Make a Smilebox slideshow

Snow

The first snow was the first weekend in October. It's snowing again today. She enjoys the snow but I get concerned about her getting chilled when she gets wet in the snow. Also, I'm not a big fan of walking in the snow so we exercise her by getting her to run up and down the stairs.

Health Insurance

She had a bout of conjunctivitis. The visit to the vet along with her medication cost $119. She had antibiotic salve to put in her eyes. I sent in a claim to VPI, the pet insurance I purchased back in July. We'll see how they come through.

Growth

I haven't written since September. Obviously, she's grown.

Statistics: Last week she weighed 27 lbs. and stood 21 1/2 inches tall at the shoulders.

Back in October she seemed to level off for awhile and then grew again.

Many Changes, Lazy Packleader

So, the scholars tell us that people only read small portions of blog entries. Therefore I'll try to catch up in small installments.

Little Miss Alpha Beta

Well, we wanted a submissive beta dog so that our cats could cope. Birdy is certainly submissive to the cats. But is she truly a beta? This week she had a playdate with her obedience school buddy, Daisy. We met with Daisy and Linda, her owner, at the dog park.

Daisy and Birdy like each other and hit it off but Birdy, my goodness, kept topping Daisy, stepping over her back, pushing her back. She's such a wild puppy. She loved being in the dirty, dusty, enclosed Old Mill dogpark. She can run so fast. A black woodle (wheaton terrier-poodle mix) came over to play but he was too rough for her. She tried battling with him but he was able to roll her. She yipped. He growled. Was a bit too rough. What she needs is a buddy that is between these two. Someone really active and ready for rough and tumble but someone who doesn't play too hard.

But maybe I was just too protective. Hard to know what kind of playing is right if the dogs haven't been through a class together.

Speaking of school buddies, when she went for her first professional haircut last week she ran into her friend Hudson.

First Two Puppy Months

A little MacMovie about Birdy

Statistics

Bigger she is: as of yesterday, 18.5 lbs and 18 inches at the shoulder.

In the photo you see her looking at us eating dinner after she's finished her own bowl. She's been barking during our human dinner so I've started putting her into "timeout" in her crate if she does crazy "look at me" barking. Either that or I bring her into the living room to watch us as we eat.

Best In Show Dog Walk

Birdy and I went to watch the Best in Show Dog Walk downtown this morning. I wanted to give her the opportunity to be in an exciting atmosphere and practice some of her skills. She was very good at sitting down. She even did two good "lie down"s in spite of the noise around her.

She also met with one of her friends from Meredith's class, Daisy. They batted each other with front paws for a minute or so. I found out from Jennifer at Dancin Woofs Thursday night that this boxing activity is typical of poodles.

There were many handsome dogs at the event. I was a bit nervous for Birdy because she's been doing some nervous peeing. So each time we met someone new, I made her sit down and when kids approached I held on to her. She was VERY well behaved! She also got plenty of praise and treats for her excellent behavior.

Meredith sent us our final email and I'm going to use it to spam to other class members a request for play dates. No one in the Dancin' Woof's puppy class wanted to play with Birdy...largely, I think, because she was the biggest, oldest puppy in the class.

I liked learning in both classes, though prefered the Pawsitive Experience. I appreciate Meredith's intelligent use of the web and her clear directions for teaching the skills. I'm planning for us to go on to intermediate training in October.

Poop

(A picture of Rupert, a Westie mentioned later in this entry.)

"Deer poop is delicious," Birdy told us. She spoke through action, bringing a mouthful of the little round turds into the house a few nights ago without my husband noticing. I wasn't aware of her subterfuge until I put her into her crate and noticed her mouthing something. Ick. I cleaned them up from her bedding while sighing, "Oh, Birdy!" The next morning I found a couple of the hard brown marbles dropped downstairs on her way through the house.

Fortunately, Birdy has no interest in eating the poop of other dogs. Nor is she interested in our cats' poop, even though one of the felines, the house princess, Miss June Jumpha, has a tendency to leave hers unburied. But deer poop is delcious.

Fortunately, one of the lessons we learned in Meredith Gage's Pawsitive Experience dog training class, fourth week, was "leave it." I say, "leave it" while giving a little tug on the leash. When my pup looks up at me I reward her with a treat. This is a tough one to have carry over from one day to the next. (She has also developed a taste for those little winged pinenuts that are now all over the ground in our yard and many of our neighborhood streets in this land of the tall pine.)

One of the big changes in my life now is the attention I must pay to the poop of another being. Has she pooped yet today? How many times? What did it look like? Will she be asking to go out suddently later? And, very importantly, is there a plastic bag in my pocket when we go opn walks?

I learned the lesson of the plastic bag long before we got the Bird dog. Many years ago I went to visit my friends Lee and Jay in Provinctown shorty after they'd bought their first West Highland Terrier. One night I volunteered to take him for a walk, perhaps because both men were out. I'm not sure why. Well, even though Rupert had already had a poop on a previous walk, he decided to have another. A woman walking nearby with her husband scolded me, telling me it was a $200 fine if I didn't pick up the poop. I had no plastic bag. So she handed me a Kleenex from her pocket. I picked up the poop in the kleenex and carried it to the nearest (not all that near) garbage can. Since that day of a handful of poop, I have a plastic bag in my pocket any time I walk a dog.

Statistics

15.5 lbs, 16 inches at the shoulder

Birdy and Will

It's taken me so long to get this dog that I sometimes forget that the original intention was to get a companion for my spouse. But he always said that he didn't want a dog, so I had to make it my intention to get a dog for myself. Over time and after years of research and planning I came to accept that it was indeed my idea.

But now that Will and Birdy are bonding so well, I am reminded of my original plan. Just a couple of weeks ago he started volunteering to take her for walks in the evening. He encourages her to jump up on him and enjoys her kisses.

I'm sure it makes me an ogre to say so, but I don't actually love her. Perhaps there should be a "yet" after that statement, for I assume I'll come to love her once she grows up. But I have trouble loving things that are so needy (yeah yeah yeah -- there's plenty of shrinkage behind that remark).

Some pictures of Will playing "tugging" for the first time.

Sasha and Birdy

Here they are in the kitchen, co-constructing their relationship. Birdy wants to see what the black kitty is up to on the shelf. Sasha is talkin' trash to the dog.

My spouse says, "I never knew Sasha was such a flirt."

I say, "But she's always loved June Jhumpa."

"But Jhumpa is the same species," he says. "This is different."

Current Statistics

As of today, she weighs 15 pounds and stands 15 1/2 inches at the shoulders.

Getting into a Routine

Ms. Puppy and I have been formulating a routine, even though I'm still on summer vacation.

The cats wake us up around 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. I take her out to "pisch." That's my spouse's word for peeing. Birdy is pretty much sleeping though the night now. We get her worn out with long walks and don't give her water after 8:00 p.m. (a recommendation of one of the clerks at Bend Pet Express.)

After her pisch, I feed the cats. This requires a kind of dance. Birdy is in the kitch with a door on one side and her pet gate on the other. The cats are whining about their breakfast which is kept in a kichen cupboard in a tin. I scoop out their servings and have to get out of the kitchen without Birdy getting out. Sometimes I can get her distracted with a little piece of kitty kibble. Other times I need to leash her to part of the pet gate and then leave. She'll yip a bit as I walk into the living room to feed the cats. After that, I return to the kitchen, make my coffee, and feed her a mix of kibble (two kinds of small chunk Iams) and wet food (Natural Balance Beef).

I do some kind of work for about an hour after her breakest as I have my coffee and eat my own food. (Obviously, I haven't been working on this blog!) Then we go for a long morning walk. If I'm out between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 I see many other dog owners. (I'll be blogging more about them in a later entry.)

We play a bit when I return. My husband is up so he says "hi" to her. Afterwords, I am off for the morning to do work or yoga or whatever it is that humans do. I'm usually back in the afternoon for some kind of dog activity. She sleeps much of the morning and some of the afternoon. She usually eats dinner after the cats and before my spouse and I. Then we have another long walk about an hour after her dinner.

This routine does. however, have some variation, as I'll explain later.

Another New Dog Owner Writes

I've been following the adventures of Jill Abramson at "The Puppy Diaries" at the New York Times. This is a fascinating series. The comments have burned my ass a bit, however. It's interesting to me the huge moral claims being made by many people regarding dog ownership. It seems as though Americans are becoming British in their view of pets.

I may write more on this later. Since no one is reading my blog, I don't think I'll have any problem with evoking a shitstorm of hatred for some of my views. (For example, I actually believe that death is a natural part of existence and that animals don't view it with deep alarm like we often do.)

Birdy and the Cats

Birdy is working out her relationship with our two cats. The older cat, Jhumpa, is actually the main reason we got a puppy. When I started talking about getting a dog, my husband insisted that the primary animal in the house would have to be his cat, the beautiful Jhumpa. Our friends told us that the way to be sure that dog and cats got along would be to raise a puppy in the house with the cats. They would then train the puppy how to behave around them

That idea has proven partially true. Birdy does chase the cats. She also bows to them and yips, inviting them to play. Jhumpa pretty much ignores her and stays very calm. Sasha, the beta cat, on the other hand, seems to be developing a much more complex relationship. She will stare at Birdy through the pet gate that closes off the kitchen. Sometimes she jumps into Birdy's kitchen space just to sniff around. Is she temting Birdy? I'm not sure. If the puppy gets too close, Sasha meows and crouches down. If the puppy sticks her nose in (as she indubitably does), the black cat hisses and swipes at that nose. At which point the puppy either sits down or lies down, all the while staring at this animal that seems to want to play but who gets annoyed when playing gets interesting.

Thoughts from those Monks

"One last observation, especially for those who have never owned a dog before. Novices in training often experience feelings of awkwardness and uncertainty at the prospect of training their pup. This can discourage them from even beginning. Intimidated by a lack of understanding of training techniques and canine behavior, they often fear that their effort will only manifest their own incompetency and lack of coordination while it ruins their puppy. You will be surprised, however, what hidden talents come to the surface if you approach training honestly."

The Monks of New Skete, The Art of Raising a Puppy, 1991, p. 137-38

Yup. I've been feeling quite incompetent, but I'm learning what I can.

17 Days

Wow. This has been a steep learning curve for me. I've lived with cats for 30 years. A puppy requires so much more energy. Fortunately, this beautiful dog is sweet tempered and mostly very calm. She does some puppy stuff that's a bit challenging but overall, I think she's going to be a wonderful dog if I don't mess things up.

She had her first "play date" today with a giant blue poodle named Ivan. I ran into Ivan's master at the Westside Bend Pet Express. She was charmed by how cute my soft little Birdy is. She said I could call her and make a play date. It was great for me to get some advice about caring for a poodle puppy and it was wonderful for Birdy to meet a big 3 year old male who was really quite gentle with her. At first he made her nervous but his master, Rebecca, held Birdy on her lap and Birdy and Ivan sniffed noses. After awhile they romped a bit, with Birdy running underneath the bigger dog. They were just a bit too mismatched in size, however, so Rebecca made Ivan lay down and Birdy sniffed and romped a bit more.

Rebecca said that she has Ivan groomed. I've bought this grooming equipment but I didn't realize that one needed to pull hairs out of the dog's butt and ears! That seems a bit intrusive! So I'm not sure what I'll be doing about grooming at this point. There is still so much I need to learn!

I hope to get her into a puppy class next week after her next round of shots.

Statistics: 13 lbs, 14 inches at the shoulder, 11 weeks old

THE PUPPY LIVES!

Last Sunday night, eight days ago, we brought home a beautiful expensive little doggie. This was a much planned and anticipated pooch. I spent more time preparing for this dog than I did planning for my marriage. Now it's lasted over 35 years. We'll see how I do with dogs.

I knew this would be a challenge but anticipating work and actually doing work are two different things. She is smart. She is beautiful. And she is a puppy. Oi! The peeing! The pooping! The carrying outside while being peed on! The barking when she feels ignored!

People tell me having a puppy is like having a baby. I've never had one of those! And now I know why. But I figure this is part of my life path. In my mid-fifties it's time for me to learn to care for another living being. And once she's house-trained I'll have one of the most beautiful dogs on the planet.

So, briefly, on our five hour drive from Astoria last Sunday we faced terrible thunderstorms and she peed and vomited on my spouse. Sunday night we introduced her to her crate next to my side of the bed. I kept slipping my fingers into the holes of the crate to calm her down during the night. I also got up and took her outside about eight times. She only needed to go four times.

As the week went on her sleeping patterns regulated a bit, though last night I once again woke up to bark whining after midnight because something she ate made her have some runny poops.

See, Saturday morning we went to the Orvis Dog Days event and she got lots of snack samples. Something didn't suit her. So, from now on until she's an adolescent, she just gets cheese, peanut butter, and her regular kibble as a treat. Well, maybe some meat, too.

I've been doing my best to get her socialized. She can't join the local recommended puppy class until she's had her next shots in August because the woman who runs the class doesn't trust breeders who say they've given the puppy shots. I've got to bring in the vet's receipt which I don't as yet have. So to help her out I've been taking her to pet stores and places like Lowes. And she met many big dogs at the Orvis event, including two full grown standard poodles, one of them fellow with a truly massive head. He was owned by a couple of folks from the South. The gentleman called that big boy a "bubba dawg." Tomorrow I think I'll take her for a walk downtown.

My husband thinks I am worrying too much. I want to do what is best for her and have been reading books like How To Raise a Puppy You Can Live With, The Dog Bible and Dog Training for Dummies. I've also spent a ton of money for her kennel (a beautiful thing from Options Plus), her doghouse, and all the toys I've been buying. I have broken down in tears several times worrying about her eating stuff from the yard, about not being able to figure out when she needs to crap, etc. I've taken her to the vet and purchased pet insurance against the possibility of severe disease or injury. (That will be a couple of hundred bucks a year.) I feel very stressed out as I try to do everything right so that she won't be a crazy dog when she grows up, so we'll have a wonderful companion, and so she won't eat something or catch a disease that will kill her.

But I'll tell you, if I hadn't sunk the money into her that I have, if she were a pound puppy, I'd probably be taking her back. The task feels overwhelming.

I just now (8:44 p.m.) said those words to our across-the-street neighbors' daughter. A herd of kids came out of their house and came over to see Birdy. The daughter (a very pretty young woman called, I think, Chrissie) says that Birdy is very precious and I told her that she was but that I was going nutz because this was my first time caring for something. She comiserated. She also gave me the cool idea to make sure to just take my girl outside every hour. Maybe that will help.

So, technical stuff.

She is eating twice a day, as per my breeder's instructions, a combo of kibble (IAMS Proactive mini chunks in the green bag) and Natural Balance Beef. She also snacks a bit on kibble I put in an empty rootbeer bottle.

She weighs 12 pounds and stands 11 inches at the shoulder.

Regarding This Blog

"I'm gonna buy me a dog, because I need a friend, now."
Lyrics by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart for a song delivered by The Monkees.

This blog is about my life changing experience of adopting a dog.