23 March 2007

Puppy pictures, of course

In France, dogs born in 2007 are supposed to have a name that starts with the letter C. We are looking for a name. Here are some that I am favoring at the moment: Câline, Calisson, or Californie. If the new dog gets one of those names, I would call it by a nickname, Cali. That works in English or in French.

The C*** pup, 21 March 2007. She just woke up.

We have until about April 10 to come up with a name. That is when the puppy will be registered in the Livre des Origines Françaises (LOF). We are working on finding and seeing eye-to-eye on a name. There are of course many many options.

So you expected something other than puppy pictures in this posting? Ha!

The W*** holding and petting Mlle C***

I'm still dealing with negative feelings about actually buying a dog, as opposed to adopting one from the SPA, the Société Protectrice des Animaux. The dearly departed dog, Collette, came from the Silicon Valley Human Society. We were just lucky the day we went there, I think, to find such a beautiful and affectionate animal. I took us three weeks to come up with a name for her, and we finally picked one out of a dictionary.

The C*** pup's père, Vince du Vent des Moissons...

...and her mère, Ruby du Berger de la Vallée des Géants

The élevage where we are buying Mlle C*** seems very rustic by California standards. It really is a farm. The dogs and puppies live in a stone barn. The courtyard out front was all mud when we were there, and when the daddy dog, Vince, was brought out to greet us, he was all muddy and jumped up on us.

The Kennel of the Shepherd of the Valley of the Giants.

We spent only about 20 minutes with the puppies and now it will probably be six weeks before we see the C*** pup again. We have a busy schedule for the month of April, so the time will pass quickly. And then it will be a busy summer. Talk about "dog days."

This is the C*** pup. I didn't get a lot of good pictures.

We plan to do crate-training with the new puppy. It's something we never did with Collette. We didn't know any better. But we ended up having to buy a crate — a kennel, called simply une cage in French — for Collette to travel in when we moved to France. So now we'll be able to use it again, along with the collars, harnesses, leashes, bowls, and other pieces of doggie paraphernalia we have stored in the garage. That includes a dog bed my mother made for Collette, who always refused to have anything to do with it. She just stood and barked at it when we tried to get her to sleep on it.

And this is one of the C*** pup's littermates
who was nice enough to pose for a picture.


Near the kennel, there's a funny old church with a twisted steeple — un clocher tors. It's in the tiny village called St-Bonnet-de-Four. There's also a little forest called La Forêt du Château-Charles. Since my first name is Charles, I liked that coincidence. I asked if there was actually a château, but it seems there is not.

I think these funny steeples are not uncommon
in France, but I don't remember ever seeing one before.




10 comments:

  1. OMG, you are so in for it. Ah ha ha. (Just envy speaking there.) I am forbidden to go near an SPCA or any place where something alive might be adopted or bought. I have no - ZERO - willpower to resist. If I had the choice, I would live in the middle of a huge pile of kids, dogs, cats, hamsters...

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  2. I agree with papadesdeux! I am envious, as well. Two dogs, though, are about all I can handle. On thing about crate training. Hang a towel, about half way back, accross the span. This will decrease the size of the crate. The puppy, not wanting to "dirty her den", will really try NOT to use the bathroom. At this age she is not smart enough to know that she can go behind the towel. Will not even think something is behind there.

    Good for you! She looks like a beautiful pup!

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  3. I've been watching "The Dog Whisperer" with Cesar Milan....boy, do I wish I'd known about him with all my corgi puppies.....he trains people, not dogs....and border collies need lotsa exercise, so u should check out his approach....makes great sense...u r the "calm assertive" pack leader, so u don't let the dog lead (read pull) u down the street but walk her by ur side...some good ideas...i think there's even a dvd

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  4. From one pessimist to another--I'll bet C*** works out fine. You have a great situation for her, and lots of experience.

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  5. How about calling the little pup Camille? Then you could call her Cami for short. Lovely little puppie. Gabby

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  6. Gabby, I like that. Camille. That might be the one. We are still learning to live with a name.

    Thanks mpabner for the advice on the crate.

    Today I'm feeling optimistic and excited about the challenge this puppy will represent.

    I'll look for that Dog Whisperer DVD.

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  7. Crate training worked for us with Cassie. We put a cardboard box in the back half of the crate to reduce the size, and it helped with the housebreaking. As she grew, we reduced the size of the box. She wailed the first couple of nights away from her brother at the SPCA, and that is heartbreaking.

    As soon as you open the crate, head to the door/outside with her, and show her where you want her to do her business. It's good to say the same thing, too, so the idea gets reinforced with a command. I know C***'s a smart dog (even though she looks a little stoned in that first picture!), and she'll learn in no time.

    I like both Cali and Cami! And it's nice to have another C name, isn't it? Kind of honors Collette's memory.

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  8. Why not simply Cali?
    Looks like a lovely puppy!

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  9. I used the flash to take the puppy pictures and all the pups had serious red-eye. So for the first time I used the red-eye correction tool in Photoshop to fix the pictures and I'm not sure I did a very good job of it. If the pups seem glassy-eyed, blame me!

    Thanks, Ginny, for the details about the crate.

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  10. Just have to add mine... awwwwwwwwww! So sweet, the C*** puppy. Can't wait for the continuing adventures of...

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