Puppy Prison

Dear Patrons,
I am writing you from "Puppy Prison". It is both a pleasure and a pain. It's the way things are I suppose; a friction between emotional satisfaction and dissatisfaction. I didn't think I would be ready for a new pet so soon after loosing Alfie, but Dana the UPS driver kept showing me pictures of his dogs' litter of puppies and I agreed to look. It wasn't even a conscious decision, I just fell in love with Teddy. I visited him weekly until he was able to come home with me at eight weeks. It's been three weeks now and he's running me ragged! I'm both delighted and depleted and I have so much to learn about this process. He is a fuzzy ball of constant activity when he isn't sleeping. But one thing for sure, it's all about Teddy. This is quite a challenge to my own self-centeredness. Hey, I never had children and perhaps I'm a bit under evolved in the patience department! But I am rising to the challenge, breathing deeply and working with my frustrations.
I thought I was doing a good job with potty training because I took him outside so frequently but it seems he has now determined that he can go wherever and whenever he wants. I'm now trying to be more consistent with feeding times and bathroom intervals. Keep your fingers crossed!
My biggest frustration is his constant nipping and chewing. He seems to think that my clothes and feet are his toys. The other day at Green Spring Station I caught him with a $350 Calleen Cordero sandal, happily chomping on the toe ring. Well at least he has good taste! I was told to take inappropriate things away from him and just say "NO", but this doesn't seem to work. Then I read that puppies learn bite inhibition from their litter mates who yelp when the play gets too rough. So I am now practicing my yelps....yike, yike, yike. Whenever he bites my flesh I yelp and actually he does stop...at least momentarily. But if I yelp when he chews the fringe on my oriental carpets, will he become paranoid and think that inanimate objects can talk. I don't want to create some sort of psychological disorder! There is so much to sort out. This is more difficult than selling shoes!
So thanks for listening to my whine. I'll keep you informed. Goodbye for now from Puppie Prison. He's so cute isn't he? Kathleen Matava