January 25, 2003
When Hazel handed Dusty to me this afternoon, she looked like an entirely different dog. Her little head looked very much like a typical miniature schnauzer, but her body was still a mass of dark puppy fur. She'd had her first grooming in the morning and she was still shaking a bit.
I put her down on the floor and let her wander around while we went over some paperwork. Dusty curled up in a dog bed and went to sleep. When it was time to go, I handed the car keys to a friend who had come along to drive, and settled Dusty into my lap for the trip back to Toronto.
At first, she trembled and cried, but after checking me out thoroughly, she finally curled up to go to sleep. She was still sleeping as we rolled into the city.
I dropped her off at a friend's house and went to return the rental car. By the time I returned, my friend was completely enamoured with her! Dusty was huddled in her arms, quiet as a mouse (my friend has a rowdy Australian Shepard puppy, so this was quite novel to her).
Before we headed home, I asked Dusty if she wanted to go potty and showed her a nice spot outside, but she didn't seem interested. At home, I asked again, but she just sat at my feet and cried in the snow.
So I took her inside and showed her food and water, but she just sat and looked at me expectantly. So I took her outside again and waited three minutes this time. She whined and cried and sat on her haunches. She just didn't look like a dog who had to go. I was cold. We went back inside.
I put her in my lap and stroked her soft fur and she promptly fell asleep. After a while, I moved her to the kennel. She cried for about ten seconds and then went back to sleep again and that's what she's doing right now.
The breeder had prepared me for the not-eating and not-drinking - the puppy is in shock and has had a rough day. But the not-pottying thing has me really worried. I'm afraid that when she *does* decide to potty, it won't be in a place I like very much (like the carpet).
So I'm keeping one eye on her and the other on the hockey game. She's a very tired puppy, I guess. I'm pretty tired myself.