Countdown to Keller's Birthday

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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

You Can't Eat That!

Seriously...the other thing I dislike about this time of year is the amount of trash that has magically appeared from the melted snowbanks. Keller finds each and every little thing on the ground edible and delicious. I have dove into her mouth one too many times now. I'm more afraid she's going to eat something bad or eat rocks or something that will hurt her. She also enjoys freely nibbling on pine branches that are still attached to the tree. I am finding the words "Leave it!" to become fairly annoying to myself.

We are working on commands such as "sit" and "come" and "stay". She is doing awesome with the "sit", mediocre on the "come" and we're working on the "stay". 

It rained here pretty good this morning, the wind whipping it against the house, and I didn't have the camera, but Keller sat by the patio doors, watching the world outside. Actually I think it was two birds. But it was pretty cute. 

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Too Cold!

Dave came home from Atlanta Saturday night and Keller was sooooooo happy! As was I that we could all be together again, at least for a short while! I even got to sleep in a bit on Sunday morning. Keller wanted to sleep in, too! Dave actually (we both, actually) slept through the 3:30 a.m. alarm and Keller went a full 5 hours without a trip outdoors...no accident. 


On Sunday we took a walk to Wedgewood Hills Park by us. Not realizing how cold it was with the wind, we set out with our adventurous puppy. Keller met several folks along the way who were walking out of their houses and were too captivated by her cuteness that they had to stop and pet her!

We made it to the park and it was cold. Dave took Keller up on the playground equipment. Keller loves putting everything possible in her mouth. She probably eats more stuff off the ground than she does out of her dog food bowl every day! She especially likes wood chips, and the entire park was covered with them. So we picked her up. Dave took her on the swing and then I got cold, so we headed home.


Keller didn't want to...didn't want to walk, anyway. She's been doing the "walk, sit, stay, don't 
wanna move" thing now and I think is starting to try to get away with it. We realized, however, that she was cold - the poor thing was shivering! So Dave wrapped her up in his coat and home we walked. And it was cooooold.

Keller also got another trip to KTTC to meet some of the other weekend crew. She met Jennifer and CJ and Timmy today and they ate her up with love!

She has been having small potty accidents today in the house even with going out every 1-2 hours. Dave is diligent with getting her outside and she is having a few problems today holding it in. I'm sure she's confused with why someone's home all day when I'm usually not. We think the long walk goofed her up today. We also read today that you're not supposed to take young puppies on any longer than 20 minute walks because it can damage their joints and whatnot. She's been out for 45-hour walks every morning for the past 4 days. No wonder she sleeps the rest of the day away! Sorry, Keller. We're still learning along with you! 

She is getting better with going in her crate on her own and not crying and barking when we put her in there. She's also getting better when we leave the house and leave her there. We'll see what this week holds for her!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Outsmarting Mom

Well, Keller outsmarted me last night. I built a fort so she couldn't get out of the downstairs bathroom. Her kennel was in there and she was all set. I also blocked off the living room. I was so nervous coming home after the 5 and 6 pm shows for dinner....but she was great! Sqwauking in her kennel. Only one potty accident. So we played, went on a walk, I ate dinner, she ate dinner, took her pills, and then I went back to work, feeling better. 5 hours alone - if she could get through that bulk of the day, then another 3 hours wouldn't phase her.


....and then I came home later. I found her at the top of the stairs (note: she's been afraid to climb them since we brought her home, have had to carry her up and down). However she managed to get AROUND the mountain barrier I had created....I will never know. Both dog gates were down, and there were 2 lovely pee piles in the bathroom one big poop pile (note: the biggest one out of her to date) in the living room and some vomit upstairs. I didn't discover all that until I took her outside and thought it was odd that she barely had to pee and poop. Well, that explains it!

So, we'll try again today. The mountain will have to be expanded somehow. She's certainly a smart little devil. And she's got a lot of poop in her for a small dog.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Home Alone

Keller is a little prairie dog! I love watching her bounce all over the place. She is doing so, so good through the night and we didn't have any accidents last night. We've been out for 2 longers walks and she's still extremely curious and a bit timid of the big barking dogs (and electrical boxes). She isn't afraid og my hairdryer - she sits right by the door, so that's good. I've been trying to leave her alone in increments, such as our books recommend. Today will be the big test - Dave's still out of town and I'm headed back to work. Do well, Keller! Obviously, there will be some sort of a mess when I return for dinner. :)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Day of Firsts

Keller's had a lot of firsts for us in our first full 24 hours with her!! 

Last night she went for her first walk, and she scampers all over the place. The outside world 
seems a bit confusing and she's definitely curious about it, but not scared. Tonight we went for a walk and a big black dog was barking at her, and she stood still trying to figure out the situation, and then scampered a bit down the road. Stop, scamper, repeat. You get the idea. :)

She made it through the night last night - I took her out after I heard her whimpering around 3 am. This morning we thought she had gotten through without an accident, but it appears she did potty in the crate last night. It's OK...we're working on it.



(Above: Walk Time!)

Uber frustrating is getting her to take her pills. She has two different ones and does not like them. After some research we've managed to tackle it. It involves pean
ut butter and patience and lots of treats and coaxing. :) Only about a week or so more to go with them.

But what a napper when she calms down! She took a few today. Dave almost enjoyed one right along with her. :) Dave and I love playing with her - she's certainly a nibbler, more today than yesterday. We a
re teaching her "Leave it" to not chew on things (favorites: the carpet, the rug, shoelaces, my jeans, wood, basically anything!). We got her a new toy today on our shopping trip. It's a rope, something lighter and softer for her right now. She 
loves it!

(Above and Below: I love naptime!)

We did manage to leave her along for two seperate 
occassions today - one for about an hour, and the second time longer, for about 3 1/2 hours. Both times she cried when we left, and we managed to get to the neighbors and let them in on what we have in o
ur home now.  But it was a day of puppy shopping - bowls, ID tag, carpet cleaner, hose, etc. - you name it!






Keller, this evening, also took her second car ride (1st with me) to KTTC. There, she was 

She got to meet Randy, Ali, Ben, JR, Missy, Rachel, Tom, Crystal, Seth, Fanna. All of them loved her so, so much and she was so well behaved - in fact, she waited until we left to use the restroom! (BOTH #1 and #2 - good job, Keller!) 

Randy made sure she got her cameo appearance on the NewsCenter at 10. Woohoo!












(Above: Hanging out with Ali and Randy on the FOX 47 set!)




(Left: Keller gets spoiled by Randy on air)









(Left: Are we home yet?)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Keller's Homecoming

Life got interesting by 300% this month of March. Not only did Dave and I get engaged, but we're now the proud parents of a 9-week-old ball of fur named Keller.

She's a yellow lab with a bit of husky in her (but you wouldn't know it unless someone told you!), and came from the Animal Humane Society shelter in Coon Rapids. Dave and I have patiently 
been waiting for a dog through RAGOM (Retrieve A Golden of Minnesota) and we met one last week that, although a tough decision, was the right one - wouldn't be right for us. We wouldn't be able to give Odie what he had at his current foster home that he needed. I think it put us over the edge - we wanted a dog - now! - and couldn't wait any longer than the three years we've already been waiting.

We found Keller - er, "Glitter", as her past name was - last night while Googling. She came from an unwanted litter and the home gave her up because of allergies in the house. She was with them for only 4 days, apparently. So she's done a lot of moving around in her short 9 weeks of life! Dave's assignment was to go see what she was like, and if he felt she'd be a good fit, to bring her home. So he went after work tonight. I figured not hearing anything from him by 6:30 p.m. was a good sign. That turned out to be right!

It's been weird - a good weird! - having this fuzz ball run around. She loves Dave and follows him around and whimpers when he goes outside. She enjoys jumping all over and licking our faces. She crashed majorly while we were eating dinner, is crashing right now under Dave's desk in the office, has no problem going into her crate, and is curious, minorly afraid it appears, of the stairs. The outside world we doubt she's seen much of, so on her walk tonight she was scampering all over the place. We're so excited to have her here and are looking forward to making her a part of our family!

More to come!