A Week of Excitement

It's Friday, and lucky me gets to have Molly home with me today because her school is closed. I'll be glad of the extra set of eyes and hands today because a certain someone has been up since 4:50 this morning. It's a good thing she's cute!

Did you know that on an iPhone, there's now a feature that recognizes a photo of a dog
and if you click it, it will tell you the breed? When I did it for this photo, it said she was a Basenji.

Ruthie has been home for not quite a week, and while it's been exhausting in many ways, it's also had some bright spots. I'm still sleeping in the family room with her, but I've been able to move to the couch, and when she wakes throughout the night, usually she just needs a few pets for reassurance and goes back to sleep. When I have to crate her during the day (when I have to go upstairs or when I go to pick Molly up at school), she still barks and whines, but it seems to have pauses now. She's doing better at going outside, though there are still some inside accidents (though I'll note that in the last day or so, she's more or less gone on a puppy pad, which at least makes cleanup a bit easier). She has started accepting treats (she didn't know what to do with them the first couple of days) and has learned how to play with and chew on toys. She still often barks at Molly and the Mister when they come in the room, but usually she gets used to them after a minute or two.

Walks continue to be a bit of a challenge because everything is so new and loud and scary to her. She regularly pulls me back to our back door (which we use most often to leave and enter the house) and we have to start over. I've taken her to other streets to smell and see new things, and she's encountered new people and dogs. Often she gets so scared that she starts shaking, so I'll have to pick her up and cuddle her to reassure her. I'm sure these encounters will get easier as they become more regular.

Tonight we're having my in-laws over for dinner, which should be interesting. I know my mother-in-law is going to want to play with her, but Ruthie may not be so receptive to that. Treats will be deployed.

I want to thank all of you who have been where I am and have sent supportive comments and emails. There are moments when I feel like I'm a failure and I'll never get my life back, and it's good to know that this time is normal and also won't last forever. Though the first several weeks after Molly was born are a bit of a haze, I do remember having a lot of the same thoughts and feelings back then, and obviously things did improve. I have to think that raising a puppy is a bit easier than raising a human being and that I just have to take it one day at a time. I'm trying my best to do that.

Happy Easter to those of you celebrating this weekend! We'll be marking the end of Passover with all the carbs and spending quiet time at home.