Slow and Steady.... Roller Coaster Ride

I haven't had much time online lately because I've been busy with Bella but I did pick some themes for my blogs. I'm just waiting on some artwork from a friend and a whole redesign of this one when Nico can get to it. Time is running out before Training Camp starts so I really don't have much time to finish up the "geek stuff".

I had to cancel my Friday trip to Block Island for some fun in the sun and music because of the pain that I've been having for quite some time after running. ... It was so bad this week that I could barely walk. I was able to get an appointment with the doctor and he said that it was all due to my back being misaligned and my pelvis being completely locked up. He did an adjustment, gave me some PT exercises to do and told me not to run until after I was completely healed. I see him again next week.


Bella's been doing well but has me in tears the past couple of days. The other night, I put her in her crate when I went pick Jake up from a friend's house and when I got home, there was something wrong with her eye. She apparently had been rubbing it or scratched it with her paw and the 3rd eyelid was sticking out. Naturally, I Googled and to my horror, started reading about Cherry Eye. Hoping for the best and that I was just over-reacting, I snuggled with her most of that night but couldn't stop crying. She awoke back to normal so I was relieved.

Yesterday, (Friday) in the afternoon, she kept rubbing her eye with her paw and also rubbing her face in the grass. Sure enough, it popped out again. I called the vet and they took us right in. She looked at her and said that it was the start of cherry eye and that her eyes were irritated and had the start of an infection so that's probably why she was rubbing it. She prescribed an antibiotic/steroid ointment for me to put in twice a day. She said that it was the first step to clear the infection and hopefully strengthen the cartilage of the 3rd eyelid to prevent it from flipping over again. I administered the ointment.. (that was fun...NOT) and she napped on me for about 45 minutes. When she woke up, the eye was back to normal.

Today, it was fine until around 4:00 when she was rubbing it against the side of her little play bed and sure enough, it happened again. As of right now, 9:00, it's still protruding... sigh... I feel so bad and I'm praying that it not only pops back in but it also heals and strengthens so that it doesn't continue to happen and require surgery. Even the results of surgery are iffy according to the vet.

So, the rollercoaster ride is on taking me from happiness, to sadness, to relief and back again. As a good friend so wisely said the other day... "Welcome to parenthood."

Technorati Tags: Bella puppy Chihuahua Cherry+Eye

Making Progress

So, things are moving right along. I was able to successfully transfer everything to BlueHost and have cancelled my account with my old host. Setting up the add on domain worked out perfectly as well. Yesterday, i finally made a decision on the wordpress theme for the Patriots Podcast blog and am waiting for a banner from a friend before going live with it... Today, I hope to make a final decision and install the theme for the Training Camp report blog.

On the puppy front, Bella is doing very well. I'm still having to keep my eyes peeled EVERY waking moment but I successfully trained her to Come when called and to Sit. These are major milestones and will make both of our lives so much better! I'm using Science Diet Training Treats and she's so small that I literally break off a tiny piece at a time and one or two discs can last me all day.

She's been spending most of her time with the "pen" gate disabled and has been fine. The reason for this was a possibly tragic accident that turned out to have good results. From day one, I've been shooing her away from the couch because she likes to go underneath it. There are wires under there and more importantly, it opens to the stairway landing. I've spent most of the last two weeks policing her away from there.

The other night, she was very fired up and was running around at full speed, charged under the couch and to my horror, went through and fell off the other side. It was like slow motion... I was shrieking her name as she flipped through the air and landed with a thud. I was frantic and burst into tears, ran down to pick her up and held her close while she shook and whimpered. I was a wreck and was so worried that she had hurt herself. I checked her out thoroughly and held her all night while I read in case she showed any signs of distress. Thankfully, everything was fine.

The end result of the accident has been a "lesson learned". She has not even gone NEAR the couch and has pretty much stayed out of that part of the room since. She now stays around and under the kitchen table and right by my side. She'll also run up and down the hall but comes when called and sits right here waiting for a treat. Life is good :-)Technorati Bella puppy chihuahua training BlueHost Puppy+Tales

Website and Puppy Tales

Time already seems to be flying, having the 4th come and go. We had a last minute cook-out and although the weather wasn't hot, it was comfortable enough and the rain held off until the evening hours.

I made a decision this week and moved my website to Bluehost. (As of this posting, I'm waiting for the propegation of the nameservers so it's down.) I had to go through major gyrations to get my old host to release the domain name so that I could renew it at GoDaddy. It's finally done as of today. I've also been playing around and learning how to install some wordpress blogs on my domain but the education started from ground zero. Although I've had a website for 5 years, using Frontpage allows you to do it without really knowing anything! I've never had to deal with FTP and directories and such. Special thanks to patient friends who have been available to get me on my way... and also here's to perseverance and google when I needed to figure some things out for myself.

It's been really difficult getting much done because Bella is quite active and I need to be with her most of her waking hours. It's much like having an infant; I only get things done when she's napping. More puppy tale updates to follow, but in short, she specifically has a hyper/nippy time after dinner which lasts for a couple of hours... (sort of the equivalent of those after-dinner colicky babies.) She gets all riled up and wants to play rough. She also will run at super high speed after a ball with ears flapping in the wind...hehe..

I can't wait until she can start going for walks... I'd love to tire her out with a good brisk walk after dinner. Two problems there though: she's still too little for even the smallest harness to fit her without her being able to tuck her chin and bite the harness and even worse, she turns her head sharply and bites the leash and tries to play tug-of-war. I definitely don't encourage any of those kinds of games or aggressive play. Trying to disengage the leash results in growls and head shaking. So, I'm trying to bait her by offering something appropriate and desired and giving the "Drop it" command so she'll let go and take the treat along with praise for listening.... Every day is an adventure. Right now, I've had to dim all the lights and observe quiet time to move to mellow mode to get ready for bed.


She's been having more and more pee accidents in the house, even if she's just been out and has gone a few times. She totally loves to be outside and is set on investigating everything out there, happily squatting along the way. She's starting to do the same thing in the house..... sigh... even though I praise her like crazy when she goes outside and does the right thing. So, it's hard to take my eyes off her when she's awake to prevent all of those yellow rivers...

Technorati Tags: Bella housetraining BlueHost Puppy+Tales Chihuahua patriotworld

Puppy Tales

Since we haven't had a puppy in our lives in 14 or so years, this is all brand new once again. What better way to document and chronicle the ups and downs of puppyhood than right here? She'll grow fast and I'll likely not remember "those" times and before I know it she'll be an old lady.

Nigel was very much the puppy until at least six years old and was a very stubborn and high strung boy. He gave us a lot of love but also a run (literally) for our money. God forbid, someone left the gate open or the door ajar... off he would go! The only way to get him was to get in the car and pull up aside him. He'd happily jump in to go for a ride. But, if you tried to get him on foot, the game was on! The minute you got near him he'd juke and run enjoying his game. He grew into a loving and quite mellow old man and we miss him to this day.

Since Bella is a Chihuahua and is toy dog, some of the issues that we had with Nigel are not going to be present, such as stealing food from the counter, digging outside (she won't be out alone), and using her size to get her way. This is not to say that typical puppy behaviors are not going to be an issue:

• Her biggest puppy behavior right now is nipping. She doesn't do it in aggression, rather in play but it needs to be nipped (hehe) in the bud right from the start. When she nips from being over stimulated and all excited, I immediately yelp like she injured me, turn off the attention, put her down and praise her profusely when she plays gently. It's getting better already with me, but she still gets very excited with other family members. I'm the primary care giver so she doesn't associate me only with play. As long as everyone is on the same page we'll be ok.

• Another issue that I never had with Nigel is directly due to her small size. She fits under the couches and chairs and it's too dangerous there. Wires and an open back end to the stairway landing is accessible if she goes under the couch. I've resolved that by only allowing her out in the main area when I'm specifically playing with her.

• Potty training is going well although she still has accidents if she's loose. I've made a "pen" by gating off an L shaped area around the island containing all of her things and allowing her plenty of room but not free access to the house. It's working well, and she hasn't had a single accident there. (Of course, I take her outside the minute she wakes up, after she eats and periodically throughout the day.) She goes outside immediately and is doing very well with that.

• She still prefers to be with me and will spend some time on my lap for a belly rub :-) which is fine as long as she chews her bone and not my clothing, and it works out well and gives me some quiet time with her. After supper though, she's usually feisty and full of energy. She won't stay in the lap or in her pen without crying. She wants to play rough and nips quite a bit. I've taken to playing ball with her or letting her run around outside (weather permitting). If the kids try to play with her then, she's all wound up. Evenings are the most difficult time right now because she wants to play but she tends not to play appropriately. She does settle down later when I dim the lights and set the quiet mood to get ready for bed. She's been sleeping through the night and usually wakes up around 6:00AM which is fine with me.
  

I'll keep updating the Puppy Tales as we grow together.

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