Studio Dog or Actually Studio Pup:)

Today Robert Genn (of Robert Genn Twice-Weekly Letter) wrote an email entitled "The Dog Decision".  I have been getting his emails twice weekly for as long as I can remember and enjoy his perspective on the art world.  This morning was perfect because I recently made the decision to take on a 6 week old puppy for a new studio dog.

Robert writes "Every puppy begins in joy and ends in tears. Sometime ago I wrote about the loss of our former dog, Emily. The email condolences that came in here were overwhelming. As far as I'm concerned there are two downsides to having a dog. The first is when you finally lose them, and the second, an ongoing problem, is what to do with them when they can't travel with you. Lining up trusted dog sitters is vital.   Having said that, a dog will increase your studio hours and prevent you from wandering off and getting into trouble. Benjamin Franklin said that in order to be happy a man needs "a good woman, a good dog, and ready money." I've noted that none of my dogs have ever criticized my work. A loving tail-wagger in the studio goes a long way in a profession of loners."

So right now I am in the middle of the chaos of potty training and the ever present puppy finding anything she can put into her mouth.  The good news is my studio floor has never been this clean.  The bad news is that at this time, she does cut into my work time. That leads to more good news as I get to walk her on my property and appreciate my surroundings - which makes me more productive and I get to enjoy a walk outside which I wouldn't do when I am working on something.  It does keep me feeling good.  Today I will be printing wire mesh and beverage cans, so we will see how she does with that going on. I have a nice little fence built around my printers so there will be no chewing on any printer parts.

This picture is from the middle part of May.  Actually she is a puppy and at the time the picture was taken 7 weeks old.  Sage was born on April 5, 2011so she will be 2 months old this weekend.  She looks little, but is growing everyday and being a mastiff she will be quite large in a really short time.  After my lab died I missed having company with me everyday and so I finally gave in a decided to go for a puppy.