Oh, yeah - she looks all shy and coy - do not believe it. It is a trick.For those of you clamoring for a Zack and Zoie update, here it is. Zack is in Christoval with “the girls”, Tina and Tonya, the hunting dog trainers extraordinaire. He’s getting a tune-up and we’ll pick him up this week. As for the Zoie-monster, all I can say is…she. is. alive. (But only by the skin on her chinny-chin-chin.) She's tripled in size, and her spots are getting darker. Her little feet looks like she's stepped in dark brown paint. Zoie is beautiful, and is already acting like a little diva.
I guess we conveniently had amnesia on what life with a puppy is like. Zoie is hilarious, always making us laugh, which somewhat lessens the pain of short nights and sharp teeth. She has a huge personality, and I’ve not seen more expressive eyes in a dog. She and MLH are really bonding, since she goes to work with him. Zoie is doing well with the crate training, but man, do we have to keep our eyes on her 24/7 when we’re at home!
This weekend, due to changed plans and funky weather, we’ve pretty much stayed at home the whole time. That has equated to some good nap time…but we’ve had a hard time getting Zoie on the same schedule. We are so spoiled by Zack – he lovingly hops on the bed when we do, and snuggles up to us. He loves a snuggle and nothing makes him happier than getting to sleep with us at night. At times, we’ve had to resort to crating Zoie when we need a rest; she automatically settles when crated.
We pull Zoie up on the bed with us, and she thinks, “Allright, chew time!” We’re her most favorite teething toys. We correct her, she comes right at us with those sharp little thingies. Tonight, we ran to Petsmart to pick up some things, and ran into a mother and her son – also GSP owners. They fell in love with Zoie – and the mom said, “Isn’t the first year with a GSP hell?” Oh, yeah - I forgot. At times, I swear, we’ve wondered if Zoie might need exorcism (okay, just teasing!).
Zoie’s doing well on tricks thus far - today, she mastered “sit” and is working on “down”. I have to wait until she’s pretty focused to work with her on it – she’s a little ADD at this point in her young life. She is starting to go to the back door when she needs to go out, or she whines at us and heads that way, so that’s good.
One day, Zack was about 6 months old. I had let him in the back door, just as MLH was coming through the front door. In a snap, Zack was in a full run from the back door to the front, to greet MLH. We had just purchased a new couch, have tile floors, and once Zack got going on that tile, no way could he stop. The new couch covered Zack's old route to the front door, Zack could see no way to get to MLH other than jumping over the couch - and though he tried, he couldn't stop on the tile. So, up and over he went. In mid-hurdle, Zack’s foot caught the edge of a Italian blown glass ribbon bowl, (MLH’s favorite - value had been estimated at around $4000), and it fell to the tile and shattered.
MLH grabbed Zack’s collar and said, through gritted teeth, “Jane, when are we going to reach our economic limit on this dog?”
I said, “Looks like a dry hole to me, baby!”
MLH cracked up, and that was that.
Yup, the memories of raising a young pup are coming back to me, one nibble, one accident, one whine at a time. I know, we entered into this willingly – but y’all pray for us, okay? Please?
"Oowwwwwwww , Zoie, no bite!"
I guess we conveniently had amnesia on what life with a puppy is like. Zoie is hilarious, always making us laugh, which somewhat lessens the pain of short nights and sharp teeth. She has a huge personality, and I’ve not seen more expressive eyes in a dog. She and MLH are really bonding, since she goes to work with him. Zoie is doing well with the crate training, but man, do we have to keep our eyes on her 24/7 when we’re at home!
This weekend, due to changed plans and funky weather, we’ve pretty much stayed at home the whole time. That has equated to some good nap time…but we’ve had a hard time getting Zoie on the same schedule. We are so spoiled by Zack – he lovingly hops on the bed when we do, and snuggles up to us. He loves a snuggle and nothing makes him happier than getting to sleep with us at night. At times, we’ve had to resort to crating Zoie when we need a rest; she automatically settles when crated.
We pull Zoie up on the bed with us, and she thinks, “Allright, chew time!” We’re her most favorite teething toys. We correct her, she comes right at us with those sharp little thingies. Tonight, we ran to Petsmart to pick up some things, and ran into a mother and her son – also GSP owners. They fell in love with Zoie – and the mom said, “Isn’t the first year with a GSP hell?” Oh, yeah - I forgot. At times, I swear, we’ve wondered if Zoie might need exorcism (okay, just teasing!).
Zoie’s doing well on tricks thus far - today, she mastered “sit” and is working on “down”. I have to wait until she’s pretty focused to work with her on it – she’s a little ADD at this point in her young life. She is starting to go to the back door when she needs to go out, or she whines at us and heads that way, so that’s good.
One day, Zack was about 6 months old. I had let him in the back door, just as MLH was coming through the front door. In a snap, Zack was in a full run from the back door to the front, to greet MLH. We had just purchased a new couch, have tile floors, and once Zack got going on that tile, no way could he stop. The new couch covered Zack's old route to the front door, Zack could see no way to get to MLH other than jumping over the couch - and though he tried, he couldn't stop on the tile. So, up and over he went. In mid-hurdle, Zack’s foot caught the edge of a Italian blown glass ribbon bowl, (MLH’s favorite - value had been estimated at around $4000), and it fell to the tile and shattered.
MLH grabbed Zack’s collar and said, through gritted teeth, “Jane, when are we going to reach our economic limit on this dog?”
I said, “Looks like a dry hole to me, baby!”
MLH cracked up, and that was that.
Yup, the memories of raising a young pup are coming back to me, one nibble, one accident, one whine at a time. I know, we entered into this willingly – but y’all pray for us, okay? Please?
"Oowwwwwwww , Zoie, no bite!"
8 comments:
Hi Janie! Zoie needs to come back to KS for a spin in the snow with the girls (Pepsi & Sierra)! I have lost three couches to Pepsi's nesting habits! No more new couches for us! We have 5 inches of snow Friday-just right for hunting!
Ahhh...life with a puppy. Everytime I see a puppy I want to bring home (which is daily) I remember my leather chair and my oriental rug.
My lab is older in years now, and I do long for a puppy to grow up with again, but I think I'll have to live vicariously through you until I get that ranch in Texas ;-)
Your girl is adorable. That's a great picture!
Terri, oh, no, don't say Zoie has that couch ruining thing in her blood! I hope not. It's snowing here, and Zoie is enjoying it, as well. That girl isn't afraid of anything!
Chatelaine - You can borrow Zoie any time you wish - or we could dog swap! We love labs, too. Or, better yet, just come visit us and bring your lab with you! You're welcome anytime!
I like the eyes looking coyly at us ahhahaah
Let me know when the best time is for me to drop off a bottle of Elmer's Glue. ;-)
Cute pup...you just know from looking at her that she'll be a handful!
Glad the pup is fitting in well. Here's hoping that she isn't as expensive as Zack who by the sounds of it has expensive tastes hehe.
I know she must be a handfull but look how adorable she is!
I remember when we got Max. Half Lab, half Beagle, he was a ball of energy, on the go all day long. He sleep with us every night. Yeah, he's spoiled rotten.
Sandy - don't let that look fool ya, girl.
Eric - You're always welcome, you know that - but wear your protective gear!
Rach - God, I hope she's not as expensive as the Zackster. (Though he didn't mean to be! ;))
Karen - last night, Zoie tried to sleep with us. She just can't make it all night. But she's getting better!
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