Pup-iversary

Today marks one year since we brought Tessie and Skippy home.  It seems like they have been here forever but at the same time it also seems so hard to believe that one year has already passed.  Looking back at my first post from the night we brought the puppies home from the shelter, so much has changed about them.  Skippy looks so tiny and boney in pictures from the first few months.  Now he's a porker who has yet to find a kind of food he doesn't like.  Tessie was so scared and timid and now she bulldozes into us like the crazy mutt she really is.  

This blog was meant to follow the puppies' first year with us..."puppyhood" and I have been going back and forth over whether or not to stop it or not.  I think for now I will leave this blog at puppyhood...with occasional updates about how the crazies, as we call them, are doing.  For more on the puppies one year later, check out the last three posts, their one year birthday posts and the Christmas post.  We love them so much and we're so happy to have them...Skippy's howling and all!

Skippy is One

About a month and a half ago, Tessie got her first birthday blog post and now it is Skippy's turn.  Skippy turned one on Wednesday.  I guess we are officially out of "puppyhood" in our house but this blog will continue sporadically.  Skippy continues to be the happy-go-lucky puppy we met at the shelter almost a year ago.  He is happy no matter what we are doing.  He has an over-abundance of personality and he always keeps us laughing.  He loves having his belly rubbed and giving kisses.  While he loves to play with and harass Tessie, when we get on the floor to play, he often takes a seat on the couch and watches his crazy sister play with us.  When it comes to his parents he would rather sit on our laps and cuddle than play.  He is such a good boy and it is so obvious that he wants to make us happy.  He loves to be praised and tries so hard, with every tilt of his head, to understand everything we say to him....and even though he's a dog, Skippy understands a lot of words and listens very well.  He loves to get in the big bed at night (under the covers of course).  He loves food of all kinds (we have yet to find something he won't eat).  And he loves stuffed animals (even after Tessie de-stuffs them).  On the ride home from the shelter I sat in the back seat with the pups, one on each side of me.  Skippy curled up with his nose in the palm of my hand.  He still likes to have his nose tucked into/under something when he sleeps (unless he's flat on his back).

When we brought the puppies home last March, Skippy was just over 8 weeks old and liked to lie on my lap and sleep.  I could hold him in one hand.  When we a

rrived at the shelter he was the first dog we saw, jumping up on the door of the cage to greet us.  I took his picture immediately, before we went into the pen, and text messaged it to my dad.  I knew he was ours.  From his first night home it was evident that he knew he had it good.  Prior to adopting these two, I had never had a rescue dog.  However, I had heard of rescue dogs having what seems to be a great appreciation for their homes and their families.  Skippy fits this to a tee.  He is so loyal, so loving, and it really does seem as though he is thanking us....even though I think we should be the ones thanking him.  

Skippy has had just as crazy a year as his sister has.  He loves her to death, even when she's dragging him across the floor by his neck.  He likes to kiss her face and her ears and cuddle up with her.  She taught him a lot about interaction with other dogs, as at first he had no idea how to play with her.  He gets aggravated when she plays with other dogs and is very protective of her.  He thinks he's much bigger than he really is.  He thinks he's a human.  He doesn't like water but is a very good swimmer when he has to be.  He's my poser and has spurred an influx of visits to my Flickr account thanks to his adorableness.  He's not as crazy about snow as Tessie is, but he enjoys prancing through it on a warm-ish day when the sun is out.  He still needs to wear a coat when it's cold and probably wouldn't mind some boots either.  He likes to dress up (devil for Halloween, Santa for Christmas)....probably because it brings more attention, which, for Skip, is always a good thing.  

He's Skippy, Skipper, Skipper Lou, Gipper, Kippy, Skipper Whipper, Skip, Skip-a-doodle, Skippy Poopy, Pooper Dooper, Skip-a-dee-doo-dah, Skipster, Buddy, Goober, Goof, Lovebug, Skipaford, Pipper, Skipper-do, Skip to my Lou, Skippington, Skips....but most of all he's just a really good dog and we love him lots.

Puppies' First Christmas

The puppies have made it through their first Christmas and even though at first they had their reservations, I think they learned that it's a pretty fun day.  Their Christmas season started back at the beginning of the month when we had our holiday open house.  We put the tree up shortly before it and they did wonderful with it (sans some barking/growling at it when we first brought it inside).  The plan for the holiday open house was to gate them off upstairs so they could have their own space and people could go up and visit them if they wanted.  That didn't work out as we had thought, as Tessie was freaked out at first and wanted nothing to do with being away from us.  They both ended up doing so great with all of the people who came and went that night.  They were awesome and we think it did them both really good as far as trusting people goes.  

After that they had a few weeks off from holiday craziness.  On Christmas Eve Paulie & I opened our presents to each other, as we had a very busy day on Christmas.  That night was a little much for them.  I think all the wrapping paper everywhere and boxes made them a bit nervous.  Tessie opened the bully stick in her stocking and high-tailed it upstairs to chew it on our bed.  They both figured out present opening rather quickly.

The next morning they were able to join us at my mom's house for brunch and presents there.  Skippy really practiced his present opening skills when he not only unwrapped the rawhides my parents bought him but managed to open the package and take one out all by himself.  He also was decorated in ribbons, which he didn't seem to mind at all.  Overall they did great with everything went on during the holidays.  They continue to amaze us with their go-with-the-flow attitudes.

The puppies' Christmas tally.....

two packages of bacon and cheese treats

two bully sticks

two packages of meaty rawhides

one bag of Dingos

two rawhide bones

one stuffed monkey

one stuffed frog

one big tennis ball

one rope toy

one box of Milkbones

Not bad for their first year!

An Open Letter to President-Elect Obama from Skippy

With Thanksgiving and our holiday open house coming up, I was a bit busy to write a post this week so I asked Skippy to step in for me.  I asked him to write about his recent meeting with Santa but he came up with this instead....stubborn mutt.

Dear Mr. Obama, 

My name is Skippy and even though the letters you usually get probably aren't from the four-legged kind, bear with me.  I'm here to tell you my story and I hope that will make it clear to you why a shelter dog is the only dog for the White House.  I guess you could consider it a campaign of sorts.

I was born a long, long way from where I live now - 1800 miles, give or take.  Most dogs don't travel that far in their whole life, I traveled that far in my first 6 weeks!  I was born on the southwestern side of Puerto Rico to a dog that, unlike many dogs in Puerto Rico, did have a home and human that cared about her.  Even though the human loved my mom, he didn't want us pups.  He wasn't happy about her having puppies and he didn't know what to do with us at first.  His friends told him to get rid of us.  We heard them talk of a place called Dead Dog Beach, not far from where we were born.  His friends told him to take us there, put us in a sack, and run us over.  That's what many people in Puerto Rico call "controlling the pet population."  The human loved my mom too much to kill us so he loaded us into a box one night and left us on the doorstep of a vet.  

At that moment I became the luckiest dog in Puerto Rico.

You see, not many people there care about dogs at all.  They run free everywhere and people don't hesitate to treat them very badly.  Even though we were cold and alone in that cardboard box, we were being given a chance.  At the vet, my brothers and sisters and I were finally safe but we didn't know it.  They stabbed us with lots of sharp things.  Even though we had food and warm blankets to sleep on, it wasn't very much fun.  We met lots of dogs there who had been hurt really bad by people who didn't want them.  The humans tried to help but they couldn't help all of the dogs.  When we were old enough the people who were taking care of us put us on a plane and sent us to Massachusetts.  The plane wasn't very much fun either.  We couldn't ride with the humans, we had to ride with the suitcases!  It was really loud and we were really scared.   When the noise finally stopped we met some nice people who took us to a place called a "shelter."

I met lots of dogs at the shelter.  Some were puppies like me and some were older and had lived at the shelter a long time.  On my first weekend at the shelter lots and lots of humans came there.  They walked outside my pen and some even came in to play with me.  That was a strange day.  At the end of the day, after all the people went home, all of my brothers and sisters were gone.  One by one, throughout the day, they had left with humans.  I didn't know why but I was all alone in my pen.  I had to curl up on my cot all by myself.  I was cold and lonely.  The humans at the shelter gave me some toys to play with but it wasn't the same.  A few days later the humans put a new puppy in my pen.  I was really happy to have another friend.  However, this new puppy was really scared.  She didn't like the humans and she would try to hide under our bed.  The humans called her Skittles because they said she was "skittish."  I tried to tell her that the humans were nice but she was from Puerto Rico too and the people there had been very mean to her.  You see, Mr. Obama, when she was a baby no one left her at the vet.  She had to live on the street, find her own food, and stay away from the people that were trying to hurt her.  She thought all the humans were going to hurt her.

Then something really cool happened....

That night, after I had met Skittles, two new humans I didn't know came in with the shelter lady.  They walked by a lot of the pens and looked at all the dogs there.  I was really hoping they would come into my pen because I hadn't had any humans come in to play with me in a few days.  Well guess what...they did!  I was so happy that I crawled right up into their laps and kissed their faces!  This is the best part of the story, Mr. Obama, because get what happened next...I got to go home with the new humans!

I've lived with my family for almost a year now.  I still can't believe my luck.  I went from a cardboard box in Puerto Rico to having my own toys, my own bed, and best of all, my own home.  You see, Mr. Obama, I've seen what can happen to dogs that nobody wants and that's why I'm so glad that someone wanted me.  Some people don't think that dogs are capable of feelings like appreciation but they're wrong.  My mom and dad will tell you I am the most grateful, loyal dog they could have ever dreamed of finding.  Oh, and so is Skittles, except now we call her Tessie.

You see, even though a lot of scary things happen in this world, there are some really good people out there who help puppies like me find homes.  Your dog is waiting in a shelter right now, Mr. Obama.  You see, all kinds of dogs need homes, even hypoallergenic ones.  You could go buy yourself a "designer dog," a labradoodlenoodle, or you could go to a shelter and get one for just a donation.  Afterall, I'm a spotted Puertopointahound.  

If change is so important to you Mr. Obama, step up and change the life of a dog who needs you.

Sincerely, 

Skippy the mutt (and proud of it!)

Tessie is One

Next Saturday, November 29th, is Tessie's first birthday.  It's hard to believe that our little puppies will not be little puppies soon.  Skippy turns one in January.  Tessie has had a big year and it is hard to believe that the scared little puppy from the streets of Puerto Rico is the same dog we live with.  She has made huge gains in a lot of areas during her first year.  She loves to go for walks and play outside.  I think that if she could stay outside all of the time she would.  She loves going to the beach, especially because she can dig holes wherever she wants.  She is a stuffed toy killer and can rip open and de-stuff any stuffed animal in a matter of minutes.  She's a great catcher and she loves peanut butter.  When she gets excited her whole body wags.

When we first brought our puppies home from the shelter

 on March 11th, Tessie was about three and a half months old.  When we went into the pen that she shared with Skippy, he was all over us but she sat in the corner and had to be coaxed over with food.  On her first night she sat on her dog bed and wouldn't come off.  We had to carry her to her water bowl.  Over time she became more comfortable.  After a few weeks she started playing with Skippy.  She was an adorable puppy with very long legs that made her a little clumsy.  She loved to chew on strings and would go after shoelaces, strings on sweatshirts, even my hair a few times.  We hand-fed Tessie for weeks to try to get her comfortable with us and with eating.  At puppy kindergarten she sat in the corner and would not play with the other dogs until the last class.  During puppy graduate class she did much better and made a good friend in the Golden Retriever that was in our class.  

Tessie has grown to LOVE other dogs.  She loves to play with humans or dogs and she is the fastest runner I've ever seen.  She "herds" Skippy when they play outside.  Tessie is still very scared of people she is not familiar with.  As scared as she has been in various situations, she has never snapped or bitten at anyone, ever.  She is a teddy bear and even if she was scared of someone, that person could pick her up and hold her with no problem.  She is the sweetest dog.  Tessie is also incredibly soft.  She has a thick undercoat, which we believe she gets from her Border Collie side.  She loves to be brushed and would sit for hours if you ket brushing her.  She did great at doggie daycare and has had a play date that she really enjoyed as well.  I can't wait to see her in the snow.  I think she is really going to enjoy it - another opportunity for digging!  We are so thankful for Tessie (and Skippy) because we were lucky enough to find two wonderful dogs.  We know Tessie's second year will be just as fun and exciting as her first.

Doggie Daycare, Day 1

Today was Tessie and Skippy's first day of Doggie Daycare.  This video is of Tessie after coming home.  She was lying on the couch with her head up but she couldn't keep her eyes open.  Her eyes would close then her head would bob a little and she'd wake herself back up.  It was too funny.  She finally gave in and laid her head down.  

The doggie daycare process is an interesting one.  They are going to Happy Tails Doggie Daycare in Franklin.  It's a really nice facility with really nice staff.  We went for our "interview" last night.  Both puppies were shy but they were accepted.  We decided to put them in separate play groups but let them share a pen during naptime.  Today when I picked them up we got a "progress report" of sorts.  Tessie had a great day.  She made friends with three dogs and they formed their own little group - Huck the Jack Russell Terrier, Grace the Bernese Mountain Dog, and Zoey a Lab Mix.  They said she seemed a bit nervous at first but quickly acclimated herself to running around and playing with the crew.  Skippy was a little more nervous than Tess.  It took him a while this morning to begin playing with the other dogs.  However, he also made a friend, a Westie named Daisy. 

 

We have decided to bring them to Happy Tails one or two days a week.  We are hoping it helps them with their socialization and their confidence.  We also want them to have something to do once in a while during the day while we are working.  We were thrilled that today went well.  They will go for their second visit next Wednesday.  

In other news, the puppies have their Halloween costumes.  Tessie will be dressing as a witch this year and Skippy as a devil.  They tried their costumes on the other night and they look quite cute.  Tessie's costume also has a black cape but she's more aggressive about trying to get it off than Skippy is (he likes to dress up).  Their pictures will be up on their Flickr pages - links on the right side of this blog.  Tomorrow the puppies will take their first trip to Wachusett Mountain for a little hike!

fun pups

Tomorrow Tessie will be 10 months old.  Skippy will be 9 months old next week.  They are growing quickly and it is very hard to believe it has been almost seven months since we brought them home.  On the other hand, it seems as if they have been here forever.  Looking at pictures from when we first brought them home is funny because they look so small...even though day-to-day we don't notice any change.  Skippy could basically sit in the palm of your hand.  This first picture is from their first night with us (back in Hudson). 

They have done a lot since March ...puppy K, puppy grad class, the move to Hopedale, camping, a week at Cape Cod, learning to swim, etc.  I was thinking of my favorite moments with them so far.  Tessie has come so far from the terrified puppy that wouldn't leave the dog bed in the first days at home.  She is still shy but has made great strides.  She loves other dogs, her favorite (other than Skippy) being Bindi the American Bulldog that lives behind my mom.  My favorite moment so far with Tessie was bringing the puppies to Crow's Pasture for the day during our week at the Cape in August.  We walked far out while the tide was out and Tessie loved running around in the tidal pools and the shallow waves.  

Skippy has been in a good mood for the last seven months.  He is always happy and always wants to kiss.  He doesn't like to play rough with us like Tessie does, he would rather cuddle on the couch.  He loves to be with people and he's very nosey and curious.  My favorite Skippy moment so far was the first night he began his sleeping poses.  Paul & I were watching a movie and as it was ending we noticed Skippy sleeping flat on his back with his legs straight up in the air.  We took some pictures and then put them together on the computer to make this animated gif that makes him look like he's dancing.  We laughed very hard that night.