Meeting Magnum

I’m at the Minneapolis Airport killing time waiting for Patty and Magnum.  I’ve never just had to wait around at an airport with nowhere to go.  It’s not a quiet place to be.  I had a great breakfast at a French Café – Meadow - and then went looking for the quiet place.  An older woman working at the information desk directed me to a space on the upper floor.  It should be quieter, but it is open to the lower floor, so all kinds of sounds are floating around along with announcements.  There’s only so much time that I can spend on the computer reading stuff.  I already knew that George Clooney would be dumping his latest girlfriend when I heard she had mentioned marriage. 

I was a little sad when I left Shadow this morning knowing that her world would be changing and there was nothing she could do about it.  I will just have to make sure she knows how much I love her each day.  Dogs are in the moment, so she needs the love every time I am around. 

Patty arrived and we went to a park to wear out Magnum and his sister Pippa (Josie) who will be flying to Florida later in the afternoon.  Magnum is just as I remembered him.  He was a little shocked to leave Pippa and Patty.  We had 4 gate changes before we got our flight, which was then 45 minutes late.  I was worn out from running from gate to gate with a 15-pound bag and a 12 or so pound animal carrier with Magnum.  He was so good on the flight and drive home.

He met Shadow and she seems to like him and is quite tolerant.  Kinsey growled and barked at him, so he got on his belly and scooted out of the room and ran to another room.  Look at this picture of Magnum and Shadow and tell what you think. They are so cute together.  Friday he was still on his good behavior, but Saturday he tried biting her ears as she walked.  I stopped him every time and let him know that rule number 2 is no biting Shadow.  He is learning quickly.  Rule number 1 is no whining/crying in his bedtime crate.  First night he woke us up every two hours.  Alan and I took turns getting up and taking him out to potty.  In fact, I only woke up one time – Alan went out with him the other times.  Last night he slept until 4:00 and Alan took him out. 

Everyone is adjusting, better than we hoped.  It is fun having a young dog.

Doors Opening

It’s the last weekend before Magnum arrives.  Next weekend we’ll be in California and the dogs will be at the kennel.  I cleaned out the garage, washed all the rugs, put stuff away, and made space for Magnum’s crate where he will be while I am still working.  Not to worry, I have a great person who will come by at noon to let him potty, feed him and play with him.  I’ll be paying about the same amount I paid for childcare for my son about 30 years ago. I set-up an x-pen in the kitchen for Magnum and put a crate in our bedroom where he will sleep until he is a little older. I want Shadow to get familiar with all the new stuff.  It’s always a challenge for her when furniture is moved; she has to remap the room in her head.  On Saturday we went shopping to get the last stuff for Magnum.  I found Evo dog food at Healthy Alternatives and I got a children’s tunnel.  Since Magnum will be doing agility, I want him to get used to the tunnel.  When I visited Minnesota, Patty had a tunnel (children’s) that the puppies played in.

I presented the towel with Magnum’s scent to Shadow and she was very interested.  Kinsey refused to smell it.  I waited awhile until she was relaxed and tried again, but she was having nothing to do with it.  Almost like she said “I don’t like puppies!”  I played the tape of the puppies eating.  Shadow was alert and attentive, listening to the sounds.  What can I say about Kinsey – she didn’t pay any attention to it.

Less than two months until I retire.  Seems like I have a lot to do.  Making lists of what I do by month, list of other responsibilities, and cleaning out files – electronic and paper.  I don’t think I have time to take on new tasks, maybe one grant proposal.  In this home stretch before retirement, I am enjoying work still, but looking forward to not working.  I am ready for retirement.  I think my head is in the right place.

Did I mention that my son and his wife are expecting a boy?  I have saved some toys and lots of books from when my son was little.  They should work very well for another boy.  I am busy knitting a blue blanket for my grandson and looking forward to meeting him.  One door closes and many more open.  Here’s a picture of Magnum and me.  

Magnum

Just back from Monticello, Minnesota to pick out my puppy.  First, if you can stand the suspense, there were 8 five-week old English Springer Spaniels.  And, they are all gorgeous.  Shortly after we arrived at Patty’s house, we were introduced to the puppies in their area of the house.  Patty has a separate dog whelping room/crate room/grooming room off of her laundry room.  She and her husband built the house, so it included this dog area.  She has a large double wide utility sink to bath the dogs.  Neat!  The puppies were in a 5ft by 12ft whelping box that included a wood chip area for them to potty.  Oh my gosh were they cute.  As soon as they saw us they started crying and little barks.  We got them all out and played with them on the floor for about half an hour.  There was another woman  there from Florida to pick out a puppy, but she wanted a black and white female. 

Late morning a Veterinarian and her daughter who is in Vet school came by to look at the puppies and pick their favorite.  I was getting a little worried because we hadn’t tested the boys yet to select ours.  We had lunch, fed the puppies and then began the testing.  These puppies and their mom and grandmother eat raw.  The concentration is on meat so that they have more muscle and are leaner.  I will probably feed a dry food called Evo, which doesn’t have grains.

We tested each puppy starting with Michael.  Michael probably got a little short changed in the testing because I got better as I went a long.  Patty thought the best dogs for me were either Michael (liver and white) or Harry (black and white).  Both were so sweet.    Michael scored a perfect score on visual startle, which is important for a future agility dog.  Puppy is placed 10 -12 feet away and an umbrella is opened and placed on the floor.  Michael immediately raced up to it and started playing with it.  The 3 other males scored lowest and avoided it.

After testing the males, we took them outside for their first time.  They were so cute racing around playing.  Their mother Kelly was out with them and played with them.  We played with them until they started going to sleep.  Michael and Kate curled up on Alan’s lap and fell asleep.

So, Magnum is Michael! He had the highest score, even with not getting a fair shake in testing. I will be picking him up in 3 weeks when he is 8 weeks old.  I rubbed him with a towel and put it in a plastic bag.  I will share the towel with Shadow and Kinsey to get used to his scent.