How Much is that Doggie in the Window?

Actually, upon reflection  I concur with Lut C- he is too cute to be called the Dawg.  And though he will grow out of his current puppy tininess, he will never be a particularly large animal.  Here in the House o'Mare, we find ourselves frequently referring to him as "Little Guy".  Little Guy! Littttttleee Guuuuy!  And up he toddles, waggy waggy waggy.  I have keep reminding E. not to overdo it with the nicknames, as the puppy will actually need to learn his real name. 

As far as what type of dog he is, isn't it so much more fun guessing? I'll keep dropping you wee hints- Little Guy is not a terrier.  He's a hound, of a breed designed for hunting rabbits. Like a latte, the breed comes in three sizes.  LG is the smallest coffee.   

Not that he'll be doing bunny-terrorising under my watch, if I can help it.  I did take him to the vet the other day to have him checked over, and as he was sitting there, pink ears glowing angelically in the sunlight, a girl walked in carrying something in a sort of plastic bag thing.

"Hello," the receptionist said, "Is that the bunny?"   

And Little Guy's ears twitched.  Hmmm, delicious wwwabbits. 

One thing I've immediately noticed since his arrival is how sociable a dog forces you to become.  Simply being out and about the neighbourhood brings me into contact with all sorts of, ah, interesting people.  I'm generally quite shy and a bit reclusive by nature, so it's a slight shock to the system.  Little Guy generates a fair amount of interest wherever we go, with attendant cooing and patting. Understandable, given he is a contender for World's Cutest Puppy. It's all very pleasant, up to a point.  I have had to fend off a number of rather grabby children, all of whom want to hold/pat/cuddle him with slightly too much enthusiasm; or in the case of one small insistent boy, to suddenly wrap their grubby mitts around the puppy's neck. Noooooooo.

Also yesterday I found myself embroiled in an odd discussion with a man who was primarily concerned with whether I had seen any Pakistani oil barges sailing up the river in recent weeks. Little Guy patiently sat on my shoe for a bit and then got bored and began eating the cuff of my jeans, forcing me to hop unbecomingly about trying to extract myself from both tiny but fierce jaws and the conversation.

Plus, what is with people asking me how much I paid for my dog?  Do folks do this in America?  It's the way they say it, so bluntly. "How much did that cost you, then?", as if Little Guy is a sort of animated handbag.  It makes me feel all squirmy and uncomfortable. Besides, what some people evidently fail to appreciate it is that the basic purchase price of the puppy pales in comparison with the subsequent unchecked spurting of vast sums of money from the artery of my wallet.  I should have just developed a cocaine habit and been done with it.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's unseemly display of cute puppy tummy going on over there on the no-longer pristine living room rug (my eyes!)- somebody needs to be tickled.  I'll try to take a picture if he'll hold still for two seconds.

Updated:

Now with 100% more tummy.

Comments

[DebbieS]

I could have sworn he was a terrier! The wiry coat threw me off! Could he possibly be a wire-coated Ibizan puppy? Do Beezers come in different sizes? That's all I could find for those big ol' ears. (Maybe they masquerade as rabbits to catch them?) Please tell me if I got it right!!

People are SOO rude. I think Karen at the Naked Ovary said that people ask her how much she's paying to adopt her DD. Just tell 'em "if you have to ask, you can't afford it!"

[thalia]

I have no clue about dog breeds, but he is effing adorable, and you sound besotted, I'm so happy.

[Denise]

The LG made me come out of lurkdom and finally comment after being a long time reader - what an adorable little guy! Obviously I'm lacking motivation at work today and did some searching in dog breeds. I'm going to guess he is a miniature portugese rabbit hound. Right?

[DD]

I think the asking of cost has a lot to do with the type of people who do have a tendency to brag about what their pets cost, especially with the emphasis lately on designer dogs. "Oh, my precious Labradoodle? He cost us only $23,799." even when no one asks. They think that's a given status indicator. I guess so many people are given the info w/o prompting, so they don't think it's a faux pas to ask.

[KellyH]

I also thought Ibizan, when I read "hound." I've only seen one in person though, and he was a smooth coat. Off to Google U!

[KellyH]

Yep- I'll stick by my guess of Ibizan Hound.

[Lut C.]

Little Guy! Fits him perfectly. :-)

The brand of dog? Not labrador. Not rotweiller. Not cat. ;-)

Perhaps by asking the price they want to let you know they can tell it's a dog with a pedigree, not one from the pound.

[Pamplemousse]

Aha, I know!!! Only cos you told me ;)

The asking price thing? Us Scottish people love to ooh and aah over the spending of large amounts of money. It shocks us to our Presbyterian core at the sinfulness of it!!!

[Becky]

Well, I was inclined to agree, but reading further down on the blog...Ibizans are not toaster sized.

I will make the assumption that the fuzziness/wire hairiness is just a puppy thing and hazard the guess of Basenji.

[DebbieS]

Ooh, I change my guess to Portuguese rabbit hound, too. Wow, I watch dog shows, and I've never heard of one! Cool!

[JennaM]

Don't care what he is... can I have him?

xoxo
JennaM

[alexandra/Infertile Gourmet]

Ummmm what no more pics?

wirehaired Portuguese Podengos?

[SoCo]

I think I'm also going to guess Portuguese Podengo, but only with help from the previous commenters and Google. I'd never heard of that breed before. Adorable!

I can't believe how much he cost. Then again, we got our dog from the pound, so no one ever asks how much she cost! :-)

[Ellen K.]

Not sure of the breed, but he is a cutie. Having a dog is quite a sociable thing. That difference also first struck me when we got Sadie. All of a sudden, people would make eye contact and smile and -gasp- talk to me on the street.

[Sam]

Hurray for the puppy and pictures and postings!

[Theresa]

Ay! Puppy tummy! The cure for all ills. :-)

[Al]

OO us Scots are obsessed with what thing cost. its all what such and such's new home cost and car etc so not surprising they want to know how much LG was. When i first saw the ears i though Pharoh hound but i dunno cause the only one i have seen in Dundee was alot bigger than a toaster. Anyway he is a total cutie.

[Peach]

I thinks sometimes people ask what things cost because they're thinking of investing themselves, so they don't stop to think about the ramifications of the question.

My standard response (and my suggestion to others) is to return with the question "Are you thinking of purchasing one/investing/adopting yourself?" And if they say no, then tell them it's rather private, but if they say yes, then refer them to your breeder, shop, financial advisor, or adoption agency, what have you so they can inquire there.

[Timi]

Delurking because of the puppy tummy!

Oh my god that kills me. That's what I remember most from when our doggie was a puppy as well.

Enjoy your puppy.

[Amyesq]

Just say "Worth his weight in gold, as you can see." And smile. None of their damn business.

Man, is he cute.

[Mia]

I could just eat him up!!!! Is he part Corgi?

There's a Jewish saying: "A loved child has many names." I'm sure that applies to uber-cute puppies, too!

[Truly Tested]

Congratulations! I am so very happy for you! I think we are getting closer to getting a dog as well...

[AdaBee]

Little Guy is ADORABLE. We also call our 4 y/o grandson "Little Guy" but we happily share the nickname with you. About the money question, it is pretty rude. Here's the thing, though. Ever since I heard of this dog breed, I've been wondering how much they are in hopes that I can get one someday! I in keeping with the idea that if you have to ask, you can't afford it, probably not! :)