Puppy Dogs

We have a new puppy in the house. Knox is a cute Wheaten Terrier, about 12 weeks old. We picked the name due to the fact that Knox is Scottish and we are a bit weird. John Knox was a famous Scottish preacher whose prayer was, Give me Scotland ere I die. Now, Knox was not supposed to be living with us, at least not yet. You see, we had a cat that was gramma's cat. A rather fat and lazy Calico, named of course, Cali. She was almost 15 when we had to lay her to rest. After the tears Donna and I came to an understanding about pets, no more for a while. Wait a couple of years and then think about another addition to the family. Addition to the family, that is exactly what a pet is to our family.

A Puppy is- A puppy is exactly that, a puppy. A puppy is not a small dog. A small dog used to be a puppy. Expect dog stuff from a puppy and you will either get mad or be disappointed. Expect puppy stuff from a puppy and you will enjoy the puppy and not be surprised when they do the bad puppy stuff. Knox is a ball to play with. Donna has bought, from thrift stores, more toys and stuffed animals for this puppy than all the other pets combined. He has a stuffed Elmo that is twice his size, he doesn't hesitate to wrestle and fight with Big Elmo. He also does the puppy stuff we don't like. He can be outside for an hour and come into the house to pee. I know what you are thinking, well you are not training him right. Well, we are, we have had at least a dozen puppies that have all graduated into dogs. We didn't flunk any of them, or ship them off to doggies disobedience school. Knox is learning and each day he is getting a little better. For now I want him to be a puppy, and beat up on Elmo. Soon he will be a dog and Elmo might go into the toy box.

A Dog is- A dog is the sum of puppy learning and training. Knox loves to go for walks with Donna. He loves to smell the leaves and root around in the dirt. That is part of his nature as a terrier. He loves to burrow under blankets and take rides in my truck. Partly because he knows that when he goes for a ride treats are waiting. When I drive through the teller window at the bank Knox jumps on mt lap and stares at the teller, he knows that a treat is coming. Knox will grow up to be a wonderful companion dog for Donna. He will not be the relaxed and peace loving dog that one would expect from a retriever. He will be rather protective and spoiled. He might learn some cute tricks, like prancing on two back legs. Donna is teaching him now. Knox will become what we influence him to become.

Expectations- Some might be offended at the relationship that I am drawing between puppies and people. So be it. But the issue of expectations fits very well. We are living in a world where expectations without understanding seems to be the norm. Let us look at the relationship expectations in many families. Have you ever met parents who expect their child to be little adults. They expect their children to talk like adults and think like they do. How many children have lost childhood because they had to live like an adult. The same is true when it comes to faith and growth in our spiritual life. People of any age, who come to faith in Christ, begin as children. We need to let them be children, we need to guide and make sure that the right nourishment is available. Many Christians begin their faith life with little guidance and nurturing. And, we are surprised when they do childish things. Many people of new-born faith face issues and problems that seem to drag them down. Without someone close by their side it is easy for them to give up on trying to live as a Christian.

Puppies are puppies and will grow up to be dogs. Children need to be children, they will become adults. New-born people of faith need to be allowed to be new-born and then grow. We must help each other along the way with expectations saturated with understanding.