Waiting in the Nursery

New crate/den in the study

It's Tuesday before I pick up the puppy on Friday, and I still don't know which pup will be mine.  You can view the options here.  An e-mail from the breeder last week said that she would be matching pups to owners over the weekend, but I've still heard nothing.
 

The breed judge picked Saranac and Skaneatalas as the picks of the litter, so it won't be either of those.  Mine will be "pet quality."  Pups with perfect markings, best build, good attention and whatever else the breeders look for will go to those who want to breed them.
 

Of course I can't go wrong.  As you can see, all the pups are adorable.  God made puppies extra cute so you won't kill them when they eat your furniture.  But how will I know whether to put pink or blue ribbons on the crate?  I want to know!
 

Yes, the crate.  You see it here.  It is 26 inches wide, 42 inches deep, 30 inches high, and weighs 40 lbs.  It is made by Kennel Aire and has a small grid, which is supposed to be safer for puppies.  Of course the puppy is not that big, but Chinooks grow to be 50-80 lbs. depending on whether it's a male or a female, the genetics of the particular pup, etc.  It was expensive, so I didn't want to have to replace it every time the pup grew.
 

I have never crated a dog before, but all the experts (including the breeder) recommend it and say that when used properly it becomes a preferred den for the dog and not a place of punishment.  Since it has been 15 years since I last raised a puppy and with visions of the pup chewing on power strips and electrocuting itself as I slept, I got one.
 

So far it has been quite an expensive venture, even before I pay for the puppy itself.  There is the crate, but before that came the project of finishing off the fencing in the yard and raising some of the old fencing from 4 ft. to 6 ft.  Chinooks can jump...in fact, the sire of this litter, Helo, was known to jump even a 6 ft. fence to get at a female in heat.  Sheesh...boys.
 

Then there was the doggie door.  I bought the door but fortunately had a friend who was willing to cut a bigger hole in the wall and turn the cat door into the dog door.  That was about four days worth of excavating, cutting, drilling, etc.  And since my only camera was in my phone, I also got a new digital camera.  This picture of the crate was taken with that camera.
 

I have also had to rearrange furniture.  My Dog Training for Dummies book says that neither the pup nor I will find it rewarding to have the puppy sleep in a crate anywhere other than beside my bed.  And yet, if it truly becomes a preferred place for the dog to hang out, it also needs to be in my study where I spend a lot of time.  It's too expensive to get two of them, and the reason it is sitting in my study at the moment is because in this small house there was not room for it in the bedroom.  Moreoever, there was living room furniture between the study and bedroom that made it impossible for the crate to get by (remembering that it weighs 40 lbs.).
 

The only reason it fits in the study is because I was able to get rid of two pieces of furniture in there last month when I had to move everything to have new carpet installed.  (I know, I know, new carpet and puppies should not occupy the same time frame.  But Gatsby died, and I hated the old carpet and couldn't imagine having to move everything off one floor and onto another with a dog around.  I kept the extra for the repairs.)
 

Soooo...I have rearranged the furniture in the living room and bedroom so that I can perform the daily ritual of moving the crate from study to bedroom at night and back again in the morning.  My genius brother, Rob, is going to put wheels on the thing for me.  This also helps distract me from dwelling on the question at hand..."Which puppy am I getting?"!!

So now whenever I walk into the study I see the prepared crate and the one toy I have purchased so far...a stuffed cow in the shape of a dachshund that squeaks like a mouse when you chew it.  Or at least when the dog chews it.  I admit I haven't tried.  Will it be Dia or Deo?