The scabs are starting to heal over, but my arms still look pretty bad.
When I show my hands to a certain group of people, they instantly recognize the shape and orientation of the tiny nicks and scratches.
"Ah you have a new puppy!" they always say, giving a look showing they understand what I'm going through and I have their sympathies.
Earlier this month, we welcomed our new little guy to the house. His name is Cowboy; he's a backyard special and he's all sorts of fun. I can tell already he's very intelligent, and I have to remind myself he's only nine weeks old at this point.
It seems like he's getting bigger every morning, and every day has its own unique challenge. I'm exhausted, sore, but loving it. The other day I really wanted to turn him into soup after he decided it would be a great game to bite, bite and bite some more.
Don't worry, he's not soup (I don't eat meat, and I actually do love the little bugger). We've come to an uneasy understanding, which I hope will be the foundation for a partnership lasting years.
Cowboy and I are getting into an early morning routine. I wake him up at 6:30 sharp, play with him for 15 minutes, do 30 or so minutes of "training" (basically trying to teach him his name), and then feed him slowly. By the time we finish everything, the little guy has done his business, eaten, and then passes out pretty quickly. From there I scoop him up and put him into his crate with the rest of his breakfast, and then off I go to work.
So far, the routine has worked exactly once, but it's still early days yet.
When I come home at noon I take him through the exact same routine. Play for 15, walk, train for 30-ish, and then it's time to feed. After that, he passes out again and is returned to his crate. The nap will usually last until I'm done work for the day and am able to hang out with him again. Once more through the routine before bed, and he's out like a light again. Rinse and repeat.
It seems much easier than it actually is when I just write it out like that. I know it's early days yet, and he's going to give us a challenging run for our money, but the work we put into the little guy early on will pay off hundreds of times over through these next few years.
I look at him and see the adventures we'll one day have in the future. I see his strong legs carrying him over the mountains, I see the way he's obsessed with water and I hope it will translate to him being a strong swimmer, I see the smart eyes building a strong connection with our family, and I see the demeanour that will hopefully bring some calm and reflection into our lives.
I know these puppy scratches, teeth marks, and early mornings will all fade away as he grows and matures. Maybe one or two will scar over and I can look back on this time, remembering when he was just a little dude, calm, happy and full of wonder.
What a good boy.
