They are back. Makena's much bigger, of course. She's almost as tall as starlight, but much slimmer.
Puppies are so cute, and such a bother.
Makena's first thing was to jump on Starlight. Starlight said growl snarl and Makena backed right off and apologized. Then she jumped on Beau and he was too polite to snarl, so she kept at him until she got distracted.
Then she jumped on me. I was too surprised to do anything about it. From now on I'll be ready. Nobody jumps on Auntie Donna.
She ran and ran and ran for about 10 minutes, then it was time to lock her in and take my dogs with me for an outing. I put Makena in her crate and left Nickie loose in the house for a couple of hours. They were still here when we got home.
I let them loose and they both ran around for a few minutes, then Makena started messing with Beau. He knows he's supposed to be polite to visiting dogs, but she wouldn't leave him alone. He doesn't know how to growl snarl like Starlight does. He curls his lip and quietly grrrs and expects dogs to understand the message that they are going too far and they'd better stop.
Beau finally jumped on her and held her down, and I think even bit her a little. She held one front paw up for a minute like it was hurt, but she soon forgot about it. Beau put himself into his timeout crate and won't come out. I don't think she'll bother him any more.
She doesn't have the usual puppy mannerisms that protect pups from older dogs. If they do puppy face they can get away with almost anything. Makena doesn't do puppy face, so they treat her like a grown up and expect her to have grownup manners. Of course she doesn't, she's still a baby. She'll learn, though.
I rigged up a crate with a small opening for Nickie to escape to if all the big dogs get to be too much for her. I put her in it and she thought she had to stay there. Eventually I pulled her out and I'm not sure if she understands yet. She will soon. Makena can squeeze herself most of the way in so I should probably make the opening a little smaller. I'll get to that later.
Beau has been picking green peaches for the past week or two and Makena thinks they are fun to play with. She likes to play in my deep water bowls, too.
1:32 PM 8/14/2008
Makena had another lesson from Beau. I hope she learned something this time.
She ran up to him and started biting his lip. She figured if she can do that to Nickie she should be able to do it to Beau. He had other ideas.
He grabbed her by the lip and held on. She cried and pulled away. Fortunately he let her go.
He then put himself back in his timeout crate. He may stay there a long time. He knows he's supposed to be nice but some things are just too much to ask.
At first she didn't seem to have a mark on her but after a while I saw that a chunk of hair has been scraped off her face. The skin doesn't seem to be broken, and I'm almost certain the hair will grow back without leaving a mark. I'll put some antiseptic on it for a little while, but I don't really think it's necessary.
I sure hope she's learned to be polite with Beau now. If not I'll have to keep them separated for the rest of her visit. That wouldn't be nice for either of them. They'd have to take turns being in the pen.
I think it probably took this time. We'll see.
8:15 PM 8/14/2008
Things have gotten a lot quieter these past few hours.
Makena seems to have learned that Beau's not a toy. She still sees Nickie as a toy and drags her around by the collar and steals her collar and runs off with it. She wanted me to chase her for it but when she saw I wasn't interested in it she let me have it.
Nickie doesn't seem interested in staying in her crate where the big dogs can't get her. I'm not sure she understands the concept. I put her in there occasionally and she usually stays for a while.
The dogs all seem to be settling in for the night. Peace and quiet.
Friday -- 8:07 AM 8/15/2008
We made it through the night.
Makena slept in her crate, and after I spoke to her about the noise she was quiet the rest of the time.
Nickie slept with me until around 3AM when I couldn't stand the snoring anymore and popped her into the pug pen for the rest of the night. That woke Makena and started her yelping again for a few minutes, then all was peaceful until morning.
Nickie can't seem to understand the concept of a crate that she can get into and out of but the others can't. She still acts like she's locked in most of the time, but if there's something important she comes out. Then she isn't interested in going back in. But Makena bothers her a lot, and she seems to think there's nothing she can do about it.
For the moment I have Makena in the pen so Nickie can have some peace. A little later I'll put Nickie in her crate and let Makena out.
So far Makena's not bothering Beau, but I'm seeing her get bolder, and maybe she'll test him again. I hope not.
Rocky and Pete will be joining us tomorrow evening, and the commotion level will increase. We'll see how it goes.
1:39 PM 8/15/2008
Things are much more peaceful today.
Makena has been making submissive overtures to Beau, and he's mostly ignoring her. So far so good. If he barks at the outside sounds she gives him a wide berth. So she's giving him the respect he needs, and if things continue for a while he'll decide she's a good friend and all will be fine.
She's also leaving Nickie alone more now, so I can leave the whole gang of dogs loose at the same time and there aren't any conflicts.
She's checking out all the hiding places under and behind the furniture and finding thengs I don't want puppies to have. She's also findng lots of things puppies are welcome to have.
She's gonna be a very nice dog someday. She's very nice now, in fact, but puppies are difficult. Even nice ones.
Nickie has been spending most of the day asleep on the couch. Makena's alternating between napping and exploring.
6:28 PM 8/15/2008
It's been an interesting playful day.
Beau finally decided Makena's been submissive enough and now he's willing to play with her. She was so excited she ran and ran and came crashing into me as I sat here with my computer on my lap.
I just hope she doesn't overdo it and make him mad again. She's still being a bit careful with him so it will probably be OK. She's really rough with Nickie, and when Nickie tries to scold her and warn her off she thinks Nickie's playing with her and keeps it up. I think all her playing with little Nickie is why she has a problem relating to the bigger dogs. She doesn't understand that they are warning her off. That should be settled by the time her people come for her though. She'll be interacting with at least 5 big dogs during her visit and she'll learn a lot.
I thought Beau had gotten all the peaches he could reach by now, but she's brought in at least two new ones. I'm sure he can reach higher than she can, so I guess there were some he'd missed. She's also brought in a few branches and stripped off all the leaves and spread them around the living room.
Saturday -- 7:35 AM 8/16/2008
We made it through a very quiet night. Nickie got to stay out of the pugpen all night and cuddle with me. Either she didn't snore or I was able to sleep through it. I think she didn't snore. That seems unlikely, doesn't it.
Makena slept quietly in her crate and was eager for her breakfast in the morning.
Makena dragged in a chunk of rope and started chewing on it. It seems to be just right for chewing on. It's about 6 feet long with a knotted loop at each end. She drags it, shakes it, chews on it, and generally thinks it's the best toy she's ever seen.
She was chewing on a rock earlier today but mean old Auntie Donna took that away from her.
9:01 AM 8/16/2008
Poor Beau. He's very into dog manners, and one of the rules he lives by is that any puppy who uses puppy mannerisms is allowed to take liberties and use gentleman dogs as toys.
Instinct has returned to Makena, and she's doing puppy face. It's amazing to watch. Beau has to be sweet to her and even play with her. He isn't sure he likes it, but rules are rules.
Now that Makena remembers how puppies are supposed to act toward big dogs it will be interesting to see how she deals with Rocky and Pete when they arrive later today.
1:32 PM 8/16/2008
A lazy afternoon. It's warm and quiet and boring.
Makena keeps finding things in the yard and dragging them in to chew on. If they splinter into pieces a puppy can get hurt on I take them away, otherwise I just let her have them. Plastic pipe fittings splinter but plastic pipe doesn't. At least so far it hasn't.
We all had a nice nap and we're resting up for fun and frolic when the new dogs arrive in a few hours.
6:43 PM 8/16/2008
Well, that went as well as I could have hoped. Makena introduced herself politely to Rocky, and accepted Pete's invitation to play. Pete and Makena have been running and having a wonderful time. When Pete gets tired he lies down in the middle of the yard and Makena runs circles around him.
Rocky thinks she's OK, too. He just doesn't have as much energy as Pete.
Every few minutes they come in and get a drink and slobber water all over the floor. That's what I have all these towels for.
Sunday -- 8:33 AM 8/17/2008
Another quiet night, with Nickie sleeping on my bed and Makena in her crate.
In the morning they had their breakfast then Makena and Pete started romping. Every now and then Makena plays too roughly with Nickie and doesn't even notice when she tries to scold her. I intervene and Nickie seems to think that's just the way things are. Poor Nickie. She hasn't figured out that she can go into her crate and be safe. She'd rather be with me.
1:28 PM 8/17/2008
Puppies. My goodness.
I had forgotten all the mischief puppies can get into.
I've been keeping my two deep water bowls full since I have so many dogs here. Don't want to have them run dry. So when Makena stuck her paw into the bowl and pulled it over she released a lot of water.
Fortunately my stack of towels was just a few feet from the puddle, so I managed to contain it quickly.
I think it may have alarmed her enough that she won't do it again, since all at once water rushed all over her and I came running and yelling. I dragged her to her crate and shoved her in, then I set to cleaning up the mess.
The empty one will stay empty for a while, and when the full one gets down to a more reasonable level I'll keep it that way. I'll leave it just high enough that little Nickie can reach the water.
And her tummy had finally had enough of the sticks, bugs, green peaches, and whatever else she's been putting into it. Now that it's empty she can start filling it up again.
She's sleeping peacefully on the couch right now. She looks so sweet and innocent.
4:51 PM 8/17/2008
We've had our dinner and things are quieting down. Makena's taking turns playing with the big dogs, and now she has worn them all out and she has to play by herself for a while.
The remaining water bowl is getting low enough. I think I'll put the other one back and just replenish them several times a day, never very full, and put a low bowl in Nickie's crate where the others can't get at it to drink it dry.
I'm seeing toys I haven't seen for months, or even years. I don't know where Makena's finding them. I never go deep into the bushes, so I'm guessing that's where she finds them. Some of them are really dirty.
Monday -- 7:40 AM 8/18/2008
Another quiet peaceful night. I thought about putting Nickie in the pugpen where the snoring wouldn't bother me, but I guess I fell asleep before I got around to it.
This morning after breakfast I noticed Makena and Beau playing. She was lying on her back and he was poking her with his nose and making fake growling noises. He pretended to bite her legs. Both tails were wagging.
It looked like he had initiated the play, which seemed a bit out of character for him so I started watching more closely. She was doing it. It seems she has completely recovered the puppy instincts. Every time Beau would start losing interest she'd go back into puppy mode and make herself small and approach him from below. His instincts would then make him want to play with her.
When she got tired of playing with Beau she moved on to Petey. She treats him more like an equal, but she's a little more careful to show proper respect. Now that I think about it I remember noticing that Rocky was playing with her a little this morning. That had surprised me. She's really getting good.
She'll have another test in a few days when Quarterdeck arrives later this week. I'm sure she'll do fine.
Even though she has all the big dogs to play with I still have to rescue Nickie from her occasionally.
Tuesday -- 9:05 AM 8/19/2008
Everything's fine but I've been having problems with my internet connection, so no news just means I can't get to the site.
I can't believe all the stuff Makena's brought into the house in the past few days. Toys I haven't seen in years, a car windshield wiper (?) an old leash, branches and green peaches, ropes, and even pieces of an old abandoned watering system.
Years ago I tried to grow vegatables by the back door and I had a tiny black water hose from the corner of the garage to the back of the house. I've been meaning to get rid of it but I never quite got around to it. Now I guess I won't have to. She keeps bringing in pieces of it.
She brought her nice bed with her and this morning she began pulling the stuffing out of it. I picked up the stuffing and distracted her, and now she can't find the place the stuffing comes out of. I'm sure she'll find it again soon. Maybe I should take the bed away.
8:10 PM 8/19/2008
Things are going well.
Sally brought Chena the lab mix over to play this morning. Chena ran and played with the gang, and Makena got a bit too pushy with her. Makena got a scolding and a snarling, so she started being more polite. She learns fast.
They are working on the cable system in the neighborhood this week and next, so my phone and internet occasionally stop working. It's amazing how much it bothers me to be without them. So far the TV still works.
Wednesday -- 4:29 PM 8/20/2008
Not much of interest. Makena's getting on everyone's nerves, but she's a puppy so it's to be expected. Just about the time I decide to lock her up so we can all relax she gets sweet and nice and I relent.
This morning Beau was scratching his chin and she butted in and got snarled and snapped at. So she went to Petey to play with him instead.
I can't figure out if Nickie really likes it when Makena plays so rough with her or maybe she isn't smart enough to get out of the way. I let them play for a while until I get the idea Nickie wants out, then I separate them.
Nickie goes into her escape crate to get a drink but never to avoid Makena. Dunno what to think.
Thursday -- 8:41 AM 8/21/2008
I'm getting tired of having my cable come and go. When it's gone I have no TV, phone, or internet. For the moment it's back.
Makena's having fun with all her doggy friends. There are so many of them she doesn't wear out her welcome (very much) with any of them. Pete and ROcky will be going home in a few days and Quarterdeck will take their place. We'll see how that works.
Well, I've lost my connection again. I'll put this on the website as soon as I can.
Makena took Nickie's collar off again and ran with it. I'm not about to chase her for it, so I watched her chew on it for a while, then when she was distracted I snatched it from her and put it back on Nickie.
Makena sleeps quietly in her crate every night, and Nickie sleeps (relatively) quietly on my bed. If she snores I shove her over and that usually fixes it. If not I can always put her in the pugpen but I've only resorted to that once this visit.
I keep thinking I'm seeing little bloody cuts on the various dogs, then I realize it's just the red threads the puppy is scattering around from the old red and white leash she dragged in and chewed up.
Friday -- 12:03 PM 8/22/2008
I wonder what it looks like at their own house.
My living room floor has a shredded old red leash, a 7 foot rope, 3 1/2 kongs, many shredded branches and leaves, at least one plastic pipe, a 15 foot long garden hose, a towel, a dogbed and much of its stuffing, paper peeled from the label of a propane tank, bark peeled from a dead tree, rocks of various sizes, some peach pits.
And a happy puppy.
I keep taking rocks away from her, and she keeps bringing in new ones to chew on. Even if she breaks a tooth on a rock it's probably a puppy tooth, but I still don't want it to happen. And I suppose anything small enough for her to actually swallow is small enough to go all the way through, but I don't want that to happen either.
Rocky and Pete bring their toys and leashes in their tote bag, and I made the mistake of leaving it where Makena could manage to reach it. She grabbed it and ran outside with it, as the leashes started falling out and dragging. Poor Rocky and Pete thought that meant they were going somewhere, so they followed her. I tried to get the bag from her but that just made it more appealing to run with it. I picked up the leashes as they finally fell out.
When I finally caught up to her and got the bag she was happy to go on to some other mischief but Pete and Rocky are now waiting for their parents to come and get them. They know what it means when their bag comes out. I'm hoping they'll soon get distracted and forget to wait by the door.
A few minutes ago she was messing with Nickie and Nickie decided she'd had enough. Nickie snarled and snapped. That made Makena mad and she snarled and was about to beat up on little Nickie. Fortunately I was there to intervene before anybody got hurt.
4:09 PM 8/22/2008
When the lawnmowing guys came this afternoon I locked the dogdoor and Makena was really puzzled. She was sure it used to open when she asked it to.
Quarterdeck will be joining us in a few hours. This should be interesting.
7:22 PM 8/22/2008
Makena has a new best friend. She and Quarterdeck are running and wrestling and digging and having a wonderful time.
Saturday -- 9:21 AM 8/23/2008
We had a quiet night. People have a hard time believing me when I tell them how quiet it gets here at night. Dogs are pack animals, and when the leader of the pack goes to sleep the whole pack goes to sleep. And I'm the leader.
The puppy sleeps in her crate and all the others get to decide for themselves. I had 4 in my bedroom. I was awake around 4AM and I went to check on the ones who slept elsewhere. Starlight was on the chair next to the puppy's crate and QD was on the floor on the other side of the crate. They all seemed happy.
At 7 my alarm went off. The dogs in my room dashed out, eager for their breakfast. The dogs outside rushed in to make sure I got up and fed them. The puppy started barking.
So I put them all in their appointed places and got started feeding them. They all have different food and many have medicine in their food, so I have to be slow and deliberate in feeding them. It wouldn't be a good idea to give them someone else's medicine.
Rocky had gone outside when the alarm went off but I knew he'd show up for breakfast. And he did. After they were all fed I opened their gates and let them out as soon as they were finished. Rocky didn't eat his so I took it away and let him out. Then it was time to count the dogs. Seven. All accounted for.
Then we all went outside for poopy patrol. They are all finished and I've got it all picked up by 7:20. It takes a long time to get the whole gang ready for the day when there are so many.
Rocky decided he wanted his breakfast after all, so he ate it.
Then it's playtime. They romp and wrestle and chase each other until they collapse in a heap. And of course the puppy takes a long time to get tired. After a while she's the only one active.
Things are very quiet at the moment. Soon I'll go outside and they will all come with me. Then they will be ready to come into the house and be relatively quiet for most of the day. I'll wash QD's paws and hope they can stay clean for a while.
Sunday -- 7:13 AM 8/24/2008
Last night Nickie was snoring so I put her in the pugpen for the night. She seemed not to mind very much.
Rocky and Pete have gone home so there are only 5 dogs here at the moment. After 7, 5 seems like very few. It's interesting what a person can get used to.
Quarterdeck and Makena have been romping and having a good time this morning.
I picked up most of the junk in the house yesterday but it seems to have all returned. Why do I bother?
I put Makena's crate beside my gold chair, and Nickie has taken to hopping onto the chair, then using it to get onto the crate. She feels really important on the crate where she can look down on everyone. And the puppy can't reach her.
5:51 PM 8/24/2008
I noticed Makena's collar is getting small for her. She's growing fast. I lengthened it almost as far as it will go and it's still a little snug. I'll probably lengthen it the rest of the way soon, and hope it still works for her as long as she stays here. If not I have one that will probably fit her.
I have to drag her off the pug every now and then. When I can't keep a close eye on them I always put her in her crate. Much of the time they play nicely together, but Makena's so much bigger, and she has no idea that she needs to play gently with little dogs. I'm sure she'll be better when she grows up a bit.
Monday -- 12:28 PM 8/25/2008
I left the visiting dogs in crates for a couple of hours this morning and they were still there and happy to see us when we got home.
It's really hard to tell when Nickie wants to play with Makena and when she's just trying to defend herself. But a few minutes ago it was pretty evident that they were both having a good time. Nickie was on top, chewing on Makena's throat.
Makena just brought in a branch to chew on. That should keep her happily occupied for a while.
8:14 PM 8/25/2008
Another day comes to an end. So far so good.
Tuesday -- 8:27 AM 8/26/2008
Makena's a smart puppy.
I've been watching her play with and interact with the various big dogs. She's learned to treat them all differently, based on their attitude toward her.
When Pete was here she would throw herself at him, knowing he'd respond nicely, either playing with her or ignoring her. She gives Starlight a bit of space, because Starlight is offended by too much closeness.
After she introduced herself to Quarterdeck she learned he was nice but sometimes wanting to be left alone, so she approaches him politely. And Beau always needs to be aproached submissively at first, and then he's happy to play with her.
There was at least one time she was seriously getting on Beau's nerves, and he wasn't sure how to deal with her so he put himself into his timeout crate. That was hard for him because Starlight was napping in that crate and he doesn't disturb napping dogs. I noticed him wanting to go into the crate and I invited Starlight to come out. He went in and stayed a long time without being annoyed. The puppy still doesn't notice Beau's subtle hints.
6:17 PM 8/26/2008
I left Makena and Nickie in their crates a few hours this afternoon. When I got home I let them out and we all went to the backyard. Makena kept messing with Beau's face. She was doing it in a puppy way, and he was tolerating it as gentleman dogs are supposed to, but I could see he was getting annoyed, so I was glad when she finally got bored with him and went on to bother someone else.
We all came back in and we were sitting around. I didn't notice it but Beau and Makena had gone outside again. I figured it out when I heard YIKE YIKE! I went out to look and I saw Makena heading for the house, and Beau slinking along behind her. Obviously she'd gone back to annoying him and he finally got tired enough of it to let her have it. She's not at all hurt, and he only put himself in his crate for a couple of minutes this time.
Since then Makena's gotten herself snarled at by both Starlight and Nickie, and Quarterdeck has been playing happily with her. She's learning, but it does take time.
We're expecting her old playmate Bosley to join us tomorrow.
Wednesday -- 1:46 PM 8/27/2008
I think I'll let Nickie sleep in the pugpen from now on. This was the third time I found tiny poops in the guestroom in the morning, and this time there was also a wet spot. If it's too much trouble for her to go outside at night it's too much trouble for me to let her sleep with me. Sorry Nickie, but you brought it on yourself.
Makena's been dragging her around by the collar, and getting her teeth caught in Nickie's collar. I finally got smart and took Nickie's collar off. Now Makena can't choke her anymore.
Bosley was supposed to come today but he's delayed until tomorrow. I think Nickie will be glad to see him.
6:58 PM 8/27/2008
Well, that was exciting.
Last time I looked, maybe one minute before, Quarterdeck and Makena were wrestling and tugging on a rope. Then I heard growling that sounded like somebody was really mad. Nickie was attacking poor Starlight, who seemed bewildered. What did I do? I think what she probably did was be nearby when Makena messed with Nickie, and when Nickie retaliated she got the wrong dog. The two of them look very much alike.
Poor Starlight couldn't allow herself to be attacked, and retreating didn't seem to help. Nickie didn't stop. Finally Starlight got far enough away and the attack stopped. Fortunately there's not much damage a pug can do to an adult lab, and Starlight wasn't harmed. She was upset, though.
She needed to be comforted for a few minutes, then she went away. Beau even went into the pen to get away from all the excitement. They like excitement but they know they must tolerate a lot of nonsense from the visiting dogs without hurting them, so they have learned how to make themselves scarce.
Makena decided to jooin Beau in the pen which had me a little worried for a moment, but there wasn't any more excitement.
Now that it's over they are all resting quietly.
Thursday -- 12:20 PM 8/28/2008
They both slept in crates last night. How peaceful and quiet it was. Then out for 45 minutes for breakfast and outings.
Then I put them back in their crates for another couple of hours while I went out.
The dog bed in the crate has somehow become a pile of stuffing. It looks a lot like the bed Makena brought.
Bosley will be joining us in a couple of hours.
6:21 PM 8/28/2008
Bosley's been here a few hours and everyone likes him.
When Bosley and QD try to play Makena keeps getting in the middle and interfering. So far they are being polite and tolerating her, but they are getting tired of it. When they scold her she doesn't seem to notice.
And when Beau was trying to quietly play by himself she took his toys away. I interfered before he taught her another lesson. He was mad enough that he might have done something too severe. When she took his ball away he just went and got a chunk of rope, and when she grabbed the rope he growled like he really meant it. I sent him to his crate with the rope, then I put her in her crate and let him out.
I think She'll be spending a little more time in the crate for a while, so the big dogs can play occasionally without her help.
Nickie has figured out that her water is in her safety crate, but she still hasn't figured out that she can hide from the big dogs there. She spends almost all her time right beside me, wherever I happen to be.
All the stuffing from the bed in the pen is scattered around the pen, so for the moment I've got the gate shut. I need to go in there and pick up the pieces. Nickie and Makena found the tiny tear in the seat of my gold chair and started pulling out the stuffing. Makena ate one pretty good sized piece before I managed to stop them. Good thing my furniture is all second hand.
Friday -- 12:06 PM 8/29/2008
The girls are having a nice day.
They spent a couple of hours in their crates, then I took them outside to play for a few minutes. We came inside and Nickie plunked herself beside me on the couch.
Makena busied herself chasing the yellow labs around, reading my mail, including a nice catalog that she studied from cover to cover. Then she played quiet mouth games with Bosley for a while. Now she's asleep on the couch next to Nickie.
Saturday -- 9:06 AM 8/30/2008
I just noticed Makena's taller than Starlight. Wow. When she got here she was shorter than Starlight. I guess three weeks is a long time in the life of a growing puppy. Maybe when her parents come home they won't recognize her.
Nickie is getting harder for the big dogs to deal with. No matter how gentle they are with her she assumes they'll grab her and drag her around like Makena does, and she launches an attack toward them. So far they've just backed off and left her alone. Fortunately she doesn't seem to be able to hurt them. She just hurts their feelings and makes them not want to play with her.
Sometimes when she's going after Makena and snarling loudly the other dogs will come to see what's happening, and to help. She doesn't know they are on her side and she goes after them. It's nice that they don't take it personally, but I'd rather it didn't happen.
Sunday -- 7:46 AM 8/31/2008
My italian cypress trees have little pinecone looking things on them, and Makena's been picking them as bringing them into the house as toys. She stands way high on her tiptoes so she can reach the best ones. They are fun to throw and chase, and when they finally crumble into little pieces she can always go out and get another one.
I was told how much to feed the puppy, but I think that was based on how big she was when she arrived. It was 3 scoops in the morning and 2 scoops and a can in the evening. I'm now feeding her an extra scoop morning and evening, and she's still sleek and slim.
6:58 PM 8/31/2008
Nickie's asleep beside me on the couch, as usual. Makena's on the floor chewing on a pinecone, as usual.
Earlier this afternoon I heard a sound that was a lot like a dog peeing sound, but I didn't think it could possibly be that. The back door was open, and all the dogs had been out very recently. But I looked and discovered a puddle under Makena. She was standing there looking innocent. I hollered at her and showed it to her. She didn't seem impressed. I shoved her out the back door and she came right back in.
I put her and Nickie in their crates so I could open the garage door and get my pee sucking machine. Fortunately it still works, even though it makes a screeching noise. And fortunately I'll be able to have my carpet guy come next week when almost all the dogs are gone home.
Judging from the crunching sound, she may be chewing on a peach pit, not a pinecone. Whatever it is she's having a good time with it.
Monday -- 1:02 PM 9/1/2008
Makena just came in with a 3 foot long tree branch. Everything's fine. I'm glad her people are coming for her before her collar gets too tight for her. I've already extended it as far as it will go.
She's learning to be a retriever. She'll bring me a toy and hope I'll throw it for her. Soemtimes she grabs a toy she sees me throwing for someone else.
As usual, Nickie's asleep beside me.
Tuesday -- 10:44 AM 9/2/2008
Well, I guess I can't trust anyone. In the morning after breakfast I put the pup and the pug into pens and left the grownup yellow boys in charge. When my dogs and I got home we discovered the pillow that had been on the green couch was scattered all over the floor, with much of its stuffing out.
The yellow boys didn't know anything about how that could have happened. Yea, right. Probably the pup got out of the crate and did the damage, then locked herself back in.
I have too much stuff, and the dogs are gradually solving that for me. I've thrown away a dog bed and a couch cushion this week. If we can just make it through tomorrow most of these dogs will be gone and we'll be back to normal.
Wednesday -- 10:49 AM 9/3/2008
A happy quiet morning, so far. Makena's been playing nicely with the big yellow boys. She plays nicely with Nickie most of the time. She's been squeezing behind the couch and finding things I didn't know I'd lost.
I gave her the last can of dogfood last night, so for tonight it will be just dry. She won't even know the difference. And then their people will come for them.
Nickie's back, and she brought her baby sister Makena. I don't think she knows how big that puppy's gonna get. She'll be one surprised little pug some day when she notices that the puppy's a labrador retriever.
The pup's only a couple months old and she's already bigger than Nickie.
There were four big dogs here to greet them when they arrived and it all went well.
The big dogs all seem to like the little dogs and tolerate their antics. It should be an interesting weekend.
4:52 PM 5/1/2008
What a nice puppy! I'm too old for puppies.
She's a lab for sure. One of the first things she did was try to swim in the water bowl and flood the kitchen floor. It's not the first time that's happened.
She helped Bosley work on his nice hole, with Nickie supervising. She played tug with the branches of one of my trees, and she's figured out how to get behind the couch where nobody else will fit.
Oh look, she even fits UNDER the couch.
She's friendly and self-confident. She's gonna be a really nice dog some day.
8:27 PM 5/1/2008
So many things for a puppy to learn.
Some things are good to chew on. But furniture, tapestries, screen doors, Aunties, some dogs, and other things aren't. Too bad puppies aren't good at generalizing. Just because some furniture isn't to be eaten doesn't mean other furniture isn't.
The big boy dogs love her and will let her do almost anything to them without complaint. The girl dogs aren't so nice. She was playing with Nickie and Nickie had finally had enough and laid into her. Puppy cried but Nickie didn't stop so I had to step in. Fortunately Nickie has a nice handle made of loose skin so I was able to lift her out of the fray.
Starlight growls when Makena gets on her nerves, and so far Lexa's just gone away. Beau and Bosley love to play with her and have her climb all over them.
We've had three accidents in the house already. I caught two of them in the act, but she didn't seem too impressed with my carrying on when I caught her. She goes outside on her own but she only seems to pee outside if I take her. Hmmm.
I hope Nickie has a place at home where she can go and the puppy can't follow her.
Friday -- 9:09 AM 5/2/2008
We had a quiet night. Nickie slept next to me and Makena was in her crate on the floor beside us. I was awake at 3AM so I took everyone out for a pee.
In the morning we had our breakfast, all uneventful.
I got a cute video of Makena playing with Bosley, and it's been uploading to youtube for the past 20 minutes or so. Dunno if it will ever get there, but if it does I'll link to it here. I uploaded it directly from the camera's memory chip which meant I couldn't use the camera to get a video of her when she was playing with Beau. I'm sure to get more chances.
6:43 PM 5/2/2008
Hightpoints of our day.
Nickie got her thumb caught in her collar tag. Mikena ate a bug. Mikena got caught peeing in the house.
I've learned that just because Makena has been playing outside I shouldn't assume she won't come into the house and pee. If she goes out on her own she doesn't pee. But if I go out with her she does. Very interesting.
Makena's a dear puppy. But she's still a puppy. Gotta be watched constantly. Lucky for her she's so cute and nice.
Saturday -- 7:45 AM 5/3/2008
A fairly quiet uneventful night and a good breakfast. I fed the puppy more than I was instructed, since she was so hungry. I hope I don't run out of puppy food before Monday. I'll do some measuring and figuring and add some of my own food to the mix if I need to.
It's sure easy to understand how it happens that well-intentioned people get a cute puppy with the plans to have it part of the family, and somehow it winds up as an outdoor dog, unhousetrained and with no manners. After a week or so of paying complete attention to a pup that pees in the house even when you're paying attention, and chews up the furniture, it sure seems easy to just put it in the yard and take a nap.
My house smells of puppy pee and I can't find the source. Don't worry, I'll find it eventually.
4:31 PM 5/3/2008
Well, before dinner I took Makena outside for a pee. Then after dinner I took her out and she peed again. So I let her in the house and watched her play. And pee.
My old pee sucker (carpet cleaning machine) started making bad squeeling noises a few weeks ago when I used it to clean up after a dog I was fostering. I didn't fix it or replace it because I decided not to foster any more unhousebroken dogs. Then Makena came along, after I had the carpet cleaned. Oh well.
I almost never go out at night, but tonight I'm having dinner with friends, so I'll leave the whole gang home alone. Since it's a night I'll leave them in crates and pens so they don't bother the neighbors.
Sunday -- 8:55 AM 5/4/2008
I think Nickie's enjoying her visit here because she gets a respite from the puppy. There are two dogs here, Beau and Bosley, who love to play with her, and Starlight and Lexa sometimes want to play with her. That leaves Nickie out. At first Nickie was pleased about it but yesterday she started inviting Makena to play with her. Not a lot, but some.
Makena's a nice smart puppy. It took her less than a day to learn not to bite me, and not much longer to have a pretty good idea of what she's not allowed to play with here. She sleeps quietly in her crate almost all night. She peed in the house again this morning, after two pee trips outside. But I guess nobody's perfect.
She has a really nice attitude. I like her a lot. I'll be glad when she goes home tomorrow though. When she comes next time I'm hoping she'll have figured out the houebreaking thing better.
She looks the same to me, but I'll bet her parents will notice how much she's grown in the days I've had her. Puppies grow fast.
11:48 AM 5/4/2008
I'm having flashbacks to when Starlight was a pup. My house looked just like this, with tree branches strewn around and chewed to splinters, and toys all over the place. She was a sweet puppy, just like Makena.
And when Petey and Starlight were pups and he came to stay with us the results were amazing. I think it's a very good thing that I like dogs. And puppies. And it's a very good thing that I don't have a puppy of my own.
Monday -- 8:17 AM 5/5/2008
What a nice morning. Bosley and Lexa went home so there's just my dogs here and the two little black ones.
All three labs are playing with a stuffed animal, tussling and growling and tearing out the stuffing. I got out my new camera to get a video of them but it turned itself off because its battery was dead. I guess I need to figure out what to do about that.
Now Starlight and Makena are tugging on a rope. Starlight could take it away from the puppy but she knows that would end the game so she lets the puppy win. Beau is busy tearing the nose off the toy teddy bear. Nickie and I are sitting together watching them.
Makena brought a soft toy and I'm keeping it for her to have at bedtime because the big dogs would have it in tatters within minutes if they got the chance.
We've gone about 24 hours without an accident in the house. Now that things are getting easy their people will be coming for them today.
8:57 AM 5/5/2008
OK, I put new batteries in the camera and I got a video lasting almost 5 minutes. I was gonna edit it down to the best couple of minutes but I decided to post the whole thing. I couldn't decide which parts to edit out. It will take a long time to upload, but once it's on youtube I'll put it here. And you'll understand why my house looks the way it does.
5:58 PM 5/5/2008
They went home a few hours ago. Boy is it quiet here.
