Creating (a) Monster

I'm not actually referring to the pup, either, when I say "monster." No, that would actually be myself...a creating monster. I tend towards being a right-brained, artsy-type of person, with hobbies that have, in the past, included scrapbooking, jewelry making, and a (very) tiny little bit of sewing.

So the idea of "DIY dog toys" grabbed my attention, and after a couple of evenings of fleece strips and television time, I had this:

No, she won't get them all at once. How
spoiled do you think she's going to be?
(Answer: Okay, probably very, at least in the
toys and love department.)

Most of them are a simple box plait, a craft I learned way back in my brief stint with Girl Scouts and applied to keychains. Apparently the same thing works really well with fleece strips and dog toys. I turned out toys of various lengths and plait tightness, plus a couple of standard three-strand braids.

I made multiple toys so I can rotate them out on a frequent basis, as well as wash a few at a time and never have her be without at least one. I also have a couple of puppy chewy bones, and some lovely felted wool squishy toys waiting Her Puppyness.

closeup of one of the box plait toys

And finally, I leave you with the overwhelming cuteness of Her Puppyness. These are some of the "selection photos" taken by my friend that enabled this whole transaction. She was on-site to take photos of the pups and then send them to me so I could narrow down the selection based on liking the looks of the pups, and then she would provide more details on personality and such.

Honestly? It was no contest. The first photo of her that I saw was
the one with her paw out -- "Pick me."
And I did.

Preparing for Puppy

I've grown up with dogs since I was two years old. But this is my first dog. As in, the first one I've picked out, paid for, and will be responsible for turning into a respectable canine citizen.

What have I gotten myself into?

It'll be another week or so until I have her, but I'm slowly getting things set up. All of the dogs we've had have been big dogs -- Bouviers, all weighing it at 70+ pounds -- so to switch gears to get ready for a smaller dog has been, well, a switch. (But some of her stuff is so cute.)

She's also a short hair -- score on the "needing less grooming tools" department. But enter blanket department. (Which, to be honest, are a lot cuter and way more fun to buy than grooming tools.) While I'm not really one who gets the overly cutesy dressing up of one's dog, I do appreciate the little dog blankets that look like miniature horse blankets. Those just look downright snazzy.

Puppy-proofing has commenced, including switching the more precious of my DVD collection to a more inaccessible shelf. The ones on the lower shelves, I won't be quite as distressed if those cases end up with a couple of gnaw marks along the way.

I kind of feel like an anxious mother, just wondering when the kid is going to figure out how to jam a fork in the electrical outlet...