Vanity: Introducing The Puppy to be Named Later . . .

Have you checked JB Pet online? They have a lot of old toys. A friend's Lab was absolutely nuts about a little pink pig . . . and only THAT little pink pig. She carried it around with her everywhere and loved on it so much she loved it to death. I darned it and mended it until it was just one big darn . . . but it finally died.

The stores weren't carrying them any more, but JB Pet still had them in stock. I bought two (they were on sale) and gave them to Piggy Lab's owner -- one to love on and one to save for later.

w00t!

Second night in the crate, and the pup has already figured out that she better hold it til morning! She didn't wet or soil overnight . . . we came downstairs, took her right outside (the door is five feet from her crate) and praised her lavishly when she "went".

She and Shelley are still "having words" . . . it's better not to have them out together with food or toys, so we're going to do shifts for the time being and let them play together outside without any toys to fight over. Shelley's pretty anxious because the pup is very demanding (jumping up, licking, harassing) so we crate the pup periodically to let everybody get some rest.

All of this should settle down soon . . . the sooner the better!

Thanks for the great tip. I didn't know about JB Pet. A few years back Max could have gotten a job as a toy tester. Very few toys could survive his aggressive chewing. Those that survived generally were toys he didn't like very much.

But there were a few that held up very well -- Spot Bites was the brand of most of them. We still have them because he still drags them out of the basket from time to time. I bought all of those left on the clearance table to save for the future, or for gifts, and then forgot about them. My usual outlets don't carry them any more.

The other kinds of toys that he ripped apart were toys with squeakers. He was just determined to remove every squeaker. Once extricated, I'd take the squeaker away from him and use it as a training aid. I could get his attention, or just get him to come in, by squeaking the squeaker. I had a whole collection of squeakers that played ."Who let the dogs out!" LOL

Actually, they were already doing better tonight -- chasing each other around the yard and barking and growling in a fun tone rather than warning. Not quite ready to play tug o' war with a toy, but they're getting there.

Shelley is actually a most maternal and affectionate dog to other dogs and especially puppies -- this one was just too pushy for her to take in her own house.

I know about the gawkies -- one of Shelley's good friends in the retriever club is a Golden puppy named Bullet (son of Pistol) . . . when Bullet was in the gawky stage and all @$$ and elbows, he couldn't get out of his own way. Shelley is neat, petite, and a very agile little dog . . . she would run up to Bullet and puppy-bow, then take off running. As soon as he started chasing her, she would do a quick 180 - sometimes leaping right over his back - and he would spend 20 feet trying to get himself organized to turn, sometimes rolling end over end . . . then pick himself up and do it all over again. It was hilarious (Shelley was grinning her head off.)

She also met a charming Boykin Spaniel and they spent some time chatting . . . I love this photo sequence:

" . . . and then the traveling salesdog said . . . "

" . . . heh heh heh heh! Hey Mom, did you hear that?"

You have to check your local prices, but once you get on JB Pet's Email list they will let you know about sales.

I just got a great deal on a folding crate and an 8-panel exercise pen for the new puppy with an Email offer. Ten percent off JB Pet's prices is cheaper than PetSmart or the local pet discount store, even with paying for the shipping. They don't charge extra to ship crates, just their regular rate. And they throw in a free toy if your order is more than 50 bucks.

J-B Wholesale Pet Supply

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