An Introduction

Welcome to my puppy blog, Trouble with the In-Paws.  Here you will find stories, experiences, lessons-learned, and lessons-not-learned, based on my everyday interactions with my first puppy, Marlee.  Getting to this point is a story in and of itself.  It all started a few months ago when I decided I wanted to get a puppy. 

Now, getting a puppy is not a knee-jerk decision...it requires a lot of thought and planning.  How big of a dog did I want?  What kind of breed did I want? Did I want to adopt a dog from a shelter or get one from a breeder? How much money did I want to spend? Did I want a puppy or an older dog?  The list of questions goes on and on.  And if you do decide you want a puppy (which I did), don't be fooled by their cuteness.  All puppies are cute...you really need to do your homework about the breeds.

I grew up with collies, so I decided that I wanted a puppy that was a collie or lab mix.  I also knew I wanted to adopt a dog from a shelter.  Eventually, I found both a dog and a shelter that I liked.  The shelter was located in Tennessee, and I did not feel comfortable adopting the dog without seeing her first, so my sister and I made the journey down to the Volunteer State.  When we got to the shelter, the dog that won our hearts was not actually the one we were going down to see.  But, how could we possibly resist this girl's beautiful face?




Marlee, 8 weeks old

We made the journey back to central Illinois, discussing potential names for this beauty the entire way home.  I'm pretty sure we considered every name in the book, some more than once, but eventually we landed on Marlee because of her apparent love for Bob Marley music.  After a visit to the pet store (about 3 times in 24 hours), and a trip to the vet, I was all set to begin life with a puppy, and I was excited for all the adventures this would bring.  And that is why I decided to start this puppy blog.