Life is good

It's been an exciting week. We've been to a bunch of different parks, and I got to see the ocean for the first time. I've also gotten to play with other dogs a couple of times. I love that!

Mommy has started baby-gating me upstairs at night because I chew things up. I don't love that so much, but Mommy isn't very happy that I destroyed the vacuum cleaner cord, one of Kathy's shoes, and a couple of her wicker hotpads. She's not extremely angry at me either (Daddy says "Bored dogs are dangerous") and I'm starting to understand what not to chew, at least when she's looking, but she wants to keep me away from temptation.

Last night I found a soda can to chew on, and Mommy came out of her bedroom real fast! It was neat. I wish I could find more soda cans, if that's what happens, but Mom picked them all up and put all the returnable bottles and cans in the back of the car. But she sat with me and rubbed my tummy and said I was a funny puppy-girl, and that was nice. She also told me what a good girl I was for not nibbling on her hands. It's hard for me not to nibble on people when I'm happy and excited. I'm glad she notices.

Update

Mom and Dad both went out tonight (is she allowed to do that???) but she just came home, and she brought me a chewy bone! I am a very happy puppy right now.

HI!

Hello everybody! I have a journal! I have a webpage! Heck with that, I have a home! I've been here since late Sunday night. Mom tried to put me in a crate the first night, but I didn't like it at all, so she opened the door and let me out and I slept on the couch. And when everyone came downstairs in the morning, no one yelled at me for being on the couch at all! They even let me cuddle up next to them on the couch and they petted me and rubbed my tummy!

I'm still working out the pack structure here. I know there's Mom, who's here with me just about all the time (she disappeared for a few hours yesterday afternoon; it scared me, but when she came back I was very very happy - Mom laughed at me and said I am a "perpetual motion machine"), Dad, who is gone all day, and David, who is Mom's puppy and I mustn't nip or he yells "No!" at me and smacks me on the nose (he seems to be a rather delicate puppy). The other member of the pack is Kathy. I think she may be one of Mom's puppies from an earlier litter or something, because she's bigger than Mom, almost as big as Dad. I know David outranks me, though, because every time I find a nice stuffed animal to chew on, Mom or Kathy takes it away from me and says that it's David's.

Mom says she is going to buy me a couple of chew toys and a stuffed animal all of my own, and take me to obedience training to teach me a few manners. She says I'm a good girl, I just have a few rough edges. She says I shouldn't bark when someone else is eating and they haven't given me any yet, and she says I shouldn't nip people's hands. Also, I'm not allowed to chew shoes or pocketbooks or belts or anything except my own toys. That's no fun, but I like it here anyway. I get lots of hugs and a back yard of my own to play in and a couch to sleep on in a nice warm house and lots of people petting me and scratching my ears and calling me a good dog. And David gives me lots of dog biscuits, and Mom gives me lots of rawhide scraps, and Dad throws popcorn for me while they're watching TV. And Mom gets down on the floor and wrestles with me and then stands and laughs while I run around the house and yard to burn off some energy.

I think life is going to be pretty good.