Christmas

I have been a terrible blogger, but I have been a little busy training for my new job and other fun things.

Christmas Eve eve, we had several families over for our annual chili dinner which is always a good exposure for the pups. This year there were 4 dogs in the house; Ely who was happy to take a nap in my room, Rocky who was by my side most of the night, Angel one of the new babies in our group who is no longer little, and a 9 week old little fluff ball of a thing (but I will share about her later). All of them fabulous and were on their best behavior!

[Rocky and Ely sitting in front of our Christmas tree, both are wearing red snowflake bandanas]

On Christmas Eve, it was kind of a lazy day. I left early afternoon to do some last minute Christmas shopping (where I learned my lesson not to go shopping on Christmas Eve because it was a mad house!) I then headed to church to watch a little boy with autism so his family could go to the service; hence Rocky got to stay home and come with my parents. Rocky was happy to see me once he got to church and slept through the Christmas Eve service. We then headed over to my grandparents house for our annual dinner. Rocky, Ely and the 9 week old puppy slept or chewed on a bone like good pups. Before all the puppies went to bed, I read them a dog’s night before Christmas, and read Rocky ‘twas the night before Christmas guide dog edition’.

[Rocky and I in front of a huge Christmas tree at the mall with red and gold balls, there are big presents in front of the tree and a gold fence in from of the gifts. Rocky is sitting to looking towards the camera; I am beside him wearing jeans and a white jacket. ]

Are you curious about the puppy yet?

[Leia, a very fluffy light golden puppy, the same coloring of a yellow lab, just a lot more fluffy. She is sitting very alert with a toy dog in front of her. In the background is a big blue toy box, a piano, and rocking chair]

We were asked to watch a Christmas puppy for a family at our church. She was a rescue puppy, so they don’t really know what she is. I think she has some collie, lab and probably about 6 or 7 other breeds. We got her 4 days before Christmas and she was terrified when she met Ely and made the mistake of growling and barking at him. Apparently Ely though that she said something not very nice and kept a good distance between them the entire time she was here. Towards the end of her stay she was trying to get Ely to play by jumping on him, all Ely would do was growl at her, which she didn’t seem to care to much about, and once Ely realized that she was not going to listen to him he would just walk away. If a dog or cat does not greet Ely friendly the first time, then there is no hope for friendship in Ely’s book. Rocky was quite interested in the pup when she first got here and was really good around her. She had not been around many other dogs in her short weeks of life and was not so sure about these giants.

[Rocky laying on a tan bed with Leia laying on top of Rocky’s front feet. Both are asleep]

By Christmas Eve she was Rocky’s shadow; Rocky would make a good big brother. It was so cute watching Rocky tell her that we don’t do that when he would snap at him. He took his paw and pinned her down; she responded very well to Rocky. It was adorable watching them play together. I also came to the conclusion that she had some kind of hound in her very quickly when she was put in the crate. I have never heard a dog scream so much about being in a crate. Rocky was very concerned for her and tried his hardest to find a way to bust her out. The only time she went into the crate quickly and without making any noise while in it was Christmas Eve. I took Rocky’s bed out of his crate and put it beside the crate and blocked off the inside of the crate and put her in there. She snuggled up as close to the side with Rocky as she could get and went to sleep. Wish I had thought of that 3 nights earlier!

[Rocky and Leia snuggled up on a white top, green bottom bed. Behind them is the Christmas tree and cabinet. Both are looking at the camera]

Christmas started way too early at our house, we were up at 5:30 to deliver the Christmas pup to her new house and, of course, it had to be pouring down rain! (Rocky was not happy to see her leave and apparently searched the house once we left) I put a huge red bow on a collar (she looked like a new car, the bow was so big!) Since it was pouring down rain by the time we got to their house, I let my dad be Santa’s elf! Not 20 seconds after he tied the leash to their front porch the screaming started. Let’s just say she will get lots of love and attention from the 5 kids not to mention the parents who had been keeping this a secret for a month! Her name is now Princess Leia. I am so thankful that all of my puppies have been well socialized since birth! I never knew how much of a difference it makes!

[Rocky laying on the carpet, looking to the left. In front of him is his kong tug and big nylabone]

Once we got back from our mission, Rocky helped me finish wrapping some Christmas presents. We had a huge breakfast once everyone, but my oldest sister( who had to work) got there. We then opened presents, well Rocky only opened one present and liked it so much that he was happy to chew on it and not open anything else. That boy sure does love his nylabones! Ely was enjoying his new bed that Rocky picked out for him and so he didn’t open any presents. I think we are set on dog treats for a few months or so, both of my sisters got them treats and I didn’t realize how many treats I go them so they got a huge bag, and around 9 bags/boxes of treats - along with a kong toy, a kong tug, two nylabones , some other toys, a blanket (for Ely), heartworm and flea meds for Ely, and a ton of other stuff! Apparently, they both have been very good!

[Rocky laying on his white bed, with a tan blanket, he is laying on his kong tug toy. He has his head facing the camera, but is looking to his right, he is wearing a red snowflake bandana]

For some reason people think I like dog stuff?! They just know me way too well! I got SEGDI shirts, doggy PJ’s, treat cookbooks, paw print blanket and all kinds of other stuff!

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing some Wii with the family, while the boys took a nap recovering from their busy early morning.

Rocky enjoyed his first Christmas and wishes that Santa would bring him new nylabones all year!

[Rocky, checking out all of their loot, all of their presents are on a dark brown bed, there are treats, toys, cotton balls, bags and more treats. Rocky is sniffing some of the treats, wearing a red snowflake bandana]

One of the best things Rocky got for Christmas was a little early. You might have noticed in some of the pictures in the last month or so, there was a bump right under Rocky’s nose. One of his friends decided to share the papilloma wart virus with Rocky. It is a harmless virus, but is contagious to other dogs, so Rocky had not been allowed to play with any of his friends. He went to the vet to get his first flu shot and we were able to talk to the skin/allergist specialty vet and she said it is kind of’ like doggy chicken pox’ that once they get them once and go away by themselves there is very small chance of them getting it again. It is pretty harmless, except in some very young or very old dogs; it is more of a cosmetic problem. She wanted to know how long Rocky had had it and said that the first 10-14 days that it appears it is the most contagious and then there is a small chance that it can be contagious the first two months,; since Rocky was mid way through his third month with it, she gave him the all clear. The next day I noticed part of it had changed colors and then it got smaller and smaller. Now it is just a tiny dot and getting smaller by the day! Rocky was very happy to get this present! I am just happy that he is healthy and hopefully won’t get this virus again!

[Ely, yellow lab, sitting in front of Christmas tree with white lights, Ely is looking towards the camera]

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!