a peek inside the fishbowl

03 Apr, 2010

Puppy update #2

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Easy ways to make kids happy

I promise that this blog won’t become a dog blog, but Piper has been taking up a lot of space in my head lately and I can’t help myself.

I like to call this photo: Puppy in Sunshine or, Happy Girl. I’m not sure which. :)

Puppy in sunshine

Piper has been an amazing dog. I can’t get over how clever she is. And we’ve only had her for two weeks! She already knows how to sit, she sleeps in her crate at night and has figured out how to let us know when she needs to go outside (during the night, not yet during the day).

We all went for a good walk after dinner last night. She’s finally figuring out how to walk on her leash. (Normally she likes to sit down about 20 times during any length of walk in order to pause, look around, and enjoy the scenery. It takes a bit of convincing to get her moving again.)

She is so comical. She has us in stitches all the time. Her little personality is coming out a little more every day. I don’t know who loves her more, because she has certainly stolen all of our hearts.

New things:

  • She is very much a lap dog, and loves to snuggle.
  • She likes to bury her nose in your neck/armpit/other warm spot while she’s napping
  • She has just discovered ice cubes. She’s so funny to watch. Her routine goes like this: suck it, drop it, suck it, drop it, suck it, drop it, HEY WHERE DID IT GO?
  • She’s a kisser, and will stop and nothing in order to give you a good face wash.
  • Her love of sticks has extended to the chewing and eating of every tiny bit of wood she encounters outside. (Which we try to avoid, obviously!)
  • She likes having baths!
  • She does not like getting brushed.
  • She’s proven herself to be reliably friendly with every kid in the neighborhood. The local dogs? Not so much. She wants to jump all over their faces from all the excitement. I need to read up about dog socialization.
  • She hasn’t noticed BB the budgie yet.
  • I used to roll my eyes at those little poop bag attachments for leashes but I have to retract all previous eyeballrolling and admit that whoever invented the idea deserves a Nobel prize
  • Shopping for a puppy is like shopping for a new baby: so.much.stuff. We’ve been good so far, but the cuteness of it all is increasingly hard to resist.

I hope you’re all having a great long weekend!

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9 Responses to "Puppy update #2"

1 | Scatteredmom

April 3rd, 2010 at 11:29 am

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Aw, she’s adorable! Congrats! :)

2 | Tatiana Dokuchic

April 3rd, 2010 at 8:41 pm

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Too cute!!

You’re lucky that she likes baths and her crate.

Everytime I walk my dog (and pick up after it of course) I think of Seinfeld:

“If aliens are watching this through telescopes, they’re gonna think the dogs are the leaders. If you see two life forms, one of them’s making a poop, the other one’s carrying it for him, who would you assume was in charge?”

The things you do for love :)

3 | Jen

April 4th, 2010 at 9:09 pm

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she’s so sweet!

i love the combo of dogs and ice cubes – esp when they discover they can fling and chase them across the tile floor :-)

4 | Chantal

April 6th, 2010 at 10:25 am

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so cute! Now you can do posts on baking dog treats!

5 | Nancy

April 23rd, 2010 at 2:25 pm

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Piper is adorable. I bought Max (shih poo) a year ago. Max wants to be everyone’s and animals new best friend. Tomorrow Max will return to yet another class to learn to not love people to death.

I’ve been to the dog park in New Edinburgh a few times. Beautiful area.

6 | Amanda

May 17th, 2010 at 8:31 pm

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As a long-time reader of your blog, I have to admit I’m pretty shocked. You’re such a well-informed and bright woman raising a family in a conscientious, thoughtful way and I’m really surprised (and, frankly, disappointed) that you bought a dog from a pet store. I didn’t think anyone did that these days considering all the information out there on how the pet store pet industry is spurious at best. Even those most mainstream in the dog world always recommend acquiring from a breeder or adopting a rescue.

She’s cute, what a lucky dog to be brought into your family. It’s just too bad that you’ve contributed to that dark side of the pet industry.

Is there more to the story here?

7 | andrea

May 18th, 2010 at 6:47 am

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Hi Amanda –
Sorry to disappoint. I actually didn’t intend to buy a pet store pet. I had been combing the Humane Society webpages and had my heart set on a rescue.

I fell in love with a puppy at a pet store. After I visited that puppy – Piper – three or four times I found myself crossing the point of no return. I couldn’t imagine myself with any other dog and didn’t want to wait any longer to get a puppy.

Although we bought Piper at the pet store I wouldn’t recommend going that route. They told us she came from a reputable breeder (not all pet stores get their dogs from puppy mills) but she didn’t have her shots up to date. The vet told us she was in excellent healthy. Piper is happy and healthy – both physically and mentally – and that’s what’s important to us right now.

8 | Amanda

May 18th, 2010 at 8:14 am

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Just to be clear, a “reputable breeder” would never sell their animals through a pet store – of course the pet $tore is going to say that!

Reputable breeders always want to know who their animals are going to live with (often require references/a home visit, etc). Not only because they want to make sure they are going to suitable homes but because a they will always accept the animals back should the new home not work out for whatever reason and, concerned with maintaining the integrity of the bloodline, they will require owners to have the pet sterilised.

Pet stores who sell cats and dogs (thankfully they are becoming more and more obsolete) take no care to find out who the buyers are, the bottom line is all they are interested in and they’ll tell you anything to make you part with your cash. Whether from a nightmarish puppy mill or a backyard breeder out to make a quick buck, you ultimately don’t know really whose pocket you lined.

9 | andrea

May 18th, 2010 at 12:40 pm

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Sure they’re out to make money, but it’s hard to know if this particular store is one of the bad guys. Why wouldn’t a reputable breeder sell to a pet store?

But overall, you’re right Amanda. I am aware of all of the issues. In our situation it was love at first bite … and all the logic in the world wasn’t going to dissuade me from our purchase. End of story.

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The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

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