A Lady In France

Dog Days

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.

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Comments

  1. anna see says

    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!

    • ladyjennie says

      This is music to my ears. Seriously. I am looking forward to the day when he can go everywhere in the house (and not pee and poop on our gorgeous rug, which is now off-limits) and all the kids are able to play with him freely.

  2. Mama D says

    For the first two weeks after we got our dog (as a five-month old puppy) I was fully convinced that it was the stupidest thing we’d ever done. It was a huge learning curve for everyone concerned, but now I can’t imagine life without her! Just took a while for us all to figure out the new routine. 🙂

    • ladyjennie says

      This is actually super helpful to hear. I know it’s going to get better and I was completely prepared for it, but I’m in full-out recovery mode.

  4. Kristen says

    Oh sweet baby…one day you’ll look around and not remember what life was like without him. There are many days when my dogs are my favorite creatures in the house. No one loves you like your dog loves you. Enjoy!

    • ladyjennie says

      He’s still trying to assert himself but he does show his belly pretty quickly. I just wish I understood dogs better and didn’t feel so exhausted in trying to.

  7. deborah l quinn says

    that is one adorable dog (and I don’t much like dogs)… but I feel like I should congratulate you on your delivery of a new baby! Sounds, yes, exhausting, and also very very familiar. bon chance…

    • ladyjennie says

      His cage is perhaps too big, although we do have a smaller travel one. We cover his cage with towels so it feels enclosed but we’re wondering if we should have him sleep in the smaller cage for now, or will that be yet another transition for later on?

  12. Alexandra says

    I remember, babies are much easier.

    But I know you know the joy of your children and the way they rush home to see him, makes it all worth it.

    He is BEAUTIFUL.

  13. Carole says

    What a face! Great photos, Jennie. When we got our first dog, he threw up in the car and woke us up constantly the first week. It was like having a newborn in the house again. But once he was housebroken and sleeping through the night, he was a gem.

    You do have to be tough with him now or he won’t be safe around the kids. Obedience classes were a godsend for us.

  15. Kimberly says

    I have no words..just mind blowing in cuteness.
    Be patient with him. They do get in a heap of trouble. Mine chewed a hole in our plaster wall in the basement. Oh and he’s 8 and still chewing our floors. He’s so stupid but we love him.

  16. Tracie says

    First – Hunter is SO VERY CUTE!
    I think I’m in love.

    Second – I found the naming situation very interesting. Will the names start with an I next year?

    • ladyjennie says

      That’s how I felt when I first saw him. And yes – next year I. We might very well have had an Igor.

      PS. Have you read all the Georgette Heyer books? Bet you’d love them.

  17. Karen says

    1. You are a very brave woman.
    2. I can’t get over the H thing. It kind of makes me giggle.
    3. The dryer picture is my fave!

  19. Emily says

    Hey I’m on your blog! That was very sweet of you to think of me in your busy Thanksgiving preparations 🙂
    Such adorable pictures of Hunter!! He is such a cutie!

  21. Jen says

    Have fun! Puppies are a handful. I’ve had several over the years. Our most recent is a German Wire Hair Pointer. The hunting dogs are high energy and a handful but wonderful dogs.
    Oh, and the whole naming thing by the letter and year is done with horses as well.

    • ladyjennie says

      Hi Jen,

      Sorry – just dug your comment out of spam. I’ve heard pointers are even harder than our dog to train, I’m not sure if that’s true. That is so neat about the horses – I had no idea. (Is it thoroughbred only, or all horses?)

  22. Elaine A. says

    What a cutie! It’s funny that I read this today though as my kids were asking me about getting a dog, AGAIN! And I said someday but not a puppy! 😉 I don’t know we’ll see, they sure are cute, those baby dogs!!

    • ladyjennie says

      The thing we were hesitating about is the fact that a puppy can be molded whereas an older dog cannot always be. But a puppy is so much work with the teething. Think long and hard! 😉 (And it’s worth it – of course it’s worth it).

  25. Andi says

    Adorable, I think the H thing is hilarious since it is a difficult sound for French to make, at least for my hubby!

  26. Katie says

    Hunter is SO cute! Puppies are such a lot of work but you can’t regret them at the same time. Very cool tradition about the naming, I never knew that.

  27. joann mannix says

    If he is showing his stomach, that’s a very good sign. He wants to be submissive. It’s just his instinct is driving him differently. Keep on being the dominant one in every situation. Physically tower over him when he is not obeying.

    He is a smart, smart breed which means two things: He’ll be an awfully naughty boy for the next few months, but just remember, there is a light. The naughtiness will finally be replaced with an incredible dog. And Two, he’ll learn very quickly.

    My parents bred and raised labs, another smart breed of dog. They were the absolute best dogs, but boy, were those puppy months challenging.

    Have faith, it will get better. Every day, the more those rules are emphasized, the more he’ll understand.

    And remember to nip that growling in the bud. No pun intended.

    If you need anything at all, Tweet me, email me, FB or text me. I’ll be glad to help. I wish I were there to make the transition that much easier for you. But all I can do is promise you, it WILL get better. (I write this, as my 2 pups out, once the hellions of the world, lie peacefully at my feet, no longer a menace to our rugs and the world.)

    Oh, and by the way, if I didn’t tell you that story: I bred my Labradoodle. She had a litter of five pups. And the minute her pups were born, my sweet, gentle girl that I thought would be the best mother, rejected them. Except for nursing them, which I had to force the mother to do, I raised those five pups from the moment they were born.

    And by the way? He is smashingly gorgeous!

    • ladyjennie says

      Thank you dear. But . . . aren’t labs stupid? No, no, don’t be mad – I really thought they were! 🙂

      You’ve given me a lot of encouragement. I was the one who wanted a dog!

      PS my wedding blooper post has a giveaway of either chocolates or glazed chestnuts from La Maison du Chocolat and it ends tomorrow. Just in case that tempted you. 😉

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