Puppy report (and a report on my husband)

First, I'll let you know that Cliff saw his radiologist yesterday and will soon be starting radiation, probably within a week.  Meanwhile he stays busy working on the Ford tractor he recently purchased, which keeps him occupied while Gabe and our Little Princess occupy me.  

Gabe has bonded tightly with me and knows I'm his human.  He has now made one puddle on a carpet, but it's my own fault.  I woke him up to move him to another room to nap with the me and the kid.  Cliff said, "You'd better take him out to pee."  I didn't listen, and Gabe peed.  

Gabe is learning his name, and the meaning of "No!"  He isn't much of a chewer, which is surprising on a pup so young.  The three times I caught him with a charging cord in his mouth, a stern "No!" has been enough for him to drop the cord and move along to a toy that's permissible.  It's the same with licking:  He isn't terrible at licking people, but he does occasionally try, and "no" stops that.  I don't care to have any dog lick me, especially in the face.  More especially not a little Schnauzer I saw outside eating what appeared to be a tootsie roll, but turned out to be cat poop.  Yuck. 

Gabe seems to enjoy Little Princess, in spite of the fact she wants to carry him everywhere.  I'm trying to get the point across to her that he's happier on the floor or the ground, running around and following her.  She'll figure it out before long.  

As long as I go to bed as soon as I put him in the kennel beside my bed at night, he only whines softly a couple of times to make sure I'm there to talk to him, then is quiet the rest of the night.  I get up to go to the bathroom at least three times nightly and don't hear a peep out of him, but even though the cage is covered, he knows when I finally get up and head for the kitchen at 3 or 4 AM, and barks to remind me he's still captive.  I release him and take him outside first thing; then he has to have some lap time with lots of petting.  That done, he eats and drinks a bit and grabs a toy to play with.  

He has such a strong bond with me that yesterday evening when our daughter was visiting and offered to take him outside to potty, he refused to perform until I made an appearance.  I've been told this breed sometimes forms a strong attachment to one person, and I guess I'm the lucky person Gabe is attached to.   

Oh yes, and Gabe has made a friend of Buttons, the youngest cat in my clowder of felines.  Buttons was in need of a friend, since the older cats barely tolerate him; he's a little too full of vinegar and playfulness to suit their tastes.
  
I honestly didn't get a puppy so I'd have something to blog about, but apparently Gabe does serve that purpose.

Before I stop, I want to tell you how I ended up getting a Schnauzer.  Some years ago, Cliff stopped at an auto parts store.  As I was sitting in the car, a man drove in and parked beside me.  I noticed a distinguished-looking dog with little pointy ears sitting beside him in the seat.  The man got out of the car, but the little dog didn't budge from his spot, still seated in a dignified manner while keeping his eyes on his master.  When the man returned, the dog didn't jump up and squirm all over him, he simply looked up at his owner's face in adoration.

I came home and googled "dog with a beard".  The pictures I found looked like the little guy, so I knew what breed he was.  I had a problem dog at the time, and wasn't about to have another dog until she died.  That was Iris, who ran away and ended up right down the road at the home of some people who obviously loved her, despite her flaws.  I will always credit God for that turn of events. 

When Iris left, I had the tiny Princess to watch over and remained happily dog-free.  Iris had been such a shedder, I wasn't sure I'd even want another dog, ever!  The hair alone was enough to turn one against house-dogs for life.  

Then I read a book, "Following Atticus".  The hero of this biographical-type book was Atticus, a Mini-Schnauzer.  Again, I told myself if I ever got another dog, that would be the breed.  But I still didn't make a move, because my "puppy" was a human toddler who was all Cliff and I needed in our lives at the time.  Cliff, by the way, likes dogs OK, but he can take them or leave them.  In the case of house dogs, he'd rather leave them.  

Finally, the child we tended wasn't a baby any more, and I was ready:  Enter Gabe, stage right.

Peace.