Being a puppy mum is tiring! We're all napping, including the puppy. But it's a lot of fun, too, obviously. And a little frustrating. Today, Pax was all biting, all the time. I think he's teething, but every time came near him today, he decided to nibble on me. Just play biting, nothing aggressive, but his teeth still hurt! 

Otherwise, things are going well. I've taught him to sit, spin in a circle, jump over my leg, and ring a bell on the door on command (we're trying to try him to ring to go out). He will not lie down on command or even for a treat. I've tried every trick online to lure him into lying down, but he just stands up and walks away. We're trying the last ditch effort of praising him highly whenever we find him lying down on his own and hoping he'll get the message that it's a good thing to do.

He's had some adventures, including a few escapes from puppy jail in the kitchen when we didn't close the gate fast enough. He's also had brave battles with the dishwasher, a broom that was leaning against the wall, the sound of a puppy snoring on some music I was playing to keep him company (I quickly found a different track), and the sound of the wind blowing. He's a stalwart fellow. 

Here's a picture of the boy:

I don't think I mentioned he's a brindle, so his coat is gold and black. And the breeder sent his pedigree with him and he's actually Ascii's great-grandson, which is really cool. She was Puzzle's great-granddaughter, so we've had a whole line of Scotties here. 

We're on Day 3 of Owning Pax, and we're all very, very tired. But delighted. But tired. OMG, he has a lot of energy. And there's also the bending down to pick him up and sitting on the floor to play with him and all that. And getting up to check on him every so often to make sure he's not causing trouble. But, he's not. He's very well behaved. He's slept through the night both nights, and he's having accidents, but mostly going potty on his pads. We're in the midst of a snowstorm, so we have to wait until that calms down to get him outside for housetraining. He's confined to the kitchen for the moment, except for sleeping in his crate in my parents' room and being taken out for snuggles in the living room.  He's also learned how to sit on command. He's just a little mischievous and play biting, so we have to work on that, but's early days still.

I have a picture but my phone is being stupid, so I'll have to wait to post it. 

Pax is here! I would post pictures, but he doesn't sit still long enough for me to snap them. He's very busy being 12 weeks old and exploring his new surroundings. He's been really calm about the whole thing; he doesn't seem scared or out of sorts at all. He's super affectionate and licks everyone nonstop. He's also beyond adorable, of course. I'll try to get some pictures over the next few days if I can, but for now we're just letting him settle in. 

Yay, puppies!

We're getting a puppy this Friday. The breeder said that by the Spring he'll be too old to be moving to a new home, so we're taking him now, and we've all agreed that we're happy to do it, even if it's sooner than we'd planned. He's almost four months now, and his name is Pax Vobiscum, which means 'peace be with you', I think. The breeder always picks awesome names. He goes by Pax, and she sent a picture, and he's adorable.

We have a bit of work to do to get the house ready, but we're seasoned dog owners, so we do have a lot of what we need. Mum and Dad raised our first Scottie, Fergus, from puppyhood, so they have experience, even if I'm used to older dogs.

It's very exciting!

2019 has started off on a relatively stable note. They put posts in my tooth and got my crown back on, which was awesome, since I thought they might not have anything to work with there. The weight loss plateau I hit for most of last year seems to be over and I've started to lose weight again, which is exciting. And Mum e-mailed the breeder to let her know we'd probably be ready for a new dog in the Spring (we're all missing having a dog, but Mum is starting to treat plants like pets and I think she especially really needs one). It looks like we might be able to have a puppy, which might be fun. During my life, we've only ever had sort of 'retired' Scotties that were older and needed homes, which, of course, were awesome and perfect and lovely, but I've never had a puppy, and it would be nice to have a dog with a longer lifespan ahead of them than what we've had before.

My brain is still not working as well as I like, but I think that's just a tincture of time. I've been pinning some writing prompts on Pinterest, so at least that's getting my creative juices flowing, even if I can't make my words come together yet.

Hope everyone else is doing well!

Hello, friends! Happy New Year! I hope you all had a good holiday season, and I hope your New Year brings you good things. Mum and I made sure to let the new year in the front door and the old year out the back door  at midnight to ensure the best possible outcome for the upcoming 12 months. We're already in much better shape at the start of this year than the start of the last one, so that bodes well, right?

My goal this year is to concentrate on getting well and looking after myself. I hope to get back to writing, but it might take time to get my brain back together.  

I'll still be posting here, and over at dreamwidth (I'll try to do better about remembering to update that). There seems to be an exodus from tumblr that might result in LJ getting more active again, but that might just be a fit of pique that will pass. Either way, I still prefer to be here, and should LJ ever leave us, you can find me at dreamwidth under the same username. 

Well, to cap off the year (no pun intended), I've lost a crown. It just popped off with no warning today while I was unloading the dishwasher. On a Saturday. Before Christmas. When the dentist won't be back in until after New year's.

Thankfully, it has had a root canal (two actually), so there's less chance of infection, and I didn't swallow the crown, so it can be put back on without having to get a new one. Hopefully. But I am very paranoid about my teeth, which have caused me grief since childhood and continue to suck despite my rigorous attention to oral hygiene. Stupid genetics.

Once again, this is not a catastrophe by any means, but, as a culmination to the end of the year, it feels more aggravating than it might otherwise have been. 

In brighter news, aside from cleaning up the kitchen and doing some wrapping, we are ready for Christmas! With, like, two days to spare. Usually we're in hyper-stressed mode that results in total crash-and-burn by Boxing Day, so this is an improvement and a sign of being in better health overall. 

In the new year, I hope to make this less of a 'woe is me' blog, but I appreciate everyone who has been supporting and reading my tales of woe this year. It's nice to have you guys around. :-D