Laugh Lines

Life with a New Puppy

I know all new mothers will agree that life is much harder when we are sleep deprived. The same holds true when we get a new puppy. I lost my faithful old dog, Yoli, the week before Christmas. Almost seventeen years old, she had become hard of hearing, nearly blind and pretty set in her ways.

Everyone knew that Yoli and I had been constant companions, so a host of friends decided to get me a new pup right away. The thought was very sweet, but those same friends are now giggling over my endless tales of raising a new buddy.

Elizabeth Maria, better known as Ellie, is only a couple months old and weighs in at 1 pound, 5 ounces. This amazing little Chihuahua has needs like any other puppy, as well as some special tricks of her own. The first lessons involved getting her to sleep at night. I had to learn how to feed her, play with her, and get the nightlight, heartbeat sound machine and heater to all function together to encourage her to use her bed. I also discovered that training her to use a litter box is possible—most of the time. However, I am getting very tired of endlessly repeating "do your duty" to make that happen.

Surprisingly, I discovered I couldn't just dump some food from a bag into a bowl and call that feeding. Now I have to cook batches of hamburger and rice, while slowly blending in softened morsels of the new bagged food. I heat small batches of this yummy and nutritious goodness in Ellie's little bowl at least every four hours. The pressure is intense to make sure this little one eats and drinks exactly what she needs to make her healthy and strong. Motherhood is no "walk in the park!"

Once this tiny set of paws had stolen my heart, I learned of her secret skill. This pup can climb just about anything. I had purchased a little fencing system, several feet tall, to help me keep her safe. She has an amazing way of scurrying under my feet, which can be deadly for a little dog with a large master. I also thought a baby playpen would keep her above the cold floors and safe when I was busy. With very little effort, she scales both protective devices. A busy mother recently chuckled as I sighed over finding that Ellie had scaled the couch and a TV tray, and was dancing on my laptop. She said, "Some children are just climbers and it looks like you got one." I'm afraid I still have a lot to learn about puppies. I just hope I can stay awake to catch it all. Ellie truly is a special blessing!

Pam and Kathy¹s 7 Tips for Adding a New Pet to Your Home

Determine your space, lifestyle and personality to find a pet that will fit.
Set up the area where your new buddy will live before it arrives.
Maintain the animal's diet for at least a week before making gradual changes if needed.
Try to spend as much time as possible with the animal when it first arrives.
Set space and behavior boundaries as soon as possible so the rules won't change.
Start with an immediate checkup at your vet to get all necessary health issues and a file started.
Don't get so busy with the details of the new pet that you forget to just have fun.