Hot!

Yesterday the airport recorded 103 degrees. A record for us, but not the highest temp in the area. Some local communities got up to 106! The last time I looked at the in-house thermometer it was 96. That's indoors. (This morning at 5:30AM it was pegged at 84.)

I bought a kiddie pool for Bella, but during the day all she did was drink from it. One front paw went in, but nothing else. I stuffed her Kong with ice cubes and that satisfied her until they melted and we were back to the heat. It was, in fact, too hot to even be sitting outside in the shade, so the majority of the day we were in the basement. I wish I knew what the temp was there. It was cooler, but it certainly wasn't cool.

Around 9PM we went into the back and Bella re-discovered the pool. I wish I could take action shots because she was having a ball trying to dig to the bottom of the pool. No lying in it, but she spread so much water by digging that she was soaked. And what happens to a cooled down puppy? Solid action! She went flying around the yard making three laps, before going back to the pool for another dig!

I'll look at the phone pictures I took and see if they are worth posting.

Mood Reversal

Did I say "I love my puppy" yesterday? Well, I do, but by last night I wasn't so sure. She peed downstairs on the carpet. Mea Culpa. I got a phone call and ran upstairs to take it and didn't take Bella. She's gone two weeks without an accident, but obviously doesn't yet know the appropriate pee spot.

The weather has been abysmally hot (mid to high 90s) and I find my temperament drops with each degree of heat. So I was angry when I came back down and spotted the puddle. (I did not shame the puppy, but cleaned it up and took the puppy upstairs and outside.)

In trying to escape the heat, we went to the river for a quick dip. It revved the puppy and she got spunky, bouncy and bitey—and took the opportunity to bite the leash and me. NO BITES! My momentarily cooled off temperament took another nose dive. I spent the rest of the evening away from the puppy and let my husband deal with her. I knew I wasn't capable at that point of being reasonable and I didn't want her to be the recipient of my foul mood.

Today is supposed to be even warmer topping out (I hope!) the day after at 100. I am doing some private instruction mid-day and can only hope the location is air-conditioned. Waking up to find the temperature already in the 70s at 5AM, just makes me a grouch at the start. I don't know how I survived living in the Midwest. I find this weather completely debilitating.

I love my puppy!

I know Bella isn't unique and all new owners feel similarly about their own pup, but I LOVE MY PUPPY! Here is a terribly blurry picture that doesn't show how absolutely adorable and smart and cute she is, but I like the picture none-the-less. She was completely inside the milk carton, but jumped out when I snapped. Why was she there? Exploring!

We just finished puppy class today. She is not the best behaved in class; she doesn't often play with the others. She scavenges for left over kibbles that may have been dropped. Or she goes person to person and sits politely in front of them waiting for a handout because she knows sitting gets food. How could you not love her to pieces?

Too Long

I apologize for the long gaps between posts. No one told me having a puppy was so time consuming! We've also had lots going on besides the puppy—our house was recently burgled and we just finished up a stint of dog sitting.

Bella grows by leaps and bounds both physically and mentally. She is more able to do "dog" things. Whereas a couple of weeks ago, running wasn't really figured out, she's looking more dog-like when she runs. She leaped into the van for the first time yesterday. It may have been a fluke as she saw her half-sister, Molly, do it. Bella went in right after her. She also took a flying leap off a three-step platform clearing all the steps in her enthusiasm.

We feel like proud parents over her increasing abilities. "Isn't she clever?" we remark. I'm glad we're saying these things in the confine of our home. I'm a bit embarrassed how gushy we are.

Here's a great picture of her with her favorite companion. I'm sure Molly loves Bella despite Bella's "remora" tendencies, but Bella absolutely adores Molly. The day after Molly went home, Bella slept nearly the entire day.

Bella is Settling In

Bella is settling in. In previous posts I mentioned what at first I thought was aggression, but now realize is rough play. She's a vocal player like Lucy and it sounds vicious, but it merely talk. Sometimes she gets overamped (like a child) and plays too roughly, but a momentary separation seems to solve that.

She plays beautifully with her half-sister, Molly. Plays to the point they are both exhausted. She has gone camping with us and behaves beautifully in the van. We have her in a large soft crate and she'll most likely curl up and sleep or quietly gnaw on a chew. Here she is on a hot, hot day. The heat combined with many new experiences, people, other dogs, kids, kite boarders, water, wind...well, it tuckers out a girl!