Homecoming

Here is puppy news: We slept through the night last night for the first time! We went to bed right after 10:00 and Emme didn't wake up until 5:21 this morning. It was nice to have uninterrupted sleep.

She is such a cutie. Her favorite toy is a little piece of rope, maybe 6 inches long that has a knot tied at both ends. She pounces on it, shakes it, chews on it and generally has a great time. Her attention span, however, is about 3 seconds long, so she plays with the rope, jumps on a ball, runs back to the rope, lays on the floor, barks a few times, goes back to the rope, etc. etc. etc. She is hilarious to watch. We are doing nothing but "puppy": feeding the puppy, watching the puppy play, walking Rudy, taking the puppy outside, playing with Rudy, taking the puppy outside, grooming the puppy, feeding the puppy, watching the puppy play, walking Rudy, taking the puppy outside, playing with Rudy, taking the puppy outside. You get the idea. We decided that we were going to take a week and just concentrate on the new arrival. After that time, I am sure that things will not take so long and we can get back to a semblance of real life.

Feeding the puppy is funny. She eats a third of a cup of puppy kibble at a meal. She has yet to finish the entire portion. The kibbles are about the shape and size of a pencil eraser. She eats by picking up ONE kibble, running under a chair or the kitchen table, eating that piece of kibble in many bites and then going back for another piece. The process is lengthy. She probably gets as much exercise carrying pieces of kibble around as she gets playing. How funny. We feed Rudy first and then put up puppy gates, put Rudy in the dining room or family room and feed Emme in the kitchen. Rudy takes about a minute and a half to eat 1 3/4 cups of dog food. Emme takes about 10 minutes to eat about half of her 1/3 cup of puppy food.

Grooming her is another challenge. In mid morning I take her to the laundry room and wash off her eyes, mouth and paws. Then I try to brush her. She is so wiggly and I am so awkward that the procedure is like a comedy routine. I don't think I have ever brushed her entire body at one time. I think that I am done and then an hour later I think "Did I brush her tail, or back legs, or some other body part." I think that we both will get better at this. But for now it is a challenge.