New Toys! My favorite thing!

I read somewhere that having two sets of toys that you rotate every month or so prevents your dog from getting bored of the toys and resorting to chewing on 'new' things like your shoes or furniture.

Emma has already destroyed many of her toys. Yesterday I noticed that she has started to take every toy out of her toy box and none of them are entertaining her... even the beloved duck. So I decided to go out to the dollar store and get her some new ones.

I exchanged and stored the old toys to take out again next month. It took Emma about ten minutes to realize she had new toys.

So far her favorite seems to be her hotdog. I'm lucky to be able to IM with Miguel while he's at work. We were IM chatting about Emma's new toys and thought I would share a bit of the conversation:

Laura: "Emma LOVES her hotdog!!!"

Miguel: "I can relate to that"

hahaha =) My husband makes me laugh!

Other new things today:

1) Emma likes to play hide-and-go-seek... Can you spot the puppy?

2) Emma is trying very hard to catch an elusive fly that has decided to make the window his new residence

3) Emma has starting pulling on her leash when we take her out these days. So this weekend Miguel and I stopped at Petsmart and bought her a harness. We have a little Houdini puppy. She has somehow learned to wriggle free from it if she wants too. However, it actually does a pretty good job when we're walking her. The only other down side is that it only came in black. No cute pink is such a bummer!

4) This is what can happen when you don't keep an eye on a puppy at all times

Play Date at the Park!

Miguel and I took Emma to the Savannah Dog Park this afternoon. Our friends Meredith and Justin met us there with two of their dogs Linus and Schroeder. Schroeder is a three month old English Sheep Dog. He is so cute! He reminds me of a panda bear! Linus is three years old and had a crush on Emma.

Justin and Meredith

Linus

Schroeder

Emma played soccer with Miguel

And of course Under is Still good even at the dog park

We also played with water and a hose for the first time. Another dog at the park, Buttons, really enjoyed the water. Emma did fine with it but really dislikes it now after her first bath we gave her when she got home.

Schroeder is just too cute!

Emma was pooped on the way home!

We stopped at Taco Bell on the way home and just have to share this amazing employment opportunity ad posted in the drive thru

Visit from my Gramma, Uncle and Aunt, and the Cone of Shame...

My mom's mom came to visit and brought her dogs Luke and Bailey too!

I really love my uncle Luke! I copy everything he does! He was teaching me how to be a dog.

He also really loves my favorite toy: the duck

My Aunt Bailey doesn't like new members of the family very much and had to wear the muzzle of shame so she wouldn't try to eat me. She pouted in the corner most of the time.

Being a grandpup is really cool because my gramma spoils me and even plays on the floor with me!

Saturday night my mom took Miguel and me out to dinner at Jazz'd then we went to get ice cream. So happy she came to visit!!!

Sunday we went to City Market and got pizza. It was fun because we got to take Luke and Emma with us. Bailey had to stay home =(

My water bowl didn't work out so well....

Under is good! Emma hung out under the table most of the time.

After my mom went back home Emma slept pretty hard for a day. The next week I left to go to visit my grandfather in Florida. This was also the week Emma had to get fixed. I took her in Monday morning the day before I left for Florida. When I went to pick her up later that afternoon the vet said she wasn't recovering well from surgery so they had to keep her over night. I was so sad since that meant I couldn't pick her up the next morning. I was also really worried about her. Miguel took the next day off work (I have the best husband!) more to make me feel better than anything. Miguel sent me images while I was gone so I could have updates on how Emma was doing...

"I do not like the cone of shame"

New Cuddle Buddy!

Miguel started school this week and Emma helped dad study...

Other things that happened this week:

I am scared of my food dish and have learned to knock it over

Mom and Dad took me to the tennis court so I could run around leash-free!

My new Georgia Tech collar and pretty heart tag came in the mail!

Today I get to go to the park and have a play date with Dad's boss's new Old English Sheep dog puppy!

Emma Goes to the Vet for the First Time

Oblivious to where she is headed, Emma poses for a picture on the way to the car.

Emma has decided that sitting in the back seat of the car isn't "with" enough. She has started climbing up to lean on the center armrest or hopping up into the passenger seat next to me. I'm happy she is liking the car better. She happily jumps in as soon as I open the door.

The vet had two separate entrances for dogs and for cats. I've never seen that before and thought it was a really good idea!

Unlike all the other dogs in the waiting room, who were cowering under seats and attempting to hide behind legs, Emma didn't know to be scared of the vet. She strangled herself trying to greet everyone and play-bowed to all the dogs who stared back at her unsure of what to make of a excited puppy. I feel like I should apologize to my mom. I now have a glimpse of what it must feel like to be a mom with a screaming child in a grocery store. Emma barked her head off!! Nothing I did calmed her down or distracted her. I got many 'looks' from other patients parents.

Emma was so worked up. When we got in our examination room she was disappointed to find she and I were the only people there. I think she was expecting another room full of dogs to 'play' with or people to meet and wag at. She could hear the vet and technicians on the other side of the door and so stared and wagged at it while we waited. I doubt this will happen next time we go...

Emma is doing well! The vet said she is a very good girl. She weighs in at just under 18 lbs! Biggie girl!

Emma got real quiet after her examination. She caught on that, though she and the vet are friends, he does things to her that she doesn't like. She got two shots in her back legs and a syringe full of gel up her nose. Emma very much protested the nose gel and the vet looking at her teeth. But she was a good girl. She didn't bark or nip at the vet.

The vet was a little worried about her foot patches though. The doctor told us to finish her antibiotics and also gave us some medicated pads to wipe on her foot once daily. He said it should have been looking better by now.

Emma was really happy to be back home and quickly feel asleep. She had a very exciting morning.

While I was checking out, Emma started barking her precious, little head off again. I asked if the vet had any suggestions of how to control that and she suggested getting an empty bottle and putting pennies in it. Anytime Emma starts to bark, like when a neighbor walks by our window, we should shake the bottle. The idea is that, hopefully, she'll get the idea that barking is associated with an unpleasant noise. We'll see...