Holiday Hijinks

Depending on when a puppy raiser receives a puppy, we get to spend one, maybe two Christmas holidays with them. Sergi came to live with me on November 17, so is experiencing his first Christmas as a little pup -- which is very hard -- and will get to have another, more mature Christmas here next year. This 2007 holiday was tough for the little guy.

Sergi has lots of energy. At this stage in his growth and training, he is generally not allowed to access the house independently off-leash. On occasion, I will play with him inside (especially if it is raining or particularly cold out) but he is closely supervised. Yet, that has not stopped him from taking a detour while chasing a thrown ball to veer over to the Christmas tree, grab an ornament or two, and rip around the living room a couple of times, delighted with the illicit treasure in his mouth. He thinks that this is great fun. I do not. We're lucky sometimes the tree is still standing.

Sergi also has found delight in trying to open Christmas packages by himself. Even ones that are not addressed to him. We have a routine at the end of the evening when I sit on the floor with him and cradle him. During this time, I play with his toes, trim his nails, rub his belly and get him used to being handled and touched. If the phone rings or I get distracted in some other way, Sergi occasionally is left on his own for a minute or two. Although tethered to the heavy coffee table, he found that he could reach the gifts under the tree by stretching out full length and grabbing them with his sharp puppy teeth. Then begins the delight of ripping the paper to shreds and opening the package. Clearly, I was the one in training here as it took me twice before I figured out to put the items farther away and tether him in a different manner. Sergi was very disappointed that I learned almost as quickly as he does.

Of course, one of the most delightful things about having a puppy is all of the photo opportunities they present, especially at Christmas. We go in search of Santas everywhere, just to take all those goofy pictures. I have one whole entire box dedicated to Christmas dog collars, leashes, hats and bells to string, tie, and wrap around my dog and his body parts. None of the dogs seem to be crazy about it, but it sure makes the humans laugh. Because Sergi is still so young, it's even more fun to take his picture now -- everybody loves puppy pictures. Getting him to sit still long enough for the shot is the problem, but if you take enough, eventually one will come out. That will be the one saved for his scrap book that his future new partner will look at and say, "Awwww.....!"