Puppy Power Naps-Good for Puppies, not Necessarily for their Humans

     I have discovered that puppy power naps are excellent for Cinder and give us all 45-90 minutes of respite from the cute little needle-toothed devil. The problem is that her power naps may be good for her, but I'm not convinced they're all that good for ME.  

     Puppy power naps are necessary for a puppy to re-energize (as if that's a problem) and gives their bodies down time for their bodies to grow. The advantage for the human (and any other residents in the home) is the needed respite from the constant supervision and interactions required to keep a high drive puppy from getting into trouble.  The problem is that you can never gauge the length of puppy power naps so it's rarely a time for the human to nap.  You dare not do much that may wake the puppy because you really need that downtime, yet doing nothing is non-productive and counter-intuitive. What can you do?  Read books on training high drive dogs so you may stand a chance at keeping the puppy engaged and learning effectively.

    All said and done, I've managed to sneak in about four hours of the day for myself during which I'm able to get a few things done. Otherwise, right now, Cinder is my welcome little diversion from an otherwise pretty bland life. She is fun and highly entertaining to watch as she plays and I can see her sharp little brain figuring out a lot of things.  Border Collies really are inherently smart-they start as puppies trying to find solutions to problems with their toys and their world.  If a toy gets stuck under an end table, they don't leave it to go find another toy to play with-they work to get that dang toy back-including attempts to dig it out or eat the end table! My job is to keep her from being destructive while she tries to keep her toys in play or in their pile; and make sure no floors, doors, or furniture die a horrible death by dog! Really though, I don't mind the battle of wits with her. She's sharpening my body and mind as she's honing hers. She's smart and in our mini training sessions, she's quick to learn and tries hard to figure out how I want her to earn her rewards. She actually started begging to do a training session just because she wants the rewards! 

    The big boys remain highly annoyed by her presence so they make appearances only to go out and race back to the bedroom to avoid her.  I can't wait until she can jump that high-that will shock them (and her) and then we'll know the bedroom door is most surely their only saving grace. That is bound to be yet another chapter in life raising Cinder.

Cheers!

Chris