New Puppy

My mom brought home a new puppy.  Sergio and I threw a little "new baby" party with a banner that read - "Its a girl", a pink table cloth, 2 pink ballons, ice cream cake for the humans, and ice cream cups for the dogs. The new baby, yet to be named, is a chocolate standard poodle.  She was rescued from St Louis, MO - a puppy mill rescue.   The baby is very cute and quite playful.  I am excited to see how she grows up.  Her personality is still forming, but already she is brave and smart.  She is very small still, only 9 weeks old.  When mom found her on the website we thought she was older, almost ready to be potty trained.  She got a big surprise when the pup greeted her.  Not 3 months old, but only just a baby.  However, mom fell in love and brought the little chocolate truffle baby home.  Tulla is usually a "mommy" dog to stuffed animals, bunnies, moles and other small animals.  But she was not thrilled with this baby.  It moves, jumps on her and barks on its own.  Not only that, but it is too young to really play.  She is at a loss - what is she supposed to do with this thing.  Steele is suspisious, is it out to hurt him... no.  Does it was his food... no. What is its purpose... nothing.  So he ignores it, with minimal effort to play.  He does not understand why it barks but cant really run.  Kodi and Boo love her.  The pup is approximately their size so its easy to be her friend.  Kodi is a bit of a protector, he helped her on the stairs when she cried because she got scared.  Boo watches over the whole pack, making sure no one gets too rough or too out of line.  Boldly, my sisters boxer, is not too interested in her.  He may be a little weirded out because she looks a little like Boo right now, small and dark, and Boo is the leader.  So, over all, we like this new puppy.  Mom has entered her into puppy class in March for socialization above all else.  Steele was an undersocialzed puppy when I got him and while it doesnt cause any problems, I wish he could have more fun when playing with other dogs.  He just doesnt know how.  When the pup is old enough she has plans to join the Amour Agility team, with the team color yellow.  Mom will bring her to my monday night classes (after obedience classes are over) and my dad or I will run her in competitions. 

Note:  When introducing the new puppy to my pack, I did make sure that all dogs were safe and all times.  The dogs were introduced in a neutral environment, one at a time, on lead, and carefully monitered.  I trust my dogs, but it is always better to start off on the right foot.  I had to remind my mother to be relaxed, dogs can sense unease and become uneasy themselves.  We were careful not to overwhelm the puppy and made sure she had a safe "timeout" area in case she felt pressure.  All the dogs are friends now, although I expect some territorial posturing from Steele at some point.  He will be monitered for awhile.  This puppy is a little young to pose a real threat to any of my dogs and I know they would never really hurt her, but bullying behavior is expected and is even normal at certain times.  In a pack there can only be one leader, one second, one third and so forth.

Bikes

This past week was a busy one for amour agility.  I finally got everyone groomed, they look nice now, and I took a trip away from them.  My fiancee and I are avid mountain bikers.  He heard about an indoor biking park in Cleveland, Oh called Ray's.  So we planned a day trip.  We spent the first night in a hotel and we brought the bikes inside with us, im lucky his bike wasnt in bed with us.  It was a Red Roof Inn, it was old amd cheap, but clean and mostly noiseless.  The next day we went to the park... On the way we stopped at McDonald's for lunch and saw a glimpse of Lake Erie.  It was all frozen over, but pretty.  Then we went in search of the park.  It was easy to find, we had GPS, but the enterance is way behind the buliding.  It is just a old warehouse.  I was surprised but the inside is amazing. Mountain bikes, BMX bikes and all sort of others were riding around and having fun.  I stayed mostly in the beginners room, but Serge explored all the other rooms.  I have only started mountain biking last summer, but I am learning alot...  We had a lot of fun and I recommend it to anyone who likes biking.  We are heading up again very soon.  Its nice when we have bad weather to still be able to ride.

The team stayed with my parents and my fiancee's parents.  They had a light practice on friday and I hope to get them in again today.  Tulla is working on her contacts, Steele his dog walk, Boo tight turns and Kodi is working on focus...

When I get some road tires for my bike, I am looking to take Steele with us on 10-20 mile treks.  He has the energy, I just have to build his endurence.  I am excited to see how this summer goes.  Maybe he can carry the water!!