Day 2

Day 2: Settling In
by Dawn

Bella seems to be totally at ease in her new home. It's amazing actually how she seems to be so peaceful and happy! She's a definite tail wagger and responds well when I call her name. She seems to love her toys, constantly going from one to another. I know that I should probably just give her one or two toys but we have so many that it is no big deal! She seems to love pouncing on Maggie's old big stuffed Pinky and dragging the toy across the room which is quite amusing since it's almost as big as she is.

She's doing so well with housetraining. No accidents again but we are also being diligent with taking her out often and praising her when she eliminates. I really have the feeling that she 'gets it' and is a smart cookie. She's such a sweetheart!

I have to say that Terk is surprising us a bit. We thought for sure that she'd take on a lovely motherly role with Bella...but that is not happening at all. Terk is really being less than hospitable to poor Bella. We are still monitoring them closely. We hope this shall pass.

Dawn

Day One

Day 1: Bella's New Home
by Dawn

Well, I thought I would finally post an update on how Bella's first day went. John and I got up very early on Saturday (I think it was 6:30 a.m.) so that we could be quick and on the road early. We did the usual stuff to get ready - loaded up the gas tank, packed a few supplies and then grabbed breakfast on the run and then we were off to Woodstock to pick up our baby-to-be!

The drive there was fairly smooth with traffic being fairly light and the road condition was almost perfect. We were there well before noon and signed paperwork and all the fun stuff. As John was doing all that and going over instructions, Bella was running around the kitchen, climbing under the chairs and trying to eat the laptop cords. Already she was a little busy body! Once we took care of all the stuff that needed to be done, we snapped on the new collar and headed out the door and we were on the road yet again - this time headed for home.

You could tell that Bella was not liking the car ride very much. She was doing the nervous yawn on the drive, whimpering a bit, and had some nasal drip. It was a very windy day and consequently, there was a lot of noise in the car from the wind and I think that was probably quite loud for her. You could tell she was getting a bit stressed but continued to lay on my lap and look up with those sad, sweet eyes. I think it was around London where she started to have a gag reflex so I knew she'd be vomiting soon. I held her so that she did so on the floor of the car and dealt with the mess afterwards. Once she did that, it seemed to settle her tummy and she mostly laid home the rest of the way seeming much more content.

Then we headed to Maria's backyard where we would do the meet with Terk on neutral territory. Terk's hackles immediately went up and there was a little posturing but there was no huge confrontation at all. We headed into Maria's basement and let the dogs interact, play ball and Terk continued to put Bella in her place, but again, typical doggie social behaviour and not aggressiveness.

Once we got home, I was surprised to see that Callie immediately had her back up. I did not expect that reaction from our cat. Honestly, I never even considered that Callie would have any sort of issue at all as she just stays out of everyone's way! She made the weird howling noise as she did when we used to board her for camping - the same noise she makes when she's around other cats. I'm not sure if she thought that Bella was a cat? Weird. The noise from Callie happened only once and the back hackles are now down when she sees Bella so that is a good thing I think. They all have to get used to one another and we are just closely monitoring all our furry friends until we know they all can be trusted around one another.

We had visitors last night - Barry and Meaghan, Maria and my Mother who all wanted to check out the new pup. Despite that bit of commotion, Bella seemed no worse for the wear. She seems very easygoing by nature and seems to take everything totally in stride. At one point last night, Terk growled at Bella and Bella went over right onto her back into a submissive position. We can't believe it but so far it seems like Terk is going to "wear the pants" in this furry family!! I guess she learned from the best (Maggie!).

Bella is a very happy camper and seems eager to please and play. She's working on the "sit" command and seems to be picking it up quite quickly. She had no accidents in the house (partly due to our diligence with making sure she gets out every few hours!). She's very sweet and quite honestly, just GORGEOUS!!! John and I just can't believe that we have such a beautiful sweet-natured pup! Early that afternoon, when she got tired, I took a nap and so did she - right into her crate seeming none worse for the wear. We thought - wow!! This puppy is going to be a breeze!

The only really tough time was last night when we went to bed. It wasn't tough for her - just us. She made it very clear last night that she did not want to be crated. For probably 15-20 minutes she cried incessantly, at points it actually sounded like she was shouting "NO!!" (it was weird but we both "heard" it), whining and actually howling at a few points. That was tough to be honest - not for Bella - but for us - as we tried to not give in and take her out. Eventually she settled down for the night and that was a good thing! John wants me to add that this was not "tough" really but to be expected due to it being the first night in a new place, in a crate.

Dawn

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow, Tomorrow,
I love you tomorrow...
You're only a day away!
~From Annie, the Musical

Okay, yes I admit it. I'm so excited that I'm actually quoting Annie! LOL! We are in the long haul. All I have to do is get through what I expect will be one long day in my Senior Kindergarten class and then come home, eat and sleep and then it will be "P day" (Puppy Day!). I might end up going to bed at 8 pm, just to make it come by faster!

How did we prepare for this puppy?

Well we watched a puppy video on training.
I've read two books on puppies.
we've read through some websites.
I bought two doggie blankets for the crate.
We have a new crate and doggie food container (She will be on different food than Terky).
I have a new collar and leash.
We have two tags printed with her info for said collar.
I've bought a doggie journal (yes, I'm THAT sad) that is ridiculously like a baby book.

John and I have talked quite a bit about the new puppy and Maggie. There are a few things that we'd like to do with the new puppy that we feel we could have done better with Maggie. Don't get me wrong, Mags was an awesome dog but there is always some room for improvement. I'd like to do more obedience with her for instance. I would love to possibly train her enough that I could take her for hospital visits should I be inclined since I live about 2 blocks from the hospital. We'd like her to do more obedience. We'd like to do more tricks with her. We'd like to watch her weight a little more and teach her a little more doggie manners when it comes to food and mooching.

This opens a mixed bag of feelings getting a new puppy too. I honestly feel that I will have to keep reminding myself (and John) not to compare her with Maggie. She won't be Maggie no matter what we do. We will have to have some hard times. Puppy training is more than likely not going to be so easy peasy as it was with Maggie. I just hope for three things: that she's spunky, that she's loving and that she's smart. Much like the three wishes that parents have for their kids! LOL!

Tonight, we will wrap up some loose ends - me, I'm going to do typical things like clean the house, straighten....so that Saturday and Sunday I can just completely bond with the puppy. Today John will install a puppy gate in our foyer and he will need to walk over and purchase her food at the neighbourhood pet store. I hope he will do some laundry too so that I can put it away tonight and not spend my usual Sunday doing it. I want to devote myself completely to little Bella. Then tonight we will drop Terk off at Auntie Maria's where she will be sleeping tonight so that tomorrow we can hit the ground running....

Wish us good luck for a great first day!

Dawn

Little Purple Hope

In my head, I call her the little purple hope because that is her in the purple collar, snoozing along aside her Mom and littermates. She is happiness in a furry package. When I had Chinese food the other night, I took a fortune cookie and said "This one's for Bella". Inside it said the phrase "Good things come in small packages". Let's hope that is true in this furry instance.

I thought I would start this blog as a fun little hobby. Partly to keep a record of her days from puppyhood to golden retriever adulthood. Partly for my own interest and for those of our family that might be curious in her development. Honestly, it's definitely for my Sister-in-law who I know will spoil her as she does her other furry nieces, for my Mother and Mother-in-Law who I know will just be interested in hearing what's new with our furry wonder.

So this is the beginning of Bella's Blog. For the rest of you, it probably won't be interesting but all are welcome to see our transition bringing a new puppy into our already furry-crazed household. Hoping she will get along with the rest of the brood quite nicely - a border collie named Terk, a crazy cat named Callie and of course, our Honey Bunny.

We will pick her up on Saturday probably noonish and bring her home to introduce her in neutral territory (Maria's backyard) so that the two dogs can meet and greet. Then Bella will come home as part of the pack to our house.

And so, the countdown begins!

Dawn