Lucy Gets A Big Girl Bed

The time has come for Lucy to sleep in a Big Girl Bed at night, and start holding her potty. They say that by 4-5 months puppies should be able to hold it 6-8 hours. My Lucy is 16 weeks old today, so four months old. I got the cage for cheaper then it was priced, and put her nice pad in it and some favorite toys (aqua dogs!) She has slept in the cage with the door open the last few nights and tonight I will put her to bed at her usual time, and check on her in about 4 hours to see how she is doing. I will end up giving lots of baths but she needs to learn.
Klug, the other guy living here, moved out today which is good because he gets home before us, and she gets excited and wants to go out and he won't take her, and she goes on the floor. Plus he was always going into the kitchen waking her up. I am glad he is gone. We will all have some peace and quiet now! He was not a real friendly guy, though Lucy loved him. But anyway, we will see how tonight goes. In the picture, Lucy is checking out her new bed. I went to work the first night feeling so sad for taking away Lucy Pant's "Baby Bed." But when I got home, she had slept in her new one and I felt much better. I will update you on her progress.

Mmmm...Bugs taste good!

Lucy tested my motherly ability today. She is like a Dirt Devil with legs and a tail. She walks around with her nose to the ground, as scent hounds do and she gobbles up everthing in her path. Today, before I could scoop her up from eating it, she got a LARGE ugly beetle in her mouth. I opened her mouth and here is this nasty bug, wiggling his legs on my puppy's tongue. I was so scared of the beetle and did not want to touch it, but had to reach in and pull him out. It was so nasty. She also eats flies off the side of the house, worms, and moths if she can catch them. I saved her from a packing peanut, bark, and a Noxema pad, all in her mouth, all today. You have to constantly watch what she is eating. It is hard to see sometimes because she hides behind those big ears that make a curtain and you can't see! Also today we noticed that when she shakes her head after drinking water, all you hear is her saggy skin shaking. It sounds gross but is actually quite cute. She played fetch in the front yard today with an orange tennis ball, then tried to bury it!

Who Knew I Would Ever Adopt A Puppy?

I have not liked dogs my whole life, since I got bit by that dog in Blanchardville. In fact, I was quite afraid of them! But as I watch my puppy grow each day, I fall more and more in love with her. I love the way she prances through the yard after "potty outside" to get her Cheerio treat. I love how she runs in circles with her tail in her mouth, and sits on my lap and kisses me. I love how she plays fetch like a pro, when the book said Bassets don't play fetch. I love her stocky little legs and her long, saggy, soft brown ears and how she is always standing on them. I love holding her in my arms kissing her soft face, and rubbing her soft pink belly. I feel so proud when people all over adore my puppy and say how she is the cutest puppy they have ever seen. I am so proud of her. I love how she sits next to me all the time, as she is a "Mama's Girl." Who said dogs are a man's best friend? I love her in a different way then I love Timmie Lee and my other pets. She creates a whole new outlook on my life, and forces me to exercise, and get out and about. She is an incredible joy, now that those first 5 weeks of transition are over, thank God! I am a better person for adopting Lucy and cherish her so much. I love sharing her with everyone, knowing they want to have her, but she comes home with me. I adore my little puppy.

"Lucy's First Professional Bath"

Lucy had her first "professional" bath on Tuesday at PetSmart. They said to come back in 3 hours and my jaw dropped. I was about to play tug of war with the people there. I did not want to leave my puppy for THREE hours for a bath. (But I generally don't like dogs b/c you have to bathe them, cut nails etc. until I found out you can pay people to do that for you!) They called me to come get her after 1 1/2 hours and said she was so cute they wanted to keep her the whole 3 hours but when they saw the sadness on my face leaving her, they decided to return her early. She hated her bath but did not bite anyone, thank goodness! They gave her a red bandana to match her collar and she looked so cute in it. She scratched at it so I took it off. But they said that she will get used to baths, we just have to give them on a regular basis and with hound dogs, you need to about every 4-6 weeks. It only cost $10 and I got a $2.00 discount since it was her first time. When I showed up to get her, she got so excited to see me, she wizzed on the floor. Oops! She smells so good and her ears are so clean and soft. She was a bit fluffy too.

"A Halloween Aqua Dog!"

The day I adopted Lucy, I brought her an "Aqua Dog" as he came to be known. Well, after going to the pet store, I saw that "Aqua Dog" comes in many varities. She loves him, and his squeeker. Lucy drags him everywhere. So I got her a bigger one, who is orange for halloween, and has on a witch hat and a broom. She took to him right away as you can see. Lucy loves all toys, especially a leather star that Sara got for her. It says "Top Dawg" on it. She was sitting on the floor with the star behind her, spinning it around and around with her tail. It was quite silly. Lucy also likes chewing on bones, but mainly the outside layer or small portions of them, as she still has a little mouth and is teething. She has so many different bones and toys, you would think that 8 dogs lived here. She sleeps in her padded bed I got her with it full of toys and bones. I can hear her tossing bones and squeeking Aqua Dog from downstairs. I love the pitter patter of her feet on the floor as well.

"You mean that bone wasn't free?"

Lucy went to the vet's Monday and she weigh's 14.5 lbs! She also went for a bath at PetSmart yesterday. I had to leave her there and come back to get her. They said she HATED her bath but afterwards they gave her a red bandana to match her collar. I got pics. Thursday Sara and I are going to get her a crate for her to sleep in at night. It adjusts to her as she grows. She is so big. A man at the pet store told her that the sight of her made his heart melt and a woman said I could just put her in the back of her truck. Wow. I have to keep her close to me, so nobody steals her from me! She had a red bone earlier and it got her paws and face all red (and the carpet) and it looked like she had gotten into some lipstick! I washed her with a baby wipe and threw the bone out. I took her to Mounds yesterday and she stole a bone out of a lower bin, so I went to the clerk with a half eaten, wet bone, to pay 17 cents, but the lady gave it to her for free because she is just a puppy!!

Lucy Is A Clown In A Puppy Body

Sorry it has been long. Going back to work is hard after 5 weeks and Lucy NEVER sleeps. She is teething really badly, and barks all the time. We are getting about 4 hours of sleep a day. We are tired. We are going to give her a bubble bath tomorrow since it will be warm and she can dry off outside. I will take photos of her. I told her I will make her a "bubble beard" like we did as kids in the tub and she clapped her paws. I am serious. She is getting so big. The neighbor said he is going to put her on a hot dog bun and I said "You will get a suprise when the hot dog bites back!" We are struggling with potty training, and are being told to crate her all night. We are having trouble with that concept but are getting tired of cleaning up pee and pooh. Any potty training, crate training ideas, PLEASE let me know. Lucy jumps at her baby gate when we come home. She is truely a mama's girl. I think she might be Tinkerbell for Halloween. Any other ideas?

A Visit To Meet Stephanie...

I brought Lucy over to Stephanie's to meet Brian and Brandon. Brandon was not sure at first, running from her puppy kisses, but he warmed up to him nicely. If you look closely, he has the happiest smile in the world looking at her. Brandon would toss his big red bat for her to fetch and though 3 times her size, she managed to lug it back. She walked in Stephanie's flower bed and met the neighbor's dog, which she was a bit spooked by. Brian seemed to like her also, and helped make sure Brandon kept hold of the leash etc. It was a fun trip. I think Brandon might like to have a visit from her soon, before it gets too cold to play outside. He had fun. Did he talk about her afterwards Stephanie?

My Ears Won't Quit Growing!!

I have returned from Boston after a wonderful week with Star and John. While I was gone, Lucy got quite ill. She had to have a puppy shampoo bath from Travis in the tub and a trip to the vet's for antibotics and special food. She is doing great now. She has gained another pound and is at 11.1 lbs at 12 weeks of age. I agree with Stephanie, I think she doubled in size the week I was gone. She learned new skills. She can stand and look out the living room window by herself, and she runs down the stairs like a pro ( when I left, you still had to carry her). Her ears are longer and still quite silky. She starts puppy school on Saturday. Lucy was glad to meet Linus, Stacey and Matthew, and I apologize if she bit your feet, pulled your hair, or chewed on your pant legs. She does it because she loves you.