Friday, September 26, 2008

A Panglossian* View for a Crepuscular Makai

Crepuscular.

Its the word that's getting me through this day.

After getting up three times last night to take Makai out for a bathroom break in the drizzling rain, I'm a wee bit tired. It doesn't help that when I was in bed I couldn't sleep because I was worried that we weren't going to be able to care for him well enough. (I'm anxiety prone.) So I got about 3 hours of sleep last night I think. Thank goodness he's just a puppy and not a child or I'd never be able to relax.
Not a picture of me, but how I feel.

Anyways, crepuscular refers to animals that are active during daybreak and twilight hours, in this case, dogs. We'll get him there, I hope...

Highlights of the first night:

1. We almost renamed him at the last minute from "Makai" to "Crackleberry" after passing a barn with that title on Route 30 on our way to get him. Do you think we made the right choice after all?

2. Makai puked a softball sized ball of kibble into my hand on the way home. He's twice as big as when we saw him last, but still, who knew his stomach was that big?

3. He liked his crate but we couldn't fit it through the door into our room the first night, so we'll have to get him a smaller one that's more mobile tonight. Or take our door off the hinges.

4. He's already learning his commands, including "Do Your Business". Although I'd like to find something a little more unique to use for that situation, like "Squeeze It Out" or "Craptastic".

5. So far the best book I've seen for this process is "Before and After Getting Your Puppy" by Dr. Ian Dunbar. We'll let you know whether its the gospel of puppydom or apocryphal after a few days...
*Panglossian means hopeful in the face of hard times or adversity.