first full day

 I did say I wanted a puppy, right? And I did say that I wanted to spend less time sitting on the sofa. I got my wish on both.

The first night was not nearly as traumatic as it could have been. She was out at 9pm for a pee then into her crate until 7am. She did bark the first time each of us got up in the middle of the night but didn’t on subsequent trips to the loo. She might have slept longer but Carm got up so I whisked her outside where she peed immediately. Her little puppy bladder was full! Crisis averted! Breakfast then time to go out again only we didn’t get out quickly enough for the little poo. We did better the rest of the day.

In the morning she had a bath and a blowdry which she took like a trooper, then some play and a nap. By the time Carm got back from his errand she was dry and ready for a car ride. The pet store visit went well until another dog came in. She immediately started barking and growling :-( I’m not sure if she’s scared or territorial… we need to do some serious work here and may call in an expert to get this sorted asap. As soon as she’s a bit more food oriented I’ll go through the process that I did with Spike. I don’t recall signing up for this again…

Lupa - she-wolf… aptly named Laura, aptly named.

She’s learning how to take a treat and also to sit with both a hand signal and a verbal que! She’s getting good at recognizing her name.

She chases Adia up and down the laneway, running as hard as she can to try to catch Adia. Adia gives her a wide berth but seems to enjoy the game. With so much snow Lupa is confined to the snowblown areas which might be a good thing at this point. Luckily the laneway is long and wide.

I should mention that it was -20C last night and got as ‘warm’ as -18C today. Very cold for little puppy paws.

So far she plays with her toys or naps when I’m at the sofa and has started to run ahead of me to where I sit. She has a blanket on the sofa that we’ll lift her onto if she’s quiet and sleepy - otherwise it's a baby shark going crazy on our laps. She’s very affectionate and people oriented which of course is lovely.

She makes us laugh (through the occasional tear).

We are having lots of fun although there are a few frustrations. I hope she learns to be less reactive and that maybe it’s because she’s new to us (fingers crossed).

 

We have a new appreciation for Adia as it is clear that she’s grown to be a wonderful dog.

Awesome!

“bright sunny day”

“Lupa doing a reasonable ‘sit’ for the lady in the pet store”

“she’s starting to know her name”

“Lupa running around with the purple toy”

“Adia running on the laneway and giving a wide berth to Lupa”

“In his grief over the loss of a dog, a little boy stands for the first time on tiptoe, peering into the rueful morrow of manhood. After this most inconsolable of sorrows there is nothing life can do to him that he will not be able somehow to bear.”

― James Thurber