Better dog days

Last year at this time, I was writing about my whole ordeal with Argos, my dog who had a toe removed and eventually had to be put down due to cancer. I just reread some of those posts, and not surprisingly, they elicited a few tears. In order to make my blog slightly less depressing, I figured that I'd write about my new puppy, Freyja. I already wrote about her in April, but I thought that I'd give an update.

I have to say that I have myself one great little dog here. Kirsti and I took her to the vet last Friday, and to say that they loved her there would be an understatement. Of course, I'm sure that they get a kick out of all the puppies that they see. However, I'm not sure that each one of them has pretty much every employee come up to the examination room to see what the fuss is all about. (One of the vet techs came in to pick her up and gave little Freyja a ton of hugs and kisses. She had also been rather fond of Argos and was great for us when we were going through that.)

Our vet was also really impressed with Freyja's temperament and told us that she was glad that this wasn't our first dog because if we ever got another one, we'd wonder what the hell was wrong with it. The doctor was impressed with the fact that she was already potty-trained (had been for several weeks, actually) that she could do some loose-leash walking, and that she was basically a couch potato around the house.

Considering that Freyja is half Rottweiler, a quarter Jack Russel Terrier, and a quarter Australian Blue Heeler, you wouldn't expect her to be as mellow as she is. Of course, she gets excited when we meet new people while going on a walk, and sometimes she harasses the cat a bit too much, but for the most part she just lounges around the house. The really surprising thing is that on days when I don't get a chance to walk her, she doesn't have any noticeable change in her demeanor. I know that this certainly wasn't the case with Argos, who was always noticeably more hyper when he didn't get a walk in.

Of course, there's the "terrible twos" that dogs go through (apparently humans do the same) so the most trying times might still be ahead of us. With that said though, she is definitely better behaved than Argos was at the same age. She already seems to have a pretty good sense for what she can and cannot chew on in the house. (Our shoes are safe!) She's also better socialized, and she's eager to meet new doggie and human friends. She's also not likely to get into fights, as she readily bows down and rolls over for any dog she meets - even tiny little Chihuahuas!

The latest bit of good news is that she didn't seem to be too disturbed by all the 4th of July Fireworks. With Willy, we had to drug him (given to us by the vet!) and stick cotton balls in his ears, and he was still freaking out. As for her, she sat up and took notice, and then she plopped back down again and went to sleep.

Despite her pedigree, I'm not too surprised as to how mellow she is. After all, her mom was a gentle Rottie, and her dad wasn't as high-strung as you often get with little dogs. In fact, he was only a bit less mellow than mom was. That was one of the things that gave me a good feeling about getting Freyja in the first place. I have a feeling that she'll be a great friend to Logan.

Back at the vet, both the doctor and one of the techs told Freyja that she was a "lucky dog" to have Kirsti and me as owners. That's pretty damned flattering. Here's hoping that my ability to care for dogs will translate over to my ability to care for my son. (They're potty trained by four months, right?)