Warp speed

That's how fast puppies change and grow. Today I realized that Poppy can now wear at least one of the hand-me-down coats from a friend that was way too big just a week and a half ago. It's made like a horse turn-out rug, perfect for cold, rainy weather (like today's) and romping in the barn as it's waterproof and won't collect hay.

There have been big things afoot in a little dog's life this week.

At work on Thursday, Poppy got to explore and play a bit more than usual, which was good because I needed to put in more hours than usual.

On our way home from work, we stopped by friend Debbie's (of the above hand-me-down coat) for some canine socialization time. Poppy got to meet Murphy, a sweet and gentle lady Cairn Terrier; Ari, a rough-and-tumble teenaged girl Glen of Imaal Terrier; and Sophie, an old, crochety woman Jack Russell Terrier. Initially Poppy was totally intimidated and tried to "hide behind mommy's skirt." We all (but Sophie) went for a walk, during which Poppy started standing up for herself. Then we went inside and the romping and fun began. Well, except with Sophie, but it was a good opportunity to learn to leave certain grumpy people alone. Debbie also gave me Ari's outgrown collar and matching lead, which was timely because Poppy's first collar was getting snug and I was planning not to use it after that day. The new collar is perfect for Poppy, with its colorful flowers on a black background.

New collar!

Tired puppy!

I plan to take Poppy over to Debbie's for another play date next week. This time she'll get to meet one of Debbie's BIG dogs – a 150# American bulldog – carefully controlled, of course.

Thursday night I had a dressage club meeting and took Poppy with me. Someone else brought their dog, and this time Poppy was eager to meet another new friend. Since the bigger dog acted a little unsure, their contact was minimal, but I'm glad for these chances to socialize Poppy in safe places with safely vaccinated dogs.

Speaking of vaccinations, earlier this week I had called our small animal vet (a former employee of Rick's) to schedule Poppy's next shot, and she said Poppy needed it this week. That's not the schedule the breeder suggested, but I trust our vet and agreed to bring Poppy in Friday. Her official weight was 8.7#, she got a shot she didn't notice, and an edible dewormer. I didn't want to put her down in or around the clinic where sick dogs might have been, so she yelled LOUDLY in protest about not getting to play or meet the other dogs. Afterwards I let her take a quick potty break and then let her ride in my lap for the first time. That way she could show her face at the Starbucks drive-through window and get her first Puppuccino. The person at the window saw me trying to take a photo of Poppy enjoying her treat and offered to take one of us. :-D

After all that excitement (and whipped cream), she conked out in my lap:

Friday afternoon I gathered up all the puppy toys into the little dog bed so I could vacuum. Poppy was afraid of the vacuum, but had fun pulling her toys back out of the bed one by one when I was done:

This morning Poppy slept in until 7:00! We kept her busy until it was time to put her in her travel crate and head to church. She was pent up and ready to play by the time we got home (she did get two potty breaks at church). During the one dry spell, we went for a walk to the barn, henhouse, and woods, and there was wrestling with Chuckie, of course:

The last two, though blurry, show just how fierce things get, but both Poppy and Chuckie always seem eager for more; go figure.

There was lots of playtime interspersed with naps inside, too.

This puppy is growing so fast I am noticing the difference daily – even from morning to night!

And she's smart. She has gone to the front door and whined when she needed to poop several times now, and tonight at bedtime she actually got in her nighttime crate on her own. Sniff; so proud. 😊

That's the last puppy report for this week from . . .

Getting behinder as I go hurrier

For some reason, raising Poppy brings back vivid memories – not of puppy Jackson, but of baby Brian – after the walking commenced and before the naps ended. His every waking hour required my participation or supervision; his every sleeping moment was a too-short opportunity to take care of everything else in my life. (Yeah, those people who tell you to "nap when baby naps" must have household staff. 🙄) Doesn't leave much downtime, that's for sure, and it turns out that lack of downtime can be every bit as exhausting as lack of sleep! But this, too, shall pass, and I am trying to enjoy every minute – as evidenced by all the photos. 😍

So, the house concert was wonderful and Poppy and her sister Penny were purgatory on paws it sounds like – after they came to an understanding within the first few minutes. I was appalled when I put Poppy down in our friends' yard and my lean, mean fighting machine pounced on her stouter sister with a very adult-sounding growl, clearly intending to BE.THE.BOSS! After Penny recovered from her shock she quickly disabused Poppy of her domination dreams, and they ran off to explore together.

By Monday's sunrise, Poppy was rarin' to go again. Lucky for her, my work day was cut short by bank problems. After running a couple errands we had plenty of time to play at home before picking up Brian.

Don't worry; Chuckie can call "time out" whenever he wants.

I was feeling a little sad that this pup pays little heed to me, and decided to DO something about it. I got some wee pieces of cheese and started playing recall games with her. Success; I was suddenly Poppy's Pied Piper!

"Did you say 'Come'???"

Just that quickly, this smart little puppy (eight weeks old on Monday) is a total recall rock star in the house. Outside there are still things more compelling than cheese, so I still have to keep her on a flexi-leash for safety.

On yesterday's episode of Poppy Planet:

and on the Chuckie Channel:

Click to biggity for TONGUE!

Just to prove not everything is black-and-white in my world, here is yesterday's sunrise:

and sunset (on the way to a basketball game):

And just outside our door, heavenly perfume!

Poppy is definitely growing; I noticed it this morning as she overflowed my lap:

Whew, that's a LOT from . . .

A pile o' puppy pictures

Too many photo opportunities! Every single day. Poppy's just so stinkin' cute! And she's a good puppy, too. Sleeps through the night, doesn't get carsick, happy to meet all comers. But make no mistake; she is "Terrier Tough." Keeping an eagle eye on her to keep her good (no pottying in the house, no chewing on cords, etc.) AND trying to keep up with at least the minimum inside and outside responsibilities, all while being distracted by photo and play opportunities sure makes it hard to keep up here. So just a reminder: if you really need daily doses of Poppy (hmm, is that like, um, a heroin addiction?) you can check my Instagram feed (click on the little blue bar at right).

So here are selected photos from the last few days, right through to Poppy napping in a sunbeam this morning.

A few comments. 1) Poppy's motto is obviously "Play hard, sleep hard." She is also "Queen of all the toys." ;-)  2) Poppy LOVES being a farm dog! She is intensely interested in spots where there is mouse smell, thinks the wooded lot is Disneyland, and romps in loose hay bales like a kid jumping on a bed. 3) Poppy found that soft disk on her own in the toy basket. It was Jackson's favorite and my heart ached a little when she appropriated it. Not that I would have kept it from her; I just thought it was too big for her right now. Ha. 4) The new neighbors who handed down the snuggly "sheepskin" coat brought over that little blue bed and another coat the wife made just for Poppy. (The coat is adorable but too big right now.) 5) A man and his matching puppy. Rick was eager to show Poppy off after church yesterday. I think he likes her. :-)  6) I am so thankful that Poppy has a ready playmate in Chuckie. WHAT a cat!

Now it's almost noon. Poppy's on her second nap. I have four loaves of whole grain and seed bread raising in the oven. Both my horses need exercise, but between the bread and the puppy and a house concert we're attending this afternoon (Jim Malcolm again, this time with his wife), that may be difficult to squeeze in. On our way to the concert, we're dropping off Poppy at her sister Penny's for their first post-gotcha-day playdate; I predict they will have Fun-with-a-capital-F and wear each other out! It will be interesting to see how much Penny has changed in a week; I know Poppy has grown and changed but it's hard to gauge how much when I'm with her all the time.

That's it for now from . . .