Rest & Run (repeat)

Piper has been home for nearly a week now, and our calm, unhurried, uncluttered life is only a faint memory. If you've raised a puppy, you know whereof we speak. If not, Google something like "raising a puppy" or "how to get a puppy to stop biting/chewing" and you'll get a good idea.

One of us has what it takes to run with her, as you see in the picture. The easy canter of a well-trained dog lies somewhere in the future, no doubt, but for the time being she gallops and flops all over the yard, sampling leaves and grasses of all types, moving bark dust around and . . . "Oops! I'm done" -- and she flops down for a nap.

Piper is a real trip for us, so lovable most of the time, such a challenge as well. She is forcing us to deepen our understanding of "doggie mind", and to be clear in our communications, not only with her but with each other, as we explore the complexities of human-animal interaction. One of our most valuable aids in this process has been How to Raise a Puppy, by the Monks of New Skete. It's an absolutely wonderful book about understanding what they aptly term "the divine canine", and we highly recommend it if you're thinking about going down this road.

Here's another picture of her at rest. She weighs about 13 pounds now and will be nine whole weeks tomorrow. She can sit and come, sort of, cannot stay, and is working nicely toward becoming house-broken. She gets somewhat manic in the evening from about 7:30 to 8:30, so we're working on that. Pywacket likes having her around, but lets her know when enough is enough. What we're happiest about is that she sleeps 5-6 hours/night now, which is a pleasant surprise and which is the reason we can write this in the daytime without falling asleep!