Week of April 16: Puppy Love

You all know about our dog Kodi, the 3 year old Siberian Husky. We adopted him into our family about a year ago. His previous owner was an experienced horse trainer with four dogs, so by the time Kodi came into our life, he was pretty much trained. That is not to say that Kodi is a perfectly trained dog... he has his short comings which is pretty much the result of Andrea and my lack of consistency in training. But for the most part, adding Kodi into our life has been easy. I personally think that for us, getting Kodi at 2 years of age was the best way for us to be introduced to the world of dog ownership. However, there are times, usually when we run into a cute, bouncy puppy at the park, when Andrea and I wonder if we had missed some vital dog-owner experience/ritual by not having the puppy raising experience with Kodi. We often wondered if we had missed the best part of having a dog... that crucial bonding window of opportunity that often defines the relationship between the dog and his human family pack. Afterall, everyone loves puppy. And every puppy owner that we have ever come across seemed to be having the best time of their lives. So when our friends Chantel and Peter asked us to puppy sit Stella for the weekend, we both jumped at the opportunity to discover what we had missed. Stella is the cutest 4 month old Chocolate Lab and she was going to be with us for the weekend. They offered us to stay at their chic urban loft in San Francisco about 3 blocks from the Giants' Ball Park. A puppy and a hip loft in the City? We couldn't pack our bags fast enough!

From the very first moment, Andrea and I fell in love with Stella. Kodi on the other hand, tolerated Stella. Stella loved Kodi and followed him around everywhere, trying to lick Kodi in the face every chance she got. It took about 30 minutes and a few grumpy growls from Kodi for the two dogs to establish their boundaries and relationship. Just as we had thought, Stella was the typical puppy. Cute, cuddly, curious, energetic, clumsy, smart... did I say cute? Before we turned in for the night (we started puppy sitting on Thursday night), we took both Kodi and Stella out for their night walk. At the nearby park, Andrea and I were quite surprised to find that Kodi had already bonded to Stella. He was very protective of her and stayed alert when other dogs approached.

The four of us had a great weekend. The weather, for once, was fantastic. We did a lot of walking around, exploring the waterfront along Embarcadero. On Saturday, our friend Monica came over with her puppy, Maverick, a 6 month old white Samoyed. So with 3 dogs in tow, we headed off to Crissy Field where the dogs had a blast chasing each other, running into the ocean, and digging in the sand.

Puppyhood was all it was cracked up to be and more. Andrea and I also discovered the otherside of being responsible for a puppy. It's not all fun and games... its a lot of work as well. I think the biggest surprise for us was the potty training. At the age of 4 months, a puppy can probably hold out for about 4 hours (on average, 1 hour per month of age). However, Stella was not just an ordinary puppy.... she drank lots and lots of water; about 3 times as much as Kodi. So her limit was probably about 2 hours. So every few hours, Andrea and I took Stella out to the nearby park for her potty break. This became a constant exercise for Andrea and I. At night, Peter and Chantel used puppy pads in case Stella had to heed nature's calling during the night. Andrea and I used this method as well. And sure enough, Stella made full use of the puppy pads... sometimes twice during the night!

By the 3rd day, Andrea and I developed a routine and adjusted well to dealing with our new found responsibilities. Kodi had also adjusted well to Stella and even allowed her to sleep with him. Overall, the four of us had a great weekend. If Andrea and I were to have a puppy, we would want one just like Stella. I think this exerience has taught both of us a valuable lesson in the amount of work that goes along with raising a puppy and we definitely have new found respect for Peter and Chantel.

When we got home, Andrea and I were quite exhausted from our weekend in the City. We lounged on the couch, watching TV while Kodi let himself out into the backyard through the doggie door for his potty break. Good boy Kodi!!!