"Mommy, I don't want to get dressed for school!"

Dressing puppies is hard work.

Artemis still isn't a fan of her collar, and will often pause in mid-zoom to scratch at it, leading to some hilarious "Oops, lost my balance and tumbled" moments. (Serves her right, I say.) I actually switched her from the thin nylon breakaway collar because she scratched at it enough to start fraying the top layer of nylon -- and the double d-rings of the breakaway were just too fiddly when trying to leash a squirmy puppy.

So she's wearing a thin, lightweight leather collar now. I was even kind enough to remove her ID tags (for now) since she's not going anywhere other than house and yard, lest the clinking and jingling further drive her nuts. The good thing: The leather is going to be very soft and distressed by the time she's done scratching it.

This morning, I attempted to put her blanket on. Not made easier by the fact it's really a size too big, but she views it as a giant chew toy to latch onto. I imagine once it's actually on, she'll have a merry time trying to gnaw it off. Although maybe she'll surprise me once she figures out it helps keep her warm.

Oh, puppy. We haven't even hit what passes for "winter" here and you're already shivering in the morning. You are definitely going to have to get "blanket broke" and soon. In the meantime, we'll just stick with the pile of fleece blankets that is slowly taking over the playpen.

I also attempted to get her a harness. Unfortunately, a lot of harness manufacturers don't take into account puppy proportions, and what fits a "little dog" isn't necessarily the right fit for a puppy. I got a nice harness with a broad chest plate, step-in style that wasn't going to be too challenging to get on her...and it didn't fit. Measurements were all correct, but the chest plate and straps were too broad for her still-narrow chest and small shoulder, and she was able to wriggle in just the right way and partially slip out of it.

Said harness got returned to the store today. I'd love to get her a really nice leather harness once she's old enough, basically a downsized version of some of the heavy-duty, high quality ones out there for large dogs. In anticipation of this, I've been online browsing for what's out there. Let me tell you: Not much. It's almost enough to make me take up leatherworking, just so I can get what I want. (Or beta-biothane would work, too. I have the same argument as with the horse tack: I love the easy maintenance and non-smelliness of beta biothane, but nothing replaces the feel of genuine leather.)