Welcome Comet!

As longtime PBF readers may know, vizslas have a very, very special place in our hearts. They’re the most loving, insanely energetic, cuddly, hilarious, athletic, space-invading dogs. And over the weekend, we welcomed a 10-week-old vizsla puppy into our family!

Welcome Comet!!! Why not add a dog into the mix during the mayhem that is December!?

Our boys named this little guy Comet after the reindeer since we got him so close to Christmas but they also loved the name because vizslas are speedy like a comet and his name obviously has a space connotation which they like a lot, too. And doesn’t Comet just feel like a happy name!? So far Comet’s personality is one I would liken to Buddy the Elf. He’s easy-to-please, incredibly joyful, floppy and clumsy and next-level adorable.

And, guys, he LOVES the boys.

He has three built-in best friends with tons of energy and spent all weekend running with them, playing fetch (a work in progress we know he’ll master soon enough), napping on their chests, starring as the ultimate defender during their soccer games (and getting caught in the net), half-way learning his first trick (“sit”) and stealing stuffed animals and shoes we’re trying to teach him are off-limits. Throughout the weekend Chase and Ryder both repeatedly said, “I cannot believe he’s real and we get to keep him” and seemed truly in awe that another puppy joined our family. At one point, Comet was wiggling all over Rhett and giving him a lot of kisses I thought might be overwhelming, but when I asked Rhett if it was too much, he said, “No, it’s perfect.” My heart instantly swelled.

Rhett was the first one to meet Comet on Friday since he doesn’t have preschool on Fridays. Rhett was so, so happy and said, “I was ready for him!” which made us laugh because he had no idea Comet was coming. They instantly got to playing and then Rhett helped come up with an idea to surprise his big brothers. Ryan picked Chase and Ryder up from karate on Friday and when they arrived home, Rhett told them their Elf on the Shelf brought them some cool new bath toys. To say they were shocked to find a real puppy in the bath tub (not from their elf) is a serious understatement!

Both Chase and Ryder thought Comet was a remote control dog at first and truly didn’t believe he was real. They then started to put the pieces together and realized Dad’s Friday “work trip” wasn’t really a work trip after all. They were thrilled!

As very much expected, the first few days with a puppy have been a learning curve. We’ve explained to the boys that Comet is just a baby and will need a lot of help and reminders to learn certain behaviors and un-learn others. We’re doing the bell-by-the-door trick for potty training and it’s failing miserably so far but, thankfully, having gone through puppy vizsla life once before with our first vizsla gives me faith that lots of accidents are very normal for a while and eventually Comet will get it. He’s doing a fantastic job going to the bathroom right when he gets outside but not going inside is another beast.

Comet absolutely loves his toys but we have our work cut out for us teaching him which toys are his and which are the boys. He redirects really, really well and is so darn happy and floppy and drops something in a second when we tell him “no” before excitedly bounding over to the dog toy we have in our hands. We joke that he really is our little Buddy the Elf that we just have to teach not to chew the gum he found on the streets of NYC.

As for the current queen bee of the house, Miss Pepper, day one with Comet wasn’t her favorite day on this planet. Pepper absolutely loves other dogs but bringing a clumsy, curious, high-energy puppy into her space to live and never leave will take some adjusting.

(Thankfully Pepper is part-cat and can escape to high places for a Comet break.)

We’ve seen huge strides from Pepper in only two days though and were thrilled when she was the one to initiate play with Comet last night. There’s hope for sure! Pepper also isn’t doing her low growl at Comet nearly as much and seems more comfortable with him coming into her home already. Pepper’s genuine love for other dogs give us hope that her bond with Comet with eventually grow. Comet already thinks Pepper is his best friend and the absolute coolest. He’s playing the long game and will win her over eventually.

For anyone who might be new(er) to the blog, Ryan and I got our first vizsla, Sadie, soon after we graduated college and to say she captured our hearts would be a huge understatement. We refer to her now as our “baby before our babies” and she was truly a part of our family. We’re very familiar with vizslas and understand how much work goes into puppy vizsla life but, even still, it’s been nearly 18 years since we’ve had a puppy vizsla so I’m finding myself diving into books about vizslas, training vizslas and owning a vizsla all over again. The boys are also really interested in being involved in training Comet which is fun! And Chase is really interested in exploring some dog competitions with Comet eventually (agility or other companion events) which would be really cool. We’ll see! It’s all new and fun and a little crazy!

Right now we’re just very much in the puppy love phase with our new puppy. I’m sure I’ll share more about Comet and our adventures with the newest member of our crew but couldn’t wait to introduce him to all of you today!

Comet, you’re already one very loved floppy little pup!