Puppy Post (Dog Blog?)

My pretty puppy - and favorite friend - grows older. We have recently conquered an ear infection and her good eye appears to be hanging in there with the daily drops. She's still energetic and happy, the times when her joints ache so that she whimpers when climbing the stairs few and far between.

Still, she's one of those beloved parts of life that I sometimes take for granted, assuming she'll always be asleep in her green chair or off to fetch a squeaky or curled close when I sleep. Yet we make allowances for her aging body - Mom bought me a small set of steps for my bedroom so the hop up can transition to a more gentle climb. I recently bought a sectional (I wait eagerly for its arrival) that will fold flat so that if there comes a time when she can't handle the stairs to the bedrooms, we can spend our nights down here.

Fun Facts

• Her name is not, in fact, Chienne. I believe I've told you what it really is at some point, but it was randomly placed and I'm not sure I could find it.
• We share a middle name. (Sprout's is the same as Brother's. I'm not very creative, apparently.)
• She does not like to walk in hot weather and will find a nice tree and flop in the shade. She does, however, enjoy lazing in the sun on the back deck.
• She chews at her paws - allergies.
  
• She's quite vocal - will bark at times and can cry incessantly when locked out of the bedroom or when wanting to get out the car and explore.
  
• She's very friendly and has always liked people and dogs. Cats tend to scratch her nose as she's not very polite about personal space.
  
• Undeniably dominant, she is possessive with toys and attention.
  
• She's heavy for her size - very muscular and sturdy.
  
• She loves me best, but will abandon me immediately to sleep with guests. She especially loves Grandma and Friend.
  
• She growls when Sprout bats at her nose while she's sleeping. Then she'll get up, glare at him and go eat all his kibble. It makes me giggle every time until the stripey cat comes and bats at me while I sleep until I refill his dish.
  
• She snores.
  
• While she does love new people, she is sometimes afraid of men. The hair on her back will stand up and she will growl or bark at some people - only male. I wonder sadly if something happened to her as a puppy before I found her.
  
• She travels very well, enjoying the passenger seat, but will cry if we slow down and she believes she should be allowed to exit the vehicle to explore. At highway speeds, she generally sleeps. When I yell at other drivers, she puts her head down and goes to the backseat.
  
• Our last family dog would sing, loving Happy Birthday in particular. Chienne will sometimes bark if I get really exited about a song, but rarely howls along.
  
• She has three baskets of toys. Her favorite is whichever one is newest.
• Doug brought her a bone yesterday - so sweet I could hardly handle it - and she carried it around while whimpering, torn between playing with her newest possession and battling me for the spot on the loveseat next to our visitor. I giggled until I had a coughing fit.
  
• She often sleeps under the covers. Her coat is thin and I like to be cold so we often cuddle at night.
• Her favorite spot to be rubbed is above her tail. She'd rather you not pet her head too much - I'm not sure if her eyes or ears hurt, but she'll often duck away.
  
• She's ticklish on her sides and will smile or tap her back leg when rubbed wrong.
  
• She'll go to bed alone if I'm up too late. Sometimes 'too late' is after 8PM.
  
• Our morning routine is for her to come downstairs shortly after I do. She rests while I have coffee, check email and watch the news, then we take a walk. Upon our return, we put in eye drops and she has a munchy strip for a treat. Then I'll get ready (or engage in weekend activities) and throw a handful of Snaps before I leave.
• Red Snaps are her favorites.
  
• She can manage a night by herself if I'm traveling, but she doesn't like it.
  
• She will stop eating when I first leave. I'm not sure if she misses me or if she knows my parents will baby her with people food.
  
• I'll bring her a double cheeseburger from McDonald's at least once a week and will share anything I eat.
  
• She does not kill things - not mice or birds or frogs - and often is as startled as I am when creatures emerge while we're outside.
  
• She will get in the garbage - shred cardboard or tissues or paper - and eat whatever she can find. My garbage, therefore, is in the garage and outside her path to the dog door.
  
• She took to the dog door fairly easily in Southern State and again in this house. I freaking love it and can't really imagine letting dogs out to potty again.
  
• She's afraid of thunder, fireworks and hiccups.
• When afraid, she hides - mostly in the bathtub in the interior part of the house. Here, it's the guest bath upstairs. Said room typically has a blanket and pillow in the tub and I turn on the fan for background noise when it storms.
• She's not crazy about the vacuum but she will go gather her toys before the machine eats them.
  
• I've never crated her, but she doesn't seem to mind at the vet.
• That's my favorite of her puppy pictures - her coat much softer and without the speckles of gray. But dogs are good examples of that which appear to grow more beautiful with age, but only to those who love them. She's such a good girl now - rare accidents, minimal destruction - but she does (if I'm being honest) smell like dog and is a bit bulky because of the people food and her blind eye does freak some people out.
  
• She's currently impatient for her walk - and I love her so much - so I'll stop telling you about her and go freeze while wandering the neighborhood.