Category Archives: Potpourri

Life with baby, er, puppy

Posted on April 23, 2013 | Leave a comment

I finally understand what all those dog owners were warning me about when I naively told them we were getting a puppy. “That’s great!” they’d say (they love to spread the dogspel), followed by an earnest, “You know, puppies are a lot of work.”

Goofing around at 7 weeks old.

“Ha!” I’d scoff to myself. “How hard can it be?” You train ’em up and then you’re gold. As with parenting, I knew everything about dogs before I had one. I was the judgemental dog-less adult watching neighbourhood canines pull at their leashes, jump up on strangers and sniff crotches with abandon. Horrors! My dog would never do anything like that.

Well, not yet, anyway. Instead, Piper pees on the floor at least twice a day; tries to chew anything wooden in the house such as chair legs; has a penchant for nipping at hair, necklaces and fingers; and tears around the yard going ADHD on the rocks, wood chips and leaf mulch. You know how when you name your kid you make sure the name won’t rhyme with anything negative, like how Garth rhymes with barf? We forgot to do that test with Piper (hyper).

Also, Piper is like a baby in that we are now “sleep training” her. We put her in her kennel at 10 p.m., she whines and yelps for about five minutes until she falls asleep. Then, we set the alarm for 2:30 to take Piper (diaper) outside to go pee and poo. You have to actually say “Go pee” and “Go poo” and then give her a treat right after so she doesn’t take her time (because you’re standing there in the middle of the night shivering like an idiot, wondering why you decided to complicate your life by getting a puppy). After the pee break I put her back in the kennel (more crying) and then she wakes up at 5 a.m. and wants to watch Treehouse.

We had to roll up the area rug after Piper peed on it for the third time.

One day last week a dog-less neighbourhood friend popped over to see the puppy. I answered the door looking like a wreck — I hadn’t showered, there were dishes piled up in the sink and dog toys were strewn randomly around the living room. You’d think I’d had a newborn and wasn’t ready for company yet. In reality, she was our third puppy guest. “Everyone wants to see a puppy,” she said. “Too bad they don’t bring a baby gift and a casserole with them.” You got that right.

Well, our neighbours to the west (black lab owners) must have gotten the memo, because they showed up on the weekend with a gift bag full of dog toys for Piper and a bottle of wine for us. Needless to say I was happy to discover that, much like with parenting children, wine also helps new dog-parents cope with a puppy. Cheers to that!

Just what every new dog owner wants (but doesn't get): chew toys and a bottle of wine.

Just what every new dog owner wants (but doesn’t usually get): chew toys and a bottle of wine.

Piper the puppy (and other dog names)

Posted on April 10, 2013 | 3 comments

Last fall I blogged about how we’re getting a puppy. That day is about to come.

Our puppy was born on Feb. 23rd and the breeder has been e-mailing weekly updates and photos, so we can see how the pups grow from tiny, almost-hairless critters into pudgy, cute fur-balls. Our orange and white fur-ball arrives on Saturday and we’re going to call her Piper.

Naming a puppy is a lot easer than naming a baby!

I have to say that naming a dog is much easier than naming a baby, probably because when the dog grows up, even if she hates her name, she’ll have no way of telling you. You could name her Helga or Mildred or Bonehead and the poor thing would still wag her tail happily every time you called her over.

But Blake and I didn’t want a dog name that was mean (see above) too human (like Maggie or Annie) or too childish (Princess, Lady). To us, Piper feels just right. It’s cute; a name that both conveys excitement, and is easy for Bennett to pronounce.

What I didn’t know is there’s a Top 50 list of the most popular dog names in the English-speaking world. As you can imagine, I immediately scoured it, expecting to find Piper right up there with other female dog names like Bella, Daisy and Ginger. Nope — Piper didn’t make the cut. You’ll find Zoe, Missy, Sheba and Bear (I have known dogs with all of these names), but no Piper. And I have to say, I feel pretty good about that!

When we named Avery we thought we were being so original, but now that name has crept into the Canadian top 20, at No. 15. (We did well with Bennett — it’s No. 159 on the Canadian list; less popular than Muhammed, Santiago and even Damian.) Our betta fish’s name is also original, if childish: Blue-blue (so named in honour of the blue soother given up at age four in exchange for the fish). So it feels like we’re on a roll, name-wise.

But really, what does name popularity matter? As long as you like the name it’s all good. Welcome to Calgary, Piper!

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Posted in Potpourri

Tagged dog names, naming a puppy

My kid’s school needs a new playground

Posted on March 16, 2013 | 4 comments

For the past 18 months I have been part of a playground committee that is raising money for a new playground at my daughter’s elementary school. It’s a very worthwhile project — no one can deny the importance of a playground or the role it plays in child development — but the process of getting a new one is, frankly, brutal.

Peeling paint adds to our school playground’s woes. This old play structure is scheduled to be removed so we need to raise $$ for a new one!

I wrote about our struggles in a column for the Calgary Herald that went up online on Thursday. It appears in the print edition (Weekend Life section) of Saturday’s paper. You never know what the response to this kind of story will be. Would I come across as a big whiner? Would people be sympathetic to our plight and dig deep to donate thousands of dollars? Or would they tell me to take a reality pill, shelve our extensive (and costly) naturalization and play structure plans, and spend money on soccer balls instead?

Most of the feedback I have received has been supportive. I’ve gotten e-mails from fellow moms who are on playground committees at other schools (and thus going through the same trials and tribulations) telling me to hang in there. Other readers have been shocked to find out that, 1. New playgrounds are very expensive, and 2. It’s up to parent groups to raise funds to pay for them, as the cost is not government- or school board-funded.

There have also been comments implying that school playgrounds are unnecessary extras. One reader suggested we take out the play structure and buy balls for the kids to chase around. “Way more fun than swinging, climbing, and sliding,” he wrote on the Herald website. “Get them playing pick-up sports.” Another reader wrote: “You want a 270 thousand dollar playground — that’s going to take a lot of effort and a lot of gin. A playground area is nice, it’s not a necessity.”

I like her idea about more gin, but I disagree with her comment that a playground is not a necessity. While organized sports promote teamwork and certainly have their place, a playground is a gathering place where children can engage in creative play that is not directed by adults. As structured activities take over our busy lives, this kind of unstructured play time is crucial to child development but is sorely missing.

Our future play park will have both an interesting play structure, as well as elements such as boulders, logs, trees and stumps that can be incorporated into imaginative games at recess — and, after school hours, by all the kids in the community. It’s worth noting that naturalized playgrounds like the one we have planned are gaining momentum as educators realize the limitations of lone play structures.

My sincere hope is that we can raise enough money to see our play park become a reality. What do you think? Are we out to lunch or should we keep the dream alive over more G&Ts?