Ben and Other Big Decisions

Well, hi. Life is a wee bit full right this second. It’s so good. But it would be a lie to say I haven’t been a touch overwhelmed.

In the last two weeks I:

• Started a 50+ hour yoga teacher training program (and opted not to do another, thus reducing my overwhelm immensely)
• Got “hired” to cater brunch for my mom’s coworker
• Bought a bed
• Bought a kitchen table and chairs
• Bought a new set of dishes
• Bought a new set of flatware
• Bought a couch
• BOUGHT A PUPPY
• Caught a cold (I’m almost over it, about a week and a half later)

The main things are the yoga and the pup. The other stuff is fairly quick and fun, and it just adds to the overwhelm because I’m like, “Oh, my goodness, I just spent so much money.” Which I did. But it was/is all on sale and things I didn’t have to think too hard about. I just saw them and knew, and if you know me and how freaking indecisive I can be, that is a big deal.

Yoga

Something I don’t think I mentioned is how minimalist I’ve been in my yoga practice since leaving Chicago last spring. Maybe I squeeze in a flow before bed here and there, or maybe when I’m super stressed, but before last week, I had taken one formal class since last spring.

I don’t believe you have to go to a yoga studio to have a beneficial yoga practice, but it’s definitely a big part of it for me. So, getting back to that has been amazing. Meeting new people at the CorePower in Columbus has been lovely. The late nights have been a little rough.

I was going to do both regular teacher training and the training for Yoga Sculpt. And then, suddenly, with me a little sick and a lot sleep-deprived and not feeling passionate about Sculpt, I decided to opt out of that one. Like, on the day it was supposed to start. I felt bad about it from a “Oh my goodness, I’m such a flake,” standpoint, but spending nine hours a week in training, plus attending particular yoga classes and journaling and reading and all that, didn’t feel like a very good way to take care of myself right now. I’d rather take a yoga class than a teaching class, and I’d rather choose which classes sound good than take specific ones to fulfill my requirements.

So, I emailed the program coordinator and explained, and while I’ll get all my money back because I notified her before class started (by about an hour…), I withdrew before I was sure of that because my time and sanity are worth it.

All that said, I’m freaking loving the other training. It’s been a lot of fun to hone the skills that I was pretty clueless about before. In my 200-hour training, we go over how to adjust students and use hands-on assists to connect with them, but we don’t really have the confidence to actually do it. I’d say that might just be me, but everyone else in my program feels the same way. Now, I approach other students with confidence and they say I’m actually helping them. I also learned how to make a decent yoga playlist (it’s not that easy), and this week we’re working on creating our own yoga flows.

I love having “yoga people” to bounce ideas off of, and it’s been fun. Even if it keeps me up way past my bedtime.

Ben

I spent over a week looking at a six-year old dog named Zoe. She got along fine with Pippa, and she was sweet and quiet. I was all lined up to adopt her, but she kind of wanted nothing to do with me. If we were in a room at the shelter, she was as far away from me as she could get. And when I walked her, she basically dragged me, her nose to the ground, the whole time. I loved her as soon as I saw her, and I slowly fell out of love with her because she did not care that I was there.

Pippa is the type of dog who is usually sleeping somewhere in the house. That said, when it’s time to go for a walk or when one of us comes home, she’s so freaking excited. Zoe didn’t seem to care, and that started to feel off to me.

So, I sadly withdrew my application and started looking for other dogs. I accidentally didn’t filter one of the rescue websites to show me only “young dogs”, and found myself looking at a bunch of puppies. Aaaand then I fell in love with an entire litter of puppy brothers who were nine weeks old and had just recovered from serious illness and a bad living situation.

I applied, figuring I wouldn’t get one because they were so cute and would thus be in high demand. But then I got a call on Thursday to meet him, and then I fell in love with him and he’s been attached to me pretty much ever since. His name was Franklin in the shelter, and I call him Ben.

Quick facts:

• The rescue said he was a lab-terrier mix. The vet said no way he’s a lab. Maybe a beagle-terrier? Maybe some chihuahua in there? Who knows? She offered a DNA test, but I frankly don’t care enough to pay for a dog DNA test at the moment. If I were convinced that the $80 Amazon ones were reliable, maybe, but I doubt the vet is only going to charge $80 for that.
• He’s 7.7 pounds. He’s SO TINY. 
• He was the sickest of his brothers and is thus the littlest. He might catch up, but he might just be a little guy.
• They expect his brothers to get to be 35-40 pounds. The vet estimates he’ll stick closer to 30.
• He’s 11 weeks old.
• He’s super clumsy and it’s the funniest thing. He has plenty of Bambi moments.

He sleeps through the night (thank goodness) and has seemed to understand basic commands since he got here, so I gather that his foster family started training him. I can usually see him thinking about whether he should do as I say or do what he wants. Sometimes he listens immediately. Sometimes he doesn’t.

For the first two days he was here, he basically told me when he needed to go outside. He has since regressed and found two favorite spots to pee in the house. But we’re working on it. He’s teething and obsessed with toys, except sometimes he’d rather get my fingers holding the toy or the carpet beneath it. He hears “no” a lot. He usually whines himself into a stupor within 5 to 15 minutes of being in his crate, and he gets a decent amount of time there just because I can’t watch him 100% of the time. I now sleep on the other side of the bed so he can see me from his crate in my room, and with a night light because he doesn’t like the pitch darkness that I prefer. I’d rather pull a blanket over my head than try to sleep with the whining, ya know?

Puppy training is no joke and has made me wonder at times how on Earth I’ll handle having a kid (what do you mean I can’t do everything exactly when I want?), but I also can’t imagine taking him back to the rescue. Even when he pees in the house out of sheer orneriness.

Pippa doesn’t love him, and spends most of her time as far away from him as possible, but she’s not aggressive toward him unless he tries to eat her food. She’s more like, “Why did you bring this ridiculous, playful creature into my peaceful kingdom?” I get it. Maybe one day he’ll learn to laze around and sleep most of the time, like she does.

Expect regular Ben updates. Even though evenings are rough with him lately (omg why does he pee everywhere when he knows better and is being given plenty of attention???), I basically just tell him how much I love him and how cute he is every second of the day. He’s so fun.

Your turn:

Have you ever had/trained a puppy? Help!

What’s new with you?