Hello Spring, You're Looking Good.

Some afternoons, Emily Puppy is the posterdog for that quote from Buffy:

Either way I'm bored, constricted, I never get to shop, and my hair and fingernails still continue to grow. So really, when you think about it, what's the diff?

(BtVS Season 1, ep 01)

[What are you saying about my hair, Mommy?]

We try to keep her mat and tangle free. M. found that mink oil spray works. Emily hates it, and runs away whenever we start squirting. So, H. squirts it directly into the brush instead. As soon as it's properly warm, Bummy's getting a massive shave.

[But I'm a Natural Beauty]

Emily prefers to lick Olay Complete Moisturizer (with SPF) off my arms.

But, nothing keeps the Bumster down for long.

[You're not really done with that icecream, are you Mommy?]

* * *

In related life news, M. is at a conference in Philadelphia, so last night H. polished off a pint of Nut Explosion coffee ice-cream for dinner.

Goes to show, the ol' metabolism is firmly whipped into shape when I can still lose weight after that.

Rose Rustling

[The lower shoots are all new]

The slips (or cutting) are 10 weeks old now, and I transplanted them into larger pots for the fall. The new shoots are coming along nicely. (I didn't shake all the dirt off to see the roots while transplanting, but what did show was pretty stable)

[Needs to grow into the pot some more]

*

This is before I trimmed Emily's face on Saturday:[Hairy faces fit in everything]

Puppy cut, after:
[Mommy scalped me]

Of course, after she got a bath, and we realized the sheer critical extent of her matting, I ended up shaving half the fur off her left hind leg. H. really has to sit squirmy puppy down every evening and run a brush through her, no matter how bitey Emily is.

*

At the tail end of today's walk, H&M spotted some other dog's dried up poo, attracting 3 dozen flies in the corner of the parking lot. We go, "Oh Yuck, some people" and walk on, not realizing for 1 whole minute that the reason Emily's not following us, is that she's stopped and EATEN IT ALL UP.

OH YUCK.
When I washed her mouth and paws in the sink, her burp smelled like farts. heh.

Puppy Blogging

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/garden/pupblog.html?em

The NYT has a weekly blog following a golden retriever pup, which H. thinks will be pretty fun to read. (Will it stay real? It starts out with "arrived almost housebroken" at 9 weeks, but of course that's wobbly ground with puppies. If they have to go every 2 hours, one little mistake happens more often than you expect.)

Emily did a little poo boo-boo in the library just yesterday. It happens.
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The grocery store had Beef Hearts in the meat section, labeled "for pets," so Emily had that with her dinner instead of chicken. New favorite foodies.

-
We went ahead and shaved Emily's feet, as they were catching little pebbles on walks. Now she has chicken legs. tee hee.

Puppy Cuts in Action

I could write about how, in the 10 minutes H. was getting ready to meet up with M., Emily went digging in the ivy, came in with an ant sucking on her eyeball, and H. freaked out and waved muddy doggy around, trying to pull the varmint off while Emily fought for dear life because no one touches the face, NO ONE. (I got the ant off, no big)

But hey, life as usual.

(below: Emily's fatal home-shave puppy cut, 1 week after)

[Emily, Spy Pup]

[In Daddy's Clutches]

[How, if I leave a bag open for a minute, Emily will curl up in it.]

bye bye~

Tick!

While coaxing Emily for the first part of her walk, H. found something like a tomato seed with a black head and squirmy legs on it, half of which was EMBEDDED in Emily's chest. After panicking and pinching and tearing it up with my fingernails, later with a pair of tweezers, it was half out.

But half of it disappeared under her skin!!!

A frantic call to the vet left me with: let it pus out over the weekend, and pinch it clean on Monday.

In the meantime, H. went and shaved the dog. Close. So she'll be picking up less critters in her fur.

More regard for close-crop/less bug and not cute-fuzzy resulted in a skinny little dog with a big head and big feet.

Pictures later. I think I overdid it on her chest, though. I can see her freckles and spots.

Wet Puppy

[Fresh out of the bath]

TV Star

(Emily's new short cut, ala Daddy)[Who me?]

We left Emily, hanging out in the silent living room, and went out to pick up doggy treats, her address tags, and detergent (for us).

When we came back, making a lot of noise in the process, the dog does NOT rush out to greet us at the door.

Instead, we find her sitting on the sofa, WATCHING TV.

According to Sherlock Mommy, Emily had jumped up on the coffee table (she'd also stolen the nail clippers from the tabletop for her corner stash), stepped on the remote to turn the TV on, and took over Daddy's corner seat.

Mommy was laughing so hard, she missed the exact moment to scold the varmint for jumping up on the sofa. So we let it go.

Crimini!

We shaved the dog!

*still in shock* stop* will take pictures soon* stop* maybe not, since M. took a chunk out of her* stop* Emily has a really big head now * stop* just like her Dad* stop*

tee hee.

Easter Carnage

Late Saturday Afternoon, Emily Puppy was found Wrapped Around a Tree.

[It's here! It's here! My Fur!]

Earlier that day, victim exhibited signs of unrest and made several cries for help:

[Quick, I'll flop over here, you draw a chalk line, Mommy]

Authorities suspect domestic issues. Victim and mother were witnessed engaged in several heated arguments over the past 2 weeks. Threats ensued.

("If you don't sit still when I'm putting on the leash, Mommy's going to shave your neck, Emily!)

[The Victim: In Happier Times]

The victim, Emily Puppy, was found 30% smaller at 6pm Saturday. Authorities soon discovered the cause: excess clipping by a non-professional. Puppy was found pursuing the shreds across the patio. Clear weather conditions preserved crime scene.

[Carnage]

Victim's Daddy was napping upstairs when incident occurred. He claims no knowledge of his wife's diabolical plans. Police are skeptical. ("A likely story!")

[Do I look fat with this haircut?]

Please support puppy rights. Write to your SPCA, Senator, MP, today.
Prevent the atrocities of home-grooming.

---
H&M are watching too much Mentalist.

Hair

[Maltese Halo, Redux]

Now it's more than just eyeliner. More like Panda eyes. tee hee.

Woke up a little late today (9:10) to find that Emily did a massive poo in her pen. And rubbed it all over her butt. So, had to trim it off.

It's been a while since I trimmed her hairy bum. It's tempting to pick up an electric trimmer over at zooplus. Even though I know I go scissor-happy and trim too much. Lately, her face fur's been growing back from the last bad haircut I gave her, and Emily's been startling me with da SuperCute Fuzz Face!~

[I slept on my side, drat]

brief change of plans

Contrary to popular opinion, dog pee will not make your flowers grow better. Despite this, the heirloom daffodils survived 3 months of Emily stomping through her primo potty ground.

[Brave New Flowers]

[Shaggy Puppy Eats Flowers]

We'll have to brave the scissors and trim her face again. People in our neighborhood stop and call her "that cute white puppy," and she totally doesn't deserve beauty titles with such a lazy Mommy.
--

Looks like H&M won't be ordering a 회 platter on Saturday -- the new Korean restaurant says they're only doing dinners now.

Though, I wonder why there are TWO Korean restaurants in an out of the way dorpje like Nieuwe Vennep and not in an international student town like Leiden.

Kitchen Bowl Cuts

Ever groaned about the Kitchen Bowl Hair Cuts when you were little?

H.'s mom was quite genius with kiddie hair cuts, and from pictures, we look pretty spiffy for ages 5 and 7. Mushroom hair! B

So having no bad childhood memories, H. gave Emily a home cut.

(before all 4 sets of puppy shots are done, a groomer's might be one of the worst places to take a puppy. Think of all the dogs going in and out. Like a park, with all the dog poo in one stinky sandbox! Then again, will get her used to being handled.)

Now, she doesn't look like a mini-sheep dog, and minus the snout-hair blinkers and fluffy long bangs, Emily's eyes are back!

(as you can see, one eye looks bigger than the other eye, just like H.)

[What's the fuss? I'm always pretty!]

Obviously, H. is not very good at snipping fur off a squirming puppy. And this is with M. holding her st533.

Note) 15 weeks, 1 day, weight: 2.3 kgs

Boxing Dog Diet

Maybe we shouldn't let her have all the empty boxes...

Spoiled Maltese forums has all the odds&ends concerns of Maltie folks -- H. picks up a lot that's not in the generic dog books. ex) Emily's on-leash hacking asthma attacks (is it still "reverse sneezing" if she does it while trying to hang herself sideways?)

Anyway, H. got a nice&concerned note about the "Broccoli" post from another member: broccoli is bad for your dog/ be careful!

So, after H.'s initial, "OMG! I poisoned Emily!" reaction, M. toddled off to look it up. If you put your dog on BARF, you might make up her 30% vegetable portion with a lot of broccoli, and that much will become toxic. However, a little piece now and then is quite healthy, and will prevent cancer.

Emily actually prefers a tiny slice of apple.

Other Foods that are BAD for Dogs (from the fridge list):
Chocolate, onions, grapes & raisins, garlic, macadamia nuts, walnuts, cooked bones, alcohol, ibuprofen, citrus, mushrooms, avocado, tomato, green potatoes, and cat food.

And now, for another unicorn topknot.

[Who do I have to bite to get some sleep around here?]

A Curtain Drops

Some people (might) think H. lives to shame Emily on the Intarwebs, as I post mostly incriminating pics and videos.

Not (always) true.

For instance, H. tested out Emzee's new sheering scissors -- necessary for trimming hair so her poo doesn't get stuck all over her bum and legs.

(also, for Maltese puppies, and other long haired dogs, trimming the fur around her anus will help prevent puppy-constipation.)

So all of Sunday, while the poo-baby slept and farted, H. gave her what looks like buzz cut lamb-butt.

Do I take pictures and post them all over the Internet? OH NO.

tee hee

Next step: clippers.

Baby's first Top Knot

[Sadly, no Mohawk]

(with the help of diluted hair gel, it stood up for 1 minute while she was sleeping, then, nada.)

Emily finally figured out that the shopping bag next to the recycling was filled with food. BAD FOOD (free from the vet). Of course she had to have it:

[Mean Puppies are Stealing My Food!]

Oh, Emily. Mommy and Daddy will NEVER feed you Hill's Science Diet. YUCK.

Her current food, Orijen: 6 Star Premium Dry Food.
Hill's Science Diet: 1 Star Dry Food, with CORN as main ingredient! Then "chicken by-product meal."

She's on Orijen Puppy until she's fully grown, then Mommy will figure out how to mix dry Orijen with a quality meat diet.

East Asian 3 / 동양3국 말티즈

Emily is a full 12 weeks old today (1.8 kg). From that we expect her to be double her weight when she's full grown: 3.6kg, at the far end of the Maltese spectrum.

Her hair's growing all over the place too. It's poking her eyes a lot. It's a battle three times a day wiping off the eye gunk, what with holding her still, and Emily biting and snapping at the cotton pads.

[Sneak clean, while she's napping]

We'll have to give her the dreaded Maltese topknot, soon. (M. groans at the idea.)

[Hey there, fuzzy face]

As H. has no shame, she's considering all options.

The one-knot standard :[Korean style/ 상투머리]

Then, there's the two-knot standard:

[Chinese style/빵머리]

Then again, if Emily keeps pissing Mommy off by struggling for dear life when Mommy's wiping her eye gunk, Mommy could just shave it off. (까불면 확 밀어버린다):

[Japanese style/아, 앞머리 없어서 편해!]

ps. 엄마: the funny sound coming from the bag, is her squeaky chew toy.

Plays with her Food

We received a "packet" from the vet last week, which included 3 dog biscuits. I didn't think much of them, but Emily thinks they're amusing.

Unfortunately, all food is more amusing than appetizing to her, lately. I only have to offer her kibble to make her stop chasing me and run away.
--
Minor Traumas:
1. H. stepped on her foot by accident, while we were out to Potty. !!! (M. noticed the levels of spoiling went through the roof)

2. H. also trimmed Emily's scruffy little face hairs (pink stained tips and such). Too much snippy resulted in 삐뚤 빼뚤 and scrawny cheeks. She looks like Megatron. Woes.