Letting go

Today I let my 7 yr old walk the puppy around the block ... .without me. In an age where kids are snatched from their own backyards, this was a big step for both of us.

He has always been an independent little boy. When he was a toddler, he hated to be in the carriage but he refused to hold my hand. So I used a harness. He LOVED it. He got to roam on his own, and I knew he was safe at all times. He helps himself to snacks. He makes cheese sandwiches for my husband and I just because he decides he is hungry. He changes the batteries in his toys, and if we don't have the right size, he knows whats sizes are in his other toys that he can switch out. Sometimes I am amazed that he is only 7.

But how much freedom do you give a 7 yr old? At what age will I allow him to walk to school alone? It's no further to go to school than it is to go around the block. I know I'm not ready for that. I don't think he is either, thankfully. My son is and always has been outgoing and sociable, and therefore he knows all the neighbors and they know him. Does that make the neighborhood safer for him? Maybe. But on the flip side, despite our numerous conversations, my son would be the first to help a stranger.

It's a dilema I'm sure plagues all moms. When is it time to let loose the reigns and allow our children more independence? Am I too lenient? Too strict? I'm not sure if I did the right thing allowing him to walk around the block at 7, but I do know I am proud of him... and he is proud of himself for going on his own.

And the sleep deprivation begins

This has been a wonderful week with our new puppy. Hollyberry has been a good girl... most of the time. I take her to the school and she's fabulous with the kids who surround her and pet her. She's met several of the dogs in the neighborhood and has been calm and met them nose to nose.

But, much like a new baby, it hasn't been all roses. Holly has christened many rooms in our home, but it's mostly our mudroom, thankfully. No matter how long I take her out for, she waits until we come back inside to poop. And then attempts to eat it. Yuck! That grossed me out.

But it is night time that is getting to me. Take last night. I thought for sure she would sleep well. Yesterday we had beautiful weather. My son got home from school and the two of them ran circles around each other in the back yard. Then at eight pm we all went for a walk. So why was she up at midnight, 2 am and again at 5am? She went potty at midnight but at 2 she woke us again. No potty this time. She wanted to PLAY. Seriously?

Because I'm home during the day, I feel I need to be the one getting up with her at night, so my husband, while being disturbed by us getting up, can at least stay in bed and get more rest. Does this mean I sleep in in the morning? No. I'm up at 6 with him to take care of the pup while my husband gets ready for work. That means I am no up several times a night and out of bed an hour earlier every morning that I was before.

I also have a 7 yr old who is getting up earlier every day and I've been seeing more emotions from him. Yes, I think we are seeing the effects of less sleep from him. And then I also think my son is still trying to handle the death of our first puppy. We picked up Holly on Sunday and on Monday when it was time to go to school, I overheard my son talking under his breath. "She'll still be here when I get home." When I tucked him in last night, he said, "I still miss Seiko."

It's only been 5 days since Hollyberry became a member of our family. While Seiko was only IN our home for 2, she had been a member for the 6 weeks before we actually brought her home. It will take time for us to heal, but I have to admit, we trully lucked out with Holly's sweet nature.

Now, if only she will sleep at night.

Day 2 with the Shiba Inu

Day 2 with our new puppy went better than I expected. Hollyberry seems to be settling in nicely in our home. We walked down to the school in the morning, and it was interesting that Holly barely seemed to want to walk. Maybe it's the collar and leash. It's not that long of a walk but it seemed to take forever. I did end up carrying her a bit. Most of the walk consisted of "Oh, what can I put in my mouth. A leaf. A branch. An Acorn." Coming home I carried her most of the way. However, about 2 houses down from ours I put her back down and then it happened. First she saw the cardninals. She watched. Then she spotted the squirrel. Oh boy, did she bolt.

Because I drive one of my son's friends home, I drove down to the school with Holly. It had started to rain, but it wasn't too bad. Holly didn't seem to care for the rain, and was shaking a bit, but when the kids came outside, she settled down. She sat calmly and patiently as kids and adults alike came to adore her. Yes, she acted like royalty amongst her people.

Last night, though, was great. Holly is the best cuddle-bug. First on the couch with my son, then she and my husband slept cuddled together. Then bed time. She made it through the entire night without waking us.

I do believe this is the start of a great friendship.

So we got a puppy

Yesterday we got a puppy. She is a 12 week old Shiba Inu born on Christmas day. Shiba's come in a few different colors: red, red sesame, black and tan, and cream. Ours is a red and with her birthdate, we decided to name her Hollyberry.

First let me start with our journey in getting this pup. When my husband and I were dating we saw someone with an Akita and fell in love with the dog. The foxlike features were so beautiful, we decided then and there that someday we would own an Akita. We researched and discovered Akitas are strong, independant dogs that take a LOT of committment to own. We were okay with that. But life, of course, throws curve balls and it took us eleven years before we were ready to get a dog.

Our son is 7 yrs old and has been asking for a puppy for several years. On January 30, 2010, my husband and I were in the mall and we went into the pet store.... WE NEVER go into the pet store. There he was, a Shiba Inu and he looked just like an Akita. The store let us play with the dog for about a 1/2 hour and we fell in love. We went home and researched Shiba Inus. They are the original Akita. Where Akitas get to be about 80 lbs, the Shiba gets to be about 20-25 lbs. Okay, they are MUCH smaller than we ever planned, but definitely a good fit for our son.

Then we found a breeder only an hour away and they had a new litter... only 2 weeks old. We went up the next day and chose a pup. She was a red, female. We came home, bought a Shiba Inu calendar and started the countdown. 41 days until she was old enough to come home.

The next six weeks were all about the puppy. Buying crates, food, toys... everything she would need. We went to a puppy potty training class. We watched The Dog Whisperer. We watched everything to do with dogs. We went up to visit Seiko when she was 5 weeks and played with her. We were ready.

The day arrived. Friday, March 12th, we brought home Seiko (our Japanese watch dog). She was TINY, only 2 1/2 lbs and was nothing more than a little furball. Friday, my son chased her around the house, they cuddled. We all bonded. Saturday, I was at my writer's meeting and Seiko was home with my husband and son all day. Every time I called ... like a new mom away from her baby for the first time... Seiko was sleeping. Sunday morning, though, we woke to her being sick. It was coming out liquid on both ends. We called the breeder and they said bring her back. We had no idea she was as sick as she was and on that Wed, Seiko passed away from parvovirus.

We were all devestated. We cried all week. But of course our breeder gave us a replacement puppy. Now we had to prepare for Hollyberry to come home. With Seiko having parvovirus, we took no chances. I threw out the rug in the living room and the rugs in the mudroom, both of which she got sick on. I bleached the floors 2 days in a row then steam cleaned them on the 3rd day. All Seiko's toys were tossed away. Crates were bleached.

Yesterday arrived with mixed emotions. My son even had a stomach ache with nerves. Now, he couldn't explain it, but I figure he was scared this dog would die too. It broke my heart. But we traveled the hour north to the kennel.

They brought out Hollyberry and OMG! She is so much bigger than Seiko. She came into the room and was like a tornado, running around, playing with her toy, and pouncing all over the place. But when I was able to grab her, she settled nicely in my arms. A good sign? I hope so.

We brought her home. Now we prepare for life with a puppy. Holly seems to be happy. We took her for walks but she refused to go potty while we were out. Figures. We've had a few accidents inside. We'll work on that, I guess.

We went to bed around 10 and took her out before that but she refused to go potty. I got up with her at 3 and took her out. Nothing. Got up with her at 6, took her out. Nothing. Finally at 7, she ate, drank and pee'd before we had time to react.

Yep, it's going to be a fun journey. We are all looking forward to it, and I hope you'll take the journey with me. Will I post every day? Probably not. But I will try to post weekly and let you know how life with a Shiba Inu is going.

Will all my posts be about Hollyberry? No. I'm a wife, mom, and writer. My son makes me laugh so much, that I will have to post about his antics as well.

I look forward to meeting new people... moms and dog owners alike, as I forage into the world of blogging.

TTFN!