Let the weekend begin!

Well, today I found out that I cannot update blogger from my new iphone. It seems so weird to me! The compose and upload and post buttons and areas are all there, you just can't get to them! What goes on! Perhaps this is an example of a google-apple disconnect. Maybe the droid is getting the honors. phooey. somebody make an app!! (also, these are all iphone photos. the exposure seems way blown out. not sure what's up with thaaat.)

Anyway, Finn went for her first walk in the huge park near our house with Westly today and it went well! It was goooorgeous out, to begin with, but she didn't want to go at first, I think she was tired. But once she saw West happily trotting along she warmed up to the idea. She really isn't a fan of her harness even though she loves to be outside. But she loved the park-- smelled everything and ran around, jumping up and down in excitement!! Soo cute. She really is just incredibly adorable, and so happy! She's always happy about what she's doing and sniffing and chewing and investigating-- it rubs off on you.

Here she is in the passenger seat on the mini car ride home, panting! What a morning! Look how big she is! You know that phase where baby animals begin to look more like miniature adults? I think she is getting there! Her proportions are beginning to "even" out. She's still obviously a puppy, but you can see it.
Currently she and Fiona are fighting over Finn's bed. Fi likes it, apparently. Except Fi is the little dragon-ness and never loses, and Finley will fall asleep chewing something she's so determined, so I have to intervene when Finley won't back down and Fiona, in true sister fasion, starts going for the ears. On the other hand, though, Fiona has taken to treating Finn like her kitten and grooming her the way mama cats clean their babies-- holding them down with their two front paws and doing it whether the kits like it or not! With a few well-placed love bites now and then to remind them who's boss.

Here Fiona is, being nice about coming to snuggle-- giving eskimo kisses.
And here they are after they've gotten cozy and Finn has just ducked out of a head embrace-- you can see Fi trying to get her to come back :)
Potty training update: Finn is a bona fide genius (I don't even think that makes sense, but whatever). I couldn't be more of the proud puppy-mom. Not only has she started taking herself out when the yard door is open, but she goes out to the big yard, where West goes! I was waiting to broach this transition for when she was bigger, since there are stairs to get down there, but nope! Down she goes. At a slight angle to accommodate that loooooong leetle torso. She is copying West! She also-- and, warning, I am most proud about this-- has started to ASK to go out. That's right!! a-mazing. amazing. She holds it during the night and runs out with you in the morning and goes! soo great. I was so frustrated with this for the last few weeks and then all of a sudden it's like the clouds have parted and taaadaaahhhh!! that's right. Finn is brilliant. I'll stop bragging now.

HALLOWEEEEEEN, the most incredible holiday ever, except for Thanksgiving because suddenly I have family and the 4th of July because omg fireworks, is TOMORROW!!! I am thinking Finley will be wrestled into her appalling pink princess outfit one.more.time. It's just too good-- the hat killls me. and she won't fit in it much longer!! I will take photos, don't worry. ;)

The weekend of Finn's New Bed

This has been a big week for Finn! She went on her first real car ride since coming to live with us (and got car sick), she met Uncle at his antique clock repair shop and his wonderful shop cat, Mike (Mike deserves his own post someday), as well as a very nice family outside on the *gasp* sidewalk! That's right, Finn had her first real city walk on Saturday. She'd had a bitty one before, in Laural Village, but that was mostly me carrying her with occasional scuttles along walls when no one was around. She did really well! She'd go about twenty feet and then sit down and look at me in a kind of excited way, then I'd call her or bend down and she'd come running as fast as her little legs can go (which is pretty darn fast!) and we'd carry on, with her running and jumping about. It was really cute and I was very proud!

Here is Mike the Cat:


Then she met a nice family outside the shop-- husband, wife, charming little boy who was about 4 and their dog, Otter! Little boy proudly told us about all of Otter's tricks and we discussed how it's important for city dogs to learn the command "Leave it" for all those strange things lying on sidewalks. Little boy and his parents also told us about their halloween costumes! very fun.

Here she is with Uncle D in the shop!!

Thennn, Finn got her first big girl bed! I've stopped doing the crate training because she was getting used to piddling on the towel in her crate in the middle of the night, and that wasn't good. But when given the chance to piddle away from her bed, she'd take it. So far this has been a great step, because she's starting to get the whole ask to go out thing. So she goes around 6am, and this past weekend had a spotless record of coming out in the morning, running to the yard, and relieving herself without incident! YAYY!! We still have to go out on random 1-2 hour potty runs because we haven't gotten to the point of asking for those, but she now will let me know if she's in her room if she's go to go by barking and rattling the door. Praise the lord! Progress!

And here she is in her new bed (with new blanket; guess you can't really see the bed, but it's under there!). She puts her ears back like this when she hears the camera focus sound-- I think it makes her look like a rabbit.

Corgi obsession

In keeping with my growing corgi obsession, I have been having a great time looking up corgi stuff. I've fallen in love with this woman, Marty Helgeson's, little corgi paintings! They are too cute. I think my favorite is the swimming pool one, of course! I LOVE the look on the face of the corgi on the end of the board-- I know that look so well!

This one makes me think of Finn-- when I let her out at night she wanders out into the yard and then sits with her back to me, looking up at the sky. I love her little profile, like this doggie here!

She has a firefly!! And I love her hat. Too bad Finn doesn't really like them ;)

Glamour dog

I believe I've mentioned that Finn's room is my bathroom-- her crate, food+water, puppy pads, treats and, at the end of the day, all her toys, are in there and that is where she sleeps. Her treats are in a little bag on the sink, easy to access for going to bed and being good, and today I reached in for one and-- what is this? Why...it's my mascara. My, if I may say so, ridiculously expensive favorite mascara! Finley is taking over my LIFE. (and really, I'm thrilled =)
P.S. trying out a new layout-- man are they a lot of color coordinating! I'll see how this one goes...it's hard to pick something you won't mind looking at every day! :)

Introducing, the Corgiphant! da dah dada!!!

Finn has started putting herself to bed in her crate-- I'm so proud. =) I was alarmed for a minute, finding that no one knew where she had skiddered off to, and was overwhelmed by cuteness and pleasant surprise when she was discovered passed out on top of her monkey beach towel in her little den. Yayy!! She does likes it!!

I also started her on the puppy version of the kibble West eats, and which Finn loves and always steals. She has this funny tendency to take 2 or 3 kibbles in her mouth from Westly's bowl and then gallop (I use this term losely, she really scoots, but for her it's a gallop) away to munch on them in privacy. Then she scoots back, takes more, and runs off again. She does this with her own kibble if she is around the other animals, but not if I feed her alone in "her boudoir," aka my bathroom. When West had her old kibble (recently switched b/c her skin has been red and itchy; fish oils in new kibble are helping! win!), which had large bits, it was the funniest thing to see Finn dash out of the greenhouse with this brownish thing in her mouth and she'd come over next to you, pleased with little herself, and put it down and it was one kibble. It's all her teeny mouth could smuggle away!

some calm after the storm

Finn and I had a pretty good day today! No peeing on the rug, and not too much biting of my hands either, which has been one of our focuses! She loves to play with me and has figured it out that my hands are the masterminds behind the dancing toys, which seem rather listless when I'm not around. But her teeth are shaaaa-aaaa-aaarrrrp!

She started her second round of puppy de-wormers today also, which I have never had to give to a dog before; the vet said it is standard for all puppies but people usually get their dogs after the shelter/breeder has given it to them. It's a white powder, so I mix it in some Gerber's baby food and kibble and b/c she loves the baby food she gobbles everything up. mmm

The day I got Finn I went out and got puppy mats at the petstore, and the woman I talked with told me that by the time I was at the bottom of the 50 pad bag, Finn should be potty trained. Well that is not going to happen! Not sure if that is good or bad!? I think there are 2 left and we are by no means done. It's really frustrating, especially since my house is small and I can't leave her alone in a room w/o risking damage to the coffee table (gnawing on woodwork!) or piddle puddle on the rug. She seemed to be getting it last week, and would go whenever I put her down in the yard, but not anymore. She still goes, but she likes to go out there to play now, so the purpose of the yard has become multifaceted and maybe confusing? I imagine the rain hasn't helped, either. I'm not sure how to train her to ask to go out. She likes to bark, so maybe speak? Maybe bells on the door? Not too sure how you teach them to make the connection.

Because of this, this week and next week I am trying to keep a really tight schedule with Finn. She goes out at 6am, 9am and every two hours afterward, unless she doesn't go potty, then every hour. Seem good? She eats around 9 or 10 and then 1ish and 4ish and 7ish. Sometimes only 3 times, b/c she snacks on kibble that I leave out during the day. I'm really going to try to stick to this, but it's hard. It'll be good for me though, because I need a schedule for all this homework too. We can be scheduled together! muwahaha.
Whenever things get a little too quiet, it's usually because she's found something to lay down with and gnaw-- corner of the Salvation Army Box, the bikini bobo, a slipper, a magazine (she tore off my Real Simple cover!), a coffee table (omg, never allowed to go near the coffee table again!), or-- a book! Do you think this means she likes Fiction and Horror, or doesn't? Maybe she likes Fiction, but not horror. I'd be okay with that.

and what a weekend it was!

Well! Hello from the first winter storm to hit the Bay Area! Complete with the requisite power outages, downed branches, first fall shake down of all loose leaves/pine needles/cones and twigs, and wet animals! I love it. The valley during storms is perfection-- the whirl as the wind rolls through the trees, the gray-green hills, the curtains of misty rain, the smell of wet everywhere. mmmm. Hopefully power stays on long enough for me to finish! (click on images for more detail)
SypSyp got soaked waiting for my dad to get off the roof and let her in. Here she is scowling as I dry: (I believe she is a looking at Westly)
Lately the only hours I've been able to get are weekend ones, and now that Finn can't come to the pool with me anymore (sad face) I have to leave her home! At least my parents have been home more this weekend. I came back sunday, however, to hear that Westly had Gotten Out. Now, for those unfamiliar with this phenomenon, let me explain-- there are many levels of Getting Out.

1. There is the Getting Out and coming back semi-reluctantly when called, which is usually seen when leaping excitedly out of the car and not wanting to go inside yet. We'll call this Level One.
2. Level Two would be Getting Out of the yard un-seen and promptly trotting up the front door because your people will be happy to see you and proud that you came home! This is usually a warning stage-- soon the novelty of being able to escape will wear off and they will move on to Level Three.
3. Three involves genuine adventures but, most importantly, it involves sneaking. They are out, they know they shouldn't be, but they have engineered an escape route and, swear by the dog gods, they are going to use it! This was demonstrated aptly by the late, great Bubble Barclay, of Bubble & Squeak Inc., who would not only get out, but would get out and had a whole other life roaming the valley.
4. Level Four takes this to a slightly more ingenius level, involving high-stakes escape routes and loot-- we're talking tight-rope walking and ribs stolen right off the barby.
   
5. All these Levels have one very, very important feature: Beside being nice, friendly dogs, they all happily, no, joyously, come galloping home at full tilt when you find them missing and start calling. Depending on your area, this makes Getting Out not So Bad.
   

Which brings me to Level Ten, because there are a lot of interim steps which we don't need to go over. Westly= Level Ten Getting Out. Level Ten involves imminent doom to many of the involved, intentional avoidance of family, adding insult to injury by acknowledging one's name but choosing not to obey its powers, and stupidity linked to a blind, genetically-fueled feral need to be out in the middle no where with no one.

SO. West hasn't done this in quite a while. My (ill) dad was watering the front yard, West saw the hose, lept over it and the front wall and poof! gone. Dad scooped up a perplexed Finley, jumped into the truck and pursued, which as become the hated routine. Found her-- called, cajoled, stopped the truck, got out, sat down on the street, EVERYTHING, but no. Had to watch her at the light run through traffic-- squealing tires, swerving-- and into the quarry. Went and got her there and brought her home. Okay. Disaster...can't say averted, so survived.

Dad and I are at the bookstore five hours later, Mom takes hose out to fill water bowl and what do you know, there West goes again, even though we'd added cinder blocks to the wall to make it taller! Dad goes out-- sees her in the front of the valley but she runs from him. So I come. Find her again in the middle of the Valley and this time she almost comes, but then I get too close and Goodbye! Charges all the way down the street, across the highway, and into the quarry. again!! After walking around for about 20 minutes she comes to dad, but not before she has rolled in something vile (this I have read is an attempt to mask one's foreign scent with that of the new environment). So that was...horrible. She got a bath and now isn't allowed in the front yard.
She is going to kill herself. It's impossible! And one of the worst feelings ever-- a frustrating mix of terror, anger and disbelief. She is crazy, but the terms of her type of crazy are so unpredictable! She's been relatively normal for moooonths.

Here is now, on her bed inside, away from the terrifying storm sounds: (tail wagging, looking at fiona)
She was looking at Fiona, who had Finn's bobo bikini dog:
Okay, so that's the bad. The funny is Finley's torso has grown, so no longer do her back legs reach the front ones when she is running or stretching, but she hasn't quite figured this out out. Saturday I got back from work and she was climbing around the waterfall in the front yard with Dad and stretched out, so half of her was on the falls, the other half below, and tried to get all the way up. Her back half hung for a few seconds, feet kicking, and the plop! Down she goes! She landed in the deep end of the pond, submerged, and then swam to the edge and found a way to climb out!
(Here is the pond atm, net flattened into the water by wind, but her front feet were on that piece of flagstone over the lowest fall, and her back legs were on the rock to the left of the that left potted plant:)
Dad had me let her find a way out on her own, since we've been afraid of her doing this when we're not around and drowning for lack of an exit, since koi ponds have to have straight edges. She wiggled out, looking stunned, looked at us and shook, and then ran around the yard in a frenzy, rubbing against plants trying, I assume, to dry off. She needed a bath anyway, so I gave her a nice warm one and dried her all off, but she wouldn't stop shivering so I heated up my herbal neck wrap, wrapped her in it and towels and sat down with her-- she promptly fell asleep and all was well =)
Here we are right after the incident, about to have a bath:
During the bath! Kind of an unfortunate picture of me, but note the look of concern on West's face in the background, and remember-- always have a lifeguard on duty when water is involved!
So that's been our exciting weekend! I also got the next book in my Alexander McCall Smith series, which is very exciting, and got a relatively good base score on my first lsat test taken for class! weeee!! fingers crossedd. xx

HAPPY WEEKENNNDD!!!

Exhausted. But update!

Finley--- did I mention that we finally named her?-- is in bed now, and I am ready to follow right behind her! But I've been neglecting to update, so let's see.... The last couple of weeks have gone by SO quickly! It's amazing. Everyone on Mycorgi.com has been telling me to enjoy the puppy time, because it goes fast, and were they ever right! Yikes. She already has lost some of that puppy pudge and has a longer torso. But she's still clumsy and teeny, so I'm not too nostalgic yet :). Here she is napping on my bed-- I took a cute video of her up here, but I think it's too large for blogger to upload. I need to find a way of making it smaller.

She had a nasty sounding cough which I found myself focusing on in the middle of the night, and when she'd stop I'd be afraid that she'd choked on what sounded like phlem, and I'd wait with baited breath for her to make some sort of sound again. So we went to the vet and they thought it sounded like kennel cough, so gave us some antibiotics to help it along, but those finish tomorrow and I think her cough is back to what it was. She gets her second round of de-wormers this coming week, so it's possible that will clear it up. I hope so! It really sounds awful; wet and like she's trying to cough something up.

I was reminded by my mom's colorist today that Finn really is very young still. She's getting close to 10 weeks, and I remember reading that a lot of people don't think any puppy should leave their mother until 12 weeks. So I'm trying to not be so harsh on myself when I reflect on the last few weeks and what, if anything, Finn and I have learned. Mostly, I'm afraid that she will grow up to be something like Westly, our skitzo queensland heeler mix, who is definitely half feral and poorly adjusted in social situations. Wess is great at home, with the pack she has decided to love, but she is very subordinate and skiddish. Here she is, unsure if the device I'm holding is about to steal her soul:
Now, the version I fear of Finn is not like this. I remember West as a puppy-- she was hiding in the back of the dog pen, trying to dig a way out, and cried when I dragged her into the open to get a good look at her. Finn is the opposite-- she is all over the place and very interested in seeing what is going on, no matter what or who is involved. I love this! What a relief. She is also assertive and somewhat bossy, and boy, can she be stubborn. "Stop chewing this delicious Ugg boot? Heavens no, are you mad?!" She barks when she's playing and wants more attention (this is mostly directed at Westly or Fiona), she chases and wrestles with them both (very cute), steals things, clamps onto my clothing and pushes her way to the foodbowls of West and the cats. Nothing gets in her way! What worries me is that if she really doesn't like what you're trying to get her to (not) do, she will growl at your attempts (shaken fingers, close faces) and bark. It's a puppy growl and not vicious, but it's her way of trying to tell you what to do by being the assertive one. Which is not allowed. I picked her up a bit ago and plopped her in my lap and looked into her face and said something, and she growled and barked in my face! She didn't want to be there (she wanted to be under the bed chasing Fiona). But that doesn't matter! That is Not acceptable. We did the whole "no! I am the big dog!" thing, and she had to be good before I put her down, but she did it twice after.
I don't want her to be the total opposite of West-- nippy, aggressive, pushy and hard to control. Now, she is also wonderful and a lot of fun, and this is where I try to remind myself-- Finley is a BABY; she is very young, and isn't even potty trained yet. We're still working on that, and she's getting pretty good! But not perfect. Hence that bottle in Westly's picture of super rug cleaner! She is also a herding dog, and therefore leans toward the mouthy, assertive end of the spectrum. So now I need to figure out how to deal it. I've never had a bossy puppy before. I grew up with golden retriever/golden lab mixes, and they were the most mellow, somewhat surfer-dudey dogs ever. My best friend always had black lab mixes, and they were the same! Patient, child-proof, friendly dogs who we could dress up, steal food from, take jogging, introduce to anyone, family members! They had their quirks-- Bubble could scale a 6-foot concrete wall and steal things from all the neighbors; Squeak would leap into anyone's car door because, duh, car means beach; and Molly chased cats like nobody's business (until she met Cleo. But that's another story). But aggressive dogs were never, ever allowed and I don't remember them existing! They were the dogs left on-leash in the quarry. They were the dogs that barked angrily from behind tall fences and who couldn't come out and play.

Here she is, sitting in "her homework." It was a new stack of printer paper, but the corners were apparently delicious for gnawing! hehe
And here she is playing with Fiona and West. They all liked the piece of crumpled mail Finn found, and the blue squirty fish Finn took from the pool.
While not quite potty trained yet, Finn has learned not to growl when someone bothers her while eating, and will share her food when one of the other animals comes over to see what she has. So that makes me feel better. If she can learn that aggression is not acceptable in that situation, I think she can learn it elsewhere. I'm not sure how you do that, though. Do I keep putting her in situations where she gets upset and growls/barks at me? And then punish that reaction? Do I just wait for it to come up? We solved the food issue by me playing with her food while she ate. I would play piano on the edge of the bowl, pet her ears, poke at the food, etc, and if she growled she was told no and pushed away from the food. She's a quick learner. So we'll see. I have high hopes, and I can be very stubborn too!!