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My puppies decided they needed to be introduced.
May 7th 2011, the day before my birthday, my husby surprised me by bringing home a puppy. We had talked about it beforehand, it’s not like it was a complete surprise…we just hadn’t picked one out yet and weren’t sure exactly when. (That’s for the ‘puppies aren’t gifts’ people.)
She was so small and adorable, a baby mini dachshund.
It took me a couple of days to come up with a name for her, but her warm browns decided me, and I named her Cinnamon. To give you a better picture of her size, my thumb is two and a half inches long. She was so little at first we had to use a kitten bowl for her food and water so she cold reach it. We also had to get her a kitten collar, the extra smalls in the dog aisle were way too big and would fit loosely around her middle. During the day she cried a lot, so I devised a little sling to keep her close to me and still be able to write. It helped, it kept her warm and she was close to the sound of my heartbeat. Then within a week she got used to ‘home’ and ran around playing with toys instead of being in her sling, but she still liked to sleep in it, sometimes. Cinnamon came from a breeder, she was the last of the litter and no one wanted to buy her, so the breeder gave her to husby. She had a pretty typical puppyhood until she came to us.
When Cinnamon was 16 weeks old, husby said there was a little Dameranian (half pomeranian, half mini dachshund) that needed a home. We took him for the weekend to see if he would fit with Cinnamon and the two of us.
He fit in well and we kept him. After a couple of days, his similar coloring and wanting their names to be cute together, I came up with Nutmeg. My favorite type of dog is a Pom, and this little fuzz ball fit the bill.
Now, Nutmeg had a different type of life before he came to us. His first owner had just gotten him, but ended up going to jail. No one knew about the puppy. Nutmeg was at that house for a week without food or water, all alone. The guy we got him from found him, rescued him, but didn’t want to keep him. He knew we had been looking for a puppy, and even though he knew we had gotten Cinnamon, wondered if we would take this one. That’s how our trial weekend got started. Nutmeg was scared of pretty much everything when he first came home. Toys, Cinnamon, us, sounds, smells, anything that moved, being picked up, being on the bed, a leash. I spent time with him, cuddling him, reassuring him that he would be taken care of. I let Cinnamon teach him too, that everything was okay here. After a couple of weeks he was doing a lot better.
Then they got comfortable together, and started acting like real siblings. They started fighting. They still love to fight. But, they like it, because if you separate them, they run around and whine, looking for each other. They bonded while Nutmeg was adjusting.
They have better manners now, know some tricks and listen pretty well, considering neither of them is a year old, yet. Nutmeg was food aggressive with Cinnamon for months, and he can still get that way, but he’s getting better. He got over many of his fears, he loves to go for walks on his leash. Unexpected sounds have him curious now, and not defensive. He still doesn’t like mirrors, though, he barks anytime he can see himself in one, unless I’m holding him. Like a lot of kids, they don’t like their baths, or sitting still to get their nails cut. They try to chew on, or eat, most everything they find, a penny, a piece of paper, lint. They are both getting better with that, too, though. I expect them to be even better as they get older, they get consistency from me about eating things they find on the floor.
They are growing up to be wonderful, pretty well-adjusted kids. If I do say so myself.
They like to sleep together next to (or behind) my chair while I’m writing (or playing) at the computer. If I happen to be on my net book or Kindle Fire, on the bed, that’s where they want to be, too.
They’re happy wherever they are, as long as we’re together. They have a bright future ahead, years of happiness and love. And lots of walks, new toys, treats and belly rubs…some of their very favorite things.
