What are puppies good for...

1. Cleaning the house
- the kids are being very careful not to throw their things on the floor because Jack, our 17 week old puppy, chews almost everything in sight. For the first time in a very long time the livingroom floor is toy free.
2. Making us appreciate the early morning calm
- every morning, like clockwork, Jack has to go for a pee so, needless to say, there is always one of us up bright and early. Things are so quiet before the rest of our little town gets moving and, when it has been my turn, I have enjoyed the early morning calm.
3. Exercise
- everyone knows puppies need to be walked
4. Scrubbing the floor
- who would have thought there would be a flood in the kitchen everytime they drink
5. Making us forgive little mistakes
- puppies are cute and thank goodness they are because they certainly are a handful and with such a giant learning curve there are lots of little incidents that go unpunished because all you have to do in look in their eyes and you know they didn't mean it
6. Laying a new floor
- seems Jack has a thing for carpets and underlay. Oh well, we are in need of a new floor anyway, maybe we'll get it sooner than we had planned or atleast sooner than my husband had planned

Meet Jack

Meet Jack, the newest member of our family, who is a 16 week old mixed lab, collie and spaniel. He is a lot more lab than anything else, black and white with a hint of chocolate brown.

My oldest son has always wanted a dog, you know the old saying about a boy and his dog. Well, after much pleading, with help from his siblings, we finally gave in. So along came Jack, with all his cute puppiness, and a giant learning curve.

Never having had a dog before, well maybe never having had to train a dog before (Mom always got that job in our house) the first few hours were kind of like when you bring your first newborn baby home from the hospital - NOW WHAT!

I guess in all honesty the 'giant learning curve' applies to all of us in the family, not just Jack. Thank goodness for friends with lots of helpful advice. Actually, everyone from the local merchant where we bought Jack's new collar and leash, to the neighbors and my children's friends all have advice when it comes to cute little puppies. And at this point, when I don't know too much about such things, any advice is welcome.

So far, and it has only been 4 days, things are going relatively smooth. The first night he slept through the night, waking us at 7:30 with a little bark that told us it was time to visit the great out doors. Last night, night #3, he decided he was familiar enough with his new surroundings that he would sneak past his night-time barricade and sleep in the livingroom. Having just checked on him now I find him making himself very comfortable on the sofa. Hmmm, how fast they take over our lives.

I think this story will have lots of chapters, stay tuned.