what i've learned about puppies ...

before posting (this is the very post I was writing a week ago when the phone rang), I want to thank everyone for their kind comments following my gigi post ... I'm lucky as a ladybug in so many ways  - thank you!
so what have i learned about puppies? well ...

... they are so. so. SO. much. work!  i knew that already, but geez ... pam was right about everything - most notably the constant vigil that's necessary over these frisky curious little creatures ... for poop, for pee, for biting, for chewing, for getting into all the things they shouldn't - and, oh yeah, she was right about the $$ too.  dear lord, the $$.  and with our pup's tiny size, it's like having a preemie - so many special requirements re: food, warmth, sleep, water intake - they're all constant concerns.  in an effort to bulk her up, isabel has a special diet for at least the first month ... she eats mini meals 5x/day which are literally measured by the tablespoon and supplemented with a special high-calorie paste.  sheesh.  as if having a young puppy isn't high maintenance enough!

but a baby dog is what it is - a baby.  so i'm a new mom all over again.  exhausted to my core.  one eye always on the pup.  tied down to the house.  always wearing a grubby sweatshirt, slippers, and hair tied back in a bun.  awake until her 11pm pee run.  then settling my dog baby into her cozy crate for the night.  zzzzz ... and no matter how exhausted, i must stumble out of bed again by 6am.  in the dark.  and the cold.  and the wind.  for yet another poop/pee run.  then her breakfast.  and the cycle starts all over again.

but just as with my human babies, my dog baby is so very adored ... and at the same time so very needy.  and we've already covered that nurturer thing i've got going for me, so this little pup is a lucky lady in that somehow any resentment that might be gathering from my total loss of freedom is quickly melted away when i see her sweet face ...

... in short, i'm completely smitten with her.  and hoping that my puppy love will stick as the days turn into months.  gabe was so right when she wondered if getting this pup was a coping mechanism for that mom-tug i've been feeling lately as my growing ladybugs are turning another corner in their journey.  indeed, isabel has filled that ache in my heart.  she's that third daughter i always wanted.  did i mention how smitten i am?!  t.r.u.e. l.o.v.e.

♥

to answer some questions ... isabel is a pug.  pugs are typically a tan color called 'fawn', which shows off their tell-tale black mask ...

image via pinterest

we chose all-black since it's a bit more unusual.  isabel's tiny size is not the norm for a pug pup - her brothers were all about 3 1/2 pounds on adoption day, whereas isabel was 1lb, 14oz when we brought her home.  not quite the size of a webkinz, she was actually closer to the size of a lil'kinz ...

yes, this is an actual lil'kinz panda to give you some perspective

healthy and filled with pluck, but in an extra tiny package.  isabel was the runt of her litter by a longshot, but our girl fought her way past 4 brothers twice her size to survive the nursing stage - she has the heart of a lion for sure.  incredibly playful, loving, engaged, trusting ... we have not a complaint in the world about her personality - she's a perfect fit for us - phew!

just look at that sweet bug-eyed face above to see what i'm talking about ... a face only a mother could love ...