Happy holidays, if you are one who celebrates Easter or Passover or simply the unfolding of spring. May you find pockets of joy, may you feel loved on this day, on all days that follow.
It is my first full day with little Millie. After a bout of tears at bedtime (do dogs shed tears?), followed by a cuddle with me, she settled beautifully into her crate with her Snuggle pup and slept until I got up at 7. Perfect pooch! Well, except for the fact that she regards my two beautiful Turkish rugs (the small ones) as puppy mats -- perfect for a poop or a pee! Millie, we need to work on that!
I take her out at wake-up of course. Immediately. And it's so easy with this little pup. Pick up, place down, pee, come inside.
So, how about breakfast?
And let's get some routines going here. How about a longer walk? Like, to the end of the block and around the corner and back?
(she looks like a blur of fuzz in the wind)
I see that my exercise steps are going to plummet with this dog. I must rethink my strategy going forward. This girl takes baby steps and not very many of them!
We start in on some basic training. She knows nothing -- a clean slate as it were. So, let me explain sit and come!
And yes, now it's playtime. Millie likes the toys that look like her.
As for chewing Nylabones? She prefers the coffee table legs and twine. We'll work on that one too! My bitter apple spray and enzyme stain spray bottles are at the ready. Oh, you puppy, you!
The day is made up of small snippets. Just like this small dog of mine: never more than a small handful of minutes for anything. Big dogs equal big play and big naps. This little girl cuts that all into little pieces.
Eventually I take my attention away from her and focus on the dinner for tonight, all the while wondering how this pup will handle the burst of energy that will come through the door in the early evening.
* * *
Ed calls in the early afternoon. Want to go to the dog park? It's such a beautiful day. No, really not. She's not ready for it, even for the small-dogs one. And she doesn't need the run.
All morning I'd been thinking that having a little dog is an entirely different experience than having a big one or even a medium sized one. It's as if I had a different species of animal here. There's very little match between Millie and my two big guys.
When I worked as an au pair for the New York family in my last college years, I got to know small dogs. My charge's mother liked Yorkies and had one, and then another. I can't say that I found them to be thrilling. Yappy and indifferent to everyone except the mother. Millie isn't like that. And she'll grow to be three times the size of a Yorkie (the average weight of an adult Yorkie is 4 - 7 pounds). But I have noticed that she can suddenly appear at my feet and I wont hear or see her. She's easy to trip over!
And she's easy to pick up. If Henry didn't want to go somewhere, there's nothing anyone could do to make him do it. I famously sat for 30 minutes in the vet's office trying to get him on the scales. We all tried everything. No luck. Millie? She doesn't have a choice! Swooping her up with one hand at this point is easy.
What I've noticed, too, is that nothing of the stuff I bought for the big guys is appropriate for her. The bed, the crate, the carrier. The dishes, the leashes (too heavy), the sweaters, the collars of course. The treats, the car restraints, the chewies. They don't work for her. Meaning, she's a whole new expense for me.
On the other hand, day care costs will likely go way down. Food costs, treat costs -- a fraction of what I needed for the big two.
The differences extend, of course, to our walks. I suggested to Ed -- in the alternative, rather than the dog park, let's do our old reliable county park. On a leash with her.
(first car ride in small dog car seat)
I wasn't sure she'd manage. There are things that she just cannot do: she's not potty trained (or she is heavily regressing). She is not used to the leash. With big dogs, you walk briskly to keep up with their slow pace. With Millie, she trots to my steady walk. And I cannot push her beyond 25 minutes (the rule of 5 minutes for every month is a good one I think).
But she does manage, and she appears happy to be out with us.
And we have some first encounters. With another little pup -- her size, and also named Millie! With two other people. She is shy. No running up to anyone. And she backs away from the little dog, barking a bit fearfully. This girl hasn't seen many dogs (or people) beyond her own household. It's my job to introduce her calmly happily to as many as I can.
She does get tired at the top of the hill. Ed carries her for a bit.
And then she's down again, trotting daintily next to me.
I drop Ed off at the farmette. He wants to finish listening to a podcast in the car, so I take Millie for her first inspection of the farmette lands.
She is content to explore with me. She's a little uncertain when she sees the chickens. A few woofs to frighten them. Ineffective, but better than chasing them!
Driving home from the farmette, I see that Tati's Cafe is open. Let's keep those new experiences rolling in! Millie, how about a pause here?
A delightfully chill girl.
We go home. I warm up a croissant from Bloom's Bake Shop and open the jar of jam from Nice. Strawberry and fraises des bois. Utterly delicious. And I see that the smell of croissants is a real temptation for my little one! She gets a small corner, but just that.
* * *
In the evening, the whole gang comes over, Ed included. Goose included. I put up the gate for Millie to protect her from the onslaught.
It was unnecessary. The kids loved, simply loved holding Millie, petting her...
Millie felt safe with them.
And fearful that Millie was of a tiny dog on a leash, she was fine with Goose. We kept an eye on the two of them, and it is true that Millie was not confident that all this was heading in a good direction, but she sweetly accepted it. Including the gentle giant that came with the pack.
Millie's love of kids is obvious. And if they come with a big dog -- so be it.
A joyous Easter dinner!
(from the March trip across the ocean -- both the chocolate eggs and the Eze plate)
(and the cake from Bloom Bake Shop tasted way better than any of us would have believed, given the abundance of buttercream flowers... not too sweet, plenty chocolaty)
It was a full Sunday. A beautiful Sunday. A spring Sunday. With sunshine. And family, Ed, and Millie.
and so much love...