Rion – A few answers

This is a general response based on questions in the comments.
 
Orion was nine weeks old last Monday, having been born in foster care on October 20. As far as we know, since he was born at a Pikes Peak Humane Society foster home, he is a purebred Miniature Schnauzer. Based on his size at nine weeks, I think he may run big for a male. From observing his behavior, his foster family did a great job with him. According to notes from his veterinarian, his mother was not good at keeping her puppies clean, and the foster family had to help, but otherwise the puppies in the litter were considered healthy. 

Lody, our elderly Collie, had a very hard time with him Saturday, and was extremely anxious even being in the same room with him.  Then, since Sunday, she has become increasing comfortable with him.  She now shows the same resigned tolerance that most elderly dogs display around obnoxious puppies.  She growls at him occasionally when he becomes particularly obstreperous, but hangs out with him with no signs of stress. 

Schnauzers frequently turn gray as they get older. However, we cannot find any gray hairs on his body, so he may stay black.  Based on his puppy coat, I expect he will have a very wiry, dense, long adult coat. 

Merry Christmas, and No Worries

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Rion is worn out from a busy morning of supervising turkey preparation, overseeing the present opening, playing with his new toys, playing with the gift wrap, and attempting to remove the shoe-laces from my mother’s shoes. The rope toy is one of his new toys, and there is twelve inch ruler beside him as he sleeps, to give an idea of his size.

It is generally recommended not to get a puppy at Christmas. And it is true, my preparations for this Christmas have been, as a result, even more haphazard than usual. (Apologies for those who will be getting late presents and IOUs.  And it isn’t just getting a puppy, but the additional effort of helping to pack the office where I work for a move to Denver.) However, every time I start to stress about how much I haven’t done, I play with the puppy, or just watch him sleep, and I feel just fine. (Note: In our favor, as far as adopting a puppy, we have a flexible and versatile setup for dogs. Some people have gone so far as to call it perfect.)