Kiss With a Fist

Loving the Florence and the Machine CD... and love, love, loving the puppies more than anything~  So for today's I will combine the two!

Flo and the Machine will do the singing, while Lucy and Ricky provide the choreography...

Future Therapy Dog #2

As I had reported last week, Ricky got to go see our favorite neighbor, Rex, who now lives in assisted living.

Lucy got her turn this weekend...

Lucy was a little more squirmy, but she loved Rex too!

My two sweet pups!  Every day is a happy one with them in our lives!

Please Don't Feed The Puppies

When I first got the Ricardos, and would take them out around people, I would give people--strangers, even!- kibbles to feed them.  I wanted all their people-meeting-experiences to be positive ones.  But then, the dog trainer at our puppy class told us only WE, the pups owners, should be doling out the goodies.  Because first of all, we want them to love us above all else, of course.  But also, because we don't want to create little monsters that demand treats from all strangers.

So, since I got that good little bit of advice, that's what I've been doing.  Right after they meet a new person, and they are friendly and brave about it, I give them a little kibble.

But the other day, when Lucy and I were at the bookstore, a man came up to Lucy and pulled a Milkbone out of his pocket and started feeding it to Lucy.  I was so annoyed by this, but for whatever reason sort of froze and neglected to tell him, "No thanks."  And Lucy chomped away.

And then the weirdest thing happened.  After Lucy and I walked away (quickly) from this man, Lucy coughed a little.  That started me thinking, "What if he gave her some kind of arsenic?"

Why my thoughts ran in this direction, I'm not sure.  I'm not usually so suspicious of strangers.  But this man smelled super stinky.  And what kind of a guy carries Milkbones around in his pocket just looking for the right puppy to give it to?

Lucy only coughed once or twice, and then she was fine.  I think she just wasn't used to something other than the kibbles I feed her.  And maybe she didn't like how smokey that dirty guy's hands smelled.  And maybe, without me even really telling her, she kind of knew taking candy from strangers isn't a good idea.

Next time a stranger tries to feed Lucy or Ricky, if there ever is one, I'll say "No thanks."  I wouldn't tolerate that if I had a child and a stranger gave them candy.  So why should the rules be different with dogs?

Cool Tricks

When people meet my puppies, lots of times they say, "Oh, Australian Shepherds are really smart!"

No kidding.  Besides both of my 10 week old puppies already knowing "sit" and "down" and at least 75% of the time, "touch"- they also know a few other tricks that I didn't even teach them!

Lucy knows how to wink!

And Ricky has a great talent for hiding.

Doctor! Doctor! Give Me The News!

Today was another milestone for the Ricardos.  Their first visit to see our vet, Dr. Tolleson.

Last time I was there, was the day we had Zoe and Scout put to sleep.  Such strong and sad emotion that day.  I told Ricky a little about it on the car ride there.  He just looked so calm and confident about the upcoming visit, that he made me feel great about it too!

We went during an "off" time, so we were the only patients in the waiting room.  I was kind of glad, because I don't want Ricky picking up anything from unhealthy doggies while he's still working on getting all of his vaccinations.

I filled out a little paperwork for both he and Lucy, and then they asked us back to the examination room.

It just happened to be the very same room where I last held my sweet girls.  Dr. Tolleson walked in and said, "Well, well, well!! Who do we have here?"  I was so happy to be showing off Ricky, to have such happy news to share this time around, that I immediately hugged our vet and cried while eeking out the words, "I'm so happy again!"

Ricky with his heartworm prevention and ear drops.

Ricky was big and brave and did great for his exam.  He weighed in at 10lbs/14oz.  Dr. Tolleson asked me what his feeding regimen was.  I told him, and then he asked if I was still feeding him the same amount as when I got him 2 weeks ago.  (I was.) He told me as he grows, I need to feed him more.  What was enough food for a 6 lb puppy isn't necessarily enough for an almost 11 lb puppy!  So yay for Ricky!  He gets to eat a big dinner tonight.

His heart thumps like a champ, his boy parts are all there, his teeth look great...he's perfect!  He does have a little bit of an ear allergy or something-- which I knew because he had been itching-- The doc said it was probably from shampoo if he got a bath before I got him.  (Which he did.  And I was told it was with Palmolive.  Palmolive?! )  He got some ear drops, and was sent home with enough to make it all better in the next week.

One of the assistance that works there mistook Ricky for a Bernese Mountain dog.  I understand.  His markings do make him look like he could be that breed.

Next, it was Lucy's turn.  So I dropped Ricky off at home for a nap, and Lucy and I drove off for vet visit #2 of the day.

When I walked in with Lucy, there were a few more people in the waiting room.  All of them oohing and ahhing over my girl.  Then one of the vet assistence said, "So this is the pretty one!"  I guess he meant Lucy is pretty, and Ricky's handsome?!  It was weird.  The receptionist said, "I didn't really even notice him (Ricky), but I can't stop looking at her (Lucy)."  Ok, I agree-- She's beautiful.  But were these same people in a coma when Ricky had been up just 30 minutes earlier?!!

Lucy was also brave.  But not so big.  She weighs a few pounds less than Ricky- Right around 8 1/2 lbs.  But after "the talk", she'll be eating a bigger dinner tonight too.  But she is a female, and 4 days younger-- Most definitely smaller and feels lighter in my arms.

Dr. Tolleson said her heart and eyes and teeth, etc. all look and sound great too.  And her ears are all clear, so no drops for her.  Just the heartworm prevention.

"she's the pretty one"

The puppies are sleeping now.  I think the shot and the fecal exam completely wore them out.

Puppy Gifts

The only kind of babies I've ever had or will have are puppies.  And so I've never had a baby shower.  Or a sip and see.  Or anything like that.

Baby boy and baby girl gifts

But I am just as elated and proud as any new mother.  And my babies are just as deserving of gifts as other babies! Right? Well, right! It ends up they are!

My friends weren't sure what we had named our puppy, so look at how the cards are addressed!!  Mr. and Miss. Little Puppy Arista!  So cute!

It was so sweet that the other day, when my friends came over to see the Ricardos, and they brought gifts for them!

Ricky got a blue squeaky dog.

And so of course, Lucy got a pink squeaky dog.

And they each got their own box of puppy scooby snacks.  Yum!

Therapy Puppy

Yesterday I took Ricky to see our favorite neighbors.

Alice and Rex have lived across the street from us since we moved into the neighborhood about 10 years ago.  When we moved in, they were right around 80 years old, and up until just a few years ago, Rex still mowed and edged his lawn, and put all of the rest of us to shame!  At the end of last year, Rex moved into an assisted living facility very nearby.

Alice goes there and spends each and every day with Rex.  They are really the two sweetest people I've ever known.  And when it comes to a long and happy marriage, they are our role models.

A few days after I brought the Ricardo's home, Lucy and I saw Alice outside and I introduced them.  She told me Rex loves dogs and would love to meet our puppies, so we made a date for a visit.

Since Fermin was playing golf that day, and I was on my own with this, I decided just to take one puppy.  It was Ricky's turn for a field trip, so he was the lucky one that day.

Rex did love him!  And he loved Rex.

And Alice.

And their daughter, Sara.

Ricky was so calm, and so sweet.  I think he might just grow up to be a great therapy dog for people in hospitals, or assisted living places someday soon. 

After a lot of time in laps and arms, Ricky laid down next to Rex's chair.

The next best thing to hand holding for Rex and Ricky.

Next week, Lucy gets to go visit Rex!  And she can't wait!

My little nature love, Lucy.

Goals

The Ricardos go to their 2nd puppy class this weekend.

We've been practicing a few things this week- mainly "sit" and "down".  Ricky can do both pretty much every time I give him the hand signal.  Lucy can do it when she feels like it, but she gets more easily distracted so it may take her a little longer.

Lucy's eager to learn...and chase butterflies, eat plants, dig in the dirt, crawl around under the table, roll on her belly, etc.

Ricky gets tons of kibbles and kisses for being such a good boy.  Notice the red on his paw...that's my lipstick!

But it's all good.

It's so fun!  I've never really wanted to train a dog before.  But after meeting Jasper, and seeing all the cool tricks he can do, I'm feeling really inspired.  His owner, Ashley, is giving me lots of tips with my puppies.  And what I love most about it, it's all positive and fun! 

Jasper's showing Ricky and Lucy the ropes on how to be great citizens.

I don't know who came up with the crazy idea that dog training should start at 6 months.  I know now that that's wrong!  It should start as soon as you get them.  Our training sessions are very brief- about 2 minutes!  But we do them through out the day, and man oh man, are my puppies learning fast!

In a few months, I expect we'll be doing a dance routine similar to this one I'm posting below.

Every Day is a Party!

Life feels like one big party every day since I got these puppies!  They've had lots of visitors...

My brother's dog, Deville.

My friend Thuy's dog, Buster.

The uber handsome, Jasper!

My friend, Elaine, here with her hands FULL... of cuteness!!!

And we've been on a field trip nearly every day.  Home Depot.  Half-Priced Books.  Cafe Lago. PetSmart.  Dog City Training School, and Starbucks.

Lucy already loves the bookstore!

This was Ricky's favorite place at Home Depot today!  xoxo

The fun never ends, until it's time to take a nap.

And the naps are fun too!

Give Me My Puppy

I'm a songwriter.  So I write a lot of songs.  I write them when I'm happy.  And when I'm sad. And when I'm anxious. 

After I picked out my puppies, I had to wait to bring them home because they weren't yet old enough.  Ten long days.  And about half way into those ten days, I emailed the breeder and asked her to send me pictures of both puppies' mother and father, as well as a photo of the puppies themselves.

She emailed me a picture of my boy, but the picture she sent me of my girl was not my girl.  It was another puppy I had held earlier, before I found Lucy.  The puppy's face wasn't as white as my Lucy's face.  And the other puppy wasn't even a girl, but a boy!  And in the picture she sent me, I could see his penis!!! 

But she told me, that was the puppy, a female,  I picked and put the deposit down on.  The other puppy had been sold. She went on to say that was the only puppy she ever took a picture of me with, and so she knew that was my puppy.

I hate confrontation.  And I hate phone calls.  So rather than argue on the phone, I decided to wait until I picked my puppies up.  I had pictures of my own, on my computer, to prove my girl was my girl!

I had picked out my puppies thoughtfully and carefully.  I picked my boy for his calm nature.  And I picked my little girl for the sweet look in her eyes when I picked her up.  I liked how my two puppies  melted into my lap together.  And there was something about this little girl, that reminded me of my other girl, Zoe.

So I said my prayers.  I asked my Mom if she could make sure I get the right puppy.  And I asked Scout and Zoe if they could make sure I get the puppies intended for me.  

I'm pretty sure I've got some pretty powerful angels helping me out.  Because, Hallelujah!, when I got there, the lady told me that she had in fact sent me the wrong picture.  It would have been super fantastic if she had called, or shot me an email to let me know.  I would've had about 4 extra nights of sleep, and my drive to pick up my puppies that morning would've been full of joyous excitement rather than angst.

Oh, but I got a little song out of it...  It helped me pass the time.

Give me my puppy- I know she's mine
She's got a red face with lots of white
When I held her I knew she was the one
She reminded me of someone that I loved

So I've got to take her home
It's just too bad if she got double sold
She is coming home with me
And we'll be a family

I've got pictures to prove it, I don't care what you say
I know my puppy cuz  I chose her on that day
Something in her face, something in her eyes
She told me plainly that she wanted to be mine

So I've got to take her home
It's just too bad if she got double sold
She is coming home with me
And we'll be a family

First Day of School

Today, Fermin and I took the Ricardos to their first day of Puppy Headstart class at Dog City.  My friend Ashley told me Dog City is the place to get Lucy and Ricky off on the right paw to learning to be good citizens.  And since I want my pups to grow up to be as happy and well mannered as her dog, Jasper, I'm following her advice!

The Ricardos were the youngest and smallest puppies in the class.  They were also the smartest and best!  And I am not biased.  I'm just stating the facts!

I took Lucy to one side of the gymnasium, and Fermin took Ricky to the other side.  The instructor, Paula, thought it was best for them to be independent from each other while they're learning.

Lucy is eager to learn!  She stayed focused nearly the whole hour of class!  OMG.

 

 

Even tho Lucy was smaller, she was brave and greeted bigger dogs that approached her.

After class, Lucy and Ricky met back up and congratulated each other on their first successful day of school.

The two stars of the class!  Lucy and Ricky xoxo

Fermin and I were and are extremely proud of our pups!

Ricky!!!--What a champ!

I couldn't be prouder of my girl, Lucy!

Afterwards, we all stopped into Starbucks for refreshments.  It was Lucy and Ricky's first time to Starbucks, and they loved it!!

Loving the smell of a chai tea...

Lucy sipping on a cool sip of water!

Ricky's First Field Trip

I'm making sure I get lots of one on one time with each puppy.  I've been warned, and warned again, that I need to do that if I want them to bond with me, rather than just each other.

So today, Ricky got to take his first car ride, and go on his first field trip.

He was a great little passenger in the car.  He sat or laid down in the front seat the whole time.

I took him to PetSmart to pick out a new toy.  We went during the weekday, so it wasn't very crowded-- which was great.  I wouldn't want him to be overwhelmed.  Most people would stop to pet him, commenting on what a handsome and good boy he is.  I have to admit, a few people ignored him, and I thought there must be something severely wrong with them to not even notice Ricky.

There was one yappy dog that freaked him out a little.  He just sorta ran under my legs and stayed close to me until it was far enough away from us that it's bark wasn't quiet as deafening.  Other than that, it was all good times.

We went to the toy aisle and I pulled down a few choices of toys he could choose from.
He picked a purple octopus.

We came home, and he shared his toy with Lucy.  They both love the toy Ricky picked out!

I had intended to take Lucy to the pet store later that afternoon, but we ran out of time.  Lucy and I have plans for later today!

The Ricardos

I've posted pictures and even a video of my new little friends on the Puppy Tracks blog, but I haven't yet introduced them by name.

That's because back in the day, we changed and flipped around Zoe and Scout's names during the first few weeks that we had them. As we figured out their personalities, we figured out their names.
It wasn't immediate.

So we thought, this time, we'd just wait and see what names seemed to stick with these two before introducing them by name.

Here are some of the names we've considered:
Daisy and Duke
Harry and Sally
Poncho and Lefty
Sunny and Shiner
Max and Minnie
Fred and Ginger
Winston and Clementine
Barney and Betty
Butch and Sunny
Lucy and Ricky
Bennie and Sunny

I think, and please realize this could change, that Lucy and Ricky seem to be who they are. Lucy, the silly little red head-

Lucille McGillicuddy

And Ricky, her dark headed, handsome counterpart.

Ricky Ricardo

For sure she's a Lucy, but I find myself calling him "Boy". I'm not completely sold on the name Ricky. But I figure, if he ends up owning that name, I will absolutely love it because I will associate it with him.

I used to refer to Zoe and Scout so often as "the girls". As in, "I'm taking the girls for a walk", and "C'mere girls!" I realized that since this time around I have one boy and one girl, using one pronoun to represent them both won't work. But what could work instead is "the Ricardos".

Also, I like that I can call Lucy by her full maiden name, Lucille McGillicuddy and I can call Ricky by his full name-- Ricky Ricardo. There are times when it's nice to stretch out a name for effect. "Lucille McGillicuddy! Get out of those bushes!"

We've had our puppies less than a week, so it might be a bit early to officially deem them The Ricardos. But that looks like where we're headed...

The Ricardos

Sweetness

The girl I met with the beautiful Aussie named Jasper, who then gave me the name of her breeder, where I then found my sweet pups,  came over the other day to meet them. She filmed them a bit and made this sweet little video...

Thank you, Ashley!

The Sweet Pitter Patter of Little Feet

 

I have fallen so instantly in love with these two.

The house is once again full of the sweetness of puppies.  I've been so consumed by my new little friends for the past couple of days.  My heart is full.

Last night I received a card from Best Friends, an animal society, letting me know that my sweet friend, Gabriela had made a donation in Zoe and Scouts honor.  That money will go towards saving the lives of other animals.  That's about the nicest gift anyone could ever give.  I just love knowing that Zoe and Scout are my angels continuing to spread love in this world. 

I'm most definitely feeling so much love right now.  It's pretty impossible not to feel complete happiness with these two around...

They're Home!

Yesterday was the big day!
So big that I couldn't sleep the whole night before! So big that my husband took a day off from work!  So big that I put on my favorite t-shirt!  Look out Hello Kitty!

Hello Puppies?!

We drove out to get our new little puppies.  I thought they might be a little yappy and nervous on the car ride home, but I was wrong.  They slept almost the whole way!

Snuggled up in a little cardboard box.

Every now and they would open their eyes and see me, and I'm pretty sure they were thinking,  "Oh my gosh-- Who is this lady staring at me and taking all the pictures?"

"Hey Lady.  Please cut it out with the camera!"

It was such a beautiful Spring day that once we came home, we mostly stayed outside in the backyard. They fell asleep under the hammock.  Clearly, we were all meant for each other!  They love to relax in (or under!) our hammock as much as we do.

He looks like he already trusts us!  :)

We all were totally exhausted at the end of our first day together.  And very, very happy!

One of my happiest days.