Tuesday, December 29, 2009

A Pee Anniversary of Sorts :)

I'd been reporting Hadley's pee accidents and the last one was on September 29th - exactly two months ago today. Hooray!

Monday, December 28, 2009

Right in the Middle, huh?

I was just rereading my post from November 4th where I talked about how Hadley's size seems to have settled and she looks as if she'll be right in the middle in terms of breed standard. Hahahahaha! Talk about wishful thinking! I don't know how that girl managed to grow any longer or taller since she was already long and tall but, she did! And with that length and height comes weight. She was 15lbs., 2 oz. on a recent trip to the vet and still looks thin. The vet assured me she's fine but definitely has room to grow. And, with four more months of growing left...oh, boy!

Um...this is a toy breed, right???

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Ahh...Comfy

Ever since Hadley learned to jump on the sofas we've had a hard time getting her off of them. She has two beds, one in her pen and one in my bedroom but I've realized that both are pretty thin. Brian and I bought them before we brought her home and just didn't know any better, I guess. Seeing her take her naps on the couches made me realize that she'd never voluntarily choose to sleep in her bed unless she had one soft and comfortable enough to rival the human furniture.

I'd mentioned to Brian that I've been pricing more luxurious doggie beds so he went ahead and surprised her with a gift of a new bed for the holidays. It's much larger then her old beds so she can stretch out and it's even softer than the couch. She didn't need much convincing :)

Sunday, December 20, 2009

First Snow

We had our first snow storm of the season last night so today we ventured out to shovel. Hadley's never seen snow before and we had hopes of heading to Central Park and playing in it. But Hadley made other plans as soon as she experienced it! AUF, AUF, AUF, WOOF, WOOF, WOOF! She yelped so loudly we thought someone had stepped on her foot but it was just the wet cold she didn't like. She and I were standing while Brian shoveled and she dove into a fresh mound of snow in a sidewalk tree planter. A few seconds later she jumped out and began the yelping and when we picked her up she was shivering badly. So much for playing in the park.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Practical Medicine

Doctor's instructions for treating puppy's ear infection:
Flush puppy's ears with Epi-Otic. Squeeze small amount of Mometamax into each ear. Massage medicine into ears. Repeat once daily for 7 days.

Practical administration:
1. Capture puppy. (Allow at least 10 minutes for this.)
2. Bring puppy to bathroom and attempt to lift puppy's ear.
3. Capture puppy.
4. Repeat step 2 with bathroom door closed.
5. Sit on edge of bathtub and restrain puppy between legs.
6. Administer medicine as per doctor's instructions while keeping mouth and eyes closed to avoid swallowing or inhaling medicine due to violent puppy head shaking.
7. Open bathroom door and release puppy. Listen to sound of puppy hurling herself on bedroom carpet to remove medicine from ears.
8. Capture puppy.
9. Remove puppy from bedroom and close door.
10. Listen to sound of puppy hurling herself on sofa cushion to remove medicine from ears.
11. Capture puppy.
12. Wipe medicine from clothes, bathroom and sofa surfaces.
13. Take aspirin.
14. Resolve to have boyfriend administer all future doses.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Sick Puppy

Over the weekend Brian and I noticed that Hadley was drooling - something she doesn't normally do. It seemed to get worse on Sunday and by Monday morning it was quite extreme. When she woke up I saw that her blanket was soaked and her tail (she sleeps with it tucked under her chin) was sopping wet. I did a quick online search and checked with some dog-experienced friends. All agreed that this required a call to the vet.

Hadley's doctor found swollen gums and glands and a severe ear infection. She also took blood to see if anything else is going on and gave me medicine for her ears. So, how sick is she? Oh, about $300 worth. Honestly! I can't believe the cost of vet care.

Anyway, she'll be on medicine for the next 7 days and, hopefully, the drooling will stop.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Trained Puppy...Sort of

It's been about a month since Kate, the doggie trainer, came. She was was prompt, professional and knowledgeable. She'd been booked for a two hour session but ended up spending almost three hours with me and explained a lot about dogs...some of which I'd already read and some of which was new. So, over the past month, Hadley and I have been practicing what we were taught.

Kate made feeding suggestions that have helped my finicky puppy be less finicky.

Kate made a harness recommendation that has helped my pulling puppy to be under better control on walks.

Kate taught my puppy who wouldn't come on command...to come on command.

Kate taught me how to stop my jumping puppy from jumping on people. Unfortunately, this one requires the cooperation of the people but I've found it easier to train my puppy than the humans around her :)

Kate taught me that dogs do not like to pee and poop in the same place which is why Hadley had been correctly peeing in her box but pooping outside of it. So, I got Hadley a second potty box and we've only had a couple of mistakes since then.

Kate told me my puppy was beautiful, sweet and very smart. I already knew the first two parts but was delighted to have her professional opinion on the third.

So, is she now a wonderfully well-trained dog? Hahahahaha! She's better, though, and much more responsive. Some of that is a result of the training and practice, of course, but some could just be that she's growing up and that would be fine, too.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Wow, I Really Am One of Those People :)

I used to secretly laugh at people who dressed their dogs up in sweaters and coats. How ridiculous, I thought. When I got Hadley I decided to research this issue just to be sure that my snickering was justified but it seems I was wrong. Dogs get cold with allowances for breed, coat and temperature, of course.

Although Cavaliers have long hair, they do not have a double coat and Hadley herself let me know how cold was too cold for her. As fall turned into winter, we had a few days with temperatures in the upper 30's and that, it seems, is just too cold for her. So I bought her a sweater - pink to match her collar and leash. Today was absolutely freezing with strong wind gusts and temperatures in the 20's and Hadley got to wear her new sweater. I think she looks adorable in it. And I don't care what anybody else thinks.