Puppy Tales

Meet Izzy!  These photos are from her first night with us.  We got her about 10 days ago in a horrible rainstorm.  She was 8 weeks old and adorable.   

Izzy is short for Isadora, which comes from an old movie, "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days!"  Andi was given the Isadora diamond to wear to the party.  We think Izzy is a real gem.

It has been an adventure.  We really weren't prepared to become puppy parents, so she spent the first night inside, but now has a (very muddy) pen outside and still spends a lot of time inside when we are here (which is turning out to be much more than we expected).

The Hubs concocted this pen around the cat shed to keep her in.  No, the cats are not very appreciative, but he did put a ladder up on the outside of the fence and stacked the live traps on the inside of the fence so that they can go up and over and avoid puppy contact to get to the food dishes.

There was ONE reasonably nice day to play outside with her.  She watched Kenzie chase the ball and we started working with Izzy to do the same.  She does it pretty well.  This photo was right after we got her and I can't believe how much bigger she already seems.  I still pick her up and carry her around, but it's getting to be a workout.

We have had to do lots of inside play because of all the rain.  Sarah and her cat were home for 3 days last weekend, and Dory was not at all impressed with Izzy.  She managed to stay in Sarah's room as much as possible and spent time watching on the steps for the coast to be clear of the puppy.

Izzy has never met a basket she didn't think she could fit herself into.............

We are working on house training.  We had a trip to the vet on Saturday for first shots (weighed in at 22lbs., gonna be a big dog).  The vet gave us literature about potty training.  We are supposed to take her outside periodically and really praise her when she goes.  It's kinda working.  I took her out one day and she pooped in the yard and as I was exuberantly praising her, she ran a short distance away to stick her nose in some leaves and eat something............it was cat poop!  Not sure my praise was having the desired effect.  She will stay in the crate some inside and doesn't get too upset.

And yes, she has her own teddy bear.......actually 2, one for inside and one for outside.  She does love to carry them around.  They were supposed to be for Cici, but she never really cared for them.  She also inherited some other cat toys that Cici wasn't interested in.

And Cici is adjusting.  She has learned to inspect a room for a puppy before entering, and to seek high places.  She really likes to sit on the table and watch Izzy run around it in circles trying to figure out how to get up there with her.

Izzy has finally learned how to take a nap inside...........it can happen anywhere, even the kitchen floor!

DD is currently back in Rolla, she has only online classes now, but can work at her on campus job and work in the lab for her senior design class.  When she was home last weekend, we made a trip to Columbia for a little shopping.  We were parked opposite this when we left the mall.

It gave us a chuckle and made me anxious to get home to Izzy.

Not a whole lot of sewing has been done with a puppy to play with.  That is going to change as we spend more time at home.  So the next post will probably have some show and tell in it.

Christi