Rebellious Ruby, The Doggie Bully

Ruby, our incredibly sweet and docile "senior dog" has let her new-found Alpha Dog status go completely to her head, and has begun to bully little Diva.

She's not hurting Diva (except for her feelings) but definitely is enjoying barking and making Diva jump, and letting her know when it's time for her to move from her favorite backyard shady spot. Poor little Diva runs back up on the deck to me as if to say "She's being MEAN to me!"

However, I realize I have to let all this shake out..... as long as there's no physical harm involved (and there's not), this sort of territorial posturing is to be expected, especially from Ruby, the dog who has been the SOLE canine in the house for the past 3 years.

I do feel a bit sorry for Diva though. Sometimes Ruby will play with her, and then sometimes she'll growl at her for no apparent reason, and Diva will look totally bewildered.

The Latest Doggie Bulletin

Boy, it's hard to keep up with 2 blogs, Facebook, 2 kids, a husband, lead a small group, run a business, keep a clean house (insert uproarious laughter here), and all the other stuff of LIFE.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you, just..... venting? whining? :-)

Anyway, here's the latest "doggie" news:

1. Diva has figured out how to "scale" the baby gates that were keeping her in the den/kitchen area. Therefore, they are now completely useless. We are frantically trying to puppy-proof our entire house, as everything is now her "playground".
2. Diva is almost completely house-trained. (Hallelujah!!)
3. Diva and Ruby are now very good friends. (Again, Hallelujah!)
4. Ruby, who had been suffering Diva's hyper-hyena outbursts in stressed-out silence, has asserted herself as Alpha Dog (shocked us all) and Diva has shown, very clearly, that she is willing to be submissive to Ruby. Diva will literally lay down on her back, exposing her belly and throat to Ruby, who shows her teeth to Diva in "mock aggression". At first it was a little alarming, but after about 3 episodes of this behavior, we realized it was all a territorial thing, and they've since figured out who is the Boss (clearly, Ruby) and things are MUCH happier at our house. They now play, wrestle, nap, and run around in the back yard and woods together. Whew - big relief for us humans!!

Life with 2 dogs is good! :-)

Diva's Latest Discovery

I don't know what this thing is called, but it's the little spring thing (with the rubber cap) down on the baseboard, that prevents your doorknob from smacking into your wall and leaving a mark.

ANYWAY, Diva has discovered it.... and it's her new plaything. Funny puppy. (Diva is 10 weeks old now.)

No Accidents Today!

...except one little teeny tiny pee puddle and that was totally my fault.... I got her all wound up then went down to the basement to get something.... heard her whining upstairs to go out and by the time I got back up she wasn't able to hold it.

But, other than that (which was really only about a tablespoon of pee), little Miss Diva made it the whole DAY with no accidents. A major milestone has been reached, I tell you!

HOORAY!

A round of Milk Bones for everyone!

The Escape Artist!

So, the kids and I are out and about today.... it had been another slow day for me, work-wise, and my kids were "dying of boredom" (a frequent complaint) and so I thought Why Not .... Let's just go have some Fun.

So, we crated up the puppy with some chewtoys and snacks, patted our sweet older dog Ruby on the head and left the house around 11:30. Hit the library first.... I found 4 books I wanted and J found 3 books he wanted. S, who unfortunately has not developed the love of reading (yet!!) did not find any books.

From there, we stopped by the middle school J will be entering in the Fall. Picked up a registration packet, introduced ourselves to the principal (really nice guy), and headed out again.

Then we checked out the new "Super Arcade" near our house. This place has a mega-arcade for kids, two bowling alleys, lazer-tag, and 2 restaurants. The kids and I hung out there and played quite awhile. They got hundreds of tickets that they turned it at the little gift shop for ridiculously over-priced merchandise (that I could have bought at the dollar store....)

At around 2:30 my cell phone rings..... it's Hubster.
Hubster: "Hey... did you guys forget to crate Diva before you left?"
Me: (feeling my heart skip a beat, as I realize the Tasmanian Devil of Destruction has been LOOSE and UNSUPERVISED in the house for over 3 hours now....) "No..... I don't think so..."
Hubster: "Well, apparently she has figured out how to escape from the crate."

Long story longer.... Diva (a/k/a "Houdini") SOMEHOW freed herself from the crate and had a Merry Time running all around the house while we were gone. Blessedly (miraculously!!) she did not destroy anything, however poor Ruby (our "senior dog") looks like she needs a Valium..... or maybe even a Qualude (sp?) at this point :-)

I can hear Diva now (in evil cartoon villain voice): "THERE'S NO CRATE BUILT THAT CAN HOLD ME BACK!" ("BWAHH-HA-HA!!")

One Worn-Out Little Puppy! (Video)

Little Diva was EXHAUSTED after her long morning walk with Hubster today. (She was trying to keep up with Ruby, who was trying to keep AHEAD AND AWAY from Diva...)

Diva came home and immediately passed out, on her back, on the couch. The video tells the humorous tale.... :-)

Ruby Remembers....

"I remember the Good Old Days, when I was the only dog in the house..... those were the days..."

Poor Ruby. She's having a tough time adjusting to growing Diva, and Diva's VERY active little personality. :-(

Eventually they'll find a happy medium. (I hope.)

My Last Nerve......

Would I be a horrible Dog-Mom if I said I'm just READY for Diva to be a grown-up dog?
I mean, she's really cute and all but I'm already worn out from the lack of sleep.... I'm worn out from the chewing....(yes, she has a plethora of chew toys but she prefers furniture... and NO the bitter apple spray doesn't seem to faze her!) I'm worn out from the housetraining and the cleaning of pee and poo (which is a DAILY issue).... and now she has discovered her VOICE. Yes, she has realized she can bark - LOUD!

I look at Ruby, our incredibly sweet, docile, superbly behaved older dog and I say "Hang in there, Ruby..... one day Diva will be your Friend and not your Irritant."

We'll be fine, of course. I remember going through this with Chloe, our Black Lab, when Hubster and I were newlyweds. (When you look up "Destructive" in Webster's, there is still to this day a sketch of Chloe next to the word.) Chloe destroyed everything. She even ate a step (carpet, padding, all the way down to the wood) in our first house. She also ripped wallpaper off the walls (worked it loose with her tongue, apparently, then ripped it off in SHEETS!), AND she disassembled a chair from our dinette set. I think most people would have given her away, but we stuck with her. She was ROUGH. But, after about a year or so, she was magically transformed into a fabulous, protective, loyal (and relatively docile) family dog. And she gave us almost 12 years of love. I still have a framed picture of her behind the sink in the kitchen, so I can remember her in her youth.

I try to keep Chloe's "metamorphosis" (and successful outcome!) this in the forefront of my mind when Diva is jumping up and down on my last nerve. :-)

Nothing like Squishy Puppy Poo Between Your Toes....

It's really a good thing Diva is so darn cute..... because if she weren't, stuff like what happened this morning would be VERY tough to deal with.

Anyway, this morning, around 9 AM, working away, I hear my 12 year old son BELLOW from downstairs "MOM!!! I NEED YOU!!!"

Thinking that something Very Serious had undoubtedly happened, I raced downstairs to find that J had accidentally stepped in an unfortunate pile of poo that Diva had deposited on the carpet. The poo was still warm (ick) and had squished up between his toes.

J was NOT happy and was standing on one foot, GLARING at Diva, who was, of course, completely oblivious, and wanting to play.

Long story short: I had J hop into the bathroom where I proceeded to clean his foot for him, over the toilet (yes, I realize he could have done this himself, but he was so FREAKED OUT that he stepped in warm poo, INSIDE, that he was momentarily rendered helpless....). Then I cleaned up the carpet, and put the puppy back outside for a bit, filled her kiddie pool and let her play.

Just another morning of Puppy Mayhem at our house. :-)

(But the accidents are getting fewer and fewer. Thankfully.)

The Latest Diva News

Diva did NOT like the fireworks last night.
We were at a party and didn't get home until about 11:30 (she did very well in her crate) but when we took her out, she was very nervous about the loud noises and stayed very close to us.
(Poor baby.)
Chloe, our late great Black Lab, was much the same.

Diva has also just noticed the squirrels in our backyard. I think it won't be long before she "gives chase". :-)
I'll try to capture that on video.

She is growing like a little weed. Getting visibly bigger (and noticeably heavier) in the 2 short weeks we've had her. She's going to be a real beauty too.

Diva Rolls Around and Looks Cute

Immediately before I took this clip, Diva was jumping, splashing and frolicking in the baby pool (notice the wet tummy), then jumping out and doing hyper little laps through the backyard (with Wild Look in the Eye). Of course, once I came back with the camera, she wouldn't repeat it, and just wanted to roll around and chew grass..... but even that is cute.

Doggie Destruction

A certain someone (not naming names but her nickname is DIVA) has started gnawing on the corner baseboards from where the breakfast room goes into the den.

Keep in mind this puppy has a PLETHORA of chew toys.

But no. She prefers hard, wood baseboards.



Bitter apple spray, here I come!