This was taken shortly after her arrival. Not immediately after her arrival because she needed her paws washed as soon as she got home. Why, you ask, would you wash her paws as soon as she got home. Why would you not have some nice kind of welcome with the Trouts. Well, it's kind of a funny story.
About 5 minutes away from the breeder, the dog shat in her crate. A lovely, messy almost diarrhea poo which she then proceeded to walk through. We pulled into a service station to sort ourselves out. Which was ridiculous because we had nothing with us except Kleenex. So there we were, standing out in the freezing cold, trying to clean the crate which was covered in shit and the dog who was covered in shit. Finally, we just chucked the crate into the trunk, got a blanket for the dog to sit in my lap and carried on our way, trying not to gag on the smell of the poo.
Not a very good start.
The first week passed in rather a blur, kind of like when you bring home a new baby; you are sleep-deprived and exhausted because you've completely forgotten what is involved with a new little life to look after. It's been 13 years since we brought Gimpy Dog home as a puppy so we had forgotten that:
need to go the toilet every hour on the hour
have a tiny little bladder and can't hold their pee.
they have the tiniest but sharpest teeth on the planet.
they cannot sleep through the night at first.
And who in their right mind would try to house-train a puppy in the dead of winter? Us, apparently. It has been wretched some mornings, standing out in 2 feet of snow, in -20* temperatures waiting for the dog to go poo. We have to bundle up in coats, mitts and boots which in itself is tiring.
Going for walkies has not been an option either. It's just too damn cold for the dog. One day Himself & I tried to walk to Timmies which is about 10 minutes away and about half way there, Puppy Dog just sat right down and refused to budge. Which was kinda funny. I'll have to get her a wee coat for next winter, I guess.
Doesn't she look ridiculous with her little head stuck in the Lab-sized dish we had for Gimpy Dog. Oh well, she'll grow into it.
So we're all desperately waiting for Spring so we can get outside to run and play in the grass and meet some doggie friends.
I made the winter puppy mistake with Snippet. Rained solidly for the first month. He threw up all over me in the car the day we brought him home and shat behind a door that opened inwards the first night, the second, and the third. Crate door closed after that. You have my sympathies! Sweetie though.
ReplyDeleteHow far behind us are you with Coronation Street over there or do you get it the same time as us? It's a bit boring at the moment. We need a BIG story line again! I'm assuming you watch it from the Coronation Street blog on your list.
We're not that far behind anymore - a couple of weeks. The last episode I watched was Tuesday - Lloyd and Andrea had just made a date, Tracy had just chucked Rob out.
ReplyDeletePlease forgive me for laughing, but anyone who purchases a new puppy from me I always tell them to bring along papers towels, old towels, newspapers, etc for the ride home for that "new" baby as they don't have their motion sickness together yet. Lots of anxiety for a new baby travelling home. She is so cute even with that big bowl she will grow into. The Elk was lovely & seasoned perfect. The Moose? slow cook it in your Crock Pot with Montreal Steak Spice, dashes of Worecestershire & Soya Sauces. Moose is a nice lean meat. We love it too. We had gotten our Lexus 2 days before Christmas (5 years ago) that kept me very busy over the Season !
ReplyDelete