Even cuter than the puppy.....

Here is M. my 20 month old granddaughter.(She is as much a going concern as the puppy is, as well.)

We are so lucky with our grandchildren: they are healthy, bright and are being raised by excellent parents.

Isn't she beautiful??

They are coming for a week in August-this is a happy Grandma!

Puppy, other stuff

Well, this puppy is potty trained to the extent that he understands and doesn't pee or poo on the beds or couches, in his crate- not ever, from the beginning, and in his playpen, which is his safe/contained place on the middle level of the house. He loves to race around in the tall grass;
follows the big dogs on their "East Walk"- (along the path by the lake to the east, which has lake on one side and the back side of two blocks of town houses on the other- i.e., safe from traffic)-This is a loooooong walk for him- sometimes I carry him on the way back. Last night he did his business after watching Daisy do hers, which is the whole point of this 20 minute, twice or three times daily walk.
INSISTS on eating big dog food-1/2 and 1/2 tinned meat with kibble-with the big dogs-and has already learned the sound of a fork in a dog food tin, even from upstairs in his crate, and he
sits, lies down or freezes when we say, "Chiwee, SIT!" This is a big step- we can pick him up to bring him in from the puppy-proofed yard without chasing him all over it- did I mention he is FAST???

Ok, enough with the proud Mama bit. Um, well, one more-When he's playing nearby me, he races over, climbs up my body and kisses me all over my face every two minutes or so and then hurls himself back to play.It is SO sweet!

Soon (in 2 days)it'll be my birthday. Last year we had just moved and John was away at some work thing for a couple of days. I didn't speak to a living soul that day- even my kids forgot to call. It ranked right down there with the suckiest birthdays of all time. So this year, instead of requiring mind reading from all my nearest and dearest I have "asked for what I need"-(therapy, anyone?)

Thus:
John is staying home that day,

my step-kids (bio kids are living far away)will be here so we can all go out to dinner, and

my future d-in-law ( step d-in-law??)volunteered to bake me a cake! In this family, this is a HUGE HUGE deal- not even from a mix or anything!!REAL cooking!

What's in a name?

Ok, my husband just read this and HE has a short guest remark:

"I invented the name of this dog, and it is supposed to read Chiwee,
like Peewee except this is a chihuahua, so it becomes 'Chiwee'."

AHEM: you won't believe it, but until now I thought this man was THE LEAST SUCKY man on the PLANET. You never know! I guess his name is
"CHIWEE"

Baby Chiwi!

Here he is- our new baby dog! He will be 8 weeks tomorrow and already he has grown noticeably. What a little cutie, and also, what a little character! Aside from being smart-see previous post-he is a little force to be reckoned with. I can see why they call chihuahuas "big dogs in little bodies". There is so much .....'person", in that tiny body, already!

Dog Love Fest 2006!

Honestly!
I know that I am the proud Mama and all but this teensy tiny guy is AMAZINGLY smart. We have a crate in the bedroom that he is in at all times, except when I am holding him, watching his little weensy behind like a hawk or when he is outside-which is to say, he is not in the crate much of the time. Except all night, since, as he weighs >1 pound, I don't want to wake up to squashed puppy, and when I tried that (first night) he pooped a little in the sheets and let us say it was QUITE the little while until I came across it.....well it WAS a very very small poop......LOL, um, moving right along...

He has selected a corner of the yard and he pees and poops INSTANTLY every time I take him out. EVERY time! and the crate is as clean as the day we got him. Not.One. Mistake.Really! or in the playpen either which is much bigger and is set up for him in the living room. (NO puppy has ever been so indulged and pampered- it's embarrassing. We do have three levels- it is a townhouse...Maybe I will lose 50 pounds this summer, racing up and down about 20 times a day. Seriously.)

But the puppy! He knows his name, looks up and comes, sort of, when he is called by me (in a sickening high falsetto. What is it about cute tiny things and that? In the interests of showing him off/socialising him, I showed him to quite a few students and their Moms and I am here to report that ALL females, even at age five, are hardwired to say "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" with a sort of sinking and then rising inflection- try it---See? we all do it!! that means "Oh.My.God.How.Unbelievably.CUTE!!!!!!CAN I PUHLEEEEZE HOLD HIM??"

He adores the big dogs. Frankie is: "Not ANOTHER dog that you will no doubt love more than me. SSIIIIGGGGHHHH" but he lets Chiwi play with his tail and only casts me hunted looks if it goes on too long. But Daisy! IS A MAMA DOG! Has A Puppy! A real live baby! Whom she is trying to pick up by the scruff of his neck-ever so carefully!- so far succeeding only once for about one second- Chiwi is FAST!-and whose bum she wants to wash!- but he scuttles like a little bug and so far she hasn't connected much. She is working hard on her technique though which involves sort of stick handling him with her front paws to make him run in a straight line- it's a hoot!They are SOOO gentle with him, except when Frankie is "guarding" his latest cookie- which is often. He-this is his favourite game- waits on purpose for any four legged being-feline or canine-to walk within 20 feet of the cookie so he can growl unconvincingly and then WOOF a huge satisfying bark. The cats roll their eyes at this and Daisy has mostly learned to ignore it as well. Frankie is pretty well perfect in other respects-(he was a Zen master in his previous life)and is a hardly-any-bark and absolutely-no-bite, ever, dog, and almost 10 years old.) So no worries. But Chiwi is a fresh victim and today,the couple of time he strayed near the object of Frank's obsession, and Frankie growl/barked, he popped about 2 feet straight up in the air and beat it like hell! BUT! tonight: as the three of them had their bedtime snack-yes yes, throw up if you must-and Frankie went to stick his nose in Chiwi's bowl, as is his custom (with Daisy), this 7 1/2 week old baby growls and then barks at HIM. Frank backs up in UTTER disbelief! looks at me: "Mom! That puppy is PICKING ON ME!"

Both big dogs also are shoving their giant heads- how did they suddenly get so HUGE? in my lap whenever I fuss over Chiwi, so it is dog/Mama lovefest 2006 around here!!

Really, though, he whines only to say he has to go out for a pee and poop, does it EVERY time, going to the same place, and has had NO -that really is NO accidents, in or out of the crate since Saturday, before I really had the system tweaked. Isn't this amazing? How can all of that be going on in a little head the size of a plum??And what incredible control. I am astounded.

I know there is a sad lack of adorable pictures here, but Daisy's biggest issue is her camera phobia and wherever I am with Chiwi, there also goeth the big dogs, like burrs stuck to my pantlegs.
I can't do that to her-it would be cruel- she trembles for 1/2 an hour just at the SIGHT of my camera, never mind a click or, horrors, the flash. So, for pictures, when Daddy gets home tomorrow night I will get him to take the big guys for a long walk and go nuts!

Watch this space!

Friday is new puppy day!

Well, I feel nervous and expectant and excited. "Chiwi",pronounced "Chee-wee"-our new baby chihuahua, who was named by the supposedly reluctant husband, within 1/2 hour of me gingerly bringing up the whole puppy idea-LOL-, will come home Friday. He will be nearly 8 weeks old. Part of me is apprehensive since our dogs at present are so laid back -if you sleep in till 11:30, so do they- if you want to take a nap for three hours, they are on. It is a bit like when I had my third kid 8 years after the second one- what I dreaded, was the coming loss of sleep. Ah well, I need to toughen up, I guess- in cello term time my schedule is all over the map- early, late, early and late, random days off, extra huge days on- I always cannot wait for the summer weeks off but at the same time I know I do badly with the lack of structure. Psychologically, it is not the best situation for me. Ideally, I should put the puppy (and myself) on a strict schedule. We will see.
And, I have never house broken a teeny tiny one before. Cats train themselves- we have had lots of baby kitties- but our dogs were 5 months or so(Frankie), and adult of unknown age(Daisy) when we got them. They were both already perfectly house-broken.
I have not lived to regret these two dogs though- I can't imagine life without them now.I worry too much.
In other news, Matt went back to Dalhousie today to start his summer job, and he and Rachel, his GF of 5 years will start grad school in September. They called and are moved into their apartment. My baby!! It really really really goes SO FAST.
Shoulder hurting so I will save the Great Cuban Rabies Scare for next post.

And WOW my lovely Belinda Ninja soaps arrived. What a treat!They will make great presents and using one is like a present to myself, every time I wash my hands. Thank you, thank you, poodle lady!