Something Better Than a Mac

[Scott Baret]

I got a puppy today!!! She's a black toy poodle named Gracie, 14 weeks old. Awesome dog, very intelligent and very good with people. Now I get to train her and get her accustomed to life with my family. Very happy day for me indeed...better than the day I got my boxed Lisa 2 or Prototype SE.

 

[Sawtoothdude]

Congrats! A puppy is much better than a mac indeed!

 

[coius]

Heh. Dogs are a joy. I remember when I got our dog and will never forget it. I love my puppy (although he is 4yrs old now) to bits. In fact, I am so proud of him, I would show pictures to friends and people i have met just to show him off. He's a Miniature Schnauzer and LOVES company. Almost too much. We still need to be a bit stricter on training, but he takes the spoiling well. All we gotta do is to stop him from jumping on people. But you can pet him while he's eating (which is bad when a dog snaps at you) so while you have this dog as a puppy, pet it as it is eating, so it gets accustom to people being around it when it eats.

Also, it doesn't hurt to spoil him, but refrain from feeding it while you are at the dinner table. That just leads them to begging and nosing people when you are eating, and can be downright embarrassing when you have people over.

To train it to come when called (especially when outside) give it SMALL treats. Start out with every time you call, then a few months, every 2 times it is called, and then slowly ease off. You don't want to feed it every time, just reward it when it's called, and pet it afterwards. Also, do NOT give the dog a treat if it she doesn't come with called. Simple as that.

Also, love it a lot. A dog that is loved and made a part of the family is a dog that won't bite the hand that feeds.

Be careful with poodles. they will get bored when you are gone. So keep plenty of toys around the house. Also, they are smart. Almost TOO smart and when bored, they will get destructing. Another thing is, and I have noticed this about poodles. They hold grudges. So if you **** the thing off, it WILL get back at you. Just do proper training to make sure she knows who's the alpha dog in the family pack.

oh, and be careful. As I have learned the hard way, they are EASY to step on, so you gotta be REALLY careful while they are small. You will slowly get used to them being around your feet, but every now and then, they will become entangled.

Anyways, have fun with this (bouncing) bundle of joy!

And 'grats. I know you will be really happy

 

[LCGuy]

Very awesome!!!

 

[TheNeil]

What version of Mac OS does that run then?

 

[QuadSix50]

Since no one had brought it up yet, I'll do it.

Why didn't you name the dog "Clarus"?

 

[paws]

Booh dogs!

Yay cats!

 

[Scott Baret]

Hmm...interesting idea! She knows her name already though and I like Gracie for her. (I'd picture Clarus as someone larger).

I should mention that my previous dog, a golden retriever (1995-2007), was named Megabyte (but we called her Meg). However, the name almost got changed to HyperCard when she was a puppy...anyone who has ever had a puppy knows why.

 

[Christopher]

I got a Bernese Mountain Dog. AMAZING dog, he is so laid back it's crazy, and he doesn't lick. Only downfall is he sheds so much. His name is Bentley and he is 6 years old.

 

[funkytoad]

See, why not combine the best of both worlds.

Puppies and macs!

http://www.theapplecollection.com/YvonRoy/MacDog1024x768.jpg

 

[Scott Baret]

Shedding is indeed a pain...Meg was a golden retriever and even though she died about a year ago I'm still finding her fur to this day (I think Gracie has too...she sniffs around Meg's old hangouts a lot).

Coius--I know what you mean about grudges. Before Gracie and Meg there was Muffin, a silver miniature poodle. (No, she was not named after the old Apple II program but interestingly was born right around the time in 1977 when they started making Apple IIs). There was a man in our family who Muffin never liked for some reason--she'd bark all the time when he was around and ignore anything he said. However, Muffin also proved the point that poodles are very smart--when I was born she was nine years old and knew immediately how to play with a baby--she was my best friend growing up. She used to always sit on the couch or chair with me or play with me on the floor, plus I used to give her one or two of those Alpo liver snaps every day--Mom instructed me on how to care for a dog right away.

I know all too well about dogs getting bored. Meg ate a clock when she was a puppy and I'd occasionally find her with random things in her mouth. She once ate--and coughed back up--a $20 bill (which we got exchanged for a new one, believe it or not). I also have her pawprints on a page in my Mac LC manual--she ran right over it when she was only about 12 weeks old. I closed off my storage closet to Gracie but have been puppy proofing everything else (though the front input TV cables have been a challenge). The last thing I need is to find a puppy with a chewed up ADB cable in her mouth...

Gracie is adapting very well. She knows her name already, is nearly completely potty trained (on papers), slept through the night on her second night home, and is bonding with everyone. I'm exposing her to a lot of different people--we've been to two different pet stores and I'm having a friend over tomorrow to play with her so she can get used to different people/interaction styles. Puppy kindergarten is the next step.