Puppyhood

Well, Mom would have had a good, long laugh over Lusso, the new puppy, and our trials and tribulations with him.

It has been a long time since I had a puppy--eleven years, in fact.  And the one I had was a standard poodle, so easy to train that I really got spoiled. 

Lusso is smart and sweet, filled with energy and longing to chew on the nearest item; it has been an uphill task to get him to distinguish between approved chew items and the rest.  He has caught on, but once in a while he can't resist testing me, just to make sure I am going to stick to my guns.

All in all, he has been great.  He is not very destructive, he stays in his lane when on the leash and walking with TootSweet, and TootSweet is teaching him the commands too.  Lusso watches the Toots to see what is expected of him.

Lusso is a Spinone Italiano, a hunting dog--pointer/retriever, and a strong swimmer.  However, so far Lusso has only gotten his feet wet in the shallow area of the pool, the steps.  I keep a large clay bowl of water in the yard for the dogs, since they spend quite a while running, playing, and horsing around.  Lusso has stuck his entire head into the water, blowing bubbles under the surface with his pink nose.  The desire to be in the water is there, it just needs to be developed.

Yesterday, having made a momumental effort to get Lusso to try the steps, to my amazement it was TootSweet who jumped in and had to be rescued by me--he had never before been in water over his head, and I had to grab him and point him toward the steps.  Ah, the joys of a wet poodle!  They are only matched by the joys of a Spinone who gets into the waterfall in the backyard and then rolls in the nearest dirt.

It may be months before I know what color Lusso really is.  I have an old dishtowel I keep handy in order to clean his face and feet, since half the time he wouldn't be able to enter the house in his usual condition after being outdoors. This is worse than little kids.  Last night we went out to dinner with friends, and the woman mentioned that she is out of the house almost all morning; I told her I almost never left the house except to go to the store and the vet, but I wasn't about to tell her most of my morning was spent managing dogs. 

And it doesn't matter, either.  You've heard that old saw: "The more I get to know people, the more I love my dog."