Sunday, October 18, 2009

Tick tock, tick tock

Where does the time go?

Can you believe this strapping young lad:

Was once this little guy?

Zomg, Ryan, you got huge!

What?!

Waaaah!! My lost youth! Woe is me.

I guess I've got puppy growth on the bean today, as I ponder what this little feller is going to look like one day.

Since this photo was taken, I'm told his white bits are getting all freckly!

I know you are all VERY excited to watch Spike-o-saurus grow up, but I gotta tell you, I'm afraid!! It has been a really looong time since I raised a puppy (and that puppy was Tweed, which doesn't give me a lot of confidence!) and I've forgotten everything.

But you have been craving a puppy forever, Food Lady! No I haven't - I mean, I have, but I crave puppies in the abstract. Cutiepie wiggly fluffy butts. Not peeing, pooping, chewing no-training machines. Eep.

So you swapped Maeve for a little puppy. You suck. Maybe I do suck, but I assure you, there was no Maeve swapping going on here. I love my Miss Maeven, and she is pretty much exactly the age I would *prefer* to adopt ... because I'd much rather have an idea of a dog's structure, temperament and drive than the unknown of a wee puppyblob. I prefer a little training, an attention span, the Oscar-winning bonus of being HOUSEBROKEN and sleeping through the night. Maeve is SO MUCH WIN. Young adults are a million times better than puppies. You just remember I said that the next time you go looking for a dog to adopt.

Liar. You were going to adopt Spike all along. Nope, I really wasn't. I *heart* the whole litter of pups - again, in the abstract. I loved going to Hilary's house, smergling puppy bellies, and then going home to my well trained* adults. I was not in love with any one puppy. And Spike really was the litter leftover - we received over 100 applications for this litter and exactly zero of them were for Spike. I'm not sure why, but I hope I can raise him right and make all 100 of those people feel like they made a big mistake! (actually, I only want to make 93 of them feel like they made a mistake - the other 7 adopted his siblings, so by default I automatically love those people. They're family now.)

*Woo excepted.

Do you know what the temperament tester said about Spike?

BIG PERSONALITY.

Oh boy. What have I done?

I should've just kept Maeve! Although after today's mud splattered outing, perhaps not too.

What?

Miss Graceful did a faceplant into 6 inches of mudpuddle. And you wonder why she wouldn't make a great agility dog?!

Ridiculous. It was just a little mud. Stupid, fussy, fastidious Food Lady.

It's the worst time to get a puppy too - smack in the middle of my move, no money, no job, right on the heels of Miss Maeve, who leaves 24 hours before Spike arrives ... ugh.

I just hope it doesn't stress the Big Dawgs out too much. They're already going to be sad that we are leaving behind some of our favourite places, like Bridgeman Park in the Fall.

Auntie Jody, did she just say 'no more Bridgeman?'

I just hope that bringing home a tiny humpable will distract Mr. T!

mmmm ... humpable puppy .....

Oh and have I mentioned that Mr. Woo HATES puppies?

Like this puppy, seconds before Mr. Woo informed him he was about to get his butt kicked clear across the Lower Mainland.


There are only 3 things in the world Mr. Woo does not like:
1) lettuce
2) being left behind and
3) puppies.

Great.

Anyway ... got any idea for a name for Spike? I've not come up with anything good for him yet.

And who wants to puppysit for me on Sunday evening, November 1st? My wonderful mum got us tickets to see David Sedaris in Vancouver for my birthday gift.

He's really cute! (Spike I mean, not David)

Do you notice how in EVERY photo of Spike, he is looking straight at the camera lens? Yeah, that might have had a little something to do with my decision ... :)


63 comments:

Ashley Y said...

I wanna puppysit!! :D :D

The Border Collies said...

Well that's convenient, since you live like 40 seconds from my parents' house! I will drop him off at your place on the way and pick him up on the way back. SOLD!!!

Tristan and Braun said...

Happy birthday in advance! I'm sure Peeps (People not ducks) around your area will be jumping off the bridge, fighting to puppysit Spike. I love puppy-sitting. Cuteness you can bring home on an hourly basis! :)

*Sigh* all this talk is so NOT quenching my puppy lust. None the bits! And doesn't help that I met an extra cute one this weekend. I should really just stop coming by.. if I can help it....

p/s: Paws crossed for you that baby Woo be fine with him. Because I'll need all your DAWGS paws crossed for me when I get mine!!!

thus-sung said...

I don't hate the name Spike for him, but I am a biased Buffy fan, so.

Good luck with the little monster!

Unknown said...

Damn! I found the post too late to get the puppysitting gig! I was willing to banish Avis to the basement so me and Ryder could puppy snuggle our faces off!
I too am a Buffy fan - guess that is why I don't mind the name Spike. And I can't tell you any good boy names 'cause I am saving them for my future puppy.

The Border Collies said...

Damn! I found the post too late to get the puppysitting gig!

Well Ashley has not replied yet, so you can still be in the running! I just don't want to leave the poor tyke alone for hours and hours while I go laugh my face off.

I'm a Buffy fan too, but I'm still not sure I want to call my dog "Spike." Unfortunately, "Vampire Bill" does not roll off the tongue all that nicely.

Sweet~Ceana said...

Kier: "little dark one," in Gaelic.

It is one syllabol and nothing like any of the names you other dogs have.

Unknown said...

Puppy names - Kier - could also be Kiernan.
Fagan - gaelic for little fiery one - also doubles as a @#$!&* word when you shout it out at an agility trial when frustrated by his 'Big Personality' (from someone who knows how THAT feels)

The Border Collies said...

No, I do not like Kier. It also sounds like "here" which is my recall command! Not a fan of Fagan either. Hmmm .... maybe I'll call him Godric.

rosali(ta) said...

why not name him Schultz, you know, after Charles. Or if that sounds to much like Hogan's Heroes, you could just call him Chuck.

I'm kinda sad that your moving to the LHOTP means you won't be in and around our dog parks any more. Say it isn't so.

The Border Collies said...

Just for the record ... I am NOT a Peanuts fan. I didn't name the pups! It was a great theme for the litter, but I would never name my own dog after a Peanuts character :)

nickelsmum said...

Soooo.... you really think that the puppy with the BIG PERSONALITY was somehow not meant for you? Huh? Whah????

D said...

Puppy sitting you say? Oooooh, ooooh.... me, me, me, me :) How many people have jobs that they are willing to do for every minute of the day?? I'm lucky :)

Oh and I'm totally with you on adult dogs. Puppies have been banished from my little condo for pet sitting. I need sleep.

Nekane said...

You don't suck for "swapping" Maeve. You helped her find a new family, and she helped you realize what you really wanted in your next dog (or at least reaffirmed it).

That said, CONGRATULATIONS on the new addition! I can't believe no one applied for him... he's such a cutie, and I love dogs with "big personalities!"

Unfortunately, I'm drawing a blank on names...the only ones I'm coming up with are Higgins (as in Henry Higgins from Pygmalion/My Fair Lady) and Dylan.

manymuddypaws said...

I suck at names, but do know of this really great website with good border collie names.

http://www.bordercollies.nl/enames.shtml

there are lots of good ones on there!

Sarah Henderson, BCCDC said...

When Titan was at his most challenging I deeply regretted not naming him Folly.

Emma Rose said...

We are in the same boat in our house. After 9 years we finally adopted a pup from PNW BC rescue. He was 11 weeks old. He's been here 3 weeks and turned our lives UPSIDE DOWN! One of our adult dogs loves him, the other tolerates him. He is a joy. Totally puppy in every way. A pain in the ass sometimes, but so much a part of our family now. We named him Mister Higgins. I haven't laughed so much in years! Good luck to you. We will be watching closely for some training tips :)

Amy said...

My vote for a name is for Elliot.

You know, I always said I would not have a puppy, I loved teaching puppy class but always said they were way too much work to live with!

Then, I got a pregnant foster dog . . . and I still said, no puppy for me . . . until I finally decided, when would I ever again have the opportunity to have a puppy from before he was even born?

So, even though it was very bad timing, I decided to keep a puppy.

He had a puppy name of Midnight Frost, or "Frosty" (winter theme.) I agonized over "real" his name, and finally hit upon the perfect name. I named Arthur him in honor of his GrandPaw, my father. No confusion since my dad goes by his middle name anyway. :)

My puppy is about to turn three years old (my god, where does the time go!) and in terms of being a pup, he was the easiest, easiest, easiest puppy ever. No problems with house training, minimal chewing, trustworthy loose in the house from a very early age, a breeze to teach new behaviors, etc. NONE of the problems I worried about, were problems with him.

He did, however, inherit his mothers very fearful behavior towards people and other dogs. Despite all of the early socialization and confidence building exercises we did, he taught me you can't under estimate the influence of genetics.

All the other pups were confident and outgoing, and then there was my little guy - ducking down away from strangers at the vets at the age of 3 weeks, alarm barking at people walking down the road at 6 weeks, unable to even take treats from strangers in puppy class at 10 weeks, alarm barking and spraying anal glands at approaching dogs, etc. He wasn't afraid of anything inanimate, would leap on wobbling things, traipse across the oddest of surfaces, climb onto swings, etc. But unknown people and dogs were deadly killers in his mind. I will never blindly accuse anyone of not properly socializing their puppy again, after my experience.

Now at just about to turn 3 years old, he has made amazing progress, but oh what a journey.

Anyway, I didn't mean to write a novel. Clearly I could talk about my boy all day.

Here's wishing you and your little cutie all the ease of my puppy Arthur, but none of those fears!!

Congrats on your new addition.

I'm looking forward to following his progress.

Caitlin said...

Unfortunately, "Vampire Bill" does not roll off the tongue all that nicely.

Ha! I just had to comment on that because that would be an hysterical name to call your dog. But you'd have to make sure to say it with a southern drawl every time for full effect. "Godric" would be neat, but you'd probably end up shouting "God" as a nickname, and that might be awkward...

...how about "Eric". mmmm Eric. haha

Crazy Dog Blog said...

I'm rubbish at thinking of names too.

When I got my puppy I started off with "Nakota", a name someone I know had suggested for their Great Dane (it's a breed of horse). I then decided that was too girly for a male puppy and shortened it to Kota.

How about Brom? It means Raven in Gaelic.

Jean said...

Dear Woo
You can come live with me. NO puppies. LOTS of great parks and beaches. Only old dogs who mind their own business and won't get in your face. It is woo-paradise. I'll be there to pick you up as soon as you say the word.

Anonymous said...

I always like the name Shardik...

PoochesForPeace said...

I'll come puppy sit if you fly me out from Ohio! hehehe :)

riosmom said...

My two favorite dog names are "Keeper" and "Amigo". Keeper might be best for this little tyke to make up for him being the letter reject - though your taking him hardly makes him a reject. Keeper might also let Woo know that the pup is staying.

Ashley Y said...

Yippy!! :D I'm gonna be at Kee-Gigg that day but I should be back way before you drop him off.

Michelle said...

Why not name the pup Lettuce Alone and then Woo will be so overwhelmed by facing all THREE of the things he hates that he'll just give up and love the new boy?

P.S. You KNOW "big personalities" photog better!

Fiona said...

"...how about "Eric". mmmm Eric. haha"

Ha ha ha! *breath* Ha ha ha! Ohyes.

Godric could sound like a swear if you yelled it really sharp in the ring.

Or Omar.

haeremai said...

Other words for 'devil'....Old Scratch, Old Nick !

StefRobrts said...

I am at the year and a half stage with my pup, and at this point I wouldn't volunteer to go through it again. But in spite of his more challenging attributes, I still love him like the whole world, so I wouldn't want to have NOT gotten him :) But he sure hasn't made it easy!

Names: I've always liked Tucker and Scooter. My second choice for Barclay was Dougal. I'll have to use those someday.

Now wait, what the above poster said about spraying anal glands at other dogs: they can DO that?!

Good luck with the move, and the new pup!

ACB said...

Name suggestion: Cannon...part camera, part thing that shoots fast...and hopefully, he'll be a fast agility dog :)

Chelsey - AB said...

Personally I thought "Spike" was the cutest out of them all! Not to mention how photogenic he is!

Name wise I've always loved Ruckus as a name. Zoom is pretty cute too.

Rossie said...

That puppy is so cute. I can't imagine housetraining while in a city, but I think that it will be okay out in the sticks.

By the way, if my over-sized speckled tri-color border collie is any estimate, the pup will be able to jump his butt off. Buzz can jump a 4-foot fence. And I don't mean "get over" or "scrabble up" I mean run at, jump, tuck legs, & sail over. All the the sound of me going "No! No! No! holey fu$k!"

Some names I like: Lock, Story, Pinch, Wrinkle

The Border Collies said...

Oh I have housetrained lots of dogs while living in an apartment!

I think Story would be such a cute name for a female. Still have not come up with anything that is grabbing me for a male though. Maybe Liam.

Emma Rose said...

I forgot to give you my name list! These were some of the ones we considered before we chose Mister Higgins.

Angus – means unnaturally strong
Bryce – means speckled
Fergus – means 1st choice
Maciver – means son of an archer
Logan – means servant of Finnian
Finnigan – means fair
Macgregor – means son of shepherd
Macinnes – means son of the unique choice
Peyton – means Royal
We also liked Tucker and Ryker.
Good luck!

Philip's Mom said...

Congrats on getting Spike, I can't wait to see all the pictures and hope he doesn't drive you too crazy :P

I'm just gonna throw out a bunch of names here, in case any of them catch your fancy:
Soto, Kellan, Antal, Ethan, Lenny, Zeke, Nuke, Arian, Kyros, Rama, Dante, Oren, Ringo, Grim, Ardan, Duma, Risso.

Quinn said...

The last dog I helped name was named Meeko by us, for some reason I'm slightly partial to it.

Know what you mean about adults vs. young pups, though, but in my case it was when I ended up with a new kitten after not having to raise one for over 12 years. Forgot about all the litter training, climbing-on-your-face, chewing-and-clawing-everything goodness...

Jody said...

He does have Tweed-ish expressions with his direct camera looks!

I have dogs called Abby and Ryan so I shouldn't be contributing to the name game. Their middle names of Scout and Dash are what I would have called them if I'd had a redo. I like the name Gavin.

nickelsmum said...

Divot. Nickel. (OK, one of my dogs is Nickel but I would let you borrow it.) Mosh. Spike. Tartan. Harper.

The Border Collies said...

Mosh. Spike. Tartan. Harper.

You can't recommend a name he already has!!! LOL!

nickelsmum said...

Thought I'd just sneak it in there. You know, unobtrusively.

Amy said...

"Now wait, what the above poster said about spraying anal glands at other dogs: they can DO that?!"

Well, he doesn't aim, he just releases them in terror, and when he's moving at the same time, they spray. He came to work with me at the vet clinic when he was a pup and I wiped anal gland "extract" off of walls, floors, chairs, counters, you name it. Thankfully, he is much more brave now and it rarely happens.

Back to names :) Dougal has always been a favorite of mine. Also Quest, Faol, Fergus, & River.

Two French Bulldogs said...

We can't wait to see more picturesYea new friends..
Benny & Lily

Anonymous said...

Spoke, Levi, Crank, Roper, Behr

RachelB said...

How about Ripley, who is unbelievably fast?

I'm seconding the name Gavin; had my parents' dog not been such an obvious Loki, he would have been Gavin.

Jeeves might be too close in sound to Tweed, but your little fellow does look a bit like he's wearing a tuxedo, and he has the intelligent impish look that the genius butler, light on his feet, would have.

Sweet~Ceana said...

If he is a lot of trouble you could call him Puck... for various reasons and convience. If anyone questions your decision you could always claim you named him that because you like hockey.

I can just see you at an agility trial yelling " PUCK! PUCK!"

Arwen said...

Finn? Teff? Mal?

Actually I think there's nothing wrong with Spike!

Kelly said...

how about Focus? a play your amazing dog photography skills and on the way he focuses on the camera and your hopes for his future as an agility dog?

(congrats on your new family member!)

Ruth Hansell said...

I like Mick for a boy bc. If I lived closer, I'd be puppysitting in a hot minute. But you might never get him back . . .

I also like Mort, having a fondness for Terry Pratchett names.

Laurie AE said...

MAGNIFIC-O BLOG! I looooove Border Collies and you capture them so well, both in words and photos.

Positively addictive.

Also inspiring, as I have a dog blog too (http://thedailycorgi.blogspot.com) and am always looking for ways to keep it fresh.

I've mentioned you to readers on my blog's facebook page and hope many of them will check 3 Woofs & A Woo out. It's a TREAT!

2halves said...

Been a bit of a slacker on the comments...so all in one...

Yay for new digs, yay for Maeve home, yay for puppy. Although, puppy - HAHA

Boo for no job yet. Fingers crossed!

Anonymous said...

He kind of looks like he has a mask on - Bandit, Zorro, (Lone) Ranger, Tonto. Any other historic figures that work masks? Phantom? Ripper?

We had a rousing evening one time after a dog show w/ the "Puck" type names, things you might not want to be yelling across a field:

Puck
Tuck
Tucker
Baxter
Nell

There were more, but that's all I remember...

Michelle said...

One of those comments reminded me that you DO have to be careful of names. I used to have a very special horse who was very responsive to voice commands. People who know me KNOW I don't use "language," but were shocked -- SHOCKED -- when they heard me call his name or scold him by name, the name he had when I got him that I thought different and interesting. But Axel sounds a lot like something else to some people....

Tatyana said...

I vote for Liam. I've always loved the name myself and since I am not getting anymore dogs anytime soon I opted to name my siamese fighting fish that. but if he goes before there is another male dog in my house, I might have to reuse it ;)

So anyway. Call him Liam!

I'm still sad that Maeve is leaving. But as long as you assure me that she is going to a superwonderful family, I'll deal with it. I'm looking forward to lots of Spike (cough I mean Liam) pictures...

cblueiii said...

Okay, I'll admit it, I haven't been checking your blog as much as usual lately 'cause I've been a little busy (shame on me). So today I pull up Three Woofs and a Woo, I am also REALLY REALLY tired so it took me a few moments to realize that you changed the look and not that I had the wrong blog. The next thing that went through my mind was 'why is there a picture of my Spike with your Woofs??' ... and then 'oh, no she didn't!' OMG! You adopted MY Spike!! I can't believe that NOBODY in your area even inquired about him, he would've been my first choice (after temperment test and all). I am soooo jealous, you have no idea... well at least now I will get to see pictures of him growing up! Happy Birthday too!

StellaStar said...

Hmmm...considering a trip back to Vancouver just to see all the wonderful puppy goodness!

FearNoWeevil said...

I think my dog has the greatest name ever, so I'll offer it up to you if you like it...

Darwin

It's a great name for several reasons

1. Old english meaning: beloved friend

2. When dog is bad, you can blame it on him having missed out on some great achievement in evolution.

3. When dog is good, you can attribute it to natural selection.

4. evolution jokes abound... survival of the fittest... natural selection... i'm sure you get it. you're the funny one!

Cheers, and congrats on your new puppy!

amyinbc said...

What I find surprising is that hopeful adopters did not sign on to adopt ANY of the beautiful pups!

Just surprised no one applied for Spike, he is adorable. Congrats on you for becoming his new mom and look forward to seeing him grow and thrive!

BCxFour said...

You know...with that black mask he just looks like a Poe to me. I dunno why I thought of it, but Poe seems to suit.

But you need to name him what you feel...he will tell you. Cant wait to hear what you pick out!

TheRedQueen said...

He looks like a baby Sport...how lovely. :)

Carol said...

Derelict
Volt
Turbine
Cracker
Hendrix
Stone
Shortcut
Zach
Nero
Laser
Stuart
Hamper
Nirvana
Skid
Bono
Ink Blot
Rorschak
Hemingway
Kevlar
Jude
Damn Ewe
Evan
Atticus
Apollo
Jingle
Bastian

Anonymous said...

Dress your family in Corduroy and Denim!!!!

Name him Denim!!!!!! After David Sedaris. :)

I love Sedaris as well. I saw him speak at my college. It was amazing!

Dunedan said...

GET and READ (many times) Dr Ian Dunbar's book "before and after getting your puppy"... it's the bible.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for bringing joy to my days! Have you named the pup yet? How about Finnegan (Finn for short, obviously)?