Not Yet....

We've been on the lookout for a puppy for our kids for some time now and we thought we ran into some good fortune recently. A coworker of my dad's had to give up his 18 month old (a little mix-up - we were told 6 month old and after checking out his papers, realized that he was born in Nov of '04 and was 18 months) jack russell terrier and it needed a new home. We thought he'd be great for us. With a little research into the breed to find out his tendencies, needs, etc., we decided to adopt him into our family. My dad brought the dog from the office over to our house yesterday after I got home from work.

We brought all of his stuff into the house and were waiting for Jen and the kids to get home. We met them outside when they got home. Right away the boys were excited to see him, but didn't care for it when he tried to jump up and kiss them to say hello. Alexis cried as soon as he touched her. After a few minutes the boys took a liking to him and ran around the yard playing with him (while I still had him on the leash). My dad went back to his house and the rest of us went inside. As soon as I took the leash off, he went straight for the kids wanting to play and to say hello with kisses/licks. Nicky wound up on the dining room table in his attempts to get away, Alexis up in mommy's arms and TJ with me. Not a good start.

I grabbed his leash and the boys and I took him outside for a walk. We were out for 10-15 minutes and he did what he had to do so we went back to the house and inside. Again, too much affection and jumping from the dog and the kids were not happy with him inside. Back on the leash and I put him in the backyard to run off some energy. Jen's sister and her son Joey came over for dinner and I brought the dog inside to meet them. It was as if the dog was on a pogo stick and couldn't stop jumping. At first Joey was amused and laughed while the dog jumped up and licked him, but after 20 seconds he got annoyed, and after the dog scratched him accidentally, he cried. Back outside for the dog to let off some steam.

After a few minutes of outside time, I brought the dog back in and attached his leash to the dining room chair that I was sitting in for dinner. It was probably a combination of tiredness and knowing that he was leashed to the chair, but he quieted down and laid at my feet during dinner. After dinner I took off his leash and he got up and walked around the house. As soon as he stepped foot in the playroom where the 3 boys were watching tv, Nicky shot up and was standing on the back of the couch screaming for us to get the dog out of there. I took the dog out of the room and closed the door for them.

I put the dog's little bed (a big cushion that came with him) next to my chair in the living room and sat down to watch some tv. The dog came over and laid down in his bed and closed his eyes. Veronica brought Alexis over to me and she sat in my lap to read a book. She noticed the dog sitting next to me and wouldn't get down for a few minutes. She eventually did get down, but wouldn't go more than arm's length away. She kept peeking over my leg to look down at the dog and after 10-15 minutes she figured he wasn't going to get up and move so she walked past him.

Thomas was a little bolder than Nicky and came out of the playroom a few times to come within 10 feet of the dog to squat down and check to make sure his eyes were still open. He went inside to the playroom the first time and told Nicky that the dog was dead. Nicky peeked his head around the corner to check and noticed that he was only sleeping and went straight back in to the playroom.

After dessert I took the dog and all his stuff back to my dad's house for him to bring back to work today. It was obvious that although the kids (well, TJ and Alexis) had warmed up a little to him, it wasn't going to work out. The dog, in his sleeping/tired state, was OK with the kids but in his wide awake, active state, the kids didn't want to be near him unless he was outside and I had him on a leash. I feel bad for the dog because he was a good dog and didn't do anything wrong. It was just a wrong fit for my kids at this time. I still think a dog will be good for them but we'll have to find a puppy who is small and won't be as intimidating as a full grown dog and can grow with them and also a breed that is not quite as frisky as this one. We'll have to figure out plan "B" now....