Random Photos

Just some photos which I have which I thought I'd share. My new camera is great for Yu You photos! It's the adjustable shutter speed that makes the difference when the subject matter is refusing to stay still...

Small Defeat

Yu You is alternating between knowing where to toilet and just random leakiness. Sigh. Must remember she is only a baby and is still learning but it's very frustrating when she walks away from the pad and just pees wherever she sits down. It seems to be more common when it's a hot day such as today. At night time she consistently went to her area but during the day it was not so good!

She has also been trying to re-assess her pack position and has been quite obstinate with me recently. I have had to defend my senior position by refusing to let her on the sofa and by barking at her when she yaps at me. Only louder than her. The neighbours must think I am mad...

Daniel bought a fan at the weekend as it's still so warm but as you can see, Yu You has been making the most of it...

Small Victory

Have to note that today is the first day Yu You has not pee-ed on the carpet! Woo hoo!It's not all good though as I think mostly I've just put paper where she wants to pee anyway. I moved one of the bits of paper away and she pee-ed there anyway. Sigh! But at least it's a start. She actually went to the door today when she wanted to poo! It took me a bit to realise though. She must think I am thick!

Small steps!

Collared!

We tried Yu You with her tag and collar again today and made a new hole on it for her as she has a scrawny neck! This is her finally sitting still with it but only because I bribed her with a Smacko. They seem to be the only treat that she can eat quickly! I had to take it off again after a bit as she was getting very aggitated with something dangling just within her eyesight but bever managing to get at it with her mouth. I'll try again tomorrow for lomger I think.


She has a new toy (well she has many new toys!) which is a red tennis ball I got for 60p in a sale. It seems to fascinate her that it can roll away by itself. I am quite impressed she even manages to hold it in her tiny mouth. She chased it under one of the the sofas and went in under to get it. Amazingly she did it! So when she rolled it under ther other sofa I just expected her to get it herself. She ran under the sofa and then didn't come out!! I suspect that now we have that ball there will be a lot of manual labour by muggins here fishing the ball out from corners she can't get to.

Hair

I have no idea how Yu You can see but it just shows how much her hair has grown since we got her!

Lazy days

Zzzz zzzz.

That's all we do now. Sleep on the sofa. Sleep in the sun. What else is there to do on a bank holiday weekend!

Ok, it's not all sleep for us. We ventured out to the letter box and she saw lots of cars and some big dogs! The big dogs were all walking very slowly in the morning heat so I bet she was glad I was doing all the leg work! No huge frights though. Some whimpers when a van went by but I think she understands that they are not scary now.

We had a big adventure last night when we went to visit my sisters. Yu You was a star pupil and pee-ed on the paper when we arrived! "Good Girl!" and snacks all round!

All this is to try and socialise her to noises and smells so that she won't be skitterish when she is older. She's doing great. Yu You is a very brave puppy! I think we'll maybe have more problems getting her to curb her enthusiasm for strangers! Lets just says we won't be relying on her to protect our telly!

1 week down...

It's been 1 week since we brought Yu You home and she's grown so much in that time! She now has teeth on her top and bottom jaw. She can run up the whole flight of stairs (but not so hot on going down them!). She can pick up her chew toys and "kill" them. And best of all, she can hold herself until I wake up and get her! Woo hoo!

In this time I have learnt to guess when she wants to pee. I have learnt how to wipe her bum - why did no one tell me that this was going to be a problem with long haired dogs??? And no, I didn't guess! But best of all I have learnt that she is perfectly fine without me for an hour or two. :) Well, I've almost learnt that - I still worry but so far she's not been emotionally traumatised!

In a huff

I am not sure dogs actually go in huffs but Yu You definitely seems to! She is in a huff with me just now because I was chasing her about the room because I caught her lowering her bum on the carpet. My crime is not the catching her in the act but instead, she is in a huff with me because I managed to catch her during her mad sprint to get away! How dare I reach under the sofa to get her she thinks! How rude I am to interrupt her nice chase game!

The reason I know she is in a huff is that she won't sit next to me when I sit down on the floor. She'll sit on the ground and look at me but won't crawl on my lap like she normally does. But she'll forgive me soon and will move her bum slowly closer to my lap... :-)

Working 9 to 5

Well the concept was always to get a dog that fits well into my WFH routine and I think Yu You does just about.


Yesterday was our first go at it and I was a bit anxious at turning my back on her but it seemed to work out ok. She just seems to mooch around in (and out!) of her bed when I am at the laptop. She was a bit needy at first but when I had her on my lap and she fell asleep with her head on the desk she decided it was more comfortable on her bed! Either that or the stuff on the laptop was a bit boring… She then plays the guilt trip card by making sniffly noises when I finally deign to go pick her up and doesn’t give me any face licks until I have cuddled her a bit. Emotional blackmail that is! Still it’s very satisfying seeing her look to me in strange situations and run to me to be reassured. Love her to bits already!


We have been seeing if we can teach her to sit and she’s actually getting good! She naturally comes and sits in front of us anyway if we are looking at her but she plonks that bum on the ground quite quickly if we say “Sit!” (the exclamation mark is apparently crucial…) and we have a treat in our hand. If only she was as clever with her house training! I must be patient! She has only been home 3.5 days and I expect miracles!!

Such a poser!

We have adopted a hairy, eating, peeing, sleeping machine! But what a cute one she is though!



Yu You sleeps a lot just now but she's so well behaved! She now regards me as the provider of food and company but Daniel is the provider of fun and games. Her tail wags so hard her bum moves when he comes in the room! So sweet!

1st day at home

Finally got to take Yu You home today. We travelled down to Dumfries this morning to collect her, got a little lost but managed to avoid running over lambs and got there in the end. ALL DIRT TRACKS LOOK THE SAME!!

The breeder provided us with a puppy pack containing information about her microchip, vaccinations, Kennel Club registration and insurance. I didn't realise I'd have to pay £10 to the Kennel Club to transfer her ownership to me though! She also gave us a part of the bedding which had the smell of her mum and brothers, some food for her and a toy that also had scent.

Yu You was very well behaved on the way home and didn't cry at all. She napped a bit and looked about the car and listened to Tracy Chapman. Much better than I'd hoped! Lots of people had said she might cry and I wasn't looking forward to that!

When we got home, she had a little explore and yes, she has pee-ed and poo-ed on the carpet. Sigh. But it's her first day and she's only a baby still. I put her scented bedding into her cage and after having a nosy and trying to crawl under the sofas she decided she was fed up and went for a snooze. I had a snooze too!

There was a bit of excitement when the girls next door came to have a play but Yu You was still too tired and hadn't eaten much so I had to ask them to come back on Sunday. Hopefully they weren't insulted! But really Yu You had had enough after that and she had a bit of a wallow in depression on the sofa with me for a bit. Mooched around the cushions and looked sad at me. Ahhhh! No! Must be harsh and must not give in!

It's been a hard day for us both. I'm not used to having to make sure a small thing is ok all the time and she's not used to being here away from her family. We'll get used to it - no option now!

1 DAY TO GO!

2 Days to go!!

Only 2 more days to go before we go to collect Yu You! She’ll be 8 weeks on Friday and will be getting her 1st set of vaccinations and micro-chipped. Looking at the latest photos sent by the breeder, she and her brothers have grown quite a lot since we visited them. They were only 5 weeks old then and so small! In this photo they are about 6 ½ weeks. Not sure how the breeder managed to get them to sit still for the photo but I’ll take it as a good sign! Apparently Yu You has also started to respond to her name! Sniff! Proud Parent!


We are all set now. Cage is ready; toys have been bought; money has been withdrawn… I’ve booked a puppy check-up for her at the vets for Monday afternoon. This is just to re-assure us that Yu You is healthy. Although she comes with a vets letter it’s apparently still good practise to go for the check just incase. I told the breeder that she wouldn’t be getting Yu You back even if the vet finds a problem anyway!! Not after waiting so long and naming her!


I’m going to have to be hard though – everyone has been warning me that she will cry on the first night. Must not give in and ruin her by going to her in the middle of the night!


Oooh! So excited!