Puppy Picking Day

Over the past 3 weeks we have been treated to text messages that include pictures of developing puppies in anticipation of this day: puppy picking day! This morning we once again traveled the back-roads of Winona County to visit some adorably fresh-eyed, wrinkly-skinned puppies.  Today was the day to choose a dog that will hopefully be our companion for the next 12+ years.  A dog we will train, socialize, exercise, snuggle, tend to, play with, watch over, and so much more. Thankfully we went into today confident that any puppy from this litter would be a great choice, which helped take some of the pressure off of us to make the "right" choice. Which one of these guys guys will join our family?  

At 3 weeks old, it is a bit early to know much about their personalities. They were all curious and friendly.  We watched them walk around, wrestle with each other and tire each other out.  At this age, it doesn't take much activity for them to get tuckered out. Without a lot of information about their personality, it was hard to make an informed choice. Although they were all charming, we ended up going with Side Splotch!  

We really liked the coloring of Side Splotch and think he is going to be very handsome when he grows up. He is also the largest of the litter, so we may have selected the alpha.  We are well aware that no matter which puppy we chose from this litter, he will need a lot of training, guidance and exercise to be able to live peacefully with Fanny, the chickens and us. We have high hopes for his life.  Paul sums up his plans for this dog as "legendary".

Side Splotch, the placeholder name, is already getting a bit outdated, since his side splotch is filling in.  We are working on a new name.

After we formally announced our pick to the breeder, the two brothers in the pen with our puppy immediately moved over to him and laid on top of him.  I think they are telling us he is not ready to go home yet!

We are looking forward to getting him home, but he has another month with his mom and siblings before he makes that transition.

The two older pups that have yet to be picked up were there to remind us that our snuggle bug will soon be older and BRIMMING with enthusiasm.

Once again we left feeling that Piper, our pup's mom, is an amazing dog.  We hope she passed on some of that awesomeness to our little guy!

In 4 short weeks our house will once again be home to a dog!

It was a good day.