Gracie Decision (Dec 2017-Jan 2018)
To bring another dog into the family is always a big decision. To go up to 5 dogs is an even bigger one. This is a number I didn't want to reach ever again. We've been there before, when we brought Braddock home. That said, Braddock ended up being one of the best decisions of my life. Braddock is my heart dog. However, Russ and I were younger then, and for some reason, life just seems a little more complicated now. Another dog just didn't seem smart.
We did desire to look at the puppies. After all, we were curious to see what Braddock produced. Also, we are friends with the breeder (Karan) and co-owner of the Dam (Anne Jones and her dog Fanny). Our first puppy trip was in December on the way back from the Invitational. Puppies were only 4 weeks old. Karan and Anne felt I should be interested in Pilgrim, the smallest male. Yes, he was a busy boy, but we didn't connect like I did with Braddock. There were 2 other ridged boys, both bigger, and neither felt right, although Falcon was beautiful. He was also very sweeet. Reminded me a little of Logan, but with less energy. Of the girls, green girl Sage seemed the most advanced. Karan had her eye on Rosemary. Clove was the smallest but pushed everyone out of the way for food. I left overall happy with the litter, but very uncommitted to taking a puppy home.
Puppies 4 weeks
I felt definitely at odds with myself, weighing the pros and the cons. Whenever the decision is unclear, I often seek more information. So, we traveled back to Atlanta the following weekend as I had some extra time off for New Years Holiday. Puppies were 5 weeks and a little more active. Karan had just gotten the puppy gym, so we got to see how they responded to a new environment and stimuli. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their time in the place. Rosemary explored the most, and Sage just sat still for a while, taking it all in. Clove was started to work me a bit. She seemed the most biddable. The boys, however, were less active initially. Pilgrim did explore the most. Perry was somewhat fearful initially. Falcon enjoyed his time, but quickly pooped out.
Puppies 5 weeks
When we left, I had come to the conclusion that the girls were close to what I look for in a performance dog. This idea added to the complication of the decision because how could I bring in another female when I already have the tension between Cadia and Frye. In order to do this, I needed to be sure that this female would be that special dog who I'd be willing to take the risk for and work extra hard to manage through the tensions at home.
We returned once more two weeks later for the temperament test when pups turned 7 weeks. The test was on Sunday, so we came down on Friday night so we could spend some time with them on Saturday. The drive down was difficult. Weather turned from rain to snow as we hit the Tennessee border (we went out 81 to 75). I knew that Braddock's breeder Pat was coming down to look at the females and then take her puppy home with her on Sunday. I also knew that I am not comfortable with making big decisions like this one in the spur of the moment so again, I wanted more information to get comfortable with my decision.
When the girls came out to play in the puppy gym, Rosemary (aka Mistletoes) was balls-to-the-walls crazy. She ran around like a maniac and was quite the comedian. She actually reminded me a lot of Noel. Clove gave me a lot of attention and pretty much did everything I asked her to do (as long as I guided her with food). Falcon was actually the same in his bid-ability. Pat and her friend showed up and they were interested in Clove right away, so I felt some pressure. Pat also felt that Falcon was the pick for me. That just added to additional confusion on my part. I had so many suggestions coming from the outside, I could not center myself to feel what decision was right for me.
When we left Karan's I told Russell that I preferred Clove but that I was just worried about whether or not she would be too reserved. Russ preferred Rosemary and I was worried whether or not I would ever be able to get her to focus. I definitely couldn't get her attention for too long that Saturday.
We spent the rest of Saturday enjoying time with Jen. We walked a trail meandering through some fields (Tailor Fields) and met her new greyhound named Ellie. There was once scary moment when Maddie was off-lead and a number of deer crossed our path behind us. Thank goodness Maddie had a good recall, and Ellie almost got loose. Frye did her usual lunges with the yips.
Jen's post on Ellie
We went out to dinner with Jennifer at Mellow Mushroom (Steven couldn't make it - headache). The Eagles were playing Atlanta in the playoff game - Eagles won. The crowd atmosphere made things entertaining. It was good to talk the puppy decision out with Jen. She said that she picks the pushiest puppy. It was hard for her to help make a call without seeing them, but she leaned towards Rosemary.
The Georgia group did a nice job with the temperament test. The spectators had seats outside the ring gating. Donuts, coffee, and fruit as you entered into the big "event." We got to see Nancy Glass for the first time in a while. Pam also showed up (and she's very good at picking out the right dog so I was glad she was there.). The temperament test on Sunday pretty much confirmed what we had observed of the puppies over time. Clove went first. She was a little more nervous in the new building and kept looking back at the crowd. She did go through all the steps, but with slight timidity. She never really recovered from the loud noise exercise. Conversely, Rosemary came out like a bull in a china shop. Tail wagging a mile a minute, bunny hopping through all the exercises with boundless energy, no issues with any of the exercises, and pretty much had the crowd laughing and stole the show. Pam leaned over and said, "that's your dog."
Still, I wondered about Clove and whether or not I could ever contain Rosemary. People could sense my tension at trying to decide so that Pat could then take the one she wanted after me. Karan offered to bring both Rosemary and Clove up together the following weekend so I could decide after seeing how they did at home. I spent some more time with Rosemary and Clove at the end to just give me one more data point.
It was a long drive back in cold weather. Fortunately we had left-over pizza to eat so we didn't have to stop anywhere after the temperament test was over. Still, we didn't make it home until almost mid-night, which was another reason we didn't bring a puppy home under those conditions. We just wouldn't have had the energy to cope.
Jen texted to see who I chose and I told her I was still struggling. She asked me to ask Lou Ann who was there at the test. Lou Ann is good at picking out performance dogs and runs hounds. I Facebook messaged Lou Ann and in a non-pushy way she indicated that Rosemary was the one. After all the advice, the time to digest it, and the gut feeling that Rosemary brought back the energy we use to have with Noel, I called Karan and told her to only bring Rosemary with her. We named her Gracie (Say Goodnight Gracie) because we knew she was a comedian and that she'd always be the last one to cut out the lights.
We did desire to look at the puppies. After all, we were curious to see what Braddock produced. Also, we are friends with the breeder (Karan) and co-owner of the Dam (Anne Jones and her dog Fanny). Our first puppy trip was in December on the way back from the Invitational. Puppies were only 4 weeks old. Karan and Anne felt I should be interested in Pilgrim, the smallest male. Yes, he was a busy boy, but we didn't connect like I did with Braddock. There were 2 other ridged boys, both bigger, and neither felt right, although Falcon was beautiful. He was also very sweeet. Reminded me a little of Logan, but with less energy. Of the girls, green girl Sage seemed the most advanced. Karan had her eye on Rosemary. Clove was the smallest but pushed everyone out of the way for food. I left overall happy with the litter, but very uncommitted to taking a puppy home.
Puppies 4 weeks
I felt definitely at odds with myself, weighing the pros and the cons. Whenever the decision is unclear, I often seek more information. So, we traveled back to Atlanta the following weekend as I had some extra time off for New Years Holiday. Puppies were 5 weeks and a little more active. Karan had just gotten the puppy gym, so we got to see how they responded to a new environment and stimuli. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their time in the place. Rosemary explored the most, and Sage just sat still for a while, taking it all in. Clove was started to work me a bit. She seemed the most biddable. The boys, however, were less active initially. Pilgrim did explore the most. Perry was somewhat fearful initially. Falcon enjoyed his time, but quickly pooped out.
Puppies 5 weeks
We returned once more two weeks later for the temperament test when pups turned 7 weeks. The test was on Sunday, so we came down on Friday night so we could spend some time with them on Saturday. The drive down was difficult. Weather turned from rain to snow as we hit the Tennessee border (we went out 81 to 75). I knew that Braddock's breeder Pat was coming down to look at the females and then take her puppy home with her on Sunday. I also knew that I am not comfortable with making big decisions like this one in the spur of the moment so again, I wanted more information to get comfortable with my decision.
When the girls came out to play in the puppy gym, Rosemary (aka Mistletoes) was balls-to-the-walls crazy. She ran around like a maniac and was quite the comedian. She actually reminded me a lot of Noel. Clove gave me a lot of attention and pretty much did everything I asked her to do (as long as I guided her with food). Falcon was actually the same in his bid-ability. Pat and her friend showed up and they were interested in Clove right away, so I felt some pressure. Pat also felt that Falcon was the pick for me. That just added to additional confusion on my part. I had so many suggestions coming from the outside, I could not center myself to feel what decision was right for me.
When we left Karan's I told Russell that I preferred Clove but that I was just worried about whether or not she would be too reserved. Russ preferred Rosemary and I was worried whether or not I would ever be able to get her to focus. I definitely couldn't get her attention for too long that Saturday.
We spent the rest of Saturday enjoying time with Jen. We walked a trail meandering through some fields (Tailor Fields) and met her new greyhound named Ellie. There was once scary moment when Maddie was off-lead and a number of deer crossed our path behind us. Thank goodness Maddie had a good recall, and Ellie almost got loose. Frye did her usual lunges with the yips.
Jen's post on Ellie
We went out to dinner with Jennifer at Mellow Mushroom (Steven couldn't make it - headache). The Eagles were playing Atlanta in the playoff game - Eagles won. The crowd atmosphere made things entertaining. It was good to talk the puppy decision out with Jen. She said that she picks the pushiest puppy. It was hard for her to help make a call without seeing them, but she leaned towards Rosemary.
The Georgia group did a nice job with the temperament test. The spectators had seats outside the ring gating. Donuts, coffee, and fruit as you entered into the big "event." We got to see Nancy Glass for the first time in a while. Pam also showed up (and she's very good at picking out the right dog so I was glad she was there.). The temperament test on Sunday pretty much confirmed what we had observed of the puppies over time. Clove went first. She was a little more nervous in the new building and kept looking back at the crowd. She did go through all the steps, but with slight timidity. She never really recovered from the loud noise exercise. Conversely, Rosemary came out like a bull in a china shop. Tail wagging a mile a minute, bunny hopping through all the exercises with boundless energy, no issues with any of the exercises, and pretty much had the crowd laughing and stole the show. Pam leaned over and said, "that's your dog."
Jen texted to see who I chose and I told her I was still struggling. She asked me to ask Lou Ann who was there at the test. Lou Ann is good at picking out performance dogs and runs hounds. I Facebook messaged Lou Ann and in a non-pushy way she indicated that Rosemary was the one. After all the advice, the time to digest it, and the gut feeling that Rosemary brought back the energy we use to have with Noel, I called Karan and told her to only bring Rosemary with her. We named her Gracie (Say Goodnight Gracie) because we knew she was a comedian and that she'd always be the last one to cut out the lights.
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