07 febbraio 2006

Noi sceltiamo la nostra camera di letto
7 November: On 5 Nov Saturday, we've had the girls about one month. We all love each other very much. I want to write about all the cute & also, not so endearing things that they do.
It's obvious that Teddi & Honey have a special relationship, sort of like sisters. They have a strong bond between them, which we humans don't really know about. Sometimes, they snuggle together when sleeping or resting. They will curl around one another. Usually, Honey is in a curled ball, while the larger Teddi is wrapped around her, like a spoon. Sometimes, their heads are pointed in the same direction; other times, in the opposite direction. We don't yet have beds for them. So, we give them towels to lay upon, & keep sweaters on them.
We have had a rocky adjustment period, trying to find the best place to keep them. Living in a 2 story home, we kept the girls upstairs in the hallway, with one or two pet gates up. Well, this did not work out so great. One or both of the puppies would jump over the gate, or chew the plastic mesh of the gate. Teddi chewed a giant hole through, it was amazing what her teeth could do. She has the adorable mouth like Rocky had. She has a small white row of teeth in the center, & the 2 upward pointed canines on the bottom sides of her mouth. This I think is the terrier mouth, meant for some serious work, to catch varmints or something. Usually, Teddi is intent on catching treats such as "pigs in a blanket".
At first, Honey kept jumping over the gate. I would catch her & put her back in her room. Then, Teddi kept jumping over the gate, learning that she could. They are both so young & fun loving, everything is a game. The world is set up, or should be, for their enjoyment. After Teddi jumped over the gate, she ran into my bedroom, of course. Then she jumped onto my bed. There is no better place in the world than Mommy's bed. I kind of like it because so far it is dog hair free. Anyway, I would pick up Teddi & put her back into her room. I was going to teach her & Honey where to stay, yeah! Well, Teddi thought "what a great game", & also a way to get extra attention. So, on one day Teddi jumped over the gate about 10 times. Things were not working as I had planned.
Next course of action, plan B: Why don't we put the adorable pups downstairs in the hallway. That way they would feel like part of our family. But, we couldn't let them run out of the house whenever the door is open. So we put a pet gate at the front door. To prevent unwanted wanderings up the stairs we put a pet gate at the bottom. Poor little Teddi has such short terrier legs. They are only good for getting her into trouble. We also attached a leash to both pups which we hooked to the wall. We separated the 2 leashes so they would not get tangled together. Well, we did this for about a week or so. Then, one day Bill & I heard a very loud, gnawing sound. It was like a TV wildlife show when the beaver is chomping on some wood or taking down a tree. To our amazement, Teddi had chewed a large chunk at the edge of the wooden stairs. She seemed to suffer no mouth wounds or lack of appetite from this. So, we cleaned up the wooden splinters. On another day, Teddi chewed the wooden leg of an antique chair, over 100 years old. This chair was given to Bill by his now, very elderly Momma, Mary Yount. The chair may be antique, but it is not very pretty. I guess this can be said about some other things. Anyway, plan B is not working out very well. The pups are not content. Our house is being demolished by the puppy crew.