Everything strange and scary and what do we call him?

We drove from Arkansas back to Branson, Missouri where we'd booked a hotel room that first night. We'd bought a crate for the pup and some toys and Becky had sent a soft football toy she'd bought as a going away gift for him. She was sure we wouldn't need the crate but I thought it best to have it just in case. I also knew that, if the pup started crying, he'd end up in bed with us. It would be a bad precedent, but we had a nearly 15 hour drive to make in the morning and we'd have to get some sleep.

He ended up riding to the hotel on my lap!

On the way to the hotel we tried out some of the names we'd thought about. Becky & Jerry were calling him "Dakota" but around here every third dog has that name. We wanted something more unique. When we arrived, we discovered that "dog" was terrified of getting out of the car. He'd never seen concrete and had only had to deal with one car at a time. Suddenly there was noise and lights and surfaces he'd never encountered. It was overwhelming. Marty carried him into the room.

At first "dog" was shy and didn't want to move from where Marty set him down.

At the hotel & his collar is so new it still has the tag!

I was a little concerned but with all the firsts I felt it would be unfair to judge him so quickly. Before long Marty had him playing and "dog" walked over to his dish and got a big drink. It wasn't long before he'd flopped over and gone to sleep. I told Marty we could bring the crate in if we needed it. We didn't. "Dog" didn't whine, try to chew anything or potty in the room. He was great!

Daddy played with "Dog" & that helped.

The next morning I tried to take him outside to potty and he freaked out. He struggled. He screamed. Eventually I got him out the door and into the parking lot where he walked between my legs to the grass. He didn't go potty and walked back to the room between my legs. It was slightly dangerous, pretty awkward, and completely hysterical. Once we were back in the "safety" of the room, "dog" was happy again. I told Marty it was just a matter of the pup getting used to so much after being on his very quiet, secluded mountain top.

We got on the road and "dog" stood on the console between us, with his head on Marty's shoulder. He was very interested in the road ahead and seemed to be navigating in his own way. After letting him see the sights for a few minutes I pushed him back and he immediately lay down and went to sleep. I kept checking for signs that he was getting carsick but there was no drool and he wasn't at all restless.

I had to remind myself that the puppy was in the back as he was such a great passenger. He slept with the occasional position change, for hours. We stopped for gas and I insisted that "dog" get out to potty. He was more than reluctant. He acted as though we were dragging him to a painful execution. He walked between my legs once again but did finally start to piddle. And he kept going. Marty was using his phone to video "dog" walking between my legs & caught this remarkably long piddle-break. For a full 50 seconds the puppy peed. It reminded us a Austin Powers and we briefly considered the name Austin (again) but that name sounds too much like Houston & we didn't want to confuse either dog.

Marty and I kept talking about names but were no closer in the early part of the day than we'd been the night before on a choice. We had our list, of course, but we were finally reduced to looking at road signs and billboards for inspiration. Some of the names were less than brilliant. We tried out "Hardee," "McDonald," and even "Wal-Mart" in our desperation. We weighed street names and state parks. Meanwhile, we kept calling the poor puppy "dog." It started to look as if that might become his permanent name. I knew his breeders would think we didn't care about him at all if we wrote and told them we'd carefully considered 376 names and chose "Dog." And I didn't even want to think about what our vet would say!

Part of the problem with choosing a name was that I wanted one that would suit "dog" both as a puppy and as the imposing adult he would become. I find nothing more annoying than an adult with a "cutesy" name. But as a pup, he would need something a little less formal. So, a name that could be shortened or have a nickname that would be appealing for a baby yet be dignified for him as an adult; not an easy thing to choose.


Then we passed a billboard with the word "Remington" in letters 3 feet high. It reminded me of an old television show, "Remington Steele." Perfect! Remington was a strong sounding name for an adult and could be shortened to Remy while "dog" was a puppy. Steele is my mother-in-law's maiden name & I'm crazy about her! So, after consulting with Marty and our son Kenny, it was decided. "Dog" finally had a real name!