Bayou did well while I was gone today

I left Bayou for 2 hours and she did just fine. No accidents and she wasn't barking or whining when I left or when I got home. I'll be leaving her again tomorrow to go pick up my laptop. I miss my laptop but have enjoyed using this netbook. I'm online a lot less than I used to be since I have to watch Bayou every minute that she's out of her kennel. I try not to put her in there too often. She likes being out with me and I like having her with me. There would be no sense in having her if she spent all her time in the kennel. She loves sleeping in bed with us. She is spoiled and I know it. I'm still not feeling great today so I'm not going to blog too much. I get an injection in my back next Monday. David is going to have to take care of Bayou once I get home so I can rest. When he gets home he'll have to let her out and then feed her. She'll have been in her kennel for an hour and a half by then. I know she will do okay. The only thing I worry about is if she has an accident. David can't get down there to clean up and it will be difficult for me to do that too on that day. I'll make sure to take her out many times before I leave. I'm sure it will be okay. Off to surf the net for a while.

Things are getting better for Bayou

I think the Clavamox is working. Bayou isn't peeing as much now. She's still having an accident or two but not nearly as many as before. She's eating and drinking normally and still has tons of energy. On Thursday Bayou goes for her 3rd set of shots and get checked again to see if the infection is gone. She starts puppy class on Sunday so I really hope the infection has cleared up. I'm very excited to see how she behaves with other dogs and people. I'm sure she'll love the people but I'm wondering if she'll be like Harley and be shy. Even if she is I'm sure that won't last long. I'm also anxious to see what her weight will be on Thursday. I rarely pick her up anymore. She's just too heavy. I do lift her up to get on the bed at night though. Yes, she is sleeping with us. It actually makes things a lot easier because she can wake me up right away if she needs to go out. She's doing pretty good sleeping through the night though. She's still waking up for the day at 6:30am which doesn't thrill me but we always seem to get a nap in later in the morning or early in the afternoon. I have a doctor's appointment for me tomorrow so I'll be leaving her alone for a while, about 2 hours. I think she will do okay. I'll make sure I take her out just before I leave and keep her out for a while. It's supposed to be nice out tomorrow and that always helps.

I wasn't feeling too good today (back pain and such) so David helped out with Bayou today. That was so helpful to me. It allowed me to relax and get the rest I needed. I took a shower tonight and that helped too. I feel a whole lot better than I did just a few hours ago. The pain meds help too. ;-) The best thing though was that Bayou was easy to take care of today. She's sleeping in her kennel right now. I'll take her out before we go to bed and then we'll pack it in for the night. I think I'll be feeling better tomorrow and will be able to get more done around the house. Bayou isn't getting in the way of that, the back pain is. She's a joy to own. I took a picture of her today. She's getting bigger every day.

That's it for tonight. I'm going to wake Bayou up and take her out for a potty break then it's off to bed.

Back from the Wizard

Dr. McKenney called me around 12:30pm. She said that Bayou still has the vaginitis but doesn't have a UTI. She's put Bayou on another, stronger, antibiotic. She'll take that two times a day until it's all gone. I think there is a weeks worth of pills. I also have to limit her water. She'll get 1.5 to 2 cups of water every 2-3 hours to control how much she's drinking. She may be peeing so much because she's drinking too much water. I hope this antibiotic helps take care of the problem. Dr. McKenney mentioned surgery but said Bayou is too young for that. I don't want her to have to have surgery. The receptionist said that Bayou isn't as big as she thought she would be. Dr. McKenney wanted her to gain 8 - 10 pounds in a month and she's only gained 6. Maybe she'll be a small dog after all. I've had her out of her kennel as much as possible. She's been biting so I put her in there when she does that. She's her rowdy self so I know she's not feeling bad. I have to make sure the antibiotic doesn't make her throw up or have diarrhea. Well, she's wanting out of her kennel so I better let her out to play.

Off to see the Wizard!

I dropped Bayou off at the vets this morning. I don't know how long they will have her. I'm going to enjoy my time without her even though I miss her already. I put her on the scale when we got there and she now weighs - drum roll please - 14 pounds 2 ounces!! I sent a text to David to let him know her current weight and her sent a text back saying "fatso, ha ha". She is a little chunk now. I can barely pick her up. I'm going to have to do a lot of work with her on walking on the leash and going up and down stairs so I don't have to lift her any more than I have to. I'm aching all over because picking her up is so difficult. She wouldn't walk into the vets so I had to carry her in. I think there were just too many smells out there to distract her. I sure hope Dr. McKenney can figure out what's going on with her. I'm gong to pick up some Nature's Miracle spray and clean up all the places where she's peed in the house to deter her from doing it anymore. I guess if I have to take her out every 15 minutes I'll have to do that to keep her from having accidents in the house.

It's weird not having her here. The house is so empty without her but like I said I'm going to enjoy this little slice of freedom that I am blessed to have. I need to get the house straightened out but I don't really want to do that while I have time to myself. Having a puppy sure does mess the house up. Why is that? lol Part of the problem is the boxes from all the stuff I've ordered for her (though I think everything I've ordered has been delivered now. I'm keeping one of the boxes to see if I can use it to send my printer back to Office Max since it's not working right. Once they get it they'll send me a gift card so I can go buy another printer at Office Max. I don't know what kind of printer I'll get but it will definitely be one that will print out nice pictures. I want to have a nice picture of Bayou to put in my bag. I want to be able to show the picture to people. She's just so darn cute.

I'm kind of hoping that they'll keep her for a few hours so I can get some stuff done around here (besides relaxing that is). It would go faster without Bayou under foot or barking in her kennel. It will give me a chance to change out her kennel too. I have a new waterproof pat for the bottom layer and a new blanket for her to keep cozy on. Both are washable. Heck, everything I have for her is washable.

I've been giving Bayou her meals out of different toys every day. I do that to stimulate her mind. Once in a while I'll just put her food in a bowl but mostly I use the puzzles and Tug-a-Jugs. She loves having to work for her food. I wish there was a way to raise her kennel off the floor so it would be easier to get to her. All the bending over is killing my back and shoulders. I can't believe she's at 14.2 already. No wonder is harder to pick her up. I wonder how big she'll be once she's done growing. Hopefully not too big since she likes sleeping in bed with us. ha ha

Okay, off to get some things done around here. I'll start with Bayou's stuff and then move on from there. Wish me luck!

Yikes!

Bayou was in her kennel all day today because the furnace guys were here from 9am - 3pm. When David got home I went out to run errands. I think she was in her kennel some of that time too. I got her a bully stick when I went to Petsmart and she loves it. I also got her an ID tag that will go right on her collar instead of hanging off of it. She was able to get the tag in her mouth with it hanging off the collar. I've let her out of her kennel tonight but she's so wound up from sleeping a lot today and being in her kennel that she's going ballistic. She's biting on all the cords tonight which makes it difficult to let her out of the kennel. I'm going to have to duct tape the wires down so she doesn't bite them and get caught in them. It will be much more fun for her and me if the wires aren't an issue.

Dr. McKenney called me today. She wants me to bring Bayou in tomorrow and leave her for a while so they can get a urine sample (without poking a needle into her bladder). I'm sure she won't be there too long since she's still peeing constantly. I hope they can find something to help her. because it's getting frustrating having to clean up after her in the house all the time. I know she doesn't mean to do it but it's still frustrating.

Besides that stuff she is still a doll and I love her. I can't wait to go to bed tonight and cuddle with her. Or should I say watch her cuddling with David. :-)

The big crash!

I haven't been able to post until today because my hard drive crashed on my laptop. Lisa was my savior and loaned me a netbook so I could be back in the loop.

Bayou still has an infection. She's peeing 4-5 times when I take her out and then peeing again within 10 minutes or so in the house. She's destroyed the carpet. I left a message with Dr. McKenney and hopefully she'll call today. The antibiotic I've been giving her doesn't seem to have any effect on her potty habits. Something has to change though. It's getting to be very frustrating having her pee in the house. She knows to go to the door when she has to go out but it's like she just can't wait that minute or two. I'm sure we'll get it figured out soon.

Also, our furnace was leaking carbon monoxide yesterday. I was afraid that it would effect Bayou so I called the heating/AC guy and they came by to check it. The heat exchanger is cracked and that's why it's leaking. The system is turned off for now. The furnace guy let us borrow a space heater so it wouldn't get too cold in here overnight. They will be installing the new furnace today. That means that Bayou will spend more time in her kennel than she'd like. She's in there sleeping right now. She tired herself out playing. I'm ready to go back to bed until the furnace guys come to install the new one.Yesterday was going to be such a good day until the CO leak. It went all down hill from there. At the end of the night though I was finally able to get a shower in and get online. Those 2 things make me feel human again. I would have liked to get more sleep but taking a nap on the couch is going to have to suffice.

I have some pictures and video of Bayou that I"ll post once I get my laptop back and can download them from the camera.

Okay off to nap like Bayou.

Naps are good

Bayou and I both napped twice today. I was glad to get the naps in because I wasn't feeling good today. I've given Bayou both her doses of amoxicillin and For-Bid. She ate the food with the For-Bid on it without any problem. I give her the amoxacillin with peanut butter and she eats it up. Dr. McKenney said it would take at least 24 hours for the amoxacillin to work. I haven't seen any change in her peeing habits yet. She's still peeing multiple times on each outing. She slept quite a bit during the day but she's wound up tight tonight. I must go and play with her. Later.

Trip to the vets

I was getting worried about Bayou having trouble peeing. She seemed to have frequency and urgency, both signs of a UTI. I called Ask A Vet on one of the news channels last night and the vet said that I should take her in ASAP. It wasn't urgent but it needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later. So I made an appointment with Dr. McKenney for 7:50am this morning. I tried to get a urine sample (don't even ask lol) but couldn't so they got one this morning by inserting a needle into her bladder. The results showed that there wasn't a lot of bacteria in her urine but there was a little blood (which could have been caused by the needle insertion) and she also has a vaginal discharge. Dr. McKenney gave me amoxacillin for her to take 2x/day and she also gave me some For-Bid to help with the poop eating thing. The Dr. said none of these things were uncommon and should respond to the meds. I've already given her 1 amoxacillin. I forgot to put the For-Bid on her food this morning so I'll do that at lunch time. Bayou should show improvement over the next 24-48 hours. If she isn't showing improvement then I need to call the vet Saturday morning. I hope it clears up with the antibiotic though. The visit, UA sample and meds cost $96.00. It could have been a lot worse, money wise, so I'm going to be grateful that I can afford the care that Bayou needs. She's napping so I'm going to try to get a quick nap in too.

Tornado video

I took a short video of Bayou eating out of the Tornado. She's getting quick at it.

Bluetick Coonhound History

The modern Bluetick's color indicates that it descended from the Grand Bleu de Gascogne (French Staghound) as well as the English Foxhound. Many French hounds were brought to America and contributed to the coonhound breeds. One owned by George Washington was recorded as giving birth to 15 puppies, and Washington likened their musical voices to the "bells of Moscow." The Grand Bleu was too slow on the trail to please the American hunter, but when bred to American hounds, it increased their coldtrailing ability and their endurance.
Although Blueticks were originally classified as English Coonhounds, Bluetick breeders broke away from the English breeders in 1945 because they didn't want to follow the trend toward producing a hot-nosed, faster hunter. Proud of their larger, cold-nosed and resolute, if slower hounds, they named their breed and maintained their own hunting style. For a short time, puppies with blue ticking were classified as Blueticks and those with red ticking were still called English. But that practice soon ceased as each Coonhound maintained its own group of staunch supporters.
An intelligent, cold-nosed hunter that trees hard and long, the Bluetick has the ability and endurance to stay on the most intricate track. He is a free tonguer on the trail with a medium bawl or bugle voice when striking and trailing. This changes to a steady chop when running and a steady course chop at tree.

Catahoula Leopard Dog History

The Catahoula originated in North Central Louisiana in the geographic area around the Catahoula Lake from which it got its name. The word Catahoula is of Choctaw Indian origin and is translated into English as "sacred lake", just as the Choctaw word Choekahoula means "sacred home."
The first settlers to that area of Louisiana found the woods full of wild hogs and these Indian dogs that were indigenous to the area. In fact there were so many wild hogs in the woods that they were considered to be a nuisance and of little value. Early settlers described them as being so poor that you could make "head sauce" (pronounced sowce and meaning hog head cheese) out of them but they had no meat on their bones. This generated the names "razorback" or "piney woods rooter."
The idea that the natives had Catahoulas upon the arrival of the first European settlers to the area is difficult to prove and is best offered as legend. The fact that the natives had domestic dogs was recorded by the scribes of Spanish explorer, Hemando de Soto.
As of 1539, when de Soto's expedition landed in Florida and began their odyssey throughout the Southeastern U.S., there was only one species of domestic animal in North America, the native Indian's dog. This dog was described by members of de Soto's expedition as looking exactly like the wolf except that it barked and the wolf only howled. There were 700 men on the expedition and the various scribes that wrote of their experiences gave only that limited description of the Indian dog (other than numerous references to eating them). It stands to reason that if there were more interesting observations made, they would have been reported.
The Spanish explorers had their "war dogs" with them and they were described as bloodhounds, mastiffs and greyhounds. Legend claims that these war dogs cross bred with the native Indian dogs and produced a new breed or crossbreed for the surviving Native Americans. This information was passed down from generation to generation by the European settlers in what is now North Central Louisiana. Most of these settlers were farmers who had migrated west as the Eastern lands were used up and no longer produced the crops that they were in the habit of raising.
More important to the history of the Catahoula was the herd of swine that de Soto's expedition brought with them from Cuba and Santo Domingo. These hogs were brought along as a reserve or emergency food supply. De Soto would not allow these hogs to be killed as they were for emergency or survival only. Only one time during the 3 years of de Soto's command did he allow for the consumption of pork from these hogs and that was during a time of short corn supplies from the Indians. Of the 300 head of hogs, caught on the islands of Cuba and Santo Domingo and brought with them to North America, 13 sows were recorded as belonging to de Soto. After his death some three years later (on the west side of the Mississippi river) his second in command, de Moscoso auctioned off 700 head of hogs that belonged to de Soto. This sort of increase from 13 sows should give an indication of how many hogs were actually in the herd when the expedition broke down in what is now North Louisiana or Southern Arkansas. The remaining members of the expedition killed and salted the meat of as many hogs as could be carried in the small boats that they built to travel to Mexico. The remaining hogs (the numbers had to be staggering) were given to the friendly Indians or liberated to live in the lush river bottoms of the area. These hogs destined to become known in Arkansas as "razorbacks" and in Louisiana as "pineywoods rooters" were found in the woods as the land was settled.
Just as the Longhorn cattle were left by Spanish explorers the wild hogs were a ready made resource for the settlers. The only flies in the ointment were the facts that there were so many hogs in the woods after 3 centuries of inbreeding and survival of the fittest that they were poor in condition and extremely poor in type; they were also "wild." To overcome these problems the settlers began killing off the sows that must have resembled the original swine (European Wild Boar) and replacing them with modern (for the time) Hampshire Mars. The Hampshire was used because the breed was considered the most active of domestic breeds at the time.
The early settlers around the Catahoula lake region of North Louisiana began to use these Indian dogs and/or crosses of them to pen and catch wild hogs and cows. This practice was soon developed into a method of managing herds of wild cattle and wild hogs. The peculiar way these dogs work stock is what separates them from the rest of dogdom. Their style of working stock is to effectively provide a "canine fence" around wild cows or hogs and hold them for their master. Their masters then provide direction to the movement of these wild cows or hogs while inside this "canine fence."
Catahoulas have been bred by working-oriented breeders since their instincts to work wild hogs and cattle became evident. The ability to handle wild herds is instinct and cannot be taught. A single outcross or crossbreeding so affects the instinct that it eliminates those pups from ever becoming breeding stock. This self governing instinct could easily be lost if bred for pets or show without the trial by fire working aspect being tantamount. Regardless of size, color, or color of eyes, the working instinct is the true acid test of purity in the Catahoula.

Magic lunch is over

I gave Bayou her lunch (just kibble) in the Magic puzzle. She's so quick at getting all the bones off it now to get to the food that it's amazing. I'll remember to take a video of her next time I give her food in the Magic or the Tornado. I let her out of the kennel to eat and then let her run around for a few minutes. I put her in her kennel when she started biting on the furniture. She's not thrilled to be in the kennel but she's playing so she's not doing too bad. If she really hated it she would do what she did last night in the crate and pitch a fit. She hasn't done that at all today. She's content playing with her stuffed birds (a pheasant and a duck).

I ordered the 2 blankets from ABC Distributing (through Swagbucks Shop & Earn) and I also ordered that pad on Amazon. They should be here by next week. She's not tearing up the blanket so we are okay so far.

She's been chasing her tail once in a while. It bothers me because Harley did that. I don't want her to turn into Harley, at least the way he was with me. The good thing is that I know that Sit Means Sit is out there and if I can't make her behave that I have an alternative. I'm not going to let another dog defeat me. I will give it everything I have so it will work. She's not going anywhere.

At quarter to three I'm going to jump in the shower. I don't like leaving her alone for too long so if I take a shower then, David will be home 15 minutes later. She should do okay with that. She's found the bottom of the kennel, the tray, and she's already figured out that she can't pull it apart like she did the carpet. She is learning fast.

I'm going to have to do some research on this tail chasing thing. It worries me.

Got a few things done

Bayou woke up just long enough for me to vacuum and to get the dishes in the dishwasher and get that going. She's napping again/still. I think she likes how open the kennel is compared to the pen and crate. I'm just glad she has settled down. The puppy pen was driving her crazy because she knew she could get out of it if left to her own devices. I think she gets it already that she can't get out of the kennel. I measured it and it's a 42" kennel. I'll have to look for a pad to put in there. I'd like something that wouldn't soak through but is washable. I saw one online for $13 but I'm hoping I can get one in town so I can have it quicker. That's a really good price though. I also should get a blanket for Bayou, something she can cuddle up in. I saw one of those online too for $8. I'll have to think about what I want to do regarding the pad and blankets. I don't remember seeing anything like that and certainly not that inexpensive at Petsmart. Online may be the way to go. Until then I can use blankets and her little bed. Think I'll go window shopping online. lol

She's definitely growing

We've had Bayou for 19 days and she's already outgrown the puppy pen. I had to take it down today because she was climbing up the side of it to get out and she was tearing at the carpet. So, now she is in the big kennel.

She's actually sleeping right now. It's smaller than the puppy pen but still fairly big. She has plenty of room to play in there. I can feed her in there too and that's a plus. I'll list the puppy pen on craigslist and hopefully I can get back the $30 that I paid for it. I just can't believe how fast she is growing. In about 2 weeks she will go to get her 3rd set of shots at the vet. It will be interesting to see what her weight is then. Only 19 days until she starts her puppy classes. I wish it were sooner. I want her to socialize with other dogs and other people. Puppy class will be good for her.

I have to admit that I was feeling overwhelmed this morning when she was trying to get out of the puppy pen and when she was tearing at the carpet. I felt like she was taking over. Then I remembered that I had the big kennel and that putting her in there would solve both problems. She's not going to be able to get out of the big kennel and it has a slide in tray on the bottom so she can't get to the carpet. Problems solved.

Last night she went ballistic when I put her in her crate to go to bed. It was horrible. I let her go for about a half an hour and then when she quieted down a bit I got her out. She fell asleep in my lap. I know I shouldn't have given in even though she was quiet when I took her out. I let her sleep in bed with us too. She did fine. No problems and she slept later than usual. I don't mind her sleeping with us at all and if it means I can get more sleep, I'm all for it. I'm tired because I'm only sleeping a few hours at a time. It doesn't give me a chance to recharge my batteries. Today I feel better though because I was able to sleep more. I'm going to vacuum up the dining room once she's awake and take care of the dishes and laundry too. Having her in the big kennel makes life even easier than having her in the puppy pen. Having her in the right enclosure makes things work so much better. I'm glad I bought the kennel and the puppy pen. I got a lot of use out of that puppy pen in 19 days! lol

I got an estimate to clean the carpet. It is for $75. Do I get it cleaned for $75 or buy a carpet cleaner for $135.00? I know she's not through having accidents so maybe the carpet cleaner is the way to go. That would allow me to clean as we go. If I get the carpet cleaned I'm pretty much assured that she'll have an accident immediately after it's clean then I'd need the carpet cleaner anyway. The dining room floor is worse than I thought it was. Now that I've taken down the puppy pen I can see the carpet more clearly. She had more peeing accidents than I realized. I'm so glad that this isn't permanent carpet. I'd lose my mind if it was. I can live with this carpet as long as it's relatively clean. I can even put up with the holes from the carpet being torn up since I know that at some point we'll have new flooring. We'll probably go with a linoleum or vinyl type flooring instead of the tiles. The tiles take way too long and I want to have it done in a day or two, not in weeks. It was fine that it took that long to do the bedroom because we weren't using it but we use the dining room to walk through every day.

Man, she is out like a light. She's sleeping on her bed which is also getting small for her. I'll have to invest in a bed that fits the big kennel. Right now I have a blanket in there so that she's not sliding all over on that tray. It's easier to wash the blankets and beds than it is to take care of the carpet.

That's about it for now. I may try to nap while Bayou is napping. Sounds like a good plan to me.

So things are calm now and everyone seems to be happy. I guess I can't ask for more than that.

Ugh!

I was out getting dinner and putting gas in the car so David could take it to school tonight. I thought he wasn't leaving until 4:30pm. When I got home at 4:25pm his Jeep was gone. I expected to find Bayou in her crate but instead she was in her pen. She had pooped on the rug (so much for putting the blanket in there to make cleaning easier) and tore a hole in the rug. ~sigh~ The poop is cleaned up, I've moved her pen to the other side of the room and I still need to vacuum up the carpet that was torn out. I definitely need to get the carpet cleaner now. I don't know if I will get it tonight or wait until tomorrow. I should have told David that if he left Bayou alone that she needed to be in her kennel, with a treat to keep her busy and not free in her pen (especially since she can now climb out). None of it was Bayou's fault. It was just mis-communication on the human's parts. Could have been worse, she could have climbed out of her pen. I think you dug up the carpet because it was wet (she dumped her water bowl out) and she was probably thirsty, We are going to replace the carpet anyway so it's not a great big deal. Now we have a hole in the carpet in the master bedroom and the dining room thanks to Harley and Bayou.

I just took her out and she pooped again! She's looking for treats in her Tornado puzzle. She likes that toy. I think she is finally settling down a bit from her little freak out when David left and I wasn't here. I'm keeping her in the pen and not letting her run loose. She's not thrilled to be in the pen all the time but until I can trust her with potty training, she's going to be a penned up pup. She finished with the Tornado is is on her bed. I hope she sleeps for a little while.

I have to admit that when I first came home to all this (poop on the carpet, rug tore up, Bayou in her pen instead of her crate) I got pretty frustrated but I feel just fine now. She's not doing anything that we're not letting her do. Yes, I could be all upset, but really, what good would that do? I'm just so thrilled to have Bayou that things like this aren't going to get me down. She's sleeping now. Ah...

Treat pouches on order

Glad I took time to call about the treat pouches. Neither Petsmart, Petco or Mike's have them with the hinge. So I ordered 2 of them on Amazon, used my $25 AGC's and only had to pay $4.98 for both treat bags (free shipping too!). They'll be her in a week or so. Until then I'll just have to put treats in my pocket. I will need the treat bag for puppy class in March though. I got one for me and one for David.

I've been looking for the "place" blanket but haven't found it yet. I think maybe it's in the car. I'll have to look. I also have those 2 doormats that I bought in the trunk. I need to bring those in too. I may look for a baby blanket though instead of the place blanket I have so I don't have to worry about folding it and it coming unfolded. I think a small blanket would work a lot better.

I researched the carpet cleaners and I think I will go with the Bissell Spotbot Pet Handsfree Spot and Stain Cleaner with Deep Reach Technology. The difference between it and the Little Green ProHeat is that the pet model has a hands free option. You just set the machine on the stain and it cleans it. That would make it easier for me so I wouldn't have to be bending over all the time. I think I like that better than getting an upright. I'll run over to Target and get one when David gets home. I can look at baby blankets while I'm over there.


Bayou is still sleeping. When she gets up I'll take her out to potty. Looks llike she's waking up so I better go.

Every half hour

I've been taking Bayou out every half hour except when she is sleeping. I bring treats with me to reward her for going to the bathroom outside. So far she only had one small accident at the door when we were getting ready to go out. I'm trying to let her walk to the door and go out but I may have to carry her out for a while longer so accidents like that don't happen. Thankfully she stopped when I said "Outside!" and only a few drops of pee went on the carpet. She's sleeping again now. I think she hasn't been getting all the sleep she needs because I've had her out of her pen too much. I'd love to hold her in my lap but she's going to be a much bigger dog soon and having her on our laps won't work. I'm not going to let David hold her on his lap either. I fed her lunch using the Magic puzzle and she got all the bones (caps) off right away and found her food. I went ahead and took out the towel and blanket and will wash them. I put in another blanket and her bed - no more towels. It will be much easier to clean blankets than to clean the rug. I did send an email out for an estimate for cleaning the carpet in the dining room, living room and hallway. I'd like to get them cleaned once the potty training phase is over. I'm still considering buying a carpet cleaner so I can keep up with accidents (including throwing up) as they happen. I don't know though if I should get an upright one or a spot lifter type. They have the carpet cleaners I'm considering at Target. The have a specific pet model though I'm not sure what's different about it. I'll have to do some research on that. I want to get the carpet cleaned though.

Second load of blankets and towels in the washer. I'll only have one more load of laundry after that then I'll be done for the day. I need to get the dishes in the dishwasher too. Because I've had Bayou out of her pen so much I haven't been getting to things like laundry and dishes every day. Now that I'm keeping her in her pen again I'll be able to get more done around the house. I do need to run some errands but I don't know if I want to leave her alone in her crate for about an hour. I know she'll do okay, she's done it before, but she's still young, 9 weeks now. I'd do the errands when David got home but he has school tonight. I'll have to think about how I want to do this. I'm sure I could get the errands done before he leaves for school at 4:30pm. Maybe I'll just run out this afternoon. I think Bayou will be okay in her crate. I want to go look at the carpet cleaners and buy one TODAY! I want to get the carpets cleaned now before stains set in. I can't wait until we can replace the whole carpet in the house. It looks so bad from 10 years of abuse and 6 dogs since 2007.

 I want to get a bigger bin for Bayou's toys. Maybe 2x the size that I have now, which is shoe box size. I'll look on Amazon first to see if they have something. A cute dog toy box would be nice. Okay, I'm going to call about the hinged treat bag before I go anywhere. I don't want to waste time just going from store to store. I'll research the carpet cleaners too so I can just go and get one instead of standing there comparing them. Off to make some calls.

Working on things with Bayou

Today I'm starting over on potty training. She will either be in her pen (the majority of the time) or her crate but not running around the house free. She's having too many accidents in the house. I'm taking her out every half hour or after she wakes up. She's been whining while in her pen but I just ignore her and eventually she goes to sleep. I fed her in her crate using the Tornado puzzle and she loved it. She really is smart and can figure it out. It's fun for her to find her food instead of it just being in a bowl. I've been using treats to reward her for not eating poop and for going potty outside. So far, so good. I need to get a treat bag though. Right now I'm just putting the kibble in my pocket. It doesn't work as well as a treat bag but we're getting along doing it that way for today. I'll probably go out when David gets home and look for a treat bag. I want one that has a hinge so it either stays open or stays closed. The one with the pull string on it isn't very good. Treats fall out of it easily. I've already checked Petsmart and they didn't have one so I'll check Petco and Mike's Natural Pet Food store. Maybe I'll call and see if they have them first. If not there is one on Amazon I can order with my AGC's that I got from doing Swagbucks.

I'll be cleaning the yard later today when David is home to watch Bayou. I saw quite a bit that I missed the other day and of course, she's been out there since then going potty. The less she has to tempt her the better.

I'm going to take the blanket and towel out of her pen and wash them. I'll check her beds too to see if they n eed to be washed. I'd like to be able to wash them once a week but for now it will probably be a daily thing. She's not having accidents in her crate or pen so that's a good thing. Taking her out every half hour helps avoid that happening. I'm thinking of putting her crate in her pen to see if she will go in there on her own. She still isn't thrilled with the crate. I'll have to put treats in there to get her in and also feed her in there like I did this morning.

Bayou is sleeping right now so she didn't go out at 10am. I'll take her out as soon as she wakes up. I have to get her on a schedule so that the accidents in the house are few and far between. I guess while she is napping I will try to nap too. Later.

Has this really only been 1 day?

The morning was a bit rough. Bayou threw up all of her food. It looked undigested. Of course she did it on the carpet that was about 3 feet from the vinyl floor. Oh well. I felt bad for my poor little Bayou. I think the Blue Puppy food I'm giving her doesn't agree with her tummy. So we took it easy most of the day since she was not feeling 100%. In the late afternoon she was asleep in her pen and that gave me time to take my shower. I let her out to play once I was done getting dressed. She was enjoying play time. When David got home she was very excited and went to greet him at the laundry room door. She had rested enough during the day and suddenly had a ton of energy. She was full of piss and vinegar. I left her with David and I went over to Petsmart. I bought some more Bitter Apple, small nail clippers, sensitive stomach food and an ID tag. There was a kiosk where the engraving was done my a laser. It's a small pink heart with her name on the front, our address and cell numbers on the back. When I first put it on her she was flopping around trying to get it in her mouth, which of course she couldn't. It looks cute on her.

UPS delivered the food puzzles (the Magic and the Tornado). I put just a few pieces of food in the puzzles to see if she liked them. She was able to figure them out pretty quick. She's a smart puppy. She really likes the puzzles and the plastic bones that cover the snack sections. She was playing with everything. I'm glad I got such a good deal on them and ordered them.

She had a ton of energy tonight and I let her play it off. She whined and barked when I first put her in her crate but she settled down fairly quickly.I'm sure she'll get me up not long after midnight. I was doing some reading tonight on crate training and potty training. I think I'll follow these new suggestions since things haven't been going as well as I wished they would. The majority of the time she pees multiple times while out in the yard. It's just a dribble each time after the first time where she seems to empty out a lot. Even though I cleaned up the yard, Bayou is finding every single piece of poop that I missed and is trying to eat it. I'm constantly saying "leave it" while we are outside. I keep her on the leash so I can kind of tug on her to let her know that I mean business. I think however that I will start using treats to get her attention, a positive reinforcement vs. a negative one. Anyway, the peeing thing has become an issue because she'll pee outside multiple times and I bring her in and think she's good for at least 30 minutes but all of a sudden she'll just stop what she's doing and pee just a couple of drops, sometimes more. She's very good about letting me know she needs to go out to poop but not so much for peeing. So, what I'm going to do is go back to the beginning and start over with potty training which will also involve crate training. I'll need to get us into a routine so that she knows what's what. We'll start tomorrow.

I'm getting tired so I think I'll stop for tonight. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and working on getting this right. Only 3 weeks until Puppy Class and I want her to be ready to socialize and learn. Goodnight all!

Middle of the night

Bayou woke me up around 1am because she had to go potty. I let her out of her cage and had her follow me to the door. I put her leash on and we went out. It's chilly out right now (40 degrees) but the sky is beautiful. So many stars. I saw on the the dipper constellations, the big one I think. It was only a 3/4 moon but it sure did light up the back yard. We stayed out and walked around the yard for about 10 minutes. Then Bayou started her potty mouth activities so I brought her in. I'm going to start bringing some treats out with me to get her to go with me when I want her to "leave it". I have that spray deterrent that I might bring out with me and spray the poop so she will leave it alone. I did clean up the yard yesterday but obviously didn't pick everything up because my little poop detector found everything that was out there. I do bring a poop bag out with me each time I go out but in the middle of the night it is difficult to see what there is to pick up. While she still has loose stools I'm not picking up immediately. I'm waiting until the next day to pick up. Makes it a lot easier for clean up purposes but more difficult to deter the poop detector.

So, here I sit, in my chair, with my laptop on the arm of the chair and Bayou sound asleep in my lap. I know I should put her back in her kennel but I don't want her to start whining and wake David up. He doesn't have to be up until 4am and he really needs his sleep. And I like to sit with her anyway. It's nice having a lap dog (though she won't be one forever).

We're another week closer to starting puppy classes with Rebekah. I really want to get Bayou around other puppies but I think I have to wait until she has her kennel cough vaccination.for her to visit Petsmart, maybe rabies too. I'm going to check craigslist to see if there is a puppy get together in town. I know there is one up in Monument at the Petsmart but I'm not sure what shots she has to have before joining. I've also seen one at Bear Creek Park. I think they are older than Bayou though, like say, 4 months. I don't want to get her around dogs that will scare her though she doesn't seem intimidated by Zeus (adult black lab) and Freckles (adult St. Bernard). She runs right up to the fence when they are out. Still, there is a fence between them and I don't have to worry about contact just yet. I don't know if Rebekah does more than puppy classes or not. If not, I'll have to get her set up with someone else that is recommended by the vet to continue training.

I was thinking yesterday how much I love having Bayou. She seems to be so much easier than Harley/Watson was. I just hope that as she grows she doesn't acquire an attitude like Harley/Watson did. I'll definitely stay on top of that. I know it's going to be more difficult when she can get out of the pen so I'll have to work on down, stay and wait to keep her in there. I'm not going to fight with her. She will have to obey me. She's growing so much already. When we first got her she couldn't even put her nose over the pen, now she can put her entire head over it. We'll definitely have to start working on down more diligently.

Now might be a good time to get her back into her kennel. She seems to be sound asleep (despite my typing on the laptop lol) and might not put up too much of a fuss. I'm thinking of bringing her to Petsmart tomorrow. I have to get an ID tag for her and some supplies for puppy class. I also need to look at the different brands of dog food and check prices. I'd like to keep her on Blue but if it is a lot more expensive I may have to change her kibble. I'm not looking to give her anything cheap, just not the most expensive thing on the shelf.

I feel like I'm fading so I'll quit before I forget how to spell words or make sentences make sense. Then again, maybe I'm already past that stage. LOL

Slept better last night

Bayou didn't wake me up until 3am. She needed to go to the bathroom. I held her on me until she got back to sleep then I put her in her kennel and I went back to bed. She woke me up again at 6am to go to the bathroom. We went back to bed, Bayou in her kennel, me in my bed, and slept until 8am. David got home around 9am. Right now Bayou is sleeping on David's chest.

They both are sound asleep. It's so cute. Maybe we should put her in her kennel and both of us go back to bed. David didn't get to bed until after midnight and had to be up at 4am to go to work for a few hours. So he's pretty tired. I wouldn't mind getting some more sleep.

Bayou didn't eat her food this morning so I'm going to keep close tabs on her today. I'm sure she's just not hungry because she's tired but I don't want to just blow this off as nothing so I'll watch her.

Playful night

Bayou is in bed. She tired herself out playing. I let her out of her pen, put a blanket down on the floor and put some of her toys out. She had a ball. She finally got sleepy and napped in my lap before I put her to bed at 8:45pm. She went into her crate without a problem. She's such a good girl (most of the time lol). I made her pen into a rectangle earlier today and put it up against the kitchen/dining room wall. I can see her better from my chair now. It also seems more organized. I like this set up better. Now I need to get the rug cleaner and clean up the carpet. I'll go out tomorrow once David is home from work and get one. I was thinking about getting another pen for outside but I'm not sure it would last long because she'll be able to get out of the pen before too long. It would be good to have a pen though so it limits her bathroom area and keeps her from going under the deck or under the fence. Our neighbors dog came under the fence today and actually came in our house because the back door was open. It was kind of funny. He was shy but didn't do anything bad. Mike next door had to come over the fence to get him. With a pen even if another dog got in the yard Bayou would still be protected. We'd have to stake it down though. A new one online costs about $70. I think I'll keep looking on craigslist before I buy online. I'll check on Amazon too because I got $25 in Amazon Gift Cards from Swagbucks today. That could pay for 1/3 to 1/2 of the cost of a pen. I'm so glad I found Swagbucks before we got Bayou. It's really helped out with getting things for her.

Here's a picture of the new pen set up:

I have a towel in there for her to sleep on and a blanket in the rest of the pen. If she has an accident I can wash the towel and blanket which is easier to do than cleaning the carpet. I also have her little bed but it's in the dryer because she peed on it again. I need to be more vigilant about getting her out every hour. She was letting me know when she needed to go but she's not always doing that now. She's been pretty good with the potty training and always wants to go outside to do her business. It's only when we don't notice her need to go out that she has an accident.

We (Bayou and I) did take a nap today. I was exhausted from being up so much the last 2 nights. I'm hoping that she sleeps through the night tonight, well, at least until 4am or so. I think that I can keep her up more in the evening so that she'll sleep later in the morning. She's only 9 weeks old so she does need to go out quite a bit at this point so I'm not looking to get 8 hours of sleep out of her. She's been doing great though. I'm so glad that she is feeling better today. I was worried about her yesterday. She has almost finished the bottle of Pedialyte. I've been giving it to her today instead of water just to boost her electrolytes. I think it has helped a lot.

I'm going to see if David and I can take her for a ride tomorrow. She enjoys being in the car. I'd like to use the tie down but it's way too heavy for her. Maybe I can find something more light weight for now. I don't want her to have to always be in the crate when she's in the car. I think she will definitely be a "head out the window" king of dog.

David told me earlier tonight that Bayou was getting nippy with him so he put her in her pen. We must stop this behavior. I've done some research online and watched some videos that were helpful. She needs to get a timeout, away from us, when she bites. I may have to get a gate for the bathroom so she can go in there for a timeout. I don't want her to bite me like Harley/Watson did. That was a terrible way to live. I don't want a dog that does that. David is on board with whatever we need to do to get her to understand that biting is NOT okay.

Every time I look at Bayou I can't help but think of how beautiful she is. I love her coloring and markings. She is such a joy to have.

David will be home soon from hockey so I'm going to quit blogging for now. More later.

Bayou is better

Bayou of course started feeling better last night at bed time. She did go to sleep for a while but had me up from 12:30am until about 6am. So she's napping and I'm blogging. She ate her food this morning. She was so hungry. I'm still giving her the Pedialyte just to make sure she stays healthy. She been going outside to do her business. She also went out once when the Zeus and Freckles were out and she just barked her little head off at them. She went right up to the fence and was barking. It was a playful bark though. She wanted to get to them. She's so tiny compared to them, it was funny to see her yapping at them. I think they showed her how to jump up on the fence though. She did it when she came in and I put her in her pen. I'm looking for another pen for her for outside. It would make cleaning the yard a lot easier and she'd be able to run around a bit instead of being on the leash all the time. I found one at Petsmart for $70 plus $6 shipping. I don't know that I want to spend that much though. I might put a "wanted" ad on craigslist and see if anyone has one to sell. The one we have I only paid $30 for. I wouldn't mind spending that much. It looks like her puzzles will be here on Monday. I can't wait to see what she does with them. I've got to take out some of the toys in her pen. She has too many in there right now. I don't want her getting bored with everything. I'm just glad that she is feeling better and is back to her playful self.

Puny puppy

Bayou threw up about 3 - 4 times Wednesday into Thursday morning. She also has diarrhea. She has slept most of the day but she's also been active and played too. I got her some Pedialyte to drink. I don't want her getting dehydrated. She's lost some weight but doesn't look ill. Her eyes are still shiny. If she's not feeling well again tomorrow I will call the vet and see what I can do. I've kept her in her kennel most of the day because I'm afraid she will poop on the carpet so keeping her contained is the best thing. She ate a couple of pieces of food and has been okay. I wasn't able to get the yard cleaned up today because I spent all my time with Bayou so I'll have to try to get it done tomorrow. All the snow hasn't melted yet anyway. I think the reason she threw up was because she ate some grass yesterday. It's been weird to have her so quiet all day. I miss her being a playful puppy (did I just write that lol). I'm sure she'll be herself by tomorrow. I just hope she sleeps tonight since she's been sleeping most of the day. If not, we'll just nap tomorrow.

The sound of heaving in the middle of the night

Yeah, Bayou woke me up heaving. I fed her too much food and treats yesterday and she threw up some of that food. No blood, no behavior issues (lethargy) and she was able to pee and poop when I took her outside. She does have diarrhea though. I really need to watch the treats in addition to her  1 1/2 cups of food per day. Maybe I'll cut her back to 1 cup for now. I'll give her 1/3 of a cup 3 times per day. I will limit her treats to 1/4 of a cup per day max. I need to be using her kibble for training and playing, not treats. Treats should be for the new behaviors or the ones she's having difficulties learning. I also have her a lot of cream cheese yesterday in the Kongs. I put just the 1/2 cup of kibble in the Kongs but I sealed each Kong with a dollop of cream cheese. That probably didn't help any.

I feel like a bad mom for doing this. It's one thing if I want to make myself overeat but it's a total different thing to make my puppy overeat because I'm not being careful enough with her portions. I need to ration out the food each day and only use that much, no more. I'm going to avoid using treats throughout the day and stick with kibble for motivation. Treats will be for puppy classes and training new behaviors and issues. I don't want my dog to become fat. Being fat, whether it's a dog or a human, makes life difficult and unhealthy.

I guess I can look at one good thing though - I heard her heaving and woke up right away to change out her kennel and to bring her out to pee and poop.

I was watching some videos on Youtube last night about teaching a puppy not to bite, to come, etc. I had almost forgot about the vast number of videos out there that can help me with training Bayou. But before I can implement behaviors I have to get Bayou and me on a schedule. I need to feed,potty train, play, exercise, and teach her new behaviors at the same times each day. I want her to look forward to things and know what's coming and when. I believe that dogs like routine. It would be good for me too. I have no schedule at all. I eat whatever, whenever and I know it's having an ill effect on me. I don't want to drag my puppy into that kind of world. She deserves better than that.

The info I got from the videos on teaching a puppy not to bite was very helpful. We need to tell her "no" in a stern voice and remove ourselves from her. Right now we're saying "no" and then letting her do it again with no consequence. She gets to stay with us for the most part. I put her in her kennel sometimes when she bites but not consistently. She gets so excited when she's with David and she lunges at him to bite and bites on his chest and belly, through his shirt of course. Sometimes though she'll start kissing him on the face and then she ends up biting him if she gets too excited. We need to make sure that until we can trust her that her mouth is no where near our faces. And we have to be absolutely consistent on the consequences for biting. If we're not both doing it, it won't work. I feel dread when I think about a dog biting me like Harley/Watson did. He doesn't do that anymore though so I know we can work with Bayou so that she doesn't even start doing it.

Anyway, thankfully Bayou is settled down again in bed. I'll check her bed again in the morning to make sure she didn't get sick again. I'll wash both beds just to be safe. The wash and dry nicely. And tomorrow I'll work out portioning out her food and treats in plastic zip bags so all I have to do is reach for a bag and dig out the 1/3 cup of kibble. I'll put treats in other bags. Once the food and treats is used up for the day, she is done. I know I give her too many treats and I will stop that immediately. I just hadn't though completely about how much treats adds to her daily ration of kibble. In total she was getting too much for her little self. I have it under control now though. I need to get some smaller bowls for her. The ones we have are gigantic so it makes whatever I give her look like a small amount. I need appropriate size bowls so I can gauge better what she is eating.

I really shouldn't be up in the middle of the night tonight because I have to drive a friend to the airport in the morning. I don't have to pick her up until 9am so it's not like I have to get up real early but I want to be fully awake on the drive to and from the airport. I will probably bring Bayou with me on the drive. I don't know that I'd want to leave her home alone for an hour yet. I have some errands to run at Wal-mart but I won't get to those until David gets home and can watch Bayou. I don't want her to dislike being alone while at the same time I want her to be comfortable being alone. Leaving her with a portioned "treat" will help with that. (By "treat" I mean kibble in a Kong.). I can look for the new dog bowls while I'm at Wal-mart.

I also want to take video of Bayou and me doing training, playing and exercising. I don't want to miss out on being able to look back and see how much she has grown. My digital camera will work just fine for that purpose but I will need a tripod to get the angles I want. I'll just get a small table top model. I can probably pick one up on Craigslist. If not, I'm sure Wal-mart has them. I want to post the video so everyone can see how the training is going and how cute she is when we are training. She runs around a lot and it's cute. I did work quite a bit with her yesterday on recognizing her name and learning to "come" when called. David sits in his chair and I go across the room and we call her to us so she has to go back and forth, hearing her name and the "come" command. She did really well doing that for the first time.

Something else that I need to do is have a plan of training, playing and exercising. I need to keep things interesting for her. If she gets bored, she won't want to learn anything. So far that is not the case, but I could see where it could get that way. So I need to add in at least one different thing each day. I can add in work on a new trick, on an agility skill and a new behavior. I need her to want to be close to me. Right now she hesitates to come to me. I think it's because I'm the one who is always putting her in her pen and kennel. I need to get David to help out with those things. I need to also do calming work with her so that she learns to settle down and that she trusts that it's not a bad thing. She can't be bouncing off the walls all the time that she is awake.

Well, it's 1:15am and I should head back to bed. I think then when I get home from dropping my friend off at the airport I will need a nap. Hopefully Bayou will be up for a nap too. I'm hoping (is that the right word LOL) that the snow melts in the yard so I can clean the yard up. It really needs it. It should be melted by the end of the weekend. I have poop bags so I can take one out every time I bring her out and keep on top of cleaning up the yard. I didn't keep up with the other dogs and either killed myself doing it all in one day or paying someone to do it once a week. Neither is a good plan. I will keep up with it daily so she's not tempted and I don't have to worry about where I walk out there.

Okay, off to bed I go. I'm sure Bayou will be waking me up in a few hours since she has a stomach issue. Poor baby! I love her and really want to do right by her. I want to live up to her expectations of me.

Play time

Bayou and I have had a great day today. The weather is nicer so she's going outside more and we've been training and playing more today. I let her have the run of the living room and hallway today so we could play with her Chuck-it ball. She really enjoyed that. She got pretty rowdy at the end so I put her in her pen. She's there now sleeping. She was on her back with her belly sticking up but she heard me and sat up.

I can't believe how big she is getting. I'm glad I can tire her out with training and play though.

The only bad habit I can see that Bayou has is eating poop (coprophagia). I need to get the yard picked up but it's been so cold that I haven't done it yet. It's like a minefield out there. LOL I think the snow will be gone tomorrow so I'll be able to clean it then. That will help with her bad habit I'm sure.

David just got home and Bayou is happy to see him. We make her sit before we pick her up and she does it the majority of the time on the first request. That's without distractions of course. When someone else is around she goes crazy. When Maria was here cleaning the house she asked if she could take Bayou out for a minute. They played and Bayou really enjoyed it. I'm glad she is friendly with people.

I'm going to have to work more with holding and handling Bayou. She's not as comfortable with it as I'd like her to be. She's either in her pen or on my lap but I'm not handling her enough so starting today I'll handle her more.

We just got in from outside. She seemed to be enjoying the warmth of the 13 degree weather we are having. There's no wind so that's a good thing too. Now she's napping yet again. I'm beginning to see a pattern here. LOL

I think today is going to be a rough day for me

I can't get Bayou to go outside because it's 2 degrees and below 0 with the wind chill. She's very whiny too. She's not doing anything wrong, it's just frustrating that potty training has taken a turn for the worse because of the weather. She is so confused about where she should go (on the potty pad, outside, in her pen - which is a no-no). The weather is supposed to get better day by day so hopefully we can get on track again. She needs consistency.

Maria is coming to clean the house today and it's a disaster because I didn't keep up with it this past week and because of the dryer breaking down about 2 weeks ago. It's up and running again and most of the laundry is caught up but I've still got towels to fold and a blanket to wash. I know the house is smelly because she's been using those puppy pads inside. I really want Maria to come today just so the house will smell better. I'm not going to have her clean the whole house today, just the rooms that are not messy (the bedroom, the bathrooms, the laundry room, the kitchen - if I can get the dishes in the dishwasher). We are definitely going to have to replace this carpet once Bayou is old enough and isn't having accidents in the house.

I can tell that Bayou is getting bigger because I can see her face over the top of the pen when she stands up against it.

Finally! I got her to go out and she did her business. I had to carry her out to the corner of the yard but once she was out there all systems were go. That's a relief. I just checked the weather and the wind chill advisory has been canceled. It should start warming up from here on out. I know it's supposed to be in the 50's this weekend. Hallelujah!

This morning instead of putting her food in her dish I put it in 3 Kongs and sealed them up with cream cheese. Bayou really enjoyed that. I can't wait to get those 2 dog puzzles for her to eat out of too. I know she'll have fun with them. I forgot to check Shop & Earn on Swagbucks to see if National Pet Pharmacy was a participating merchant - and they are. I missed out on 100 Swagbucks because I wasn't thinking. I still have 80 sb's pending for the Cabela's purchase we made (jeans for David). I've got to remember to check the Shop & Earn list before I buy anything anywhere except Amazon. National Pet Pharmacy has great prices and a lot to choose from.

Well, whiny girl is still whining. Maybe I should do some training with her. Yeah, I think I'll do that.

Bayou has settled down

I did some training with Bayou and now she is sleeping. She loves to do training. I think it's going to be fun bringing her to puppy classes. The distraction of the other dogs will be huge. Whenever anyone comes in the house she goes nuts (dryer guys, pizza guy). She wants to meet everyone. I don't know what shots she needs to be able to go to Petsmart. I'd like to be able to take her there so we can work on leash training and getting her used to being in a different environment. I could bring her to PetCo and Lowes too. Once the weather gets nicer I can start taking her for short walks. Right now she's all over the place when on the leash. I want to work with her on staying by my side. If we didn't have snow we could practice in the back yard too. Plus the cold keeps us in. I'm still cold from our last time we went out and that was about half an hour ago. Brr. Chill. Brr.

For treats I got some Bil-jac Little Jacs and then I ordered some Zukes. All the Zukes are harder than the Little Jacs. I'll use the Little Jacs for puppy classes. She likes all the treats but it's harder for her to chew the Zukes. They tend to not be fresh when I buy them (or maybe they just are harder treats). I have to get a treat bag for puppy class but I have time to get it. I'll have to look at the list and see what else I'll need for class. I wish I could have started classes sooner with her but the next session doesn't start until March 6th. It will be really nice to have the classes at the vet's office. It's so close. David said that he would go with me since the class is on Sundays at 4pm. We'll be learning a lot in 6 weeks time. I'm also going to try to get Bayou certified as a S.T.A.R. puppy (it's an AKC certification). S.T.A.R. stands for socialization, training, activity and responsibility. There are things I have to do as an owner and things that Bayou will have to do (not be aggressive with people or other dogs, sit, down, come, walk on a leash, etc.). If she passes she'll get a medal, certificate and be listed as a S.T.A.R. puppy with the AKC. The test only cost $10.00. Once she passes that test we'll start working on the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certification. There are 10 skills that Bayou will have to learn to be CGC certified. I wanted to do this with Harley but he was so out of control that it wasn't even a thought once his behavior got out of control. Bayou though will not get like that. I will work with her every day with training, play and being held, groomed and checked (like by a vet). I want her to be a great puppy. She's still sleeping so right now she is the perfect puppy. lol

Bayou in her pen

Here she is in her pen with all of her toys and her bed. It's a 6 panel pen.

Bought the Tornado and Magic

I was looking up the Tornado and Magic today and found a website, nationalpetpharmacy.com, that had them both and they were $29 and $24 dollars. Usually they are $40. So, I went ahead and ordered both of them. I think that Bayou will enjoy them. They should be easier for her than the Tug-a-Jug and Kibble Nibble. Here's a picture of the Magic puzzle.

It will probably take her a while to figure out how to get the bone covers off but I know she'll be able to do it eventually. I can't wait for them to get here.

Bayou has been whiny today. I think it's because she wants to go out but it's so freakin' cold out that as soon as she gets out she wants to go right back in. She did poop outside (thank goodness) and she didn't have the runs. So she must be getting used to the Blue Buffalo food.

We worked on training today and she did really well. I worked on her recognizing her name. She doesn't seem to know that her name is Bayou. She'll learn though. She's really doing well with sit and down. She will do sit at a distance which is great.

I just tried to take her out but she ran right back in. It's just so cold out there that I don't think she'll go out until she absolutely has to.

Bayou is really enjoying her new beds that I got at Walmart. I got one for her kennel and one for the pen. Of course she peed on the one in her pen earlier and just now peed on the other one (I took it out of her kennel while the other one is being washed). She just doesn't want to go outside today and I can't blame her. I don't want to go out there either. David took her out when he got home and she peed 3 times. Obviously she had to go again.

She really is whiny. She's spent most of the day trying to get my attention with whining but I've been ignoring her when she does that. I give her attention when she is quiet instead. The weather is supposed to be a bit nicer tomorrow so hopefully I can get her outside more. But we still have tonight and tomorrow morning to get through. She's only 8 weeks old so I can't expect perfection. I know she would do so much better if the weather was nice and I could get her out there every hour. She's really rowdy right now in her pen. She's playing with her bed instead of sleeping in it. lol More later.

I love my Bayou

David took this picture of Bayou tonight while she was sitting in his lap. She is so adorable. I got a few toys for her today while I was at the store. I got small Chuck-it balls, a small rope dog, a little squeaky duck, and a Tug-a-Jug that has a rubber stopper instead of a rope one. She already unwound the rope one in the purple Tug-a-Jug. This one is green and has a rubber stopper. I'll put her food in it in the morning. She seems to like the smaller Chuck-it balls. They fit in her mouth better. The duck is smaller too and it squeaks. She played with that a lot tonight. I also got her 2 beds, one for the pen and one for the crate. She seems to like those too. They are machine washable and very soft.

Today was a better day because the weather was nice. It's so much easier to take her out when it's nice out. Tomorrow it's supposed to be arctic again and blowing snow. The weather will make it a difficult day but she's a champ about going outside. Of course, with blowing, cold wind and snow she might not be as thrilled to go out. We'll handle it though.

I need to get on a schedule with Bayou. I need to feed her at certain times, train with her, take her out, play with her, etc. This past week we've just been flying by the seat of our pants, taking care of things as they come up. It's been okay but I know I'd feel better with a routine/schedule. Since the weather is going to be bad tomorrow I can work on that when Bayou is napping. I've got to keep the laundry going too. I want it all finished up by the time David gets home from work tomorrow. I'll feel more relaxed now that I can clean up after Bayou easier. I won't have to worry about the towels, sheets and blankets waiting to be washed. It'll all be caught up.

I'm waiting on $25 in AGC's from Swagbucks to come in this month. I could use it on the puppy but then again maybe I should set it aside for gifts (birthdays, Christmas, etc.). There is a puzzle game I'd like to get for Bayou. It costs about $40 or so though so I'll have to wait until I have that much in AGC's. The puzzle is called The Tornado. Here's a picture of it:

It will keep her mind sharp and she'll have fun eating her meal from it. I just looked it up and it's $40. I could have that much saved by mid-March but I want it sooner so I'll probably get it sooner than that though so she can start working on it now.

Well, I'm falling asleep so I better go to bed. The wind has really picked up and it's 24 degrees out. That middle of then night

Not an easy day...

It wasn't that bad but it was more difficult than yesterday which was a breeze. I think it was because it was cold and windy out. We got some flurries too. It wasn't anything that Bayou did. She was pretty good today. It's just that bringing her out is hard when the weather is like it is. We've made it through most of the day with probably one more trip outside before we go to bed. I don't know what the weather will be tomorrow but Tuesday it's supposed to be 5 degrees. That stinks. That makes it really hard for me. I'll get through it though.

I realized that Bayou gets whiny when she needs to go to sleep. She wants out of the pen so she can sleep in my lap. I'm not going to let her sleep on me all the time. She's already getting bigger, heavier and harder to hold. So, she either sleeps on the carpet or in her kennel. The vet said she should gain 8-10 pounds per month. She'll be twice as big by the end of the month. Hard to believe. Her mom weighs 40 lbs so maybe she'll be small too. I don't know anything about her dad, beyond breed, so he could be huge and she could take after him. LOL

I have a lot to do tomorrow so Bayou will be in her pen a bit longer than I'd like but things have to get done. I'll take breaks though to work with Bayou on "sit, down, fetch". She's doing really well with those behaviors and looks forward to doing them. I bought a book that shows how to teach her 101 tricks from the simplest (sit) to some fairly complicated behaviors. It will be fun to work with her. She is smart and I have total confidence that she will learn quickly.

It's way past her bedtime so I should get her to bed. She's sleeping in the pen and I want to get her into her kennel. More tomorrow.

Easy day

I'm shocked at how easy the days are with this puppy. Having the puppy pen makes all the difference. I don't have to watch her 24/7 and that allows me time to do things around the house and have some time for me too. It's cold and snowy today but she's been going out nonetheless. She's really doing well with "sit, down, fetch, bring it and come". I know she doesn't really know what all of them are but she's doing the behavior so I'm happy. Puppy classes start on March 6th and go for 6 weeks. I'm hoping to get her S.T.A.R. certified (an AKC certification for puppies). The CGC certification is the real goal though. I want her to be sociable and obedient. It will take time working with her but I'm just fine doing that with Bayou. She's a beautiful, loving puppy. I'm glad we adopted her.

Car ride for Bayou

David needed me to bring his medicine to him at work today so I loaded up Miss Bayou and we drove across town to drop off the meds. She was just fine during the drive. She howled a couple times but she's so cute when she does that that it doesn't bother me right now. I'm sure when she gets older, that howling be become annoying. LOL We also stopped at the gas station and the bank on our way home. She didn't have any problems. David's coworker, Kim, came out to get David's meds since David was in the middle of a job. He asked to see Bayou. She got so excited when she saw him. I'm glad she's meeting people and is not afraid.

Bayou has spent hours playing this morning and ha now settled in on my lap for her mid-day nap. She is so precious.

I got a call from the vet this morning. Her stool sample came back negative, which is good. No worms or parasites.So she is very healthy. I gave her a little cream cheese in a Kong and she loved it. Her little pen is a mess with toys and kibble everywhere. At least it's contained to the pen though.

I emailed the lady who is doing puppy classes at HPVH but haven't heard back from her yet. I want to get Bayou into as many puppy groups as I can. I want her to get used to different dogs and people. I want her to be well socialized. I think the only place she'll really learn bite inhibition is with other puppies who won't take any nonsense from her. Yelping when she bites us isn't deterring her at all. She seems to listen when we say 'no' but she needs to focus her energy on toys, not us. She has done really well today with 'sit'. Now she knows to sit before I even ask sometimes. We'll work on down next.

Last night she slept in her kennel without much of a problem. She whined a little bit but for the most part she just slept through the night. That made me very happy. I want her to be comfortable in her kennel. She actually went into it on her own today. I just encouraged her and let he come out when she was ready. She only stayed in there for a couple of minutes but I'm glad she wasn't afraid to go into it. She's only in there when we go out and at night. So it's not a bad place to her. She's still not always thrilled to be in the puppy pen but I just let her work it out. I may put her in there since she is sleeping. That will give me a chance to take a little nap too.

I've won $25 more in AGC's from Swagbucks. I'm going to look at getting Bayou a bed and poop bags. She needs a little bed to sleep on. I guess I could check Goodwill first though before I buy a new one. Definitely need the poop bags though. The backyard is already a mine field. For some reason too, Bayou is trying to eat her poop. Huxley used to do that. I'll have to research it again and see what, if anything I can do to deter her from doing that. I'm excited about the AGC's (they should be in by the middle of the month). It's so nice to get her stuff without having to spend any money. I think I'll go window shop on Amazon right now.

Bayou's first vet visit

I sent an email to Leona at Hope for Animals (the rescue we got Bayou from) to ask about specific information about Bayou. She was born on December 5th, 2010. She will be 8 weeks old on Sunday. Her mom is a Blue Tick Coonhound and her dad is a Catahoula Leopard Dog. She had her first set of shots when she was 6 weeks old and was dewormed then too (1/21/2011). We adopted her when she was 7 weeks old (1/29/2011).

Today I took Bayou to the vet for her first visit with Dr. McKenney and her staff. She weighs 8 lbs. 4 oz. Everything checked out okay and she got her 2nd set of shots. They are checking to make sure she doesn't have any worms or parasites. I'll get those results tomorrow. Bayou was very well behaved while in with the vet. She stuck close to me and cooperated as much as a puppy can. Dr. McKenney said she is at a good weight right now and to continue her on 1 1/2 cups of food per day. She will get her 3rd set of shots on March 3rd or so. Then a month later she'll get her last set of puppy shots. There is a puppy class at HPVH and hopefully I'll be able to get Bayou signed up for that in March.

I decided to get her shots at HPVH instead of through the rescue. I will probably get her fixed there too. I don't want to have to go all the way down to Pueblo to get her fixed. I don't want to have her travel for over an hour after same day surgery. I'm going to have her micro-chipped at the same time. Better to have a 10 minute drive home instead.

I love how she makes a sound when she yawns. It's so cute. She seems to be doing just fine after getting her shots. She's already gone potty twice. She's sitting on David's lap right now. She was sleeping but she's awake and playing now. We're having to work with her on not biting our hands (or other body parts). She's going to be a big time chewer so I'll really have to have lots of things for her to chew on that are safe (like the Kongs and the Busy Buddy toys). I did get all the stuff from Amazon that I ordered. She plays with some of it but doesn't really get it all yet. She'll learn to play as we go along.

David is working with her on "high five". I've been working with her on "sit". She sits before I take her out of her puppy pen. I'm going to start having her sit before she goes out the door too. The weather has been really cold and snowy so I haven't had her outside for very long, just long enough to go to the bathroom, then we run back in to the warmth of the house. She's back in her pen now because she needs to play for a while. She whines when I put her in there but she's going to have to get used to it so I can get things done around here during the day. She also needs to be okay with being in her crate so I can transport her. She's been sleeping in bed with us which has been hard on me because I wake up constantly to check on her. I think I'm going to start her sleeping in her kennel tonight. She'll whine, probably for quite a while, but eventually she will go to sleep. And then I will get a good nights sleep.

She's actually in her puppy pen and not whining. She is playing with one of her fetch dummies. They are covered in canvas and she loves to chew on them. At some point I'll teach her how to retrieve them. She's whining again. I don't like it but I know she has to get used to being in the pen. I can't let her run around the house because, first, it's too dangerous for her to do that and second, it would keep me busy 24/7 and I just can't be expected to do that. I need some time to get things done around here. Now she's playing again. Oops, nope she's trying to dig her way out of the pen. And the whining begins again. LOL

I want to go to bed early tonight so she'll have to sleep in her kennel. She won't like it but she'll get used to it. It'll be difficult for us until she adjusts but that's okay. I don't want her to get upset when she goes in her pen or crate/kennel.

That's it for tonight. I'll keep an eye on her to make sure there is no bad reaction to the vaccinations. So far so good.

Our little Bayou