What is taking all of my time, you might ask? (No, I realize you didn't ask and probably don't give a tinker's damn, but play along.) Allow me to introduce ZUKO, the adorable-but-not-yet-housebroken Shichon/Zuchon * :
[* Shichon and Zuchon are interchangeable names for a hybrid (AKA "designer puppy") of the Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise breeds. File that away for the Jeopardy tryouts.]
Zuko was born on 26 November 2008, which makes him about 10 weeks old. With the standard 1:7 dog year conversion, that would make his age roughly equivalent to a 17-month-old baby human, which seems about right based on his behaviors. He's had a lot thrown at him in the last week, what with all the snow and ice, and trying to fit in with kids and our existing horde of pets, and having to learn that the house is not a 4,000 sq.ft. urinal. He's doing well, he really is, but this puppy-thang is more work than I remembered.
We are getting the kennel cough under control (which he was kind enough to share with Rudy, his Lab partner) and working on getting him to recognize his own name. This latter chore would be much easier, I'd wager, if the powers-that-be (yes, honey, I mean you) could have decided on a name sooner. At last count, we had tried on 4 for size before settling on Zuko, of troubled-but-heroic Avatar (Nickelodeon) fame. So he's only been Zuko for a minute or two, and I think he'll catch the hang of it soon enough.
"Zuko" has everything I require in a dog name: The short two-syllable combination ends in a vowel sound, so it can be said in a cutesy sing-song manner, but still has enough hard consonants to be said with authority when necessary. It also lends itself well to nicknames. So far, I'm fond of "Zuke" (a whimsical play on the classic tough-guy dog name "Duke") and "Zucchini" (for those times when I'm overtaken by his cuteness and my testosterone levels involuntarily dip).
Real training begins when we get a decent thaw. I'm sure more will follow then....
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