Spa Time!

19 Dec 05: The girls went on a "Mini" trip to Casa Del Cane. This is where Rocky, our beloved poodle-Skye terrier went for 10 years. Their appointment was at 10:30 AM. They met Stefania & her Mom, the groomers. The father & a sister also work there. The girls were angels,"amorini".
The first thing Stefania asked us was "Where is Rocky?" We told them the sad news, that Rocky had died of cancer in Febbraio. Stefania seemed surprised that now we have 2 dogs. She took Teddi first to the back room. She clipped her toenails, & cleaned inside her ears. She brought her back outside & handed her to me. Teddi smelled of baby powder. Next, Stefania took Honey & clipped her nails & cleaned her ears. She said that both of them were good.
We bought a large mattress pad, plaid check, for a dog bed. We also bought a beautiful red nylon leash, with a silicone padded handle, for Teddi. The girls seemed to enjoy their mini spa. Poor me, I must do my own nails & ears!
31 Dec 05: This is the last day of the year, 2005! Sad news is that Pipo, Nerina & Giorgio's beloved cat, died Thursday, 29 December. I have started a small memory diary for Pipo.
We will start the new year without our beloved Rocky, who died 17 Feb 05. It is sad for us. We will also start the year with our 2 buttons, Honey & Teddi, now about 9 months old, 1 Jan 06. We have estimated their age, plan to celebrate their birthdays on 1 April. Some April fools' day.
These past 2 weeks or so have been a bit strange. Teddi & I love each other as much as always. She is crazy about Mommy. She is the kind of puppy who is usually happy. If she does something wonderful, I love her. If she does something naughty, so what, I still love her. I don't get upset with her. Bill says that I don't make her mind.
The situation now is that we usually have 3 pet gates up in the hall, where the puppies stay. Miss Priss has learned to jump over them, with the greatest ease. This is so much like Rocky, when he was younger. She clears the top of the gate, with her front legs stretched high & forward, & her back legs stretched high & backwards. She tries to come into any room that she wants, usually where I am, or where there is food or treats. Her negative consequence is that I pick her up & cuddle her, then put her back into the hall. I just know that she will be emotionally scarred for life, with such dire consequences.
Honey can jump over the gates, I think. But, she usually doesn't. We try to praise her for being good. What's been happening lately with Honey is rather sad & troublesome.
She has some kind of behavior problem. She has been acting aggressive towards Teddy. She will follow her, biting at her ears & at her tail. We thought they were play fighting for awhile. This was mentioned by their previous owners, which I thought a strange comment. They said " don't worry, it's nothing bad". This should have been a warning of unusual behavior. We will not let Honey be a bully to Teddi. Honey is only a 10 lb dog. She seems so innocent otherwise. I thought maybe she is jealous because sometimes I give more attention to Teddi. I have been concentrating on giving Honey equal attention. Somehow, I don't think this is really the cause of the problem, though it could be a factor. Bill thinks the girls have been cooped up, because of the snow & cold weather of the past week or so. He thinks they need more exercise, which I agree. He is welcome to take them out in the cold.
We need to study how to handle this problem. The last thing we want is unpleasant behavior. In the meantime, we tether Honey's leash to the wall if she is being unkind to Teddi. I think Honey's behavior may also cause Teddi to want to escape from the hall, & come seek me.
I try to hold Honey, but she is very wriggly & squirmy. She calms down some if I pet her behind her ears. She doesn't want me to brush her, which I think would be good, as grooming establishes closeness. She has a worried look on her face sometimes, as though she has the problems of the world on her mind. Bill thinks this is just a trait of her breed, along with being more nervous.