Callie & Bella's Birthday!

Today Callie and Bella are a year old today! Below are pics of what they do best: play!

Callie & Bella @ 11.5 mos

Callie & Bella @ 10mos plus new addition

Pictures of Callie and Bella at 10 months old with new rescue kitten. They are three peas in a pod. They play and sleep together. They are all best buddies. The kitten is about 4.5 months old. After Boy Kitty died, I decided that he was my last and only cat. Then my uncle showed me this kitten he rescued and I fell for him. He's so different than Boy Kitty in personality, etc. He'll never replace my Boy, but he's a funny and good cat in his own unique way. I am finding it hard to name him. Anyway, the furkids get along great. Everyone is healthy and vibrant. They still make me smile.

My girls

Caught on the couch


Pooped after playing


"Yes, mom?" Bella with a wet beard.

27 Weeks

Six Months Old

Callie and Bella are 25 weeks old / 6 months old now.

So what's been going on with the two littermates?

From last Friday through Sunday Callie had bad poo and Bella was vomitting. Sorry if this sounds gross, but you weren't there cleaning up after them. :) Thank Bissell for Spot Bot machine!! A carpet lifesaver! Anyway, the only thing I could link it to was some soon to expire Cesars puppy wet food (exp 7/09). I don't know what else it could've been.

I removed Cesars completely from their diet and am keeping them on strictly Organix Puppy dry food with Nature's Recipe Puppy food mixed in (similiar ingrediants and quality). I had given Callie brown rice which she ate up at first, then vomited. I then fed them both very little but mixed the dry with some water for a few days.

Results? Both better by Monday.

I started to let them sleep with me at night instead of in their crates. They like to sleep at the end of the bed on the folded part of the comforter. They also like to get me up every morning 5 mins before my alarm clock goes off. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this... but... whatever. They are happy and good puppies.

Bella & Callie in the morning sun

Both at almost 24 weeks old.

Sisters

I love this picture. They usually lay like this after a hard evening of playing.

Callie has a UTI

I noticed on the way home Saturday, that Callie would pee several times during one stop. I didn't think much about it because it was a long ride back home. Back at home, she would go outside, come in and pee again - several times. Some little piddle spots, some bigger. I thought this might be a training issue, so I worked on praising her really well when she went outside. She would come right back inside and urinate upstairs - several times. What alarmed me was when I found blood in her urine a few times and I knew it had to be a UTI. We went to the vet where they did a urinalysis and a sonogram. After it was confirmed she had a UTI, she was put on antibiotics for two weeks. She doesn't seemed phased at all and continues to play and play with Bella.

The Girls

Callie's Home!

Yesterday my mom and I went to Inverness, FL (we love this charming town!)at the Room For One More Pet rescue organization to pick up Bella's littermate Callie. When they first met they didn't seem to care about each other too much but when we let them out at the rest stops on the way home they just wanted to play, play, play! When we got home the two of them played for hours! It was so cute to watch them play. At first glance I didn't see any resemblence between these two littermates. Bella's eyes are bigger and has a shorter snot, Callie's hair is smoother and she is bigger. But then after some observation Bella is just a smaller version of Callie with some different features. They has similiar characteristics and seem to move in unison at times. I feel like a third wheel as I do not get that much attention! haha! Another good note -- Bella went poo outside for the first time this morning. Maybe having her big sister here helped! Now if I can get her to stop peeing on papers, we are good to go!

Bella's sister is coming home!

For a few weeks now I have been thinking about getting another puppy for Bella because I see how much she loves the other puppies in the training class and how much she wants to play with my older dogs but they pretty much ignore her. I inquired about an older dog at Room For One More but was told that he was probably not a good fit with such a young puppy. I thought about putting the search on hold but yet I'd look at their site everyday. Two days ago I saw Callie! Callie was the puppy that I originally applied for but another couple was approved a few hours before me and I was offered Bella. I am so in love with Bella and I do not regret how things turned out. But to see Bella's littermate back at the shelter was fate and I just had to inquire about her. Karron, the foster mom, let me know that she was still available and that I could adopt her if I wanted to. We chatted for a little bit about Callie and I decided to adopt her! I pick her up on Saturday. I am so excited that Bella and Callie will be reunited after being apart for about 10 weeks! Here are pics of Callie at almost 10 weeks and again at about 20 weeks.

Bella loves her toys!

Bella at almost 20 weeks.

I've never had a dog who loves her toys as much as Bella does. I can't help but buy more and more for her too...! Especially that long legged bunny she seems to choose most often.

She received two shots today. We go back in March for more. Bella gained 2 ounces since the last visit for a total of 5.6lbs!!! On another note, Mocha, my beloved 7 yr old Chihuahua, LOST 1.2lbs!!! This is fantastic news! She is a chunky monkey and we've been working hard to get her weight down. Would love to see her lose 4 more pounds.

@ 19 Weeks

Training is going really well as far as "sit" and "watch me" commands. She listens more than 50% of the time at the "eh - eh" command, which means I do not like what she is doing.

She still loves her toys and plays well alone and with me. She's shy in puppy classes but after she warmed up she wanted to jump right in and play with the other puppies. I do hope her confidence grows.

She loves ice cubes which is good for teething and probably numbs up those gums pretty well.

She's no longer in the playpen and is crated when I cannot watch her (she's been crated at night since I got her and was in playpen when I go to work). This is taking some time for her to get used to but I am confident she will adjust soon. I still can't leave the room without her following me or crying because she can't see me. This too I hope will go away as her confidence grows.

She's paper trained and made the transition from play pen to puppy pads ok. I am taking her outside too but she's not getting that she can go potty outside. Ugh... we're working on it!

First Grooming @ 16 weeks

Bella met with Cori, a groomer at Petsmart, this evening for the first time. She was shaking so much when I handed her over and also after she had a bath. I paid for expedited grooming so Bella would not have to stay in a cage, wait to be groomed, and picked up 2.5 hours later as her first experience. Instead, I was able to pick her up about 35 minutes later. I watched the groomer trim her hair and cut her nails. Bella seemed to relax a bit and even kissed the groomers face several times. Cori attached a cute little bow on top of her head. Everyone that walked by commented on how cute she was and a manager at the store said he had to go in there to get some kisses.

Cori said that Bella has a smooth coat like a chihuahua but with some length like a Shih Tzu (although definitely not as long). She said she thought she had an apple head and snout like a Chihuahua and eyes like a Shih Tzu. I tend to agree with that analysis.

Below are some pictures of her after the grooming.







Probably the only picture I will ever get of the doggie crew together.


Bella licking my mom's hand

Almost 16 weeks

Bella-bear standing.


Bella-bear and her toys.

On Thursday she is going for her first grooming. Pictures to come. :)

almost 15 weeks...

Bella staring at Mocha (my beloved 7yr old chihuahua)


She's chewed up my birki's.


I do discipline that face.


Soooo tired.

Almost 14 weeks

Pictures taken tonight. 4.2lbs. I was sitting at the table and she wanted up so she could sit on the bench with me. Loves to have me always in sight and lay next to me when pooped out from playing.

She is obsessed with the cat and he's just not that into her. :) She also wants his food. The photo below was taken late Dec.


Little tiny black hairs are everywhere. Everywhere you can imagine! But I wouldn't trade her for anything.

13 weeks

Bella loves to play with her toys. Her new thing is flipping over her bed and hiding underneath it. Then she pops out and attacks the toys. She has so much puppy energy! She is doing pretty well with paper training; more hits than misses. She bites everything, including me, which we are working on. She knows her name but doesn't always come when called. She really loves the other dogs but they aren't very fond of her... yet. She is about 4.2lbs - gaining about 4 ounces in a week and about 1lb since she was first weighed at her new vet. She still doesn't like it when I leave for work or take a shower. I keep her in a pack n play all when at work so she has papers, toys, and room to move around. At night she is crated and sleeps on my bed (she goes through the whole night without urinating or defecating!) for now.

10 weeks

First pictures playing in my new home, playing fetch! She LOVES toys!!