out of a dog who doesn't naturally just have it.  Also, how motivated will he be to run in harness, especially being the only member of the team for a while?  Orange boy will likely have a little less coat than green, which is a plus. 

 

Pink girl is way cute.  She'll probably have a little shorter coat than some of the others.

But, well, she's a girl and a boy is a better option for me right now.

Purple girl is pretty bold.  She's probably going to be a spunky girl.  However, it's looking like she's likely to be pretty darn hairy for a girl.  Hope whoever takes her doesn't get bossed around by her too much.

Red boy is pretty.  He's got some biscuit markings like his Daddy.  He's definitely got some spunk and made sure his voice was heard on picture day (a couple of his pictures were snapped while he was barking in protest).  I think his head will be pretty and his coat will fall somewhere in the middle.  The breeder says he's just like a mini Rico (his daddy).  I'm interested to see how Mr. Red shapes up structure-wise.

 

Ah, Mr. Yellow.  I just don't even know what to think about him.  I don't think he's the "prettiest" of the litter, but clearly he does.  He's bold and spunky and extremely smart.  The breeder's fiancée has already posted on Facebook "Yellow puppy is a pain in the arse.. will be a great ball of trouble and fun for some one who is into agility."  So the question becomes whether this would be a good thing for me, a person who wants to show and do agility and run a sled... or is the puppy pure poison for somebody who also wants an "easy to live with" dog.  I think Lilly would have a heck of a lot of fun with this boy, and I have every intention of doing lots of training,etc. But is this going to be a puppy who continues to "research" possible escape routes from the back yard all day until he figures it out?...  Who just can't adjust on days when I'm sick and can't work him?  Well, I just don't know.  His structure will be a big deciding factor for him.  

On another note, yesterday a friend and I drove to Minnesota near the Twin Cities to "see about a horse".

Am I the only person on earth who likes to say this because it reminds me of Good Will Hunting where Robin Williams character tells his story about going to "see about a girl"?  Yes?  Ok, well, whatever.  

Anyway, my friend is a horse girl.  She found a nice Fresian in Minnesota that is being sold at a VERY good price.  So, we went to see her.  On the way we talked about both horses and dogs, and did a lot of comparing and contrasting between the two "worlds".  When I told her what a puppy like the one I'm getting costs she said she couldn't believe people would pay so much for a DOG when you can get a perfectly good one for $100 at the shelter.  Of course, I smirked and asked her "HOW MUCH is the horse we're going to look at again?  $6,000?  Don't they also have those on Petfinder.com? Yeah, that's what I thought."  I think after a little bit she started to realize that things are pretty much the same in dogs as they are in horses.  :)

We're slackers and didn't get pictures of the horse, but here's a picture of a Friesian so you know what they look like.  They're very pretty horses.

 

       

Horses are funny, though.  Even though they're supposed to be "work animals" the desired gait for many breeds is more about "pretty" and "flashy" than it is about "efficient".  With Samoyeds, as you have read before, we are looking for great efficiency in movement.  Check out this gait of a Friesian horse:

Now, don't quote me on just how "excellent" this horse is, because to be honest I see too much drive from the rear and occasionally he interferes under himself and has to pull up in the front.  But, well, I'm just not a horse girl so I don't know what they like.  Either way, I have to admit it is pretty.  One thing I can say is that he generally has good balanced movement.  Watch his opposing legs and you will see that they move in unison, for example: his right front leg and his back left leg come up and move forward in unison.  When it's balanced like that is really does look lovely.

Notice on that video it says the horse is standing at stud at Blackshire Equestrian.  Apparently, that place is some kind of meca for Friesian people.  Turns out were were like 15 minutes from the place when we went to see the horse and didn't even realize it.  My friend was so bummed we didn't have time to stop there.  If she ends up buying the horse she'll have to make a weekend of it and visit.  

The handy thing for me was that I got to pick up a carrier I will need for the puppy next month while I was in Minnesota.  Bonus!!