Tomorrow is Bella's gradutation day, and so far she hasn't shown any signs of improvement since we left Petsmart last Saturday to today. I mean, she's doing pretty good with "Leave it", and surprisingly she'll come when called when I'm too far away in public. But suddenly she decides she won't sit for me, and she will not stay put for five seconds before pouncing on me for a treat. I have worked all week to get her ready for tomorrow, and she just doesn't seem to understand what I'm trying to… Continue

Next Saturday is Bella's graduation from Petsmart's puppy training class. Since we missed three of the eight classes, our trainer took some time today in class to review a few things with us. Bella and I have to work super hard this week so she can graduate with the rest of her class.



Though Bella is behind in class, I feel that we're making progress in getting her better socialized. She actually played today with the other puppies. She got a little overwhelmed by the end of class… Continue

When I adopted my first dog, a Black Lab/Dalmatian mix at four months, I began training her right away. She knew most of the basic commands, and she learned with lightning speed. Even now at two years, she's still soaking up new commands like a sponge. It's amazing to watch her! With Bella though, she doesn't seem to catch on. She'll finally understand a command, so I move on to the next step and she'll look as if she forgot the last step. I know she didn't forget, but we're constantly… Continue

When we took Bella to the vet for her shots, they told me not to begin socializing her in unfamiliar places until her shots her complete. Which is totally understandable, I wouldn't want little Bella to attract a deadly disease out in the open. But in that time when the vet told me not to take her out, I missed a very imporant time when I should have socialized her more. Now we have a 7 month old puppy who is terrified of other dogs due to the lack of socialization. I feel as if I should have… Continue

Whenever I mention Bella's heat cycle, my dad will suggest that we should breed her when she gets older. I can understand why he would want to breed Bella, she's just a joy for all of us and pretty soon I'll be moving out and taking both Bella and Gracie with me. I don't blame him for wanting a little Bella for himself when both me and Bella are gone. But I don't know... there are so many risks, expenses, and worries put into it... and so much time and effort. I know my dad has raised quite a… Continue

I injured my foot yesterday, though I'm not sure how. I have an appointment set up later today to get it checked out. But anyway, when I woke up this morning to my hyperactive Bella jumping and hoping all over the bed, I kicked her off so she wouldn't accidentally hurt my foot further. I limped over to the couch, and it seemed as if Bella sensed that I was hurt and she instantly changed her attitude. She hopped onto the couch next to me, and circled around my foot before settling down and… Continue

I always celebrate Halloween with my dogs, but I missed this one due to a short family vacation. I felt so bad about being unable to have my dogs with us, so I found this amazing local pet supply store and bought these cute little bags of a ton of different dog bones and dog treats.



When I got home, my brother and I helped me divide the treats between my two girls and set them on chairs around the house and let them go to each chair as if they were going house-to-house on Halloween.… Continue