The Unconditional Love of Pets

Growing up!

2007-12-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

This past week my boyfriend and I took Manny to the vet for her last set of shots. The first time we took her (about 5 weeks ago) she only weighed a little over 4 pounds. This time she weighed 9.7 pounds. I was so excited yet so sad. It is really neat that she is growing and its all happening so fast, but I kinda wish she could stay a puppy forever. When we were at the vet, there was another full grown male Boston Terrier. He weighed 21 pounds. He looked so much bigger than I pictured her to be when she is full grown. Then I realized, "oh my, Manny is almost half way there already! Its like a first child for me (okay, not quite)!

Manny falls in love!

2007-11-26T17:37:00.000-08:00

My puppy has fallen in love, but not with another dog like you are probably thinking. No, she has fallen in love with the trash. Lately we have had to keep the door to the bathrooms shut because she has found and fallen in love with the trash cans in them. One day I came home and my boyfriend and his friends had been playing video games nad not paying much attention to Manny. She had been playing in the trash the whole time I suspect. She had everything strung through the bedroom. Ever since then she has gone to the trash cans every time she catches us not looking. I just cant understand why she would want to chew on some of the nasty things in those trash cans!

First time at the dog park!

2007-11-18T16:25:00.001-08:00

Tonight is the first night Manny has ever got to go to the dog park. Im not going to lie- I was pretty nervous. She is so small and there were so many big dogs out there. She is so aggressive and playfull with the other dogs in our apartment complex, but I was not sure how she would be around all these dogs. She did good! She was definately alot more timid than I have ever seen her. The big dogs scared her at first. She loosened up though towards the end of our visit. I know she cant wait to go back, and I cant wait to take her!

The training begins!

2007-11-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

Sit! Manny has mastered this command. My boyfriend and I were talkinga bout putting her in training classes to learn commands and manners, but i think we will save money and train her ourself. Just in a few days of working with her on sit is all it took to master that command. She is so smart. I think if we can just learn patience, we can do it! I have started reading advice about training on the internet. I think that the biggest tip I have learned so far is to stick with one word commands such as "sit." After we decide on a word we have to be careful to only say that and not say "sit down." This sounds petty, but apparently it can really mess things up. Wish me luck!

Oh no! Not everyone wants to play!

2007-11-04T18:46:00.000-08:00

I live in an apartment and there are a few other dogs around that Manny occassionally gets to play with. Nothing excites her more than when we take her outside and another dog is out. She plays so well with all of the locals, but this weekend she learned that not everyone is going to like her. I took her to my Dad's house this weekend. His dog just died, but he still has two cats. When we got there she saw the cats and immediately started trying to play with them. To her surprise, they didnt play back. Instead, they hissed and swung at her face. Fortunately, both of the cats are de-clawed. Her feelings were hurt, but it wasnt the end of it. I took her to a friends house. They have two dogs and about six cats. She was able to get the dogs to come around, but once again the cats werent feeling her. I felt so bad. It seemed like no matter how much they hissed at her, she still kept trying to play with them. Atleast she tried!

Jail Bird!

2007-10-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

I am definately going to have to post pictures of Manny now. For Halloween I got her a tiny jail bird outfit. It came with a hat that said "bad dog." I was nervous she would hate it, but she didnt mind it at all. She looked adorable. My boyriend and I went to one of our friends house for a small costume party. We brought Manny with her outfit on and she stole the spotlight. Everyone loved her, including the other dog there. I was so proud of her. I cannot wait to go shopping for regular clothes for her now that I know she did okay in that outfit. I love her!

Manny

2007-10-21T00:47:00.000-07:00

I finally named my puppy: "Manny." Yes, I know, not a very girly name, but im not a very girly girl. My boyfriend helped me with it. I decided on the name after Manny Ramirez, from the Boston Red Sox(since she is a Boston Terrier). Other than that she is doing great. She is doing very good with potty training. She hardly ever has an accident now, and when she does its usually because I have waited too long to take her out. She also walked all the way up the stairs to my apartment for the first time a few days ago and ever since then she has been all about it! She is growing up so fast. Soon it will be time to train her. I know that she will do good with that because she is so smart. I am so happy to have her!

My first Puppy!

2007-10-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

I just got my first puppy ever! Of course, my family always had family pets when I was growing up, but the pets were never my own. I never got to raise them on my own and be their "mom." I got a Boston Terrier just a week and three days ago. When I got her she was almost eight weeks old. She is just over nine weeks today but it seems like she has grown so much in just the week I have had her. I took her to the vet when I first got her because she seemed so calm. Turns out she had an ear and eye infection. After just a few days of giving her medicine, she became a new pup. She has such a great personality; she is so smart, playful, and loving. I have never been so excited about anything before. I know that everyday no matter what happens I can come home and she will cheer me up and love me unconditionally. She is perfect! So perfect that I have not been able to give her a name yet, because I want it to be perfect, just like her!