Bringing home baby

On Friday, January 25, we drove to Morris, IL (about halfway between us and the breeder) to pick up Dieter. We spent a hectic week getting "baby supplies" laid in. Bought a cage/kennel, a mat for inside the cage (more on why this turned out to be a bad idea later), bowls, Puppy Chow, a collar and leash, puppy treats, and assorted toys for his gnawing pleasure. My cousin loaned us a white metal gate, which we put between the kitchen and the dining room. It has a cat pass through at the bottom, so the Feline Americans can beat a hasty retreat. I made sure the cats would use the pass through, too. After much sniffing and head bobbing, they all tried it out. Tarquin always leads the way in things new and adventurous. Mimsy screwed up her courage and tried it out, too. Finally Mimsy's son, Rory, gave it a go. Success.

Dieter gets to meet his grandma.

I was going to put in another gate at the top of the basement stairs. I quickly rethought that idea, as the whole gate-at-the-top-of-the-basement-stairs idea seemed pretty dangerous for the humans to step over the bar on the floor right by the top step. So we decided we'd shut the basement door when the dog was out and about and open it when he was in his cage so the cats could visit their lower-level WC. 

The afternoon we picked Dieter up, we met the breeder in the parking lot of the Big R Farm, Home, and Ranch store. I rode in the backseat of the Element with him and he seemed pretty calm, alternating between sleeping and chewing on a squeaky red wiener dog toy. 

Who's that good-looking dog?
Dieter has his first experience with a mirror
at grandma's house.

Lloyd had always told me what a nervous wreck he was when he brought his firstborn daughter home from the hospital. I think I now know what he meant. That night (and for about another 2 weeks), I slept on the couch next to Dieter's cage. I was afraid he'd miss his litter mates and all the other dogs from the kennel and start carrying on or that he'd have some medical emergency in the middle of the night. I'm sure it was me sleeping next to him and my naturally calming nature (*irony*) that made his transition from kennel to forever home a smooth one.

Dieter crashes after his first weekend with his new parents.

Dieter had a full dance card for his first few days in his new home. Saturday afternoon he went visiting and got to meet his grandma and aunt in Lisle. Monday will be Dieter's  first vet appointment--at Warrenville Grove Animal Hospital--so he can be cleared to enroll in a puppy training class.