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Week One: Learning the Ropes

Growing Pains

I am 35 pounds today. This is the day the vet estimates that I turn 15 weeks and I am one fast-growing puppy. According to the home scale, I have gained 9 pounds in the not-even three weeks I've been here.

It's not easy being a puppy that's growing by the minute. I used to sleep through the night pretty well but now I wake up in the wee hours to eat more because i'm so hungry! I eat plenty during the day but my tummy is only so big and I just need a lot of food right now, ok? Then of course I have to wake up more to go out and go to the bathroom more. It comes with the territory I guess.

Maybe I am just in a growth spurt and it will even out a little (that's what my humans are hoping!). People don't realize I'm still just a baby. Even in the puppy play class they wanted to put me with the bigger puppies until they found out I was so young.

Another thing with all this growing is that it's causing puppy narcolepsy. My human took me to an Animal Rights conference over the weekend and I LOVED meeting all the people there - there were hundreds of animal lovers who all wanted to say hi to me! It was pretty awesome. But the narcolepsy kept kicking in. I fell asleep behind the exhibit table in a room of hundreds of people, against the wall in there, under the exhibit table (sometimes with just my ear or nose or paw sticking out -- I didn't want to totally miss the action, I was just sleepy!), over and over again. Then for the formal banquet at night, I slept under the table for the entire four hours. The other people at the table didn't even know there was a puppy under there. I still have my crazy puppy moods and I love to be part of the action, but I need a lot of food and sleep!

Week One: Learning the Ropes

I've been here just over a week now, and I've definitely made myself at home. When I first got here I was hesitant to sniff and explore things, although I had no problem barking at Boru and grabbing his leash and running away with it to try to get him to play. But overall I was pretty reserved when it came to new things and people. I wanted to jump on Uncle Tim's air mattress, and I could get my front paws up there but I kept waving my back paws around in futility, with cute helpless ehn (see http://www.squidgrid.com/cute/Glossary.htm#ehn for definition) efforts. Like I was a little baby with no control over all those legs. Those days are way behind me. Now I greet my humans in their real bed with a flying leap, usually clearing over Boru in the process, with some room to spare. I'm pretty good at clearing the entire side of the couch too, thank you very much.

So this dog Boru that lives in the house, he's not much fun but I love him anyway. Every time I bite him or jump on his head or use his back as a stool to rest my paws on so I can see higher, he just sits there. He doesn't ever want to play with me. But I still like to lay by him and sit on him and generally be very close to him if I have the choice. He seems cool with that . . . I think.

On Monday I met Summer, who is a little puppy with stubby legs and a fuzzy body. At first she was kind of lame but then she perked up and she lets me body slam her and smash into her and get all the playing out that I can't do with Boru. She's alright, for a little kid.

Me and Boru and the humans have done a lot of walking and hiking and visiting people and we went to Rock Creek Park and I went in the water and we went to the dog park and on car rides and a lot of stuff. I usually still have energy after all that to run around the house and play with toys. I know I'm not supposed to do this, but sometimes when I'm in that mood I just have to BITE people! I love it!!! I know it's wrong, but I just WANT to! Usually I can be very good and just play with toys and cuddle and watch TV but sometimes I just want to BITE! Heheheheee.