Monday, May 30th, 2011:
Had a bit of a scare last night . . . Hannah had been fine all day, lively and happy. But, in the early evening, she vomited up her food a couple of times, and then couldn't even keep water down without vomiting it up. She grew listless, lost her happy exuberance, and wouldn't stay in her crate because she knew she'd be throwing up again (she didn't want to get sick in her crate). She settled into a far corner of my bedroom, so I let her remain there all night.
I kept a close watch over her all night, and, finally, she fell asleep. I figured either she had gotten something into her mouth that she shouldn't have, or all the excitement of the new home had stressed her out, or she had just eaten too quickly. But I was still a bit worried about her and wanted to make sure she wasn't getting dehydrated or that something more serious was wrong.
When I woke up this morning, I discovered she had moved back into her crate during the night, so that was a good sign. (Last night she hadn't wanted to move at all.) And she gave her little "waking up" whine and seemed happy. She hadn't thrown up again during the night.
I had planned to go to my vet today, anyway, for her first puppy visit, but when I called their office, I discovered they were closed for Memorial Day. So, I took her to the Emergency Animal Clinic, just to be on the safe side and make sure it wasn't anything serious.
The vet there checked her out, ruled out any of the things I was worried about (parvo, etc.), and said it was probably just something she ate that she shouldn't have. She advised me to give Hannah a bland diet (I'm giving her chicken with rice for a few days) and, if she vomits again, to bring her in, or to check in with my vet.
Well, today I fed Hannah the chicken and rice, and she ate heartily each time (I was told to feed her just a few tablespoons every four hours). No more vomiting. She was her old self again, happy, full of energy.
I'm SO relieved!!! I've decided I'd better keep a closer watch on her when she goes outside in the back yard now. Chances are she just picked up something she shouldn't have, and I didn't catch it.
Oh, the joys of being a puppy-mom!!!!
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011:
Went to my regular vet today — Hannah got a clean bill of health! She's back to normal now. We set up future appointments for her remaining puppy vaccines and rabies shot. Also, my vet recommended the Sirius puppy training course, so I read up on it today and signed up. We'll be going to Puppy 1 class for six weeks starting next week.
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011:
A few photos, as Hannah and I took advantage of the sunny break in the weird weather we're having today:
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011:
I just realized something today. I've started taking Hannah on walks, sometimes twice a day, early morning and late afternoon, before feeding her. I've discovered that it's not just good for her (for exercise and discipline and bonding), but it's also good for me!!! I'm getting more exercise through walking her than I usually get on my own. (I'm finding I'm a bit tuckered out after our walks, so I have even taken to taking a short nap afterwards! But it's a good kind of tired.)
Monday, June 6th, 2011:
DISCOVERY: Hannah seems to like watching TV. The other day I had a Cesar Millan video on, and, when she heard the barking, Hannah's attention was drawn to the TV. She plopped herself in front of the screen and spent a few minutes obviously watching what was going on in the program. She's done that a few times since then.
This is different; all my previous dogs never seemed to be able to "see" the images on the television. But Hannah definitely sees them and seems to enjoy watching....
Also, today I discovered a wonderful dog park right in my neighborhood, the Lincoln High School Community Field. It's an acre portion of the Lincoln High School property which the school and city have allowed to be fenced off and made into a dog park. Today I walked Hannah over there, just to take a look at it. I had her on leash, but she seemed unafraid to make a few friends of some dogs that were there today. This will be a place we will visit often, I am sure!