True to Myself

Click to listen while reading!  :)

True to Myself

Ziggy!  First of all he is freaking adorable.  I know… I know… what puppy isn’t?  But seriously… he is beyond cute.  Most folks likely think I picked him for his striking color but the truth is he isn’t even one of the puppies that I was considering when I flew to Texas to pick a pup when they were 8 weeks old.  My top 3 were black bis and black tris!  Terri really thought I’d like Noire – a black bi puppy that was low key with the other dogs and very very handler focused.  I really went to Texas expecting that is exactly the puppy I’d pick.  Several of us went to Texas that same weekend (6 of the 9 pups in the litter now live in Florida!).  It worked out where I got there early Friday afternoon so was able to spend time with the entire litter of pups and additionally spent 1 on 1 time with 5 of the 9 pups.  The only 2 puppies that were definitively spoken for were Graehm and Sapphire.  Before I arrived I really liked Noire, Night and Domino but I knew that Domino was likely going to my friend Debbie and that he was very likely going to be a bigger dog than I wanted.  Azul (Ziggy) and Coal had started catching my eye in the photos in the last week or two before I left but I still didn’t pay them much mind.  Additionally Azul had been the bully of the litter in the whelping box so that had accounted for much of my disinterest. 

While playing with the whole litter Night didn’t give me the time of day.  Noire took a little bit to warm up but was very sweet.  Meanwhile Coal and Azul were all over me right away and super affectionate (as were their sisters Raven and Jett but I didn’t want a girl).  Domino was very cool – very “middle” in every way.  I liked him a lot.   I started thinking “hmmm if Debbie doesn’t take him maybe I don’t care about what size he ends up”.  Then my 1 on 1 time with them came.  I planned to spend time with each one and get photos of each one but ran out of time and I played with them in the order that I could get them out of the ex-pen without a mass exodus of puppies!  The 5 pups I played with were:  Night, Graehm, Noire, Azul and Coal.  Again, Night didn’t really want to play or snuggle.  He didn’t like my camera, etc.  He was just blah.  In retrospect after seeing him over the next 2 days after that Terri and I strongly suspect he wasn’t feeling well from his vaccinations earlier that Friday because by Sunday he was a little maniac and a totally different dog.  Graehm wasn’t all that into me either which was fine – he knew I wasn’t his momma!  Noire again was very sweet.  He approached very submissively.  He liked toys and chased the rollers but just stood on them when he got to them and lost interest quickly.  I knew he had enough interest I could train it so wasn’t too worried.  I was a little worried he’d be too soft for me but he was still the top pick for me based on Terri’s observations of him over time.  She was right – he definitely was low key with the other dogs and not at all a bully or short tempered which is something that was important to me.  I knew he’d fit in well with my pack.  Then I played with Coal who was a favorite of mine from my time with the entire litter and our 1 on 1 time just cemented that.  He was very outgoing and loving.  He LOVED to get his belly rubbed and was all over me.  When I tried doing rollers with him he chased them and picked them up but didn’t return them.  He was a super tugger however.  Lots of toy drive!  I was very impressed with him.  He was at the top of my list at that point but I wanted to do more observing of him with the other pups to see how he interacted to get an idea of how he might do with my pack.  Then came Azul, such a sweet and happy puppy.  He was very bouncy in body and in spirit.  He still had the stigma in my mind of being the bully of the litter though so I still wasn’t sold on him.  Then I threw some rollers for him and he freakin’ rocked it.  He chased them down and after a little bit of wobbling to adjust for the disc’s weight (Jawz pup disc) he brought it right to me and then wiggled with delight at my excitement over his accomplishment.  He then repeated this behavior at least 4 or 5 more times.  I was in love but still tentative because of the bully thing. 

As the night went on more puppy parents arrived, my friend Connie from Jacksonville and my friends Debbie and Liz from Tampa.  Connie had been slated to get Sapphire the blue merle female and sure enough they fit together quite nicely!  Liz and Debbie didn’t arrive until late Friday evening so only got to see the pups for a short time but Debbie fell for Domino (now Moses) immediately so I knew he wasn’t an option for me.  That night we all headed to bed with the intention of waking early to play with pups and to put them on sheep and then the decision making would begin after that.  Terri had to see which would be her pup after all!  At that point I was interested in Noire, Coal and Azul and anxious to see what the next day would bring.

The next morning came EARLY but the excitement of playing with pups was enough to get me up before Liz (who is a morning person where I am not)!  The puppy playing began.  I spent more time observing vs. interacting because 1) Debbie and Liz hadn’t really gotten to interact yet and I wanted them to have that same ability I had the day prior and 2) I wanted to see the pup’s interactions with one another – especially Coal and Azul.  Despite my “stand offish” approach Coal and Azul were still all over me (and everyone else).  I watched Noire a lot and with more people there and additional people coming in I saw a lot of reserve in him whereas the other two were the first two pups to go running up to the new comers (people arriving at the ranch for herding lessons).  I really got the sense that Noire was not the dog for me.  I knew I wanted a more confident dog and I wasn’t seeing that in him.  He wasn’t scared mind you – but definitely withdrew from the hubbub which isn’t what I want in a disc dog that will be performing in front of large crowds on a regular basis.  Watching the pups play with one another both Azul and Coal got in little puppy spats with the other puppies but Azul was very often on the bottom whereas Coal was almost always on top.  This got me leaning towards Azul some more than I was. 

Picking time!  I thought it had been said that we were going to wait and see how the pups did on stock before any final decisions were made but I must have heard wrong because all of a sudden it was announced that Liz would be getting Coal.  I was confused and in a bit of a panic at that point.  That just left Azul (the “bully”) and Noire (Mr. Reserved) for me.  Granted Night was still available but he still was being ho-hum about stuff.  We gathered all the pups up and headed to the barn to put the pups on sheep.  In my gut I knew that Noire wasn’t a good match but I felt bad because Terri had really thought he was the pup for me.  With Liz now getting Coal that meant Azul would stay with Terri.  Terri had been planning to keep Coal but in the past week or two before we got there was thinking of keeping Azul. Well Azul got out there on the sheep and walked underneath them.  Not a tragedy by any means (and kind of comical) but not ideal.  Then Noire’s turn came and he was AWESOME on sheep.  We were all amazed!  I can’t recall what happened first - the dogs on sheep or Terri and I discussing Azul and Noire.  I said that I’d like to take Azul but that if his bulliness came back over the next month (I was leaving my pup with Terri an additional month for socialization) that maybe I’d look at Noire again and see if he had become more outgoing, etc.  Terri agreed we could do that.  I think maybe that conversation happened before the sheep herding cause once we all saw Noire on sheep it became apparently clear he belonged with Terri.  I still was worried about taking home the bully but my friend Kim who was there made a good point.  She said I needed to take the dog that was best for me and for what I wanted to do and that I could make the rest of it work out.  And besides, I hadn’t seen any of that behavior from Azul yet.  If anyone was the bully it was his sister Raven but really no one was the bully.  As the day went on and I kept watching the pups and interacting with Azul (named Ziggy by the time we went out for lunch) I knew the right decision had been made.  That little flashy blue dog was mine!  He’s been with us for almost 2 weeks now and every day he shows me he belongs with me.  My gut knew Noire (now named Keep) was not the right fit.  I’m proud of myself for listening (I haven’t done that in the past with puppies) and staying true to what I knew I wanted and although it took me a little time to see it and adjust to the idea of a pup I hadn’t even considered I am glad I stayed true to myself. 

All the pups truly ended up with who they belonged with.  Noire is now Keep and is staying with Terri to be her ranch dog.  Coal is now Peak and Liz is having a blast with him.  Domino is now Moses and Debbie couldn’t be happier.  Night is now Pete and living with Gail and she is really enjoying him.  They are a great fit.  Graehm was pre-named and Heidi is enjoying his adventurous nature.  Sapphire, Maxine (Raven) and Charlotte (Jett) are all perfect matches too!  Azul is now Ziggy of course and I love him.  He’s confident, happy and fun!  More about what Ziggy is like in the next post.