I have a dog. He owns me.

We went to Plattsburg, Missouri, to pick Gabe up.  He already had this name, sort of:  His registered name is Gabz, followed by a string of strange-sounding other names.  I first saw it as "Gabe" and decided I liked it, so Gabe he is.

I held him on my lap on the hourlong ride home, stroking and petting him all the way.  It didn't take long for him to settle down and go to sleep for the journey.  I had originally thought I'd make a deposit for one of a litter that wasn't ready to wean, and so assumed I had lots of time to purchase things one needs for a dog in the house:  bowls, bed, a kennel.  So when I switched options and bought the only remaining pup in a litter that was ready to go, I wasn't sure what I'd do about the situation.  

Everyone who has seen Gabe's picture and then sees him in person is surprised at how tiny he is.  The pictures make him look like a good-sized dog, but he's small.

Here he is on his day of arrival, sitting in the kitchen... a kitchen that will henceforth be littered with tiny chunks of dry dog food, since Gabe is a messy eater.  Cliff, unlike me, is tender-footed, so I'm not sure how this will work out for him when he gets up in the morning.

We made a quick stop at Walmart on our way home.  I left Cliff in charge of dog-sitting and ran in to buy a couple of dog dishes.  I couldn't resist grabbing a couple of chew toys.  He really didn't need toys, since the folks who sold him to me sent a nice care package along that included a couple of toys.  But a puppy can't have too many toys.  I glanced at beds but decided to simply fold up a blanket to start with.  We were going to have to get a kennel of some sort to restrain him at night, but Cliff and I had agreed that we could come up with something that would contain such a small dog for a night or two until we found a reasonably-priced pet taxi.  

When we got home I gave him time to stroll around the yard and pee, then we went in.  It seems as though we had bonded on the ride home, because ever since then he follows me everywhere.  He might be sound asleep on his blanket-bed, but if I get up from my chair he follows so closely to my feet, I have to watch out not to step on him.  

Inside, I laid the folded-up blanket down next to my chair and patted it, then sat down in the chair.  He came to my hand, smelled around, and laid down.  Since that first time, he knew that was where he was supposed to be.

The little pawprint blanket and pillow were gifts from the seller.  She told us these had the scent of his mother on them.  I took this shot on his first evening here, right beside my chair.  Even now, as I type this, Gabe is laying at my side on his blanket in the computer room, curled up asleep.

The Little Princess we babysit came by with her mom and their puppy that first afternoon.  Her dog is a tiny terrier that is "as wound up as an eight-day clock", always moving and, when she stops running, shaking with nervous energy.  She's approaching one year old, but is smaller than eight-week-old Gabe.  They sniffed one another's private places and then took turns humping one another for the next five minutes or so.  The kid's mom loaned us a cage-type kennel with a cover to make it dark; this took the rush out of having to shop for a kennel.  I do intend to buy one soon; I prefer one of the pet taxis with a handle on top, but this one will serve the purpose for now.  

Bedtime approached, and I knew things were liable to get pretty noisy once I put Gabe in the cage, which was ready and waiting on the floor at my bedside with a soft, folded-up beach towel spread in the bottom.  I put his special pillow and blanket inside, and then gently placed him in.  Oh yes, things got pretty noisy.  He probably yelped and whined for thirty minutes or more, but he finally get so tired he gave up and went to sleep.  He woke at 2 AM, crying once again, but this time it only lasted perhaps five minutes.  

I always get up at three or four in the morning:  It was dead quiet when I decided to get up, but like an idiot, I woke Gabe.  Later I realized I should have at least let him sleep until he woke on his own.  Anyway, I took him straight outside and let him take care of business.  Once inside, he was a ball of energy, picking up one toy, then another, alternately running in the kitchen for a bite of food and a drink of water, then running back to the living room to grab a toy.

Last night when I put him to bed, he only made a token protest and went soundly to sleep.  He woke at 3, whined softly until I talked softly to him from above, then hushed and slept more.  When he and I got up at four, as always, I took him straight outside again.  Things took a little while this time, since Buttons the cat was on the front porch and decided this was a good time to approach this new creature and see what he was made of.  Morning is Gabe's most active time, so with a cat to play with, he forgot why we were outside in the first place.  Finally I fed the cats on the back porch and took Gabe back around the house, where he went ahead and did what he was supposed to do in the first place.  

This is the start of day three with the puppy, and he hasn't had a single accident in the house.  Of course I can't say he is house-broke until he starts going to the door or barking to let me know he's in distress.  But like most dogs, he can and will pee almost any time, and I've already learned his behavior well enough to know when he shows signs of something more urgent.  He's going to be an easy dog to housebreak.

I've heard mostly good things about Mini-Schnauzers.  So many people wanted me to adopt a shelter dog, but even if I'd found one, I didn't want the risk of getting a dog with issues.  I wanted a puppy so I could raise him to be sensible.  I'm trying to refrain from the baby-talking as we women tend to do with dogs.  I want him calm, not excitable.  I've only heard him bark once, at a cat.  But I'm not going to encourage his barking as I have with other dogs.  He already seems to know what "NO" means, and I don't even have to sound mad when I say it for him to stop what he's doing.  

This appears to be a match made in heaven for me; I hope it turns out that way for Gabe.  

Peace.