Did you ever feel like you were living the lives of three people all at once? That kind of busy?
On Friday we drove North to pick up our dog.
Meet Hunter.
We had to give him a name that started with an “H” because in France, if it’s a pure-bred (no matter which), they all have to have a name with same letter each year. This was the year of the “H.”
Hunter seemed so perfect since this is a hunting dog. An “epagneul breton.” In English it’s called a Brittany, apparently. In any case, it’s the dog you see in all the hunting scenes in French paintings.
When I first picked him up at the breeder, fresh from his nap, he snuggled in my arms and put his paws softly on my cheeks and licked me.
I almost cried.
“He’s showing you his good side,” they said, which should have tipped me off.
“He’s a good dog,” she added, “very frisky and independent. When I take them out into the fields, he’s off running and sniffing things while his brother follows me around and doesn’t dare to explore.”
The 3 ½ hour ride home turned into 5 hours when we ran into the huge traffic jam near the stadium, but he was a good dog. We stopped once so he could do his business and, apart from a little crying in the car, he slept most of the way.
There was such a feeling of excitement when the children welcomed us with their grandmother (who had picked them up from school and fed them).
We all made a circle, and the first thing Hunter did was to jump on Young Knight and scratch him, causing him to cry. Then Petit Prince, seeing Young Knight get mauled in such a manner, started to cry too. So they spent the rest of the weekend on the other side of the barrier.
Young Lady was more fearless, and proudly walked the dog
and told him how good he was
and told God how glad she was that he had made him
until she sat down on the ground (showing her submission in dog-speak) and he jumped on her and nipped her ear and played tug-of-war with her hair until she cried.
I stepped in and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and said a firm “no” like I had been told to, but he yelped and didn’t let go, so I didn’t know what to do next. Then Sir stepped in (the real master) and grabbed his jaw until he let go and lay down and showed his belly.
I felt bad for making the dog yelp, but Sir said he’d be fine and that he just needed to learn that we were the humans and he was just a dog that needed to know his place. (But he added that if it was a problem of biting, the scruff of the neck was not the way to go – rather grab the jaw).
It’s a sharp learning curve for me too.
He cried all night (which I expected) and pooped and peed in his cage (which I expected) and we dragged ourselves out of bed in the morning, bone-tired, so I could prepare for my English classes and Sir could take the kids to music (which I expected, but it didn’t make it any easier).
When they came home, at first view Hunter was nowhere to be found in his little room.
We’ll be keeping that door shut from now on.
There was little rest for the weary that afternoon, as it was our day to celebrate Thanksgiving and there was much food to prepare: pecan pie with a homemade gluten free crust, broccoli casserole, sweet potato purée with ginger and nutmeg – and even some rice “gruel” with ginger for my poor friend Emily who was there with her boyfriend but had a stomach upset.
Then we drove off to our friend’s house for dinner, and Hunter did great for being in an entirely new situation with entirely new people and an entirely new dog (they have a fox terrier).
Then this morning we had our nephews over for the whole day, planned last minute as there was a bit of an emergency.
And we trimmed the trees because it was nice weather.
And we made cookies because that’s what you do when your nephews come over for the entire day.
And we practiced being a family with a dog.
There are no regrets. There is only joy to come. There is – I know it. But I’ll need a good night’s sleep and a bit of a routine before I can start to enjoy it
and get over these dog days.
loved these beautiful pictures! it took us a while to get used to our dog. now she is such a joy. early on, she would try to jump in my lap while I drove the car, and she would pee where she shouldn’t, but now she is much easier. hunter is so cute!