When I said keep them coming....

Well, we've got even more.

I agreed to help Nina out and take another pup, Kessler, next week, right after Grant leaves.
He needs his first sleepover, as he's almost 6 months and hasn't had one. He was supposed to go to Nina, but, to make a long story short, unfortunately a pup in our region is going to be leaving his home, through mutual agreement between the raisers and the program. So that pup is at Nina's until they can find a new foster home for him.

It's a sad situation -- the raisers apparently just didn't have enough time for this, and I think were pretty actively resisting doing things the way GEB wants us to. The husband told Nina that it's a "full-time job" to do what GEB wants and he didn't agree with several training methods. They were raising a shepherd, which by all accounts is a challenge.

I don't know that I'd agree that it's a "full-time job" to raise a GEB pup -- if it is, I think I'm tired thinking about it, given that the last time I checked, I had a full-time paying job, a 5-year-old and a husband, and plus I still have some hobbies (reading, cooking, stitching, running) that I like to do from time to time!

It gave me pause to reflect, though. People seem to think that Murphy turned out ok, which is a relief, because I always worried I wasn't spending enough time on training or working him enough. I worried the other day when Carol said Nettie was being a pill after she came home.

I'm a little worried about having Kessler -- his raiser is single and works from home, and I suspect, gives him tons of attention and work. I already warned her that in my house, he's going to spend more time in a crate than he probably does there. (I also begged her to try to transition him to not wake up at 5:30 or 6, as he apparently does now, before his visit, since I get home from work at midnight, and usually go to sleep by 1. I am not a nice person after a week of 4 1/2 hours of sleep.)

The other thing that continues to fascinate me is how subjective and tricky the bond between human and dogs can be. I was just skimming an article in People (oh, admit that you look at it too!) on the controversy over Cesar Millan, the "Dog Whisperer." I have to say that I'd never watched his show or read his book, but what I read in this article appalled me. I much prefer the GEB approach of teaching them how to be good and rewarding that.

As for Grant -- aka "this week's yellow pup" -- he's a sweetie, but boy, you do forget how much work the little ones are! He is actually napping in his crate right now in this room -- he has some issues with not wanting to be in a crate if he can see people, so we're trying to get him to accept that. It is about 2 degrees here now, with wicked wind chill, so we've been doing some obedience work inside.