Meet Sophie! It's puppy love...

[chellebelle]

Hi, everyone! I hope a few of you remember me, I haven''t stopped by in FOREVER! Life has been so hectic (in school, moved and bought a house, trying to plan a wedding, etc.), but I sure miss my Pricescope family and spending hours on end on PS. Well, I had a spare moment and thought I''d share pics of our new baby! Her name is Sophie and we adore her! A special thanks to Mara who gave me some advice awhile back when I was thinking of getting a furbaby.

And, Mara, I hope ya know I''m ruined forever... I''m so in love...

This little girl is going to be SPOILED! LOL

Chelle

 

[MiniMouse]

Chelle, of course we remember you - great to have you back and hope you''ll hang around. I''m now in love with your new baby, Sophie. What an absolute darling, she''s GORGEOUS! Give us some more info... what breed is she, how old, how''s she settling in? I''m more of a cat person, but my heart is melting at the pictures of Sophie.

 

[XChick03]

Oh, she''s so adorable! I can see why you''re already in love with her! Congrats!

 

[chellebelle]

Awwww thanks so much! I have a TON of pictures too... I''m hesitant to post them all, seriously I have so many. I''m sucha proud mommy! And I thought I was obsessed with taking pictures of my ring!

hehe So I apologize in advance for the barrage of puppy pics....

P.S. She''s a lhasa apso/shih tzu mix and she''s 10 weeks old now. We got her on Valentine''s Day (8 weeks old).

 

[Mara]

OMG what a doll!!! I absolutely love that last picture of her laying on her side, soooooo cute!!! Congratulations and I'm so glad to hear my advice helped!

It's true...once your heart is captured by these cuties, you are forever doomed!!! It's so much fun though as I'm sure you already are finding...and taking tons of pictures is par for the course, I think I took 400 pictures of Portia in the first 2-3 months, insanity!

More pictures....!! What a cutie. One of our neighbors has a mix like this, different coloring, too cute.

Edited to add....SPOILED??? I was cleaning up the house today and decided to switch out Portia's old ratty toybox/basket which she has ripped apart over the last year and a half, and put all the toys into 2 new baskets I had kicking around. Can I just tell you that the two baskets are FULL and I had to use a third magazine basket that we had as well?? Spoiled? I'm really familiar with that!! hehehee....

 

[Scintillating]

She''s scrumptious! What a face. Congratulations!

Scintillating...

 

[MiniMouse]

Chelle, I''m wondering if your man got a look in on Valentine''s Day, I fear your affections were concentrated on Sophie and I can see why. She''s the cutest. Congratulations.

 

[chellebelle]

"More pictures"?? MORE? Oh I've got more... and then some.

She's such a cute fluff ball... she's very fun! Sometimes she is unbelievably sweet and will curl up on my chest and just gaze up at me with those puppy eyes and then other times she runs around the house at 100mph, nips at my toes, and barks at her bones. LOL She is constantly making me laugh. The other day she managed to knock down a baby gate we had up and it fell on her!

It didn't hurt her, but she was so scared! We didn't see it happen, all we heard were screams and cries and we ran over and found her with the gate on top of her. OMG it was the worst feeling ever to hear her like that! All these things were running through my mind and I was terrified! I was so glad to find out she was okay. But still... I felt like a horrible parent. I just hope I'm doing an okay job because sometimes I feel clueless!

These are some of my favorite pics...

Puppy eyes!

Probably my *favorite* so far... isn't it just the sweetest pic ever?!?

She's very much "daddy's little girl"... Robbie ADORES her... I love seeing them together.

 

[Mara]

ahha chelle..when portia was young she jumped on the baby gate and it fell towards her...but she jumped back and it didn't get on her but it clattered down and made the hugest noise and she was SOOO freaked out.

so now the good part about that is that she is sooo scared of it. we just PROP IT UP against the outside of the doorway when we leave, we don't even have to put it into the doorway or anything and secure it. she just won't touch it AT ALL.

even when i come home and she is so excited to see me, she's jumping up and down inside the gate in the family room but she won't touch it. i tried to test her and go 'come here, come here' to see if she would get bold enough to hit it, but she just dances around near it and 'air paws' it and barks wildly, but won't touch it!

it's sooo funny!! at the time we were like oh poor thing when she got scared but now it works to our advantage...and it's been over a year snd a half since the scare and she still doesn't touch it!

Greg says one day she will figure out that she can just knock it over and run out....hahha...I hope not!

 

[chellebelle]

Mara~
Oh we are not as fortunate... fearless Sophie isn''t afraid of the gate and I wish she was! It would be so much easier! You''re so lucky! hehe Today, I left to go to a bridal show with my mom and Robbie was sleeping (he works graveyard), so I put the gate up downstairs. It must''ve not been secure because she pounced and jumped on it until it fell over!!! (Away from her, not towards her.) I don''t even know how she did it because I kinda wiggle the gate to make sure it''s locked and secured. So I guess Robbie found her upstairs when he woke up chewing on a toilet paper roll.

We call her a little dare devil because when we first got her and had her on the couch, she''d go to the highest possible spot of the couch and try to jump off! She loves doing it and I don''t know why. I try to catch her, but she''s so dang fast and she doesn''t get hurt... they''re pretty durable little things, aren''t they?

Oh and I had to laugh at your "air paws" comment! So funny! I LOVE when Sophie "air paws"!!!

P.S. Does anyone know if she will learn to love her crate? She cries and barks and howls when we put her in there... it sounds like she is DYING. I''m afraid she''s going to wake up the whole neighborhood!

 

[movie zombie]

way toooooooo cute for words!

movie zombie

 

[Mara]

Portia cried for weeks after we got her, when we would leave her penned up at night downstairs, it took her about a month to get used to it..and even in the first few weeks we just gated her (in one of the big metal playpens) she would cry and whine and scream downstairs for hours. I thought everyone could hear her but our neighbor said they couldnt (whew!). Sometimes I would go to the door and call down to her and tell her to be quiet. Sometimes I would totally not do anything. Other times I'd go down and hold her for a minute then put her back. Anyway eventually the cries went down to 30 minutes, then 15 then 10 then 5 and then finally none. After she was fine with the open gated area, we got her a larger crate and she was fine in there as well. I think she just had to realize that she was secure and safe and that we would always come back to get her. The first few nights were the absolute worst...I was like omg did we make a mistake? hehee.

Do you give her a treat each time you put her into the crate? Eventually Portia would just walk into it because she knew the treat was coming. It's a great way to get them used to going into the crate and getting rewarded for it too.

So funny to listen to your stories, I totally remember it all so well!! Portia was such a daredevil as well the first few weeks. A week after we got her, I left for a few hours and penned her up in the big metal gate area (it was like a 5x5 foot area)...with her crate inside. Mind you she was all of about 6 pounds! She JUMPED to the top of her crate and from there to the top of the dining table!

When I came home she RAN OUT to greet me at the door! I was like OMG what happened?!?! I figured it out, after the dining table she must have jumped to the floor! I was amazed she wasn't hurt, definitely resilient and durable...she was so happy to see me, I just started laughing.

She has changed TONS from the little spunky puppy she was then...she never did anything else like that again. Part of what is so fun is to remember them the way they were then and to see how they grow and mature and what kind of personality they get and how that changes year after year. She is always doing things that make us laugh or amazes us!

 

[chellebelle]

Oh thank goodness, I'm not the only one that's going through this stuff! I feel so much better! I was thinking is there something wrong with my dog? Is there something wrong with ME?!? LOL I, too, wondered if we made a mistake when we had her the first few days. But now I can't imagine being without her. It's a lot of responsibility and my life revolves around her now, like coming home to let her out, etc. I'm kind of a homebody already, but having Sophie now, gosh, I might as well live in a cave! I want to be home all the time! haha
Your Portia stories are sooo funny! Sophie and Portia seem very alike! Though Portia seems a bit more courageous... from the crate to the dining table to the floor?! LOL So hilarious. This whole experience is really fun and I'm so excited to share dog stories with everyone! Yay for doggies!

Oh Mara, by the way, do you still crate her at night? I'm SO tempted to let Sophie sleep with us, but I know I wouldn't get any sleep. Eventually I think we may want Sophie to sleep with us when she's trained. Is that what Portia does with you or do you think it's a good idea to keep them in their crate every night?

 

[CareBear]

Date: 2/27/2006 1:59:22 AM
Author: chellebelle
Mara~
Oh we are not as fortunate... fearless Sophie isn't afraid of the gate and I wish she was! It would be so much easier! You're so lucky! hehe Today, I left to go to a bridal show with my mom and Robbie was sleeping (he works graveyard), so I put the gate up downstairs. It must've not been secure because she pounced and jumped on it until it fell over!!! (Away from her, not towards her.) I don't even know how she did it because I kinda wiggle the gate to make sure it's locked and secured. So I guess Robbie found her upstairs when he woke up chewing on a toilet paper roll.

We call her a little dare devil because when we first got her and had her on the couch, she'd go to the highest possible spot of the couch and try to jump off! She loves doing it and I don't know why. I try to catch her, but she's so dang fast and she doesn't get hurt... they're pretty durable little things, aren't they?

Oh and I had to laugh at your 'air paws' comment! So funny! I LOVE when Sophie 'air paws'!!!

P.S. Does anyone know if she will learn to love her crate? She cries and barks and howls when we put her in there... it sounds like she is DYING. I'm afraid she's going to wake up the whole neighborhood!

My dog hated the crated his at first because when we first got him we tried locking him in there to sleep. The breeder told us he will get tired of screaming and crying and eventually go to sleep. Our boy fussed for many hrs nonstop. And shibas don't just bark they literally scream! At about 3am, our neighbors came knocking on our door to see what was wrong. Finally my fiance and I let him out of the crate, grabbed our sleeping bags and slept on the floor in the den with him. We did this for about a week. This finally got him used to sleeping in the den. But for an entire month he still refused to go near his crate. Luckily, we read somewhere that suggested we give him his food in her crate. We tried the putting treats in there, but he would just run in really fast grab the treat and run out as fast as he can. Giving him a meal forced him to stay in there for a longer period of time. He slowly started to associate the crate with good things. Now he doesn't mind his crate at all. I think it also helps to keep the door open (or detached) initially. My dog used to bark at the door all the time. The locked crate door really scared him. Once your dog feels 100% comfortable with her crate, she won't mind the door closed. It takes a while so be patient and good luck!

There's nothing wrong with having your dog sleep with you, but you have to remember that once she gets used to it she will do that everyday. She might be a tiny little puppy now, but will you be okay with it when she's full grown? (though your dog may stay small) What about days when she's gotten dirty? What if she still has "accidents" once in a while? That's common even for potty trained dogs. Keep all of that in mind when you are making your decision. My dog sleep in the den, though my fiance and I are constantly resisting urges to let him sleep with us (on clean days). Then there are those days when we take him to the dog park and he rolls around on the ground (where other dogs peed) with other dogs and gets licked and drooled on=P That's pretty much what's kept him in the den still

 

[chellebelle]

Thanks CareBear!

I''m crossing my fingers and hoping that my dog will be like everyone else''s dog and learn to like the crate. She doesn''t even have to like it, just be okay with it! When she screams like that, it makes me want to scream too, but it also breaks my heart because I hate hearing her cry. But everyone says it just takes some time, so I''ll be patient.

Oh and I like the idea of putting her food or treats in the crate... I''m gonna try that!

 

[MissGotRocks]

Oh what a face! She is an absolute doll - I am such a sucker for small furry faces!

Sounds like you are enjoying falling in love with her. You''re hooked now - no turning back. Those puppy days are lots of fun but very perplexing at the same time - much like having a new baby. You learn as you go - and they eventually adapt to the routine. While crating can be hard, just remember that you are doing the best for her in keeping her in a safe secure place.

Please keep up updated with pics of your little one. She is a real cutie - enjoy!

 

[widget]

OMG

This thread is fatal!

Chellebelle: I''ve lately begun thinking about getting a puppy, and those pictures of Sophie are NOT HELPING me resist!!! She''s ADORABLE!!!

Keep those pictures and stories coming!

(Hmmm, I wonder if Widget and I are too old to survive the trauma of adding a baby furball to our sedate and peaceful world?....hmmm...)

widget

 

[Madam Bijoux]

She''s precious! Congratulations and best of luck with her.

 

[Cailet]

oh my gosh - she is SOOOO cute. Great pics!!

 

[MissAva]

She is an angel, oh what a sweet face!
Ava sleeps with me, most nights, but some night she will get up and go and sleep in her dog beg or in the bathtub. She has never had an accident in the bed, but she is only a little over two, I would probably be more concerned about that if she was an older dog. Also I think as long as you take them out just before there really is not going to be an issue.
To help her get used to the crate I put in “her” pillow and covered it with a swap t-shirt that I had worn a few nights in a row so that it would smell like me. I have also heard of people using white noise machines set to the heart beat sound the way people do for babies. I also got her some soft dishtowels from wallyworld so that she could den if she wanted to. And I did not leave her squeaky toys in her crate since they get her riled up.

 

[Caribou]

What a cutie!

My cat''s name is Sophie...good name!

 

[SoonIHope]

OH MY GOD SHE IS SOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want one now!!!!

 

[Libster]

Date: 2/27/2006 7:38:54 AM
Author: widget

OMG

This thread is fatal!

Chellebelle: I''ve lately begun thinking about getting a puppy, and those pictures of Sophie are NOT HELPING me resist!!! She''s ADORABLE!!!

Keep those pictures and stories coming!

(Hmmm, I wonder if Widget and I are too old to survive the trauma of adding a baby furball to our sedate and peaceful world?....hmmm...)

widget

Chellebelle,
She is just precious. What a cutie

Keep those pics coming....I just love puppies!!!

Janice,
Been thinking about you and Widget and wondering how you are. I think a puppy is just the ticket for you guys. Just reading this thread is reminding me of what fun they are....yes work...but soooo worth it

We are doing well and Dasani has started enjoying being an only and we will probably keep it that way for awhile, unless another dog happens along that needs a family.
Keep us posted and give that Widget a snuggle for me

Libby

 

[blodthecat]

She is sooooo cute!

Is she more or less full size...or will she get bigger?

Blod

 

[widget]

Libby!!

(Sorry, Chellebelle, for a brief Off Topic...)

I''ve been wishing there was a way to contact you to see how YOU''RE doing!

W and I are fine, and... I must admit...enjoying the advantages of having/being an "only dog"....

She''s 10 now, and doesn''t show a lot of patience for puppies at the dog park...so I do worry about adding an adorable "pest" to the household! I need someone to talk me out of getting one because I am soooooo tempted....especially after enjoying these pictures of Sophie!

widget

 

[aljdewey]

What a little cutie!

My dog Nicky crate trained wonderfully - in fact, a little TOO wonderfully! He LOVES that thing, and it''s totally his security/den area! I was hoping to wean him out of it, but he''s five years old and he still loves it, so I don''t think it''s going anywhere. In fact, I think he''d freak if I took it away from him.

I never stuffed him or pushed him into the crate. Instead I took a small banana flavored Nyla bone and threw it into the back of the crate. He''d get it and then try to walk out. When he came out, I took his bone away and threw it back into the rear of the crate. I''d keep doing this (usually took about 2-3 minutes of this)....then he''d lie down in the crate and chew on it. I''d stay and talk to him with the door open while he chewed. After a few minutes, I''d close and latch it. In doing this, he came to realize that I wouldn''t take it away from him if he was in the crate...the crate was his safe haven, and he was never forced into it.

The other thing: I''d play with him hard for an hour, and then do the bone thing and close him in. I had his crate in a central area of the apartment, and I''d walk by it back and forth while doing housework or nightly tasks. He''d carry on and cry for about 10 minutes, and then he''d stop and just watch me as I went back and forth. Once he stopped barking/crying, I''d leave him in for 15-30 minutes, and then I let him out. This did 2 things: it gave me time to get things done without him underfoot, and it taught him that he was not alone when he was in there. It also let him know that he would eventually come out, and it taught him that crying wouldn''t get him out.

At night, when he was due to sleep, I''d toss his bone in. When he laid down to chew it, I''d lay on the floor by the open door and pet him and talk to him very softly and repeated tell him to "go sleepy". He''d be calm and drowsy and I''d stroke his fur for a few minutes while whispering to him. He''d settle down, and I''d stay by the crate door for a few minutes more and then close it. By then, he was half asleep. This teaches him that this is where he''s going to sleep.

If he awoke and carried on, I didn''t go to him. In the morning, when I let him out, I praised him and made a big deal about what a good boy he was, and I made sure to spend the first 10 minutes of every morning sitting on the floor and petting him. He associated good behavior in the crate with praise and attention.

I hope these things help. They sure did for Nicky. There are times hubby and I are home on the weekend, and we realize we haven''t seen Nicky. We go downstairs, and he''s sleeping in the crate just because he likes it there.

He feels safe there.

 

[Sundial]

That is absolutely the cutest puppy! Congratulations on your new family member Chellebelle!

Widget we got a new puppy when our dachshund was ten to help ease the transition when it was her time to pass and she ended up living another five years just to spite us for bringing this upstart into our home!!! I really think the puppy extended her life.

 

[stretch4]

Oh wow, she is absolutely adorable!!!

 

[Kaleigh]

Hey Chelle,
Sophie is just the cutest puppy!!! Glad you are doing well. Nice to see you back here!!!

 

[Mara]

hehee greg loved your puppy pics chelle!!

portia started sleeping with us over time...we didn't want a dog that slept with us because it creates a bad habit and expectations on their part, but it was so hard every night to put her in the crate and have her little eyes watch you walk up the stairs silently. eventually greg would let her out in the mornings when he got up and she would run up and snuggle with me in bed. then slowly we moved towards weeknights in the crate and weekends with us in the bed. then of course from there one night she just snuck in (well i snuck her in) during a weeknight. and from there it was hopeless!!

eventually she just didn't use the crate anymore, it was just sitting there looking ugly in our dining room, so we gave it to my parents who needed a larger one for their beagle.

i will say that while 99% of the time it's beautiful having her with us on the bed that there have been a few times when it's a total PITA. for example when she was sick about a month ago, she was horribly sick and she had an icky accident in the master bedroom right next to the bed (thus far unsoiled with accidents, so it was a sad moment). we didn't have a crate to put her in while gone anymore (typically she is just baby gated in the family room) and she needed to be 'quarantined' in an area where if she had an accident it would not be a big deal and this did not include our family room furniture etc. so i had to metal gate her in the kitchen, thank goodness we still have the big metal playpen gate thing. we figured it out but i kept wishing for her crate back! the one we have now is an emergency crate just if we had to take her somewhere and she was really ill or something and it's small, it just barely fits her body, so it's not a space she'd want to hang out in for more than a few minutes. she also is so used to being with us now in bed that if she's not with us she gets upset. when we left her in the other bathroom one of the nights she was sick (with towels on the floor just in case)...she was barking, crying, whining...i couldn't sleep at all. so i finally got up and brought her downstairs and slept with her on the couch and took her out every time i felt her move (it was almost every hour!)...it made for a restless night but at least she wasn't screaming and i could get some rest knowing she was right there. we actually did that for another 2 nights as well.

other than those odd times, she's a charm to have in the bed and SO funny. but i am glad that we did get her used to the crate and that whole thing because if we ever had to do it again i think she could grow to accept it again, much more than if we just let her sleep with us from day one etc. plus it took her a long time to be really reliably potty trained and hold it, now she is so good that if we go to bed at say midnight on a weekend and sleep til 10:30am the next day, we won't have to take her out til we get up. she just sleeps with us til we get up, if she REALLY has to go or something, she will sit by our head and just stare at us which amazingly enough does wake one of us up and we take her out. but it's amazing how well she can hold it and just chill out and be on our timetable, which is a godsend, as my friend's jack is up at 6am EVERY DAY regardless and she can't make him leave her alone or go back to sleep. yikes!

anyway kind of an odd morning ramble on dogs sleeping with you...i don't even know if that is what you are considering but i would say to keep doing the crate training and all that (it helps with helping them hold their potty too, that is how P learned to hold it as she didn't want to soil her crate), the treats are a great idea, we gave her a treat every time we put her in there and it got to the point where she'd RUN into the crate and sit there waiting for the treat. of course she wanted to come out after but if we closed the door she was like oh well..no biggie. but it definitely took time to get her there. we left the door off of it and put it in her big gated area and sometimes she'd go sleep in there. but nothing like Al's dog...P tolerated it and would use it uncomplainingly but she never loved it. she would ALWAYS prefer to be with us, such a funny little girl!