What I Did On Summer Vacation

You may notice the last blog posted before this was a few months ago. There is a very good reason for this hiatus...I lost my mind. Somehow - I can't remember exactly how it was accomplished - my family convinced me to adopt a puppy.

Our original plan was to adopt in the beginning of August, while the boys were still home on summer break. As it turned out, there were not any puppies that fit our particular requirements in our local shelters. We found a wonderful organization through Petfinder.com. So near the end of August, we found Suzi at the Lonely Hearts Rescue (based in Frederick, MD) and brought her home. (Note: although she looks like a mini-Chloe, they are in no way related)

You may be thinking "You're a dog trainer. So what's the big deal?" Well, being a professional trainer, I knew EXACTLY what I was in for. Housebreaking, nipping and biting, whining...oh, and did I mention housebreaking?

So not only do I agree to adopt a puppy under some temporary insanity, I - yes it was me - chose this dog. As you can see, Suzi has some Beagle in her. The other half is reported to be Jack Russell Terrier.

I've always been a big fan of JRT's, and think Beagles are awfully under-rated. Both breeds make fabulous family dogs when they are properly raised and trained. But both breeds are high energy. We've been living with calm, adult dogs for about 10 years. It was really hard to prepare myself for this shock to the system.

Suzi seems to have the best traits of both breeds. She is an extremely social, intelligent dog. I'm actually suprised at how easily she is adjusting to our family life. The past couple months required a lot of re-organization and rethinking on our part. But I think we've finally gotten into the groove. More to come...