I couldnt sleep. I was jittery allllll day and I think Taricha knew something was up.
Our puppy is here!
Now named Martok.
More later! On the way to puppy class orientation.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Preparing for Puppy!
It's only two long days away.... The cutest little black pit bull pup from Mid American Bully Breed Rescue, will be joining our little family. While Taricha is moping around the house, complaining about snow, I am dutifully preparing for the oncoming onslaught.
I have the luxury of having a big mostly empty house. This is the animal room which is now clean and puppy proofed. This room is where puppy will be spending most of his time until potty training is under control. The big thing on the left is an old mattress against the wall, which is awesome kitty playground, its their favorite place and if a puppy chews it a bit, thats okay. The litter box will be moving upstairs, which is gated off so that the cats have their sanctuary until they adjust. Usually takes the two cats about a week to come back downstairs whenever a new animal arrives.
The baby gates have come back out. Actually they came out a week ago! I've blocked off random parts of the house for no reason and changed them around at times. We played games around them and generally made the gates a normal thing to deal with. Taricha could very easily jump over but she knows better, its a mental barrier and I hope we get puppy to understand this too.
Another thing I re-introduced, or worked on a little more to freshen it up, is kennel training. Taricha is great around the house, I trust her! She will go sleep in her kennel on her own but she's rarely actually locked up. When puppy is here, there may be times with new things going on in which I need Taricha out of the way completely. (ie. one on one training, cleaning messes, puppy play dates, time-outs). New puppy will go through the same kennel training. I feel Taricha will be able to set a good example now after the extra work!
Most of this old house is hardwood which is ideal for cleaning up puppy messes. Unfortunately due to the flow of the house, the animal room/puppy den only makes sense in this side carpeted room. So, I made sure the carpets where spic and span, that no previous smells would entice puppy to do his business there. Not that we have ever had accidents in the house! Just want to be sure! I invested in the good quality puppy training pads too, the ones that claim to have a scent to attract them. I wonder if they really work. Potty training will be our #1 priority, as our new pup is only 10 weeks old and I am slightly OCD about a clean house!
The rest of the house got a thorough cleaning and puppy-proofing as well. Cords hidden. Bits picked up. Bottom shelves emptied. Surfaces cleared. Anything four feet and down must be boring and un-fun to chew and play with.
I signed the little black tornado up for puppy socialization classes weeks ago! Check!
There is a roommate human in this house, by the way. We don't mention him much but thats because he's not around much! Despite this, he'll be involved with the puppy at times so I took a moment to think about some simple rules for other people to abide by, to help with puppy's ongoing training, and wrote them down for my roommate. Simple stuff that anyone can do, even his friends that come and go constantly! The first is, 100% supervision unless in a kennel. Then it's, No mouthing/biting. No Face licking. No jumping on you. The solution for all three is turn around and ignore until he stops. The page I wrote up mostly stresses to ignore the bad and praise the good, easy. I thought about a few other things I wanted or didnt want and wrote it down. Now the whole house is clear on what's going on and my goals, to PREVENT issues in the future.
I wanted to work in the yard and fix some spots in the fence but well... two feet of snow denied me this pleasure. Taricha and I have enjoyed shopping over the last couple weeks instead, hitting a few different stores to find new beds, puppy shampoo, puppy food (Taricha is on weight control foods so this is ganna get complicated but I digress...) cleaning supplies, new leashes and a little harness. Oh and way too many chews and toys.... The dog isnt even here yet and it's completely spoiled.
I have made sure and will always make sure that Taricha knows she is my special girl. Even through the house chaos and snow boredom, we've found ways to have our adventures together these last few weeks. Now a new big adventure begins......
I really dont know what to expect, when it comes down to it. And anything I prepare for wont happen and everything I dont, will. What are some things YOU have experienced when bringing a new puppy into the home? Pros and cons? How hard is potty training, really? (from day one, Taricha never had an issue so potty training is a totally new thing to me.) IM ALLL PUPPY CRAZYYYYYYYY!
PS..... We still cannot come up with a name.... !
I have the luxury of having a big mostly empty house. This is the animal room which is now clean and puppy proofed. This room is where puppy will be spending most of his time until potty training is under control. The big thing on the left is an old mattress against the wall, which is awesome kitty playground, its their favorite place and if a puppy chews it a bit, thats okay. The litter box will be moving upstairs, which is gated off so that the cats have their sanctuary until they adjust. Usually takes the two cats about a week to come back downstairs whenever a new animal arrives.
Poor kitties dont know what's going to hit them.
Another thing I re-introduced, or worked on a little more to freshen it up, is kennel training. Taricha is great around the house, I trust her! She will go sleep in her kennel on her own but she's rarely actually locked up. When puppy is here, there may be times with new things going on in which I need Taricha out of the way completely. (ie. one on one training, cleaning messes, puppy play dates, time-outs). New puppy will go through the same kennel training. I feel Taricha will be able to set a good example now after the extra work!
Most of this old house is hardwood which is ideal for cleaning up puppy messes. Unfortunately due to the flow of the house, the animal room/puppy den only makes sense in this side carpeted room. So, I made sure the carpets where spic and span, that no previous smells would entice puppy to do his business there. Not that we have ever had accidents in the house! Just want to be sure! I invested in the good quality puppy training pads too, the ones that claim to have a scent to attract them. I wonder if they really work. Potty training will be our #1 priority, as our new pup is only 10 weeks old and I am slightly OCD about a clean house!
The rest of the house got a thorough cleaning and puppy-proofing as well. Cords hidden. Bits picked up. Bottom shelves emptied. Surfaces cleared. Anything four feet and down must be boring and un-fun to chew and play with.
I signed the little black tornado up for puppy socialization classes weeks ago! Check!
There is a roommate human in this house, by the way. We don't mention him much but thats because he's not around much! Despite this, he'll be involved with the puppy at times so I took a moment to think about some simple rules for other people to abide by, to help with puppy's ongoing training, and wrote them down for my roommate. Simple stuff that anyone can do, even his friends that come and go constantly! The first is, 100% supervision unless in a kennel. Then it's, No mouthing/biting. No Face licking. No jumping on you. The solution for all three is turn around and ignore until he stops. The page I wrote up mostly stresses to ignore the bad and praise the good, easy. I thought about a few other things I wanted or didnt want and wrote it down. Now the whole house is clear on what's going on and my goals, to PREVENT issues in the future.
I wanted to work in the yard and fix some spots in the fence but well... two feet of snow denied me this pleasure. Taricha and I have enjoyed shopping over the last couple weeks instead, hitting a few different stores to find new beds, puppy shampoo, puppy food (Taricha is on weight control foods so this is ganna get complicated but I digress...) cleaning supplies, new leashes and a little harness. Oh and way too many chews and toys.... The dog isnt even here yet and it's completely spoiled.
So the house is ready. We are fully stocked up. I hope Taricha is ready for this too.
I have made sure and will always make sure that Taricha knows she is my special girl. Even through the house chaos and snow boredom, we've found ways to have our adventures together these last few weeks. Now a new big adventure begins......
I really dont know what to expect, when it comes down to it. And anything I prepare for wont happen and everything I dont, will. What are some things YOU have experienced when bringing a new puppy into the home? Pros and cons? How hard is potty training, really? (from day one, Taricha never had an issue so potty training is a totally new thing to me.) IM ALLL PUPPY CRAZYYYYYYYY!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
What to do what to do...
Last night was eerie. It started to rain little ice balls. The roads were completely empty, a silent city.
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Waking up this morning we find another 4-5 inches of lovely wet snow.
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So what in the world are we going to do today we keep ourselves entertained?
It's still snow storming so going out is out!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
I'm Sorry I Failed You....
It's been a rough week. With 8+ inches of snow covering the city, it puts a damper on our physical activities. Taricha is utterly bored in the house, I could train and play games all day indoors with Taricha and she would still want to do more, outside. She needs something outside every single day.... The only place you can even walk is on the half-plowed streets between traffic and most of them have too much salt or sludge on them to be a safe walking zone.
With 10+ more inches of snow predicted tonight or tomorrow.... I tried to take advantage of today's sunshine and get the hell out of the house.
I stop at a park around the street, huge open field of snow. We hop out of the car and with the help of a squeeky Kong, Taricha is on her way to getting worn out. Only 15min in, she goes for a fetch, grabs the kong and hi-tails it for the car. I yell for her to Stop, a common command she is good with long distance and she completely ignores me. She's at the car door waiting and Im running to catch up.
In the car I find out why she was so done... and it's my own damned fault.
Her legs and paws are slightly bloody. Cold burns.... !
Yeah know where it looks like a red rash... its the skin simply tearing apart.
The snow just about everywhere is up to Taricha's chest with more in drifty areas, this is the first winter she's seen this much snow at once. While she wears hoodies and hats for ears and chest, it never occurred to me that her legs and belly were extremely exposed. She's got the thinnest fur if no fur at all.
Her skin is very pink, always is and the brown spots are just spots of skin color. You can even still see the blue tattoo she received when she was spayed years ago. Thinnest fur ever.
Even between her toes there is barely any fur. Little scatterings While her legs look like they are white with hair, its so thin and fine that it is zero protection against wet snow.
The whole drive home, Im apologizing to Taricha about her legs. It looked plain awful, it was bad enough for a few drops of blood to start trickling.
This evening I can barely even see a thing on her legs or belly, its either not as bad as I thought or she heals extremely fast! I have learned my lesson though, Taricha doesnt like the deep snow and we simply have to keep our outdoor sessions quick. 10min seems to about her max.
Ready for spring!
On another note..... Taricha and I have BIG NEWS to share.
I can't contain it too much longer.
Infact Im counting down the days...
7 more of them....
until......
WE GET A PUPPYYYYYYYYYYYYY.
Long story short, we fostered recently to simply figure out if we wanted a second dog around. The answer to that is yes. We are getting a gorgeous black pittie through a local bully rescue. It was a hard choice to get a puppy, as I know so many loving adults need a good home, but I fell in love with this guy and want him to grow up with us, to get a real solid bond, to start training off right (I missed so many things while Taricha has a puppy.) So here we go... a GRAND new adventure begins soon.
With 10+ more inches of snow predicted tonight or tomorrow.... I tried to take advantage of today's sunshine and get the hell out of the house.
I stop at a park around the street, huge open field of snow. We hop out of the car and with the help of a squeeky Kong, Taricha is on her way to getting worn out. Only 15min in, she goes for a fetch, grabs the kong and hi-tails it for the car. I yell for her to Stop, a common command she is good with long distance and she completely ignores me. She's at the car door waiting and Im running to catch up.
In the car I find out why she was so done... and it's my own damned fault.
Her legs and paws are slightly bloody. Cold burns.... !
Yeah know where it looks like a red rash... its the skin simply tearing apart.
The snow just about everywhere is up to Taricha's chest with more in drifty areas, this is the first winter she's seen this much snow at once. While she wears hoodies and hats for ears and chest, it never occurred to me that her legs and belly were extremely exposed. She's got the thinnest fur if no fur at all.
Her skin is very pink, always is and the brown spots are just spots of skin color. You can even still see the blue tattoo she received when she was spayed years ago. Thinnest fur ever.
The whole drive home, Im apologizing to Taricha about her legs. It looked plain awful, it was bad enough for a few drops of blood to start trickling.
This evening I can barely even see a thing on her legs or belly, its either not as bad as I thought or she heals extremely fast! I have learned my lesson though, Taricha doesnt like the deep snow and we simply have to keep our outdoor sessions quick. 10min seems to about her max.
Ready for spring!
On another note..... Taricha and I have BIG NEWS to share.
I can't contain it too much longer.
Infact Im counting down the days...
7 more of them....
until......
WE GET A PUPPYYYYYYYYYYYYY.
Long story short, we fostered recently to simply figure out if we wanted a second dog around. The answer to that is yes. We are getting a gorgeous black pittie through a local bully rescue. It was a hard choice to get a puppy, as I know so many loving adults need a good home, but I fell in love with this guy and want him to grow up with us, to get a real solid bond, to start training off right (I missed so many things while Taricha has a puppy.) So here we go... a GRAND new adventure begins soon.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Belly Deep
Ive never seen Taricha do the boing-hop-run-thing before today!
BOING
And a little zoomie!
And a little potty time. First one today, I bet that was a relief.
Ok, it's been ten min.
DONE!
Friday, February 15, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Still Exciting
Even though Hank is gone, we've been staying busy and our house has been anything but quiet. A new kitty came to live with us!
Now for some cuddle time.
This is Toodles, a two year old intelligent beast. Taricha first met this kitty when he was just a baby of 8 weeks old so it was an easy transition for him into our home. He is my sister's cat but for whatever reason he wasnt happy there, or they weren't happy with him. I offered to take him until we figure it out and we break some of his bad habits and he has some bad ones. (food begging mostly.... food crazy cat.)
I'm becoming attached to him... he is super smart, calm (compared to my skittish pussies, pun intended.) and entertaining He will climb on a stranger's lap and happily purr like mad. He sleeps on the stairs curled in a ball! Toodles has been keeping us on our toes.
Then we finally had a little more snow! Needed an excuse to wear the hoodies.
The next day the snow was gone.
I dont think Taricha liked the mud that was left. It was caking on our feet so bad it felt like wearing boots. We managed to log in 3 miles despite the terrain. (I didnt have her wear pack cause I didnt want it getting thatdirty.)
I hope everyone is still getting outside this winter! Cold or not!
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