And Then There Was One

Starting today Fern is an "only puppy" as Murray flew off to Florida to his forever home.  I've been corresponding with his new dad Tom for quite awhile, and was satisfied that it was a good situation for Murray.  Tom works from home and has a 2-year old Lab who was ready for a housemate.  Question was the weather of course, and whether I could even ship the puppy to Florida this time of the year.  Rain cooled things off just enough to keep the forecast temperature at 85 or below when the flight was due to land, so we lucked out.  Delta Dash - Pets First is about the only way for us to ship a pup in the summer. It's a bit expensive, but they do a good job with live cargo.  Have a good life, Murray!

It's a lot easier to place pups locally, but I'll ship if I have to, if the home seems like an extra good one.  The time involved in taking the pup in for a health certificate, making the necessary arrangements, getting the pup ready, plus the airport run (generally early in the morning), take a lot of time.  I like to keep the pups a bit longer too, give them extra socialization, and make sure they are comfortable in a crate of their own.  Murray has been many places, and done lots of things, and should have no trouble at all handling the three-hour trip.

Now it's just Bad Fern, who is actually a terrific puppy other than being into everything.  Make that EVERYTHING.  Nothing escapes her notice and everything must be investigated, tasted or tugged.  She's a busy puppy, harassing the adults, playing with her toys, and playing with things that are NOT toys, like my shoes.  BUT she's great in a crate, rides well in the car, loves everyone and all dogs, and has very good house manners for her age, so I can't really complain.  Now, that jumping up . . .

Puppy class starts next week, and I see Fern being either the Class Clown or the Class Bully.  She looks like such a little princes, but can hold her own in any wrestling match, and is quite sure she is Queen of the Universe.  She's good on her sits & downs and is stacking on the grooming table, but her leash manners leave a lot to be desired.  Need to work on that before she starts puppy class.  Think we'll start going for evening walks with a pocket full of cookies, so she learns to watch me a bit, rather than trying to drag me up the street, looking for kids or dogs to play with.