A
little background. We always had a dog
or two (or three) when I was growing up but my kids didn’t … well we did once
for about 3 months, Anthony begged for one for his 11th birthday but
since I worked full time it just did not work out and we ended up giving her to
my Mom … so never again did my kids have a doggie. Sad … I know, but when you work full time it
is hard … heck raising kids and working full time is HARD enough. By the time I was unable to work any longer
and became a full time stay-at-home Mom, I was just too sick to take on the job
of raising and training a puppy. Well … we
got Bella when my illness was somewhat under control and what a blessing she
has been to me since both the boys were grown and out of the house and Alayna
in high school … it was time for a puppy.
Somehow though (since she is now 6 years old) … I had forgotten how very
HARD it is to train a puppy. Funny how
we forget things like that isn’t it? LOL
Soooooooo
… what was I thinking getting a 9 week old puppy at my age? Scott suggested I journal about it so that
when I’m a little older (lol he actually said the age but I won’t) and want a
new puppy again … I can look back and think … “what the hell am I thinkin?” Well funny thing is … it wasn’t my idea to
get another puppy in the first place …Scott!!!
I
can’t really complain though … Scott HAS been a great help … getting up in the
middle of the night, cleaning up ‘accidents’, mopping, etc. I’m pretty sure though he is thinking that if
he doesn’t help that I will say take this puppy back LOL … no I really wouldn’t
do that, too attached already … BUT I will say this … I am too freaking old for
this shit!!!
The
first 3 nights, as it was with Bella, were HELL! Whining and howling all night long … by the
fourth night she slept 6 hours straight before needing to go potty. Thank goodness!
Okay
so we’ve had her 11 days and she has managed to …
Try
to chew on my coffee table, kitchen cabinets (outside corners), the trash can
‘step’, a magazine and the sphagnum moss around my fake olive tree … thankfully
so far we have deterred this behavior by offering her a bone or toy and no real
damage has been done. We also sprayed
these areas with a mixture of 50/50 white vinegar and apple cider vinegar
(apparently they do not like the taste or smell) and it has worked!
“Christened’
every main floor room (we have an open floor plan) but also thankfully only on
the hardwoods so clean up has been easy.
Tried
to go up the stairs to the second floor and only ONCE has she actually made it
by running from me as I chased her yelling NO … she’s tried a couple times
since but all I have to do is say NO and she comes right back down. This is something we taught Bella … to never
go upstairs and the downstairs is inhibited by a closed door.
Find
the lower shelves in the library (twice now) and pull off several books at a
time … thankfully, again, she has not tried to chew them. Both times I was in my bathroom which backs
up to the library and heard “bam bam bam bam bam” thinking …. “that did not
sound good”.
Jump
on the sofa (once) trying to get the cat (Ciana) and when Ciana jumped onto the
back of the sofa, Nora did too … then Ciana jumped off the sofa to take flight
up the stairs and silly little Nora thought she could move like that too, took
a dive off the back of the sofa and ended up wiping out … it was hilarious
though it did sorta scare the crap outta me cause dogs DO NOT land on their
feet LOL … she’s fine though!
Get
trapped inside the bar stool … LOL … that was funny watching her trying to
figure out just how to get out!
 |
| Trapped in the Bar Stool ... LOL |
Ya’ll
its like having a baby or a toddler in the house … into EVERYTHING! Again … what the hell was I thinking? I’ve been able to not get much of anything done
unless she is sleeping. I just DO NOT
have the heart to crate her during the day … its hard enough at night time.
For
those of you are may not be animal lovers … there is NOTHING like the love of a
dog for its ‘mommy and daddy’ … you leave for 10 minutes and come back and they
act like you’ve been gone for days!!!
Unconditional love … pure and simple!
Cats are nice too, a little too independent and not so loving but they
do like to curl up beside you once in a while and they do love you in their own
way … just do not show it like a dog does.
 |
| Me and my Nora |
Well
… I’m sure there are more Nora adventures to come … so stay tuned!
January 21, 2013 ~ More about Nora ...
As of yesterday, we have had her for 2 weeks and finally she has stopped chewing on things she is not supposed to be chewing on ... so far ... keeping my fingers and toes crossed on that one!
Also, yesterday, she went potty outside EVERY time (except once) which is a biggie. She even rang the bell each time. Bell, you ask? Well when Bella was a puppy our Vet told me that if I attach a bell to the door we use the most to take her in and out and each time BEFORE taking her out touch her nose and then touch the bell (ring it) she will eventually learn that that is her way of letting us know she needs to go out. Works like a charm and actually I've told a couple other people about it and they have done the same thing ... like my grandpuppy, Chicago, he uses a bell too! So we're in the process of teaching Nora to use the bell and she's starting to get it.
And last night ... biggest achievement of all ... she slept from 11:30 pm until 7:30 something this morning!!!!
January 28, 2013 ~
Well we've had Nora for 3 weeks now and she's 12 weeks old. Finally she's got it ... the going outside to potty thing. Oh yeah! She goes outside 90% of the time now. Funny thing is she pees like a boy ... at least twice on every outside excursion ... sometimes three times!!! And she's definitely got the knack of ringing the bell ... woohoo!
Now knows a few commands: SIT, WAIT and RING THE BELL and I'm (we're) working on a few more.
Still doesn't understand that when she gets up needing to go out at 6 am that I really want to go back to bed afterwards and sleep a little longer but we're working on that!
It's no longer easy for her to get under the sofa ... well getting under there is not the hard part ... she literally takes a running dive and slides under by splaying her legs at the last second ... I really wish I could catch that on video ... its hilarious ... hard part is getting out from underneath LOL
January 21, 2013 ~ More about Nora ...
As of yesterday, we have had her for 2 weeks and finally she has stopped chewing on things she is not supposed to be chewing on ... so far ... keeping my fingers and toes crossed on that one!
Also, yesterday, she went potty outside EVERY time (except once) which is a biggie. She even rang the bell each time. Bell, you ask? Well when Bella was a puppy our Vet told me that if I attach a bell to the door we use the most to take her in and out and each time BEFORE taking her out touch her nose and then touch the bell (ring it) she will eventually learn that that is her way of letting us know she needs to go out. Works like a charm and actually I've told a couple other people about it and they have done the same thing ... like my grandpuppy, Chicago, he uses a bell too! So we're in the process of teaching Nora to use the bell and she's starting to get it.
And last night ... biggest achievement of all ... she slept from 11:30 pm until 7:30 something this morning!!!!
January 28, 2013 ~
Well we've had Nora for 3 weeks now and she's 12 weeks old. Finally she's got it ... the going outside to potty thing. Oh yeah! She goes outside 90% of the time now. Funny thing is she pees like a boy ... at least twice on every outside excursion ... sometimes three times!!! And she's definitely got the knack of ringing the bell ... woohoo!
Now knows a few commands: SIT, WAIT and RING THE BELL and I'm (we're) working on a few more.
Still doesn't understand that when she gets up needing to go out at 6 am that I really want to go back to bed afterwards and sleep a little longer but we're working on that!
It's no longer easy for her to get under the sofa ... well getting under there is not the hard part ... she literally takes a running dive and slides under by splaying her legs at the last second ... I really wish I could catch that on video ... its hilarious ... hard part is getting out from underneath LOL
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