Preparing for a puppy!

What?  A dog?  zomg.

I decided to start this blog because I know that raising a puppy will be a unique adventure in my life.  It's a big decision to get a dog.  I know my life will never be the same.  I also wanted to share my experiences, because I read lots of other Shiba blogs to help me learn what I was getting into.  They've been really helpful, so maybe I can help someone else with my experiences as well!


In what I now think of as my "past life" (in a previous relationship) I really, really wanted a dog.  But my partner wasn't really into the idea.  We visited some dogs at the SPCA a couple of times, but due to his reluctance over it all, I eventually gave up the idea.

Fast forward about seven years to my "new life"...

My sig o, Chris, somehow decided he wanted a dog.  I have no idea where this came from.  He saw a Shiba Inu at our gym, did some research on the breed, and decided that THIS was the dog we needed.  I was very skeptical at first.  I mean, we have a nice life already, and a cat.  Everything is easy.  Why bring something into the house that will mean tons of extra work?  Not to mention a somewhat loss of our freedom.  We won't be able to just stay out all day and night anymore.  Every time we travel, we will have to figure out what to do with the dog.  Etc, etc.  But Chris has a way of talking me into things.  And from my previous experience in my "past life"-- well, I didn't want to do to him what my ex had inadvertently done, which was squash something that I really wanted.  So I gave in :)

 Chris found a Shiba breeder that lives about an hour north of us.  We visited her in early Dec and met the mother, Kawaii, who was two weeks pregnant at the time.  We also met several other Shibas that she had.  They were beautiful dogs, very sweet and well behaved.  I was sold. 

The pups were born on Dec 24:  one boy and two girls.  We were anxious to visit, but the breeder likes to wait until the pups are around six weeks old.  In the meantime, she sent photos.

We finally got to visit them last weekend and we needed to choose which we wanted.   The breeder is keeping one girl, but she hadn't decided which of the two she would be keeping yet.

I admit, I went in thinking I'd want a girl.  I hate it when male dogs mark everywhere, hump your leg, and stick out their red rocket.  Ha.  But the boy somehow managed to grab my eye.  He was the most responsive out of the three for me.  And he was adorable!  So fat and sausage-y!  Chris really liked one of the girls, but since the breeder hadn't decided which girl she would keep, we didn't know if the one Chris liked would be an option for us.  

Since then, we thought nonstop about this choice we had to make.  Should we wait and see if we could get the girl that Chris liked?  Or should we go with the boy?  After a couple of days and endless discussion, we finally decided:  it's a boy!  We are naming him Kai.  It's a good Japanese name which, loosely translated, means "ocean".  I wanted a Japanese name that wasn't too hard for the average American to pronounce.  Chris likes the name because it's also the name of a favorite radio personality of his.

The next step is getting all the stuff we need:  crate, toys, etc.  I have about $300 worth of dog stuff on an Amazon wish list and we'll order it all this week.  Ahhhh!  I can't believe this is happening!  I am so excited and terrified at the same time.  This is some crazy shit.  We are in the middle of a theatre production of Pirates of Penzance (Chris is in the cast, I'm a musician in the pit) so there will be a lot going on!  FSM please smile on us...