Life With Pippa

Hello there reader, I assure you, I am alive. Last week was very busy for me - I had a lot going on at work, I was adjusting to having a puppy at home and I was tired from all of those things. So, by the time I got home in the evenings, logging on to the computer was about the last thing I wanted to do.

Pippa and I are settling in to a routine of sorts. She is growing and everyone says she is taller and bigger this week than she was last and I guess they are right. It's hard to tell when you see her every day. When I took her to the vet last week, she weighed 9.9 pounds and I will be anxious to see what she weighs when we go back on September 7.

I am getting up about 15 minutes earlier than I used to on the weekdays to make sure I have enough time to take her outside and play. Then a friend of mine, Pat, and sometimes her husband Dave come by around 10:00 or 10:30 in the morning and again around 2:00 or 2:30 to let Pippa out for a potty break. She has been good to not go inside the crate which has been great, but she still goes in the house on occasion. I've started taking treats with me outside and each time she goes potty outside I give her one and that seems to be helping with the potty training process.

At night she is sleeping with me and the past couple of nights she did extremely well, sleeping basically the whole night. I took her out when I got up for a bathroom break for myself and then she went right back to sleep. Last week she was exceptionally crazy at night, but there was also a full moon and I'm hoping that had a little something to do with her extreme hyper active behavior. Don't get me wrong, I know puppies are hyper, but she was beyond crazy last week.

She is also eating more which is good because she wasn't eating too much at first, but I guess she has gotten used to the food and is realizing that's her only choice. She is playing more as well and barking quite a bit and random things. She has also discovered her reflection in a mirror and the reflection of the dishwasher and always thinks there is another dog there. One of the funniest things is when she hears a dog or some other animal on TV and she stops whatever she is doing and looks around for a furry friend.

I wish she was able to be out of the crate more during the day, but unfortunately puppies love to chew on everything and I just can't trust her to be out and about right now when no one is at home. Overall, though, things are going pretty well considering she has only been with me a little over a week. She is a really sweet puppy and I'm liking her more every day.