Saturday, April 16, 2011

Life with Puppy: week one

Not long before we brought Stella home, I was talking to a friend of mine and I mentioned that we were getting a puppy. She said, "Oh, wow. Get ready to have another newborn!" And I was all, "I know, right?!" I mean, I had read FOUR puppy training/preparedness books and I had dogs growing up, so I felt like I knew what I was getting myself into. And there haven't been too many surprises. It's just an adjustment, having another family member.


























Those photos make it look like she sleeps all the time, but the fact is that she's moving too fast for photos when she's awake. She does take several naps a day, but overall Stella's not much like a newborn. She's more like a toddler who doesn't wear a diaper, doesn't speak English, and has very sharp teeth.
BUT, I gotta give Stella some props, too. She's a real champ in the housebreaking department! I don't think I need to go into more details with that, but yeah. She's doing well. And as puppies go, she's really quite calm. A few times a day she'll get rowdy and clobber the kids, and I'm not sure how to get her to stop doing that. I'd love some advice from you veteran dog owners.
Walks are fun, and I like that having Stella has forced us to get out more than we usually do. So far we've been good about taking her for at least two walks a day, and today we even got out in nature. Complete with lake and forest. Beeeeeeautiful. My favorite of the pictures below is the one in which Isobel looks like some kind of intense warrior maiden. Too bad I didn't dress her tough-looking clothes.
Check out Stella's shiny red coat! She so purdy. I tried and tried to get a photo of her holding still AND looking at the camera, but had no luck today.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Stella!

She is wrinkly and soft and cuddly and good. We love her.