Meet Puck

This is Puck! Do you see how cute he is?

Terms and Conditions

Wall-eyed adorableness.

After calling several breeders within Arizona, I slowly discovered that I was going to have to drive to Vegas or LA to get a puppy. All of the breeders in Arizona (even in Phoenix) had gotten out of the gig.

I was walking past another pet store and they happened to have a little boy pup.

When meeting this little bugger, he was the epitome of happiness and playfulness. He played fetch with me for a good twenty minutes, desired nothing but my attention, and was interested in cuddling up with me when he decided to calm down for a total of two seconds. This was a completely different experience from the last puppy I visited, who just chewed on the friend who had come with me.

Already chewing on things.

In fact, the entire store seemed different. The puppies were interested in the people who were coming into the store. They seemed happy, playful, and in general more puppy-like than the other bedraggled creatures we had seen.

The paperwork was not very much different than the paperwork at the other store. However, they were very upfront about the issues they knew he had. For example, one of his knees is a little wonky. The vet says that it’s not bad and should improve with age, but it is something to note.

The Pet Store Puppy Problem

I'm Cute, Right?

Puck came with two free vet visits at a local clinic, which I’ve been to before and appreciate. He also came with a warranty for some common puppy problems and hereditary defects.

Laziest Tug of War, Ever.

Now, the bad part is that he needs this. He had a cold when I brought him home, which was disclosed by the store and by the vet that same day. I started him on his medicate and brought the vet a stool sample, as that’s a pretty standard procedure. Guess what? He’s got two fairly bad parasite infections in his intestines. Awesome. More medication for the poor pup, and likely a case of diarrhea from it.

The vet also suggested that I have two other operations performed at the same time as his neutering. His soft palette should be clipped back, and his thin nostrils should be widened. The warranty may even cover these procedures because they’re hereditary defects. These two operations, the vet assures me, would make him less susceptible to heat stroke, over exhaustion, and other air-flow based issues.

Training

Spaz, however, is very displeased.

Now, I haven’t trained a dog in forever. I taught Kyle (the family Scottish Terrier when I was a child) a few tricks here and there. Tricks, however, are a very different bag from basic behavior and manners.

I’m working on training him to use a special dog litter box. If I continue to live in apartments or small spaces without dog-doors or with lots of stairs, it’ll provide him a place to not have to hold it until I get home.

Then, we have the basic sit, come, and lay down commands. Beyond that, I’m not entirely sure what little oddities I’d like to teach him. I’ve seen some adorable little parlor entertainments performed by dogs like this. I figure, I’ll start with the important basics, and then mix it up with some fun things that’ll get laughs from people.