We all, actually, have a case of cabin fever.
We had a bit of a scare nearly two weeks ago as one of the puppy’s classmates came down with a puppy illness after attending class.
However, our puppy went to class with her, then to class then next week. Right after the second class we learned of the diagnosis… so even if she was healthy, one of her other classmates could have caught it so after quarantining for a week, the vets decided another week was in order.
The puppy has been healthy and rambunctious and shown no signs of illness, but we still have to quarantine for another few days. Poor girl, she’s HATING this. After going on walks around the neighborhood, she’s now stuck at the house.
The neighbors went a little nutty when she was walking… some waited outside of their houses for us to walk back past so they could meet her. It’s crazy… people we haven’t met in the 23 years we’ve been here, now we know them by name and they’re in love with the dog. If you want a way to meet the neighbors, this is very effective.
I’ve also decided I have immense respect for those who practice Islam. Our Puppy-K teachers urge us to work with the dogs in short spurts (ever tested the attention span of a baby lab? Yeeeeeah…)
Please, five times a day work with your puppies! It’s Salat (5x a day prayers for Muslims) with an exuberant canine. (Although my prayers are that one, she’ll behave and two, I get to sit down for a while.)
We had a bath the other day (woo, hoo, excitement central, that’s us) and she has the softest ears ever. She didn’t know quite what to think about the hair dryer but I wanted to get her acclimated to it… and she wound up soft, silky and like a giant teddy bear.
And giant is right. This girl’s adding 10% of her body weight a WEEK… and she still looks (and acts) like we don’t feed her enough despite the quantity of kibble we go through.
But get this… at Puppy K, the trainer grinned and said yeah, she’s about to hit a growth spurt.
Me: um… WHAT?
Trainer: Yep, at four months, they hit a growth spurt.
Oh, dear god. She was 15 weeks yesterday.
She can already just rest her head on the chairs. The counters are not going to be a problem for her any minute now. I’ve had to let out her “puppy in training vest” every week to accommodate her increasing body and she’s about to hit a growth spurt??
God in heaven, we’re fostering Clifford the big red dog.
Also, she doesn’t seem to understand how big she’s getting.
The cat, on the other hand, is all too aware of what’s happening.
Dog emerges from crate in morning.
Cat, standing on our bed: Holy hairy hounds, what the ___ is THAT??
Dog: What? Where? There was something in the crate with me?! I did not smell it! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, where is it?? I will bite it!
Cat (groaning): Oh, my god. It grew again. When will this STOP?! Make it stop!
Dog (sniffing wildly): I will find it! I will find it!!
Cat: The brain growth does not appear to be keeping pace with it’s paws. They’re excessively large.
Me: Hey, that’s unfair. She’s super smart. Puppy. Down.
Dog (lying down obediently, nose in air, accepting treat for it): Yes. I am. I show you by finding whatever was hiding in my crate. When mommy says I can.
Cat (raising one eyebrow): The fact that she obeys you and I do not does not evidence intellect. It indicates food motivation.
Dog: Food? Breakfast? WHERE??
ExaminingMisadventures 