Missed My Puppy

This morning I took Stella to daycare at 6:30 to avoid nasty traffic. She was a total brat yesterday- I think she just didn't have enough to do and I was busy with other things. So I dropped her off and came back home to get ready for work.

It was SO WEIRD to not have her here! It was eerily quiet. While there were some things that were nice to get done while she wasn't around to "supervise", like sweeping the floors, it felt lonely around here. I was so happy to get her home this afternoon, wash the daycare stink off of her, and have my puppy back!

Now she's sleeping on the couch and everything is back to where it should be.

I've had to get strict about chewtoys for Stella. She's started shredding her beef tendons when I'm not looking and eating big pieces of them that she later throws up. NOT COOL. No more tendons for her. The last thing we need around here is an intestinal blockage. So I've narrowed down her options to bully sticks, antlers, and hollow sterile bones that I can put a dab of peanut butter in. She's not wild about rubber toys (she does still like her puppy kong but the red kong she won't touch, even when there are treats in there), so they're a total waste of money. She's an energetic girl and needs good chew toys to burn off some of that energy, but the flip side is that she decides her job is to eat something in 5 minutes.

Stella looks TEENY in this picture, which is so funny because all day I've been thinking she looks big.... Oh wait, I think she's still wet from her bath in this picture.

Imaginary Friend

I recently rearranged the furniture in my living room, which means that the fireplace is back out in the open. Which means that the glass doors are showing. Which means that Stella can see herself in them.

Stella thinks there's a dog living in the fireplace. Right now she's showing off her toys to the fireplace dog. Last night she would look at Fireplace Dog, bark, race around the room, look again, and repeat. HILARIOUS.

So here's Stella at 5 months and 30 lbs. She's still pretty small. Her body looks a little long compared to her legs, and she's still got ears that go half floppy and half upright. Everyone who meets her thinks she's the cutest puppy EVER. I have to agree.


She's in love with the toy her aunt sent to her . It has two squeakers, so a lot of what I've been hearing lately is "Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesquesqueeeeeeeeeeaaaak." Thanks D.

PSA from Stella

Caution, there is a fearsome enemy in the house. BUT I WILL SAVE YOU!

Action shots!

This is the dog bed I got the day before I picked Stella up from the Humane Society. At that time she was so little and it was so puffy that she would roll right off of it. Now she just likes to attack it, shake it around, and show it who is boss.

These pictures REALLY illustrate what life is like right now. Toys all over the floor are to be expected. The wood plank is to practice the teeter totter for agility. She's terrified of it, so I made a practice one. This is just a piece of wood on the floor. I tried sticking a box of spaghetti under it (about 1-1/4" high- right there on the coffee table!) and that's pretty intimidating at this point. I know that once she gets over her fear of the movement, she'll be a champ at this. It just takes a lot of patience. And boatloads of treats.

Let's see, my shoes are on the table next to the TV since anything on the floor is fair game to a puppy. My dirty socks are on the coffee table for the same reason. There's a dog brush, a clicker, treats.... And I need to make another agility thing to build some confidence in Stella's balance.

I found another molar on the floor today when we were playing. I don't think she has any more teeth left to lose now!

My What Big Teeth You (are about to) Have

The tooth collection keeps getting bigger....

Daycare Is Exhausting!

Which makes for a nice laid back Friday night. HOWEVER, Miss Stella smelled like the bottom of a dumpster when we got home and I had to give her a bath. Makes me think I need to find a better daycare....