Crate Time, Skinned Walls, and Much More

Hey, guys! I know I haven't posted in a long time but my life has been pretty crazy lately. Since my last update, I've been to Ireland and trying to make up all the school work that I missed was (and still is) absolutely insane. So yeah... enough about me. Here's some interesting stuff that's happened with my pup:

One night, I woke up to the sound of...crunching? Scraping? Somewhat of a mixture between the two. Now, anyone that knows Beast knows that he DESTROYS all of his (and my roommate's pup's) toys. But this was no ordinary chewing sound. This was chewing on something completely solid. Something expensive. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked all over the bed for Beast. I didn't see him so I grabbed my phone to check the time and to have some light in the room. It was like 4 AM and I heard the crunching sound once more. I flashed my phone over to the spot from which the dreaded sound came.  The first thought that crossed my mind was "I am going to kill him."

My dog had scraped the paint and some of the drywall off of the wall right beside an outlet WITH. HIS. TEETH. I am not kidding, y'all. This dog had spent probably an hour on this hole. And, in my slumber, I didn't even know he was doing it. BUT! That's not even the worst part. Flashing my phone light around to the other wall, I found AN EVEN BIGGER HOLE in the wall under my window. Livid is not even a strong enough emotion to describe what I was. I think I blacked out for a second and when I came to, I was crying. No, not crying. I was absolutely bawling my eyes out at how much this was going to cost and how I could have neglected Beast to make him do this. Maybe he was just bored while I was sleeping or maybe he just knew that I needed to learn how to be a handywoman and fix the wall(s). Either way, I spanked him. Then, later on, I apologized because I felt bad. I kept feeling like the reason he did that HAD to be my fault. I pulled him back into bed with me and decided that I would worry about the naked walls in the morning. My worst mistake was going back to sleep. When I woke up again, Beast was right back at the wall, scraping. This was like 8 in morning. I immediately got up, spanked him again, then took him to his crate. 

There he has slept for the past two weeks. I hate not having my sleeping buddy in the bed with me at night anymore but I can't have him chewing the walls while I'm dead to the world. It's been a really hard decision for me but it's worked out all right. He doesn't seem to mind going to bed at night. He doesn't run from me when it's time to go night-night. He knows that's where he's supposed to go. I still let him in my bed during the day when I can watch him, too. He doesn't destroy walls when Mommy's watching. 

On a lighter note, he's gotten HUGE. Well, huge to me. He's not the skinny little mutt that he was when I first adopted him. Now, he's in that teenage stage where he still derps around and runs into things occasionally but he hardly ever pees inside anymore. He will lick my hand or my face then run to the door and whimper when he needs to go out. Granted, there are still some accidents that happen when he gets too excited inside. And sometimes he just seems like he can't hold it any longer when I can't take him out immediately. But, for the most part, he has done really well. 

One new thing that he is currently doing is sleeping on the back of the couch while I do homework. He also runs around on the back of the couch when he's playing with Harper (my roommate's pup). He seems so agile and regal up there...until he gets down and walks into a door. 

Furthermore, I have come to find out that my dog and I are exactly alike in some aspects. We can be loud and obnoxious and all over the place when we're around friends. We also shy away from creepy people on walks. We don't mind nice people, though. We'll even stop and chat with some folks. We both get excited when we see babies. We both are very awkward and defensive in crowds. We both derp around and run into doors. We both like the same shows on TV. We both like the same foods. (Yes, I know the last two things were kind of a stretch.) We both greet each other with kisses at the door. And finally, we both love each other without exception. I truly believe that the "mistake" of getting the wrong dog was the best mistake of my life. I know that he's the perfect dog for me. 

Oh, My Dog.

Since I have had Beast, he has:

• peed on the floor
• pooped on the floor
• gotten worms on my bed
• gotten worms on me
• destroyed all of his toys
• vomited pieces of his toys
• pooped out pieces of his toys
• made me sit beside his food bowl and throw pieces of food at him so that he would eat
• chewed through a friend's new computer cord
• chewed through my Playstation controller cord
• chewed through a blanket
• chocked on the fuzz from said blanket
• vomited pieces of said blanket
• chewed on my guinea pig's cage
• successfully unhooked a safety pin from my guinea pig's cage 
• booped noses with my guinea pig (They're homies now.)
• slept in my lap while I was sick
• cuddled with me while I was shivering
• licked my hands clean
• cleaned up bits of food that have fallen onto the floor
• made me click random things on my laptop
• eaten all of my roommate's puppy's food from her bowl
• scattered pieces of food everywhere when he knew he was in trouble
• hid his face when he knew he was in trouble
• hid under the table when he knew he was in trouble
• greeted me every day with love and a big wet kiss

Since having Beast, I have:

• cleaned the floor probably 1,789,323,984,746 times a day
• learned to overcome my fear of worms (mostly)
• vacuumed the whole apartment three times (We used to vacuum maybe twice a month before getting the pups. Don't judge; we're clean people.)
• thrown food at a whimpering dog because his ribs were showing and I couldn't get the little monster to eat unless I did so
• paid for a new computer cord
• paid for a new Playstation controller cord
• reached down my dog's throat countless times to dig out pieces of toy, blanket, etc.
• sat (worriedly) and watched (like a hawk) as my pets became friends
• had a study buddy when I wanted one
• had a cuddle buddy (and instant foot warmer) when I needed one
• gotten my hands (somewhat) clean without using soap
• "accidentally" dropped food on the floor 
• actually accidentally dropped food all over the floor
• found the answer to some of my homework online (thanks to a curious puppy)
• chased my puppy around the living room with a fly swatter while screaming, "NO, BEAST! THAT ISN'T YOUR FOOD! DAMMIT! COME HERE!"
• laughed my butt off at my puppy
• cried after getting onto my puppy (Shut up.)
• learned that taking care of a puppy is REALLY hard work when you're sick and worn out
• been greeted by my best friend in the world every day with a tail wag, 4 rambunctious paws, and a heart that is more loving than mine could ever hope to be.

The "Incident"

I have debated posting this story for a really long time but I've decided that it's too funny and too important for people to know to not post. So here goes:

"The Incident" happened on a night like any other night. I had gotten tucked in bed all warm and snuggly with BeastyBoy and we quickly fell asleep. My boyfriend usually comes over after he gets off work at 4 AM. I got out of bed to open the door for him and I didn't notice anything strange. However, when I got back in bed, I felt something wet on my elbow. I know what you're thinking. "Oh, God. The dog peed the bed. Big deal, Paige." 

Well, you're wrong. 

What I saw in the bed was most definitely not pee. It wasn't even an "it". It was a "them". And they were worms. Skinny little wiggly worms all over my bed. Big ones, small ones, dead ones, live ones. EVERYWHERE. 

Now, for anyone who knows me, they know I'm not grossed out by virtually anything. Blood, vomit, poo, pee...whatever grosses everyone else out, I run to. But I've never dealt with worms. At least not this many worms. There were probably 1,000. (Okay, that's a lie. There were probably, like, 20. But seriously, they're worms. Does it matter how many there were??) Worms are my downfall, I guess. So, after noticing the worm on my elbow, my whole body shut down. I didn't know whether to cry or scream or puke. I have never been grossed out like that. I just started gagging and crying profusely. My boyfriend, on the other hand, was laughing his butt off at me. When he noticed that I wasn't kidding, he became more somber and told me to go get a shower while he washed my sheets (thanks, Bradlee). While I was getting a shower, he put a new set of sheets on the bed. I wasn't sure whether to touch Beast or not. I mean...those worms came out of him. Oh, dear God. I'm getting nauseated just thinking about it again. 

Anyway, I decided that, no matter how wormy my puppy dog was, I wanted him near me. I was VERY careful about the worms, though. I took him to the vet and got him some worm treatment. And when he pooped, I stuck my face close to it to examine it for worms. And when he slept, I picked his tail up to make sure none were making their exit. And when he was standing there, I was watching for them. I was serious about getting rid of those nasties.

But I can now say that Beast is completely worm-free and as healthy as can be. I just hope I never see another worm in my life and I swear to goodness if one ever touches me again, I will barf on scene. Right there. I don't like worms, you guys. The moral of this story? Just because your puppy has worms doesn't mean it's the end of the world (although you might stand there and cry like a big baby in front of your boyfriend). It just means that your baby is sick and they need medicine. And after they take their medicine, they'll be perfectly fine. Take care of your pets. And always check for creepy crawlies. 

The Good, The Bad, and The WORST.

Anyone who has ever owned a puppy knows that there are great things and bad things about owning one. They also know that there are some things that make you cringe and want to burn down your house because you think that you will never escape the awful occurrences that happened there. This post will be broken up into those three things.

The Good:

You always have someone to talk to and they can't judge you for what you tell them! They look at you with those sweet puppy eyes and you know that they just...understand you. They give you nose kisses. They give you forehead kisses. They give you good morning kisses. They give you goodnight kisses. They give you lots of kisses, even if it's because you just had a Chickfila sandwich with extra pickles and they like the way your nasty breath smells. To sum this up, puppies might poop on your floor but they'll never poop on your heart. They'll always love you.

The Bad:

Puppies might poop on your floor. They might also peepee on the floor. They might vomit pieces of their favorite toy on the floor and then you have to take it from them and those sad puppy eyes come out and you just sit there and frown because you know how much they love that little rubber-footed raccoon but it's just too far gone and there's no way they're playing with that thing anymore because vomit isn't cool. Sometimes your roommate has to experience this vomit too (sorry, Roomie). Summing this portion up, puppies can be sorta gross and if you can't handle the smell of poop and pee, just get a stuffed animal because you're gonna experience this wonderful fragrance for a while. 

The Worst:

Puppies can be gross (see above). If you get shelter pups, like my roommate and I did, you should definitely make sure that they're vaccinated (ours were UTD on all their shots). Still, even after all those preventative measures, puppies can get sick. They can have kennel cough, diarrhea, social anxiety, or worms. Luckily, I only had to take on one of these challenges. Unluckily, it was probably the worst thing on the list. If you think you're a strong person and absolutely nothing grosses you out, you better think again, buddy, because there's gonna be that one thing that gets to you (I'll explain more in my next post).

On a different note, puppies can eat a lot of food and spill their food everywhere. And if you have two puppies, the other puppy is gonna try to eat your puppy's food and they're gonna fight and it gets ugly (we've trained our pups out of this stage, mostly). Speaking of fighting, you're gonna have to probably pull a puppy away from another one because they get nervous and their only means of defense are teeth and claws. And let me tell you, THOSE. THINGS. HURT. Puppy teeth are like razor blades coated in ground glass. And their claws are daggers with little spikes protruding from them on the end. If you own a puppy, there's just no way around it. You're gonna get bit. You're gonna get scratched. And you're gonna have to get over it.

Through all of these things, I wouldn't give my puppy away for anything. He pisses me off so bad sometimes and then, two seconds later, he snuggles with me and reminds me that I've experienced worse in life. Through the mounds off doodoo and the puddles of peepee, I love this pup. He's become like a son to me and I don't know what I ever did without him. I wish I could bring him everywhere with me and it kills me to leave him at home while I'm away. He has taken up a very large part of my heart that I feel couldn't be replaced with anyone or anything and I hope that anyone who gets a puppy feels the same way I do. It's okay to get annoyed with your pup. It's okay to spank them when they've done something wrong. It's okay to love on them when you're sad. It's okay to make mistakes when raising your pup. All of that is human nature. And, believe me, you will mess up. You will step on their tail or accidentally bump them out of your way when you're walking (they always seem to get right under your feet, for some reason). They will understand and they will love you, regardless. They are amazingly loving creatures and I believe that everyone needs a puppy in their life (provided that they can properly take care of them). I guess what I'm trying to say is that puppies are the greatest thing ever. :)

The First Week with the Beast

Since my roommate and I wanted our puppies to be somewhat related, we decided to go with "Belle" and "Beast" for the puppies' middle names. For the first name, I thought all day about what fit with Beast appropriately. I finally came up with "Manchester" from the name of one of my favorite bands, Manchester Orchestra. I think that Manchester Beast fits my little 7 pound puppy perfectly; such a large name for a pup that probably won't get over 30 pounds, if that.

At first, little Beast was scared of literally EVERYTHING. Seriously, the dog ran from his shadow. He jumped when I pet him. He ran from every human and he growled at every animal. He was terrified to pee or poo outside...which meant using lots of Stain and Odor Elimination spray and even more paper towels. Between Beast and Harper Belle, my roommate and I had made a profession out of cleaning carpets. Our happiness of taking care of the puppies never faltered, though. Every "accident" we cleaned up and every "NO!" we screamed at the pups just made us feel closer to them because we could see that they were learning. They started doing their business on the "Pee-Pee Pads" and Beast even started waking me up when he needed to go outside. 

In this first week of living with Beast, I realized that I had never smiled like Beast made me smile and I had never cuddled and loved on an animal like I did with him. Even though I love big dogs and I didn't get the pup that I originally wanted, this dog was growing to be a large part of my heart. Even as I'm typing this, he's laying down at my feet, sleeping. He understands that I'm his mommy and he has started learning new commands like "Outside" (for pottying) and "Down" (for when he gets up in my face when I'm eating). He follows me around everywhere and Heaven forbid I leave him outside the bathroom while I'm using it. He used to whine and bark when I would take a shower but now he whines for about one minute and then lays down in his bed and sleeps until I get out. I'm amazed at how smart he is. 

Oop! He just woke up. I guess I was typing too loud for his liking. :) He is such a good boy! Sorry, I have to go cuddle him now. 

Adopting the Beast

I had always wanted a dog. Growing up, I had a few...but since I had moved out of my parents' house into my new apartment, I REALLY wanted one of my own. My roommate (who has the same first name as I do) and I talked about getting a puppy for the both of us so we headed out to the nearest shelter on a Saturday morning. We looked at all the cute puppies that had just come from a hoarding situation and a few medium-sized dogs whose owners decided they had rather surrender than take care of. My heart, however, always went out to the big doggies. I wanted a Great Dane! I wanted a huge Pit Bull! I wanted a dog that was as big as a human and would cuddle with me. So, as my roommate was off looking at the puppies, I made my way to the large pups. I looked through all of the kennels and saw the sad faces of the dogs who were too big to be in such small cages. I stuck my fingers into the kennels that were labeled "Danger: Do Not Pet Dog" because I wanted to touch the souls that were probably never shown love before (and none of them growled at me or attempted to bite me [imagine that]). I was bonding with every single dog that came up to me to be pet behind the ears. I was getting depressed that I wouldn't be able to take any of these dogs home with me....

And then I heard my roommate gasp. When I turned around, she was kneeling at a cage that held six Jack Russel mix puppies. As I walked over to her, I noticed that all six of the puppies were too terrified to come to the door of the kennel and let us pet them. So we called over a shelter volunteer to hand us two of the female puppies. We instantly fell in love with the babies. They cuddled into our necks and fell asleep; they trusted us. It was amazing to me that we formed such a strong bond with these small creatures in such a short time period. We knew that we had to narrow our choice down to just one puppy... until the volunteer told us that if we got one puppy, the other would be half off.

Our minds were made up. We were getting both puppies. We were going to be the proud parents of two VERY small, 3 month old Jack Russel Terrier mix puppies...but not until the Tuesday of the following week, when they were to get spayed. On the Monday before we were supposed to get our pups, my roommate called me saying that she had some "semi-bad news". I was immediately prepared to hear the worst--my puppy had died. Instead, she told me something that made me smile. The "female" puppy that I had picked out was actually a boy... I laughed at this news for the rest of the evening. I was just happy that my puppy was healthy and neutered...and that I would be getting it, for sure, the next day!!

Tuesday morning, I went to the clinic to get my puppy. After sitting in the waiting room for half an hour, the nurse finally called my name and told me that my puppy was about to come out. She failed to mention, however, that the puppy they brought out looked NOTHING like the puppy I had picked out at the shelter. I reluctantly grabbed the foreign puppy and tucked him under my arm. This wasn't my dog that I had made a connection with. This was some stranger's dog. I was really upset and I didn't know if I even wanted this little beast. I went out to my car and got ready to go home with the dog who was three times the size of the puppy I had fallen in love with at the shelter. I looked right in his eyes and told him, "You are not my dog. I'm taking you back." The way he looked back at me, with those adorable little brown eyes that stared right into my soul, told me that I was wrong. 

I scratched the top of his head, I touched my nose to his, and I cried for a little while. (I'm not a terribly tearful person but something struck my heart.) I realized that this puppy was going to be the dog that I truly fell in love with. He nuzzled his little head into my arm and fell asleep super quickly. I drove back to my apartment as fast as my Mazda would allow and I practically burst through the door to show my roommate my new dog son. One of the first things she said was, "That doesn't look like the dog you picked out." And we soon came to the conclusion that, even though he wasn't technically mine, I would love him as if he had been the first one I had laid eyes on. I kind of wanted a male puppy anyway...girl puppies seem like such divas (which has pretty much been confirmed by my roommate's puppy, Harper Belle). 

I let my little boy roam around the apartment and get used to his new surroundings, while I looked at his little tail that was (seemingly) permanently stuck between his legs. I kept thinking that he would be super scared and not trust me at all. However, he eventually started coming up to me and licking me. He also played with his toys that I had bought him and even laid in his bed when I showed it to him. He knew he was home. I was so happy that I had made the decision to keep this little pup. And I also knew that I definitely wanted this little Beast.