The Tide tore the apartment up from top to bottom. the linoleum that was in the kitchen when I moved into the apartment was no longer there when I moved out. The Tide chewed it away to the concrete floor. She chewed the baseboards and ate drywall and I have no doubt that if there had been no furniture in the apartment I probably could have picked the carpet up as well because she chewed all around the carpet causing it to come loose. She ate books and gnawed on everything, including a Christmas tree, knocking it over and causing a buzz as the lights came unplugged from the wall. When The Tide and I moved to Alabama, I left a key on the kitchen counter and high tailed it out of town. It was not really a shining moment for me or The Tide.
Having learned how not to raise a puppy and being a homeowner instead of a renter, I plan to do things a little differently this time. I don't, after all, want my home chewed to pieces when I arrive home in the evenings. So, I bought an extremely large crate and am going to give crate training a try. The crate takes up almost half the spare bedroom which is annoying but I wanted to make sure Pippa could use the same crate while she is growing. This crate has a divider you use and expand the size the puppy can use as it grows. It seems kind of weird and cruel to put a dog in a cage, but I guess it beats the heck out of having a chewed up house and from what I've heard, dogs love their crates; so, hopefully it will work out. If you have any crate training tips, please leave them in the comments.
I've got a couple of people who are going to let Pippa out for a potty break during the day. One is my neighbor Jeff and the other is a lady who I used to go to church with that lives close to me and I'm sure Jackie will come by on occasion since she works close to my house and loves to spoil my dogs. I have no doubt that this puppy will provide many an entertaining blog post.
In addition to the crate, I have also bought some new toys but I'm using Tide's old blankets and I'm not really sure how that will work out but I guess we shall soon see. The trainer who was teaching our WOW class also crocheted me a blanket for the puppy which was so very nice of her and such a surprise! I didn't know Beth knew how to crochet or that she was making me a blanket. She just brought it to the gym last week and it was so sweet of her. (Side note - she is not working with us as of last Thursday as she injured her foot and is having surgery next week. We are working with Josh until Beth is able to come back from surgery).
So, the house is more or less ready for Pippa the Pup. Hopefully the transition will be a smooth one and I'll be able to reach into the depths of my patience bag as I adjust to life with a puppy. Wish us luck!
The crate
The blanket from Beth
All set up and ready for Pippa the Pup
3 comments:
That blanket is super cute and YES I will be coming by and spoiling Pippa!
Little Pippa's crate looks very cozy with her blankies and new toys! I love that crocheted blanket....so pretty!
Buster seems to like his crate. He goes in there on his own, and he adjusted quickly to it. I've heard that if a pup has too much room in the crate, they will potty in one area and nap in the other. So, using the dividers will probably be a good idea. I try not to let Buster drink much water in the morning so he isn't too uncomfortable during the day with a full bladder. The first couple weeks I came home and let buster out to potty during my lunch time. He seemed to appreciate that. Buster is a major chewer, so i put only very durable toys in there while we're gone so he doesn't tear the plush toys and choke on them. He has eaten a few body parts of some of his stuffed toys. Crazy dog. Can't wait to see and hear more about Pippa!!!!
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