Yiddish: Spiel

Description

  Adoption fee: $750   The Yiddish Puppies   Oy vey, have we got a litter for you!   Yiddish is a language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jewish communities, filled with wonderfully expressive words that have worked their way into everyday English. It is also the perfect theme for four fluffy puppies with big personalities, excellent comedic timing, and absolutely no respect for personal space.   The Yiddish puppies were abandoned at a rural shelter without their mama when they were barely three weeks old. Thankfully, a foster home stepped up to keep them safe and healthy until DPS could rescue them at six weeks old. Now 8 weeks old, thriving, and weighing approximately 8–9 pounds, Mensch, Schlep, Nosh, and Spiel are ready to find families who will kvell over them. (“Kvell” means to burst with pride and delight—which their adopters will undoubtedly do.)   With their fluffy coats and beautiful markings, these puppies look like Aussie/Border Collie mixes, but without knowing either parent, their breed is truly our best guess. Adopters should be prepared for them to grow into medium-to-large dogs. A little puppy fluff on your pants is simply part of the mishpucha—the family.   A Day in the Life   These puppies are surprisingly polite in the mornings. Their foster family isn’t quite sure when they wake up because they don’t make a peep— they simply entertain themselves in their pen until the humans arrive between 7 and 8 a.m. The moment someone appears, however, the quiet bubalas become a tiny mob. Four fluffy puppies pop onto their back legs, each competing to be the first one picked up.   They head outside for a potty break, enjoy breakfast, and then return outdoors for another bathroom trip and playtime in a large yard pen. From there, their days follow the classic puppy schedule: play hard, nap harder, and repeat.   Their favorite activities include wrestling, playing tug-of-war, chasing balls and Kongs, squeaking every toy they can find, and racing around at top puppy speed. Dinner is served around 6 p.m. After another round of play, plenty of cuddles, and one final potty break, they pile into or around their crate between 9 and 10 p.m. and sleep through the night. It’s a surprisingly efficient system for four creatures who regularly stand in their own water bowl.   All four puppies are active, curious, and already showing signs of being wicked smart. They are learning to potty outside when taken into the yard and use potty pads in their pen, though their adopters should expect to continue full puppy potty training. Like most eight-week-old puppies, they explore with their mouths, but they respond well to gentle correction and redirection toward an appropriate chew toy.   They do everything with great enthusiasm—whether they are eating with gusto, drinking with their entire bodies in the bowl, exploring the yard, or launching themselves into a sibling wrestling match. They are equally enthusiastic about affection. Sit down on the floor and prepare to be surrounded by puppies climbing into your lap, licking your cheeks, burrowing into your neck, and worming their way into your heart. Such naches! That’s Yiddish for the joy and pride these little nuggets inspire.   Mensch: The Mischief Maven   A “mensch” is a genuinely good, honorable person—the kind of person everyone hopes to know. Our Mensch is still working on the “honorable” part, but she has “good time” absolutely mastered.   Mensch is the instigator of the group. If fun exists, she will find it—and then recruit all of her siblings to join her. She starts most of the wrestling matches and nearly every race through the family room or yard. If the puppies suddenly stampede past you, it is reasonable to assume Mensch organized it.   This playful girl has already perfected both the classic puppy play bow and the soulful “please cuddle me” stare. Everything is a game, everyone is a potential playmate, and Mensch is always ready to get the party started. Her joyful personality and nonstop silliness will keep her future family laughing all day long. She may not always behave like a mensch yet, but she is certainly going to grow into someone’s very best friend.   Schlep: The Fearless Fluffball   To “schlep” means to drag, haul, or make a long and sometimes inconvenient journey. Our Schlep prefers to make the journey himself—particularly if it leads into the jasmine, behind the couch, or anywhere else the humans would prefer he not explore.   Schlep is an intrepid adventurer who believes every hidden corner deserves a thorough investigation. He is one of Mensch’s favorite wrestling partners, but underneath that adventurous exterior is a champion cuddler. He can go from full-speed pouncing, chasing, and tugging to throwing his entire fluffy body into the nearest lap for affection. Luckily, at only 8–9 pounds, schlepping Schlep around is still quite manageable.   He is also the most focused puppy in the litter. When he finds an interesting toy, he sticks with it until it has been thoroughly examined, chewed, and understood. He was the first puppy to master going potty outside when asked, proving that he has plenty of brains to accompany all that fluff.   Nosh: The Clever Cookie   To “nosh” means to snack or eat a little something. This makes Nosh an excellent name for a puppy, since puppies consider every hour snack o’clock and every object potentially edible until proven otherwise.   Nosh is one smart cookie. When the puppies are outside their pen, she has figured out how to walk around it and enter through the gate to reach the food or water rather than simply staring longingly through the side. Why wait for table service when you can solve the puzzle yourself?   She has an independent, thoughtful streak and often watches the action for a moment before deciding whether to join. Sometimes she is perfectly content entertaining herself with a fascinating toy, especially one with multiple textures, squeakers, or crinkly sounds.   Nosh loves chasing a ball and, with enough encouragement, will occasionally bring it back. She is the most eager puppy to be scooped up for morning cuddles, yet she remains wonderfully calm when playtime chaos breaks out around her. Nosh offers a lovely combination of intelligence, independence, playfulness, and affection—and yes, she is positively delicious.   Spiel: The Spirited Storyteller   A “spiel” is a long, energetic speech or sales pitch. Spiel may not use words yet, but she can make a very persuasive argument using puppy eyes, wiggles, and the occasional demand that everyone stop what they are doing and admire her.   Spiel is a little spitfire who wants to be wherever the action is. She happily throws herself into running, wrestling, exploring, and every game her siblings invent. Once the excitement winds down, she is equally happy to settle in for a quiet, relaxing snuggle. Her entire adoption spiel is essentially, “I’m adorable, I’m fun, and your lap looks available.” Frankly, it’s convincing.   Spiel may also be the litter’s budding water dog. She doesn’t mind being sprinkled by the hose while the outdoor water bowl is filled and will snap playfully at the falling water as though she is challenging it to a game.   She is also the only puppy who has met her foster family’s very skittish cat face-to-face. Spiel handled the introduction beautifully, remaining calm and polite even when they came nose-to-nose. She is a confident, social, fun-loving puppy with plenty of sweetness beneath her spirited personality.   The Fine Print—No Schmoozing Required   The Yiddish puppies are affectionate, energetic babies who will need families ready for everything that comes with raising a young puppy: potty training, teething, socialization, mental enrichment, exercise, and plenty of patience. Their apparent herding-breed heritage may mean they grow into clever, active adults who thrive with training and activities that keep both their minds and bodies busy.   Mensch, Schlep, Nosh, and Spiel will be adopted separately so each puppy can bond with their new family and continue developing into a confident, well-rounded dog. They have already overcome a difficult beginning, and now each one is ready to begin the best part of the story.   So, what’s the holdup? Stop your kvetching, choose your favorite pup, and prepare to welcome a little more joy—and probably a lot more fur—into your mishpucha.