Two Weeks of Basil

A  few reflections on being a new dog owner:

• I'm guessing, and have had it confirmed by people who would know, that getting a new puppy is like being a new parent in many ways just less so.  Less responsibility, less expense, less emotion, less excitement, etc.  Though we haven't been waken up at night by Basil, we have had to re-organize our schedules a bit (mornings in particular) and when planning our days, we have to think about more than ourselves.  Granted, if we want to go out, we don't have to hire a sitter; we just put Basil in his kennel. Our lives, though, have had to change in a multitude of small ways to accommodate him and I expect our first child will have a similar impact, just more so.
• Basil definitely prefers Katie.  Basil definitely is more obedient towards me.  Good cop, bad cop.
• I find myself wishing that there was something I could do so that Basil liked me more.  I want him to be excited when I get home and snuggle up with me on the couch and rest his droopy chin and ears on my lap when he's tired.  Right now, I get overflow from his loving of Katie and I guess that will have to do.  I can't make Basil love me (in the small way is able to) and that's the way it is.  Again, this seems highly analogous to having children and only time will tell how our relationship will end up.
• Basil can get very bad gas.  We're going to try changing his food to see if that will help.
• Basil always smells like a dog and unless we do something aggressive, our house probably will too.  Hopefully once he's older we'll be able to leave him outside more and that will help.
• Basil is a social dog and despite his puppy tendencies, will still snuggle up with you to watch a movie.  He has his spot on the couch and he enjoys being there.  That cushion is his happy place and if he's scared or needs reassurance, he parks there.  He also tends to be lazy enough that he won't always fully jump up on his own (even though he is perfectly capable of doing so) or even just lay on the floor instead.

We have been blessed with a wonderful dog.  More pictures to come.