Good luck with your meet-up. Re the pup's size - it could go either way. I have seen minis who should weigh 12 lbs. coming in at post 20 lbs. - waddling like you wouldn't believe. Hopefully the pup is a tween or a small standard. A Dachshund on a diet is NOT a pretty thing (or an American Eskimo for that matter as I well know). Re the walking, if in the mood, Dachshunds can walk a fair distance provided they are in the mood - and if the pup becomes tired you could always pick him up. Of course if he is overweight you would have to exercise but then limit the walks so he wouldn't keel over during summer. Dachshunds do love the heat - it is funny to see them rolled up like sausages in duvets in 90 F weather and then come out gasping for air - only to then go right back under. They love to burrow - under couch cushions etc. I still say that the Dachshund will get into your bed! Haven't met one Dachshund owner who hasn't finally surrendered. I would be VERY happy for a 3 year old dog. Our Dachshunds were all rescues with the youngest being 6 months. But our Eskimo was 13 weeks and I was 54 - good heavens! And Eskies never mature. I met a lady at the vet - my age - who had just adopted a 12 week old Havanese. Her friend was with her for support. The new Mom - and this was her first dog - was hysterical - I can only imagine how things were going about the 20 week mark. Then I ran into same ladies at Dominion grocery store in Toronto and the friend was outside with the dog while the new Mom was in buying every type of ready made food she could find because she was a wreck from trying to keep up with the puppy. Havanese - like Eskies LOVE paper - and she hadn't learned to never leave any paper products within reach. I had wanted a dog about 3 or 4 but we didn't and don't have a fenced yard - hounds just dig under anyway and Eskies can jump very high. The lady who had rescued and placed our Dachshunds with us privately had finally stopped doing so - she became afraid when she reached a certain age. At 60 and 62 we now only have one dog. None of our dogs have ever slept in crates -well, after our first guy came home post surgery he had to stay in one - I put it on the bed. He was brilliant - his brother was not. He "showed" his brother how to open the gate and his brother went in and out came the surgical patient - and shut his brother in and then proceeded to put his head on my pillow and go to sleep. Re cats - all of my Dachshunds LOVED "their" cats - not a problem at all. They played and teased each other - but no one was able to hurt "their" cats. Dachshunds do have deep barks - and if the pup does turn out to be Alpha he will be very protective of you and your family. Since Dachshunds are part of the Terrier breed and you already have a little "terrorist" you will know this. I hope it all works out. Really interested in the weight. My husband just came by and laughed when I told him that the Dachshund wasn't going to sleep in your bed!

Thought some more about this overnight. My dad was a dentist. Also built his own dental office. Corian everywhere. I have health issues, including a couple of surgeries. When you go to the doctor, or the hospital, Corian everywhere. Until I read this thread, I never really thought about why. I worked in a hospital 40 years ago, if I recall correctly, stainless steel was the thing then. It's all about keeping things clean. We have hard water, as do most people in the USA. Did not realize that hard water affects stone. I have never cut directly on a countertop, it will ruin your knives. I have never put a hot pot on a countertop and have no desire to do so. We do put hot pots in the sink, pour boiling water in the sink, so I am going to need a steel or enamel sink. Want a farmhouse sink anyway. This has been a very thought provoking discussion. Learned a lot.

I could view them by disabling my AdBlock on that site. Their expressions are ferocious. Smudge doesn't have a mean look at all. Maine Coon's are loving and gentle, they're called the Gentle Giant. Smudge is too gentle......when someone new comes to the house, he'll hide until he senses that he can trust them. It can take several visits before he "takes' to a person. They're also very vocal, they have a vocabulary of several different sounds. They don't meow, they kind of bark.....a short vocal noise. Like a Grufff. Smudge howls, cries like a baby, yodels, has a high-pitched noise, all that he makes every night as soon as we get into bed. He serenades as he comes all the way down the hall from the livingroom and into the bedroom. He's quite loud, I'm afraid the lady below us can hear him. Actually if it weren't for her hearing, I'm sure she could!

I'm using Redbox and my li-bary for movies. I have "Stronger" on hold for when it goes to DVD. I watched another two today. I can work on projects on Photoshop in the winter months when I'm not in a garden. I multitask and then have to watch a second or third time if the movie turn out to be good. First was "Beguiled". Civil War ongoing; it's set in the south in a boarding school with only a few pupils remaining plus one woman from the town, apparently needing a safe place. It's all women and they're surprisingly unprotected and unafraid. A Union soldier is found wounded in the woods; the women bring him in to nurse him back to health. One of the women falls in love with the soldier and this causes a deep rift in the house. Nicole often plays intense characters. I like the Amazon series "Big Little Lies" with her and Reese Witherspoon. She's intense in "Beguiled". The setting is very beautiful, shot wonderfully. Second is "The Lovers" - this will need a second viewing. I want to savor the dance scenes. HT is a pile-on imo. The scales have tipped from a trickle of the far right to a deluge. I took a look back a few years and I think we're all refighting the same battles. I will miss the smarts, good humour of the lefties. :))