Double-H

This was a good bonding weekend for Mia and me.

We spent a great amount of time lying on the couch watching tv. That is, when she's not busy attacking her big brother. Lately, she's taken to biting his pee pee and tail. I believe she thinks they're toys. Not so.

And now Vito is not shy about putting her in place. Especially if he has a treasured bone of sorts in his mouth.

Steve has taken to calling Mia "Double H" as in Heater-Hog.

She likes standing next to the heater in the livingroom and warming herself.

While I'm convinced that she's half Chihuahua (she makes these weird noises and shakes alot), Steve believes that we've brought an elephant into our home.

"She's a pacaderm!"

I don't know why he's come to this conclusion, but he's always commenting on her ears as being "radar dishes" and her stubby little legs and feet as being those of an elephant.

We did have a momentous weekend in that Mia hasn't had an accident in the house! She has actually learned where her potty area is! This is a wonderful development, I must say.

She's also gotten used to her "house" which is her crate. She's coming along nicely.

And that's about all I have to report on at this time.

Deuce Dropper

Went home at lunch for a brief visit with Mia.

She was all nice and quiet in her crate, and because I'd received instruction from Steve to try to get her to go potty, I took her out.

Mistake.

Within about 2 minutes of her being out of the crate, she dropped a deuce in front of my very eyes, right in the middle of the livingroom.

What the F??

And I'd just taken her over to her potty area, deliberately saying with emphasis, 'Go potty.'

Nope... she just hauls it and takes a dump where she deems fit.

So not cool.

I think I'll work on making dinner, doing laundry, cleaning the house, cleaning the gutters, doing homework, underwater basketweaving... ANYTHING to avoid being on potty patrol.

I'm getting gray just from thinking about it and I just dyed my hair!

Breakdown and Breakthrough

Tired again.

Left work early yesterday so I could potentially catch up on sleep and get a few things done around the house. Neither happened.

I picked up Mia and we dashed over to Petsmart where I wandered aimlessly like an idiot for about 1/2 an hour trying to decide on an appropriate play pen.

Because of our living situation, Vito has to go potty in an outdoor pen because if not, he'll head for the hills.

So, in order to get Mia to learn the potty is for outside, I bought a pen for her.

It's still sitting in my trunk.

I also bought her a little teeny bed (she's so small!) and some wet nap things so I could clean her feet after she inevitably walks through her pee.

When we got home, I got her to eat lunch, and of course, she took a shit and piss where she wasn't supposed to. Steve came home once and we fussed at each other.

We disagree on how we shall raise this little girl in terms of training.

I took the reigns with Vito on training and because I have such a strong connection with him, I'm apprehensive of getting too, too close to little Mia. Not because I don't love her or anything... she's a doll! But because I want to be certain that Vito knows he's still my #1.

That being said, we (Mia, Vito and I) relaxed on the couch and they played a little.

Finally, Vito is starting to put Mia in her place. She's a fiesty little thing and tends to bark/yap (I thought Frenchie's weren't barkers??) at him and he just takes it. Now he's putting her in check.

Last night when he was chewing on a bone and she ran over to check it out, he growled at her and then she didn't dare go near him. It was good.

So, before Steve got home from work, I started cleaning up the living room and kitchen area. She's finally braved entry into the kitchen, and I don't want her eating any fallen scraps on the floor.

I crated both Mia and Vito while I vacuumed and was sure to praise them both for being good babies.

Then, somehow we were able to put Mia in her house and of course she cried a little, but then we kept making passes through the livingroom so she'd know that because she was in her house, didn't mean that we were ditching her.

At one point, she even went and lied down on her blankie and bed. I was very proud.

And, she went through the night without screaming bloody murder.

We also moved her food and potty area into the kitchen. We've still had a couple mishaps, but I'm happy to report that she took a dump in the appropriate potty place.

We'll see if I can maintain my sanity for the remainder of the day.

I'm not cut out for puppies.

But thankfully, my husband and Vito are.

The French Bulldog Has Landed

I am so flippin tired.

Okay, so, Thursday was HELL. The flight bringing Mia and Ellen (puppy nanny) to San Jose was delayed, so she wound up getting on the flight for San Francisco instead which would bring her to the Bay Area at approximately the same time the San Jose flight would have. She didn't want to take any chances.

However, the time-saving flight was delayed 2 hours after boarding. So Ellen told me she'd probably be at the San Jose airport around 9pm. Then it was 10pm.

Long story short... we didn't get Mia til about 11pm.

It was raining like a son of a bitch and I had mere moments to get Mia from Ellen so she would be able to take the shuttle to her house.

They were waiting curbside, as I pulled up, and I saw little Mia wrapped in a pink blankie, her little head peering under the hoodie. In a word: adorable.

Within seconds of me taking Mia, she was smothering me with kisses. This was new for me, since Vito always did everything he could to avoid kissy contact. But Mia, was obviously a well adjusted pup.

I exchanged cash with Ellen and Mia and I went on home. I snuggled her close while I drove home. She continued to give kisses and was comfortable in my hands. P.S., don't drive and kiss. Because of the rain, my vision was impaired, especially because I wasn't paying much attention to the road ahead.

But we made it home safely.

"We're home, Mia," I cooed. She was so trusting, it almost made me cry. Pathetic.

I walked through the door and called for Steve.

"Here's your daughter," I told Steve as he walked into the livingroom, Vito trailing close behind.

And Mr. Tough-Guy turned into a new daddy again. He carefully took Mia from my arms and cradled her close. It was a wonderful moment.

We'd planned to have Mia and Vito meet in a neutral area, but because it was so late, I said screw it. And thankfully, Vito took to Mia easily. He's such a good big brother.

Because Mia hadn't eaten in approximately 6 hours, we gave her her first dinner at home, which she gobbled down.

Her first night is a blur, but to fast-forward to Friday, I'd taken the day off to begin the bonding process. The morning was pretty eventful. I took Vito to get groomed, brought Mia to work so she could meet and greet. She was a hit. She got the standard response. "Awwwww!" And there was a crowd admiring her. As she was passed around to my fellow dog people, she had no problem giving kisses to each person she met.

After, we went to the vet, where she was given a clean bill of health, save for the coccidia which I knew about prior to her arrival. We got new antibiotics and went home.

Oh, and then I had to pick up Vito from the groomers.

The only time I had to myself was when I went to Petsmart to stock up on more puppy supplies.

I was so tired. I hadn't had proper sleep, only getting about 5 hours her first night home.

It was pretty much the same sleep pattern for the rest of the weekend, including today.

Which leads me to now.

And that thing I'd said when Vito was a puppy... well I remember why I said it, because I WANT A REFUND!!!

I am SO not into potty training. I think that right now that's my only major gripe.

On the other hand, she is SUCH a doll. I mean, she's well-adjusted and Steve's already calling her a diva. I told him there was only room for one diva in this house and that title was already spoken for.

Within moments of meeting Vito, she was barking at him, her little butt in the air, wanting to play. I think she takes him for a new papa.

I think what's making the whole process even more exhausting is we're pulling double-duty. Not only are we trying to get Mia on a food/play/potty schedule; we are giving extra attention to Vito so he doesn't feel slighted by this new creature in our home.

I'm at work today, but don't expect to be fully awake until about 3 or 4 this afternoon.

Steve and I will be taking turns going home throughout the day to give her lunch and potty breaks.

She's already had several accidents. I hate accidents.

At least babies can take a shit in their diaper, whereas a puppy will take a shit anywhere.

I think I was jipped on this whole puppy thing.

Why is it that the brain seems to forget or block out the bad memories of a previous event, leading you to believe, it's not so bad.

Well, it's bad.

And I hate potty training.

And I'm tired.