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.