My OperaWe got a new puppy!
Saturday, February 18, 2006 4:06:15 PM
Yes...named Coco by Lila...it was divine inspiration...for weeks she said the name would be a suprise and wet our appetites with a concantination of names which gave us the impression we were about to embrace canine royalty: "Becky Beck Sushi Violet" was the dogs name for the weeks before its arrival...Lila always holding out the fact that this was a temporary name and that the real one would be revealed the day we pick the dog up.
For me, the daddy, the experinece has been a bit of a roller coaster ride emotionally...
When we first visited coco - then named 'Becky Beck Sushi Violet' the puppy was all over me...kissing, jumping in my lap, playing, it was delightful...I knew this was my puppy.
The day we picked her up to bring her home she was calm, less than cordial and probably a little nervous from the change. I did however notice a degree of standoffishness from her, but chalked it up to nerves. Over the next week, the puppy began a wonderful relationship with Lila and Dena, yet was quite unsure about me. Would run away, would ignore me when I called her, and would generally not be near me if at all possible.
I was crushed, distraught, completely and utterly dismayed. I grew up with Mitzi, Pepper, and Gingi all loving me to death. I had never had an animal react to me in this way...let alone my own.
We called in the experts...and enrolled as a family for puppy school. The teacher who was equally astonished at my unfortunate and heartbreaking situation, set forth a strategy where I became everything good to the puppy for awhile. I gave the treats, the food, the water, and took her out and praised her for good deeds. One week later...Coco loves me. We are best buddies...and she does really well at puppy school with me. Whew!
