Puppy See, Puppy Do.

There are days when Savannah is the best puppy on the planet. And then there are the rest of the days. Oh well. I'm hoping that this puppy-hood will soon be on its way out, especially since Savannah will be one year old tomorrow.

I have to say that before we started taking Savannah to the dog park, she was indeed the most well-behaved puppy. I used to call her my 'old soul' because she would sit quietly and just watch everything that was going on, following me from one room to the other, playing with her toys and carrying them from one room to the other and using the soft ones as little pillows to lay her chin on. Savannah in her puppy-hood was often a Norman Rockwell painting come to life. Now there are days when I compare her to a somewhat frantic Picasso and I blame some of that on the dog park.

The first time at the dog park, Savannah was hesitant and not very confident about the entire atmosphere there. So much grass, so many dogs, and not a leash in sight. And even a swimming pool... puppy heaven for sure. As Savannah came into contact with the other dogs there, her hesitancy disappeared, and her confidence soared, both of which are very good things. We think that she learned some confident behavior patterns from the other dogs at the park, and we kept her away from the aggressive dogs there because we certainly didn't want her learning that sort of behavior. We wanted a puppy, not a bully.

However.... the results of the dog park do not go away once we're out of the park and back home.  We have much more property than the park, but we can't let Savannah run around here because she's likely to chase a vehicle going up the road or chase an animal off into the woods, both of which would not be very good things.  That same boundless puppy-devil-may-care attitude that Savannah picked up from the dog park translates into a wild-and-carefree puppy here on our own property at times. And, as puppy-luck would have it, those times tend to be rainy days, windy days, or just days when I need her to do her business outside and do it quickly because I have to get into town for an appointment.  And those are the days that I remind myself that it was my brilliant idea to get another dog, so I have no one else to blame for the puppy-insanity that clouds my life from time to time.

On the bright side, and there is always a bright side... Savannah slept well last night and the night before. The cat-toy that the raccoon destroyed is now in the recycle bin, and I'm hoping that particular raccoon finds something on a far-away porch to play with at one o'clock in the morning.

My husband keeps saying that Savannah "has come a long way" since we brought her home on September 12th.  He usually says this when Savannah is leaning up against his leg as he's watching TV or sitting next to him as he's eating a slice of pizza and she's waiting for her share of the crust. And indeed, Gary is right... Savannah has come a long way from that very frightened and insecure puppy of seven months ago.

Without a doubt, Savannah has grown from a cute puppy into a beautiful dog. Everyone at the dog park comments on her glossy coat and fluffy tail, her bright eyes and her over-all pretty puppy self. However... when Savannah is standing in the middle of the road in the rain and lifting her puppy nose into the air to sniff the raindrops and catch some of them in her open mouth which is already filled with bluebonnets, I need to remember how good she is most of the time.