Our first full day together

So as I mentioned at the end of my last post "Pick her up day" our first full day together started at 4:00 AM. Not my favorite time in the morning. I couldn't sleep but the pup slept well - I was glad to have her well rested. I tried to play with her in the morning hoping to tire her out some but I wasn't particularly successful. I gave her only a tidbit to eat and a bit to drink. We got to the ticket check in line at 5am because the airline people told me it was required). We had to wait for about 15 minutes which I found a bit surprising at that hour. The pup fussed a little but was over all very good. After we checked in and I showed the pup's health certificate we were ready to go through security. I found a patch of grass and tried to get the pup to relieve herself but I was unsuccessful. We went through the long security line but didn't have any problems getting through. The airline people wouldn't give me a seat assignment so I had to wait at the gate nervously for the gate agents to show up. I attempted to get a cup of coffee at the Starbucks but after 15 minutes in line (and not making any progress) I gave up. I checked in and we went to the bathroom for another attempt at "emptying the puppy". I got into the biggest stall I could fine, put down the puppy pad. Sucess! This helped to reduce my travel stress a little. The plane boarded on time - we were on a Boeing 767 and I was stuck in the middle. There was some sort of storage box in my underseat space which meant that I had to squish and tuck the large Sherpa into place. It stuck out enough that I thought I would get in trouble. I didn't have a back up plan but luckily I didn't need one.

The pup was wonderful on the trip but it was the longest 4 hour flight I can remember. I tried 2x to get her to go to the bathroom in the airline bathrooms but was unsuccessful. She was calm and quiet until the last hour - she did fuss some but not too badly. We landed and met up with Tim and grabbed my bag. We found a clean looking spot out-side and let the little one pee. She fussed in her Sherpa for the entire car ride home. When we introduced her to Dolce (in the yard) he scared her and she barked at him. I set up her puppy area and set her inside it. She screamed and shook for about 25 minutes. She eventually cried herself to sleep.

I didn't know what to do with myself so I just started washing dishes. Tim was making breakfast and we had the radio on. Wow can this pup scream!

After she had been quiet for a bit I let her out and we played around in the kitchen for a while.
Dolce attempted some guarding of me from the puppy and he got swift time outs for his errant behavior. Careful management is proving to be the way to go.

So pup still have diarrhea. I am trying not to overreact but it is a challenge. Eva had called to check on so I asked her what she suggested when I called to give her the update. She recommended Nutrical and Immodium. Tim set off for Petco (Nutrical and DAP refill) and Safeway Pharmacy. (We were going for 1-stop shopping as opposed to choosing the stores we usually frequent.) While I was waiting (anxiously) for him to return I read up on puppy diarrhea on the Leerburg website - interesting stuff. When he got back I plugged in the DAP and tried to figure out how much Nutrical to give her so I weighed her on my kitchen/postal scale (one of my all time favorite Christmas presents). She weighed just under 5lbs.

The rest of the day is play, rest, and potty trips. I got her out almost every time but she did manage to pee on the white shag carpet in the front room. Opps!

She has a very interesting variety of vocalizations. When she "howls" she sounds either like a monkey or some type of bird. Better record it for later. = )

At bedtime (9PM because I was exhausted) the pup slept in her Sherpa up near my head. She settled quickly and slept through until 1am when Tim got home. We took a quick potty break outside then back into the Sherpa until 6:30AM.