Bravo

There are two types of people in this world: the ones who stop you on the street to tell you that you have an adorable puppy and complete psychopaths.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, then you probably guessed why I’ve been absent for the last two weeks. On Oct. 6 we finally welcomed our puppy home. We decided to call him Bravo because my husband has no sense of humor and I like the idea of people cheering me on every time I go for a walk.

Believe me when I say that people, even Finnish people, are willing to talk to strangers when a puppy is involved. With Bravo by my side, I have spoken to more people in the past two weeks than I have in the past two years combined—and that includes both of the days that I went walking around the city in a wedding dress.

Working from home with a puppy in the house is a lot like working in an office. Every waking hour someone wanders over looking for attention and when you suggest he wait even one minute he threatens to make a mess and then have you clean it up.   

Having a dog is not like having a child, but I think it’s possible to get a glimpse into what kind of parent you would be. One of you might, for example, follow the strict “no people food” rule that you both agreed to before bringing home the dog. And the other may flaunt that rule several times a day by making the dog a home-cooked meal of chicken and rice with lactose-free sour cream.

My puppy learned his name, how to fetch and how to sit before he was 9 weeks old. I sent video evidence to the breeder, expecting her to be amazed and suggest I enroll the dog in medical school. When she did not, I turned to Instagram for praise. And that is the kind of parent I would be.

Having a Dalmatian puppy as an American in Helsinki is basically the closest I will ever come to being a celebrity. We had Bravo for less than 48 hours when a Swiss woman with a Dachshund spotted us on the street and alerted her friend, a Russian woman with a terrier. “This is the puppy I was telling you about!” she yelled as she crossed the street. “This is Bravo!” As I crouched there on the corner, my own dog crawling into my lap plus two more besides vying for my attention, watching my husband chat with two women who were thisclose to inviting me to join the walking group, I couldn’t help but say, “It’s all coming together! Dogs, Europe, business, husband who owns a Christmas tree farm… how did I get so lucky?”

And then my dog tried to climb up the leg of my sweat pants. Bravo.

16 comments to “Bravo”
      • THANK YOU!! yes, he is destined to be a main character. already he will throw himself into the arms of every construction worker as if to say, “I need attention and maybe so does she.”

    • THANK YOU! can’t wait until he is old enough to take on runs. part of the appeal of a dalmatian was that he would basically be a personal trainer for us. I’m not going to be able to keep up, i can tell that even at 10 weeks!

  1. Bravo is absolutely adorable! The puppy stage can be so frustrating- so it helps that they’re so cute.

    I like to say that having a dog is about equivalent to 1% of having a child. It teaches you to be responsible for another living thing, but you can also leave it locked in your house alone for a few hours and nobody is concerned about it :)

    Can’t wait for more Bravo content!

    • thank you! yes the puppy stage is frustrating. the first three weeks were actually pretty easy but now he has a mind of his own and it is A LOT. once he’s less whiney about being outside and has all his shots and can play with other dogs, I think he’ll do better. but the next 2 weeks are probably going to be A RIDE for us. but as you say, good thing he’s cute!

  2. Nine weeks is a little young for med school. I understand why your breeder didn’t bring it up immediately.

    Congrats on such an adorable new member to the family!

  3. He’s utterly adorable and Bravo’s a great name. And I’m very impressed that he knew “sit” by 9 weeks old. That’s excellent training from you two.

    • THANK YOU!! Though I will admit that now that we are at 10 weeks and his hormones are kicking in he’s much more interested in HIS ideas than mine, which is to say MORE CHEWING, less sitting. But we will get there. We are starting obedience school this week. He’s going to be so big that he needs to be very well trained.
      xx

  4. Which one of you is flaunting the no-people food rule? In our house that’s Rich, who is strict in some ways, but a total push-over when it comes to food. He shares ALL his food with the dogs.

    I love Bravo! He is an exceptionally smart puppy, don’t listen to the breeder. Bravo is special.

    • OMG i can’t believe you have to ask. I barely cook for myself, let alone a dog. Though I should point out Valtteri was only cooking the dog meals because it had a touch of runny tummy. Once that stopped, so did he. And we are not feeding the dog table food of any kind. In solidarity.

      I love Bravo too. Yesterday he learned Down and I was like a goddamn Dance Mom about it.

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