hazliya: (stamp)


When I first looked at this set after shooting, all I could think was, "Damn, does she look like Zoe from Firefly."

First shoot in my Japanese apartment! I'm learning to work with the light in this place and managed to get a really decent setup. Using big ol' white plastic sheets as diffusers over the windows, though, because damn is the sun strong here.

The model is Dominique again, same as the mermaid shoot. She'll be relocating in about a week and really wanted to work with me again, so she booked up a whole day with me and our MUA drove on down again to work her magic. We ended up doing two full shoots, and this is the first of them.

ALSO I GOT TO USE MY TORD BOONTJE NECKLACES I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

We tried to make it lived-in and wrinkled, like it wasn't a total set dressing. So we crumpled up the sheets and drapes and tossed the pillows around. The result? Super fun!

Pinup/Boudoir style, so might be a little NSFW. )

And then Elsa decided that she wanted in on the pictures. So she invaded the set and since we were wrapping this one up anyway, we let her stay for a few shots. =)

Bonus shots! Now with more fur! )

I love how expressive Dominique is. Seriously, so relaxed in front of a camera. She's using some of the headshots we've taken to make a comp card and look for an agency stateside - I hope that it goes well for her.

As always, favorites and comments hugely appreciated. Including on the ones with the furball.
hazliya: (Default)
Ever since she was six months old or so, Elsa's woken up with a hacking dry cough a few times a month, sometimes oftener. I took her to the vet, and no lung or heart issues. The fits only last a few minutes or so, and a tablespoon of ice cream or honey takes care of it.

She had a particularly bad one this morning, so I called my vet again.

Any morning vomiting, they ask?

Only once, I said, and that was from seriously overeating (thanks, mum and dad, for table scraps) and there was no coughing that morning.

Does she do it when she gets excited?

Nope, I said. That's when she barks or spins around so much she falls over.

What stopped it?

I told them about the ice cream, and they said that if it's stopped by soothing the throat, then it's probably a throat issue. She might not do well in dry climates or, because she's so little and close to the ground, she might kick up a lot of dust when she skitters or plays, and it settles when she sleeps. And though they did screen her for heart and lung issues (little dogs are particularly susceptible), she came back totally healthy. If I panic, they'll happily do it again.

I'm glad my vet is open at 8am when I'm in panic mode.
hazliya: (Default)


It's her first birthday today. She got a new toy, a giant chew, and scrambled eggs in her kibble this morning.

I'll be sending pictures to her breeder to show "Hey, she's still alive!" and might give her something extra at dinner.

Otherwise, business as usual for my spoiled age-now-measured-in-years brat. =)
hazliya: (elsa_leaftime)


Holy crap, she'll be a year old in a few weeks. Bizarre.

Anyway, bought Elsa a 30' run the other day and took her to Green Hill Park. She loved it so much that I got the brilliant idea to hook it up in our beautiful little backyard today, grabbing her water bottle, a few toys, and the camera to take the long-overdue monthly progress shots. So she ran like a crazy, dashed after some birds, played fetch a whole lot, and chased the bees in the mini-herb-garden-thing to her heart's content. She loves bees. I love watching her have fun. She was even getting a little wobbly from the heat and exercise, and she still didn't want to go back inside.

Whoever invented those miniature squeaky tennis balls deserves a damn medal.

More under the cut. )

Which ones should I send to her breeder?
hazliya: (elsa_leaftime)
Two new commands: "here" with sticking her nose in my hand, and "stand," each taking less than 5 tries to learn. How is it that she can be that intelligent and still lose to this:



Seriously. It taunts her. She'll go at it for 20 minutes at a time, eventually settling on barking at it until it stops moving. She's tried everything. Sitting on the spring, attacking the base, sneaking up on it - all to sweet, hilarious failure.

But adding to the intelligence front, Elsa has become a tactical striker when it comes to stealing. Like something out of a caper flick, she knows to go in, get the good stuff, and get out Mission Impossible-style. Most dogs can't resist the urge to sniff around in the trash or shred tissues, but Elsa knows what she wants. And whenever she's in a place she's not allowed to be unattended, she makes efficient use of those precious few moments, silently beelining for the best loot and zooming back to her bed in the living room.

In the kitchen, it's eggshells. In the bathroom, it's q-tips. In the bedroom, it's receipts. And she knows enough to bring them back to her bed to gnaw or shred them, as we can glance over and see "oh, she's in her bed" and not immediately be as suspicious as if she were in another room.

Also, the little brat has learned to muffle the bell on her collar. I'm not kidding. She's learned how to creep without the bell making any noise, and she's gotten to be fast. Thank goodness for that baby gate - it foils her attempts at thieving more often than I can track.

She's become an outright, in-front-of-your-face thief as well, when it comes to food. She learned long ago that begging gets her nothing, so now she'll just walk up and try to take things. It's the new habit to break, and we're making progress.

However, last night, I found it hard to discipline her because it was so goddamn funny. She was sitting with [livejournal.com profile] elenuial as he played Dragon Age, like she usually does, and he had a bowl of the plain stove-popped popcorn in his lap. Every once in a while, he would grab half a handful and pop it into his mouth, which is nothing out of the ordinary. Except that between handfuls, Elsa would casually grab individual kernels with her tongue and munch on them while watching the screen, like a kid in front of a movie. When I noticed, I laughed and pointed it out to him, which got Elsa relegated elsewhere and the popcorn guarded much more closely.

I was also feeling shutter-happy this weekend, and remembered that I hadn't taken pictures of her since around Christmas. So here she is, ten months old, and getting to be a very pretty girl, with her freckles on her toes and muzzle and her big girl haircuts and changing colors.

?

Pictures below the cut! )
hazliya: (elsa_leaftime)
So, the good news: the Kansas State rabies lab called to tell me that my sample had, in fact, arrived, and was viable. They called about a week and a half ago to tell me this, and I was ecstatic.

The bad (odd)? news: My vet called me yesterday to tell me that the results were in. Now, this raises a few red flags. One, the website says that the test takes up to five weeks to administer, and they only just entered my sample into the system as of tops, two weeks ago.

Two, a normal blood titer for rabies comes up 0.5-0.8 IU/mL. When I asked the tech what the number read, she told me that it was 4.65. I was confused. That's like blowing whole numbers on a breathalyzer, except for rabies. Something has to be wrong, I said. So she's going to fax it over so I can look at it.

I'm hoping that it's just some other number, like the exact sample size they needed. The vet did send 5mL of serum, after all. I really don't hope that it's the diluted result, and Elsa's antibodies measure at 0.465 IU/mL. The minimum she needs to enter Japan is 0.5, and I honestly cannot bring myself to believe that after receiving not one, but three rabies vaccinations in a six-month-period, she wouldn't show the an equal or higher antibody level as a dog who's only been vaccinated once and can pass the damn test.

I called the rabies lab and left a voicemail. Now I'm stressed out, and that's the last thing I need before Intercon.

EDIT: Just talked to the vet and lab - No, her titer showed antibodies at 4.6 IU/mL. Vaccinating her three times while her immune system was still young means that she is fully nine times more resistant to rabies than those considered well-vaccinated. At this point, the lab says, she might as well be immune.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have raised a Superdog.
hazliya: (elsa_leaftime)
Elsa likes bananas. So I froze one and gave her a chunk.

Me: Elsa, want a banana?
Elsa: :D
M: Here, [take it.]
E: D:
M: What?
E: It's frozen.
M: Yep.
E: No me gusta.
M: You like frozen peas!
E: This is not peas.
M: You like bananas.
E: Not frozen, apparently. Send it back.
M: You can just wait for it to thaw.
E: Good idea. Let me go hide it somewhere where I'll forget about it and it'll rot.
M: Please don't.
E: How about under the futon? Everything's better with dustbunnies.
M: No.
E: [livejournal.com profile] elenuial's shoe?
M: No.
E: Litterbox?
M: No.
E: I'm going to go around to every possible place except out in the open.
M: And I'm going to veto every time.
(She does, and I do. A minute and a half later:)
E: The filter compartment in my water fountain?
M: FOR CRYING OUT LOUD NO.
E: ...Oh, hey, it thawed.
M: Good. I'm so happy for you.

And thus, Elsa devoured her deliciously room-temperature banana after it melted from her carrying it around in her mouth for a good two minutes.
hazliya: (elsa_leaftime)
After a fairly rigorous training session (and a day at the vet), I felt that Elsa had earned some one-on-one playtime. Apparently, she had the same idea, as follows (italics are commands):

H: Hey, baby girl. Let's try this one out. Wait.
E: I am a paragon of composure.
H: Yes, I'm very impressed.
E: There are cookies on my feet.
H: Yes, I kn-
E: Cookies.
H: Yes.
E: On my feet.
H: I put them there.
E: ...Sadist.
H: I know. Okay.
E: HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS WHERE I AM ALL THE HIPPOS
H: You did good!
E: I HAVE LOST THE ABILITY TO FOCUS. HIPPO.

---

H: All right, all right. Bring me a toy.
E: TOY.
H: Just pick one.
E: HONKY DUCK.
H: Of course. The honky duck.
E: HONK.
H: Can I have it?
E: HONK. HONK.
H: Drop it.
E: I WILL RUN INTO THE OTHER ROOM.
H: I'm not throwing it there, but okay.
E: THAT IS THE WRONG ROOM. YOU THROW FOR CRAP.
H: Why are you whacking him into the wall?
E: I NEED TO SNAP HIS NECK AND CRUSH HIS BONES.
H: Bring it here, baby.
E: HIPPO
H: Awesome. Capslock Elsa time.
E: HE IS STILL HONKING. HE IS NOT DEAD ENOUGH.
H: Leave poor honky duck alone. You're being unreasonable.
E: I WILL BEAT THE HONKING OUT OF HIM.
H: You do that. Mama has work to do.
E: HONK.
H: That's nice.
E: HONK. HONK. HONK. HONK. HONK. HONK. HONK. HONK. (whap whap whap) HONK. HONK. HONK. HONK. (whap thud whap) HONK. HONK. HONK. HONK. HONK. HONK.
H: Oh, for f- Elsa, want a cookie?
E: (skitters to bookshelf) Yes, please.

So that is why honky duck is now next to me on the couch, watching me type and enjoying the brief respite.

Also, Elsa met a baby today. More on this later.
hazliya: (ghost dog)
The importation procedure for dogs into Japan is ridiculous. Understandable, seeing as it is a rabies-free country and the U.S. isn't, but still challenging at best.

There is a 20-page document detailing the procedure, and though going to Japan isn't 100% guaranteed, I'm going through the motions anyway. Because we won't know for sure until March/April, and it'll be too late by then.

According to the timeline, this is what I will need to do:

T minus 240 days - Microchip with an international ISO standard and rabies vaccination #1. (Any vaccinations before microchipping are, for some reason, irrelevant.)

210 days - Rabies vaccination #2.

180 days - Blood titer sent to Japan. Regardless of how long it takes to ship (the whole titer testing period can take up to a month), the blood cannot be drawn earlier than 30 days after the most recent vaccine. Titer results must show an antibody level higher than 0.5 IU/ml. I have no idea how to send this to the lab.

40 days - Advance notice to the airport (one of eighteen that are authorized to import dogs) that you plan on importing the dog. This is more flexible; it can be earlier than 40 days before departure.

2 days - Certification of Export obtained from Still-To-Be-Determined federal agency. I'm not sure which agency it is, but they (and my vet) need to give Elsa a once-over and fill out forms verifying that she does not, in fact, have rabies or any other transmittable health issues. These forms are provided by the website.

So, on the day of, her total quarantine time should be less than 12 hours. If I follow the procedure exactly.

And [livejournal.com profile] elenuial will arrive for orientation and whatnot a good 3-4 weeks before I do, long enough to make sure that the housing allows pets and, if not, arrange otherwise. Upon reading, dogs under ten pounds are generally much more accepted than large dogs, and there are apartment buildings that say "no" to dogs but change their tune once you mention that said dog is under six pounds.

This is starting to seem much more do-able. Intimidating, but do-able. I'm not leaving this dog that I've assumed responsibility for and invested so much effort and emotion into alone with strangers during her formative years. Also, she might just be the only thing keeping me sane over there.

Besides, she'll love Japan. Not the plane ride over, but the place?

She'll adapt better than I will.
hazliya: (Default)
Elsa is home and doing well.

When I went to pick her up at the vet, not one, but three vet techs came out with Elsa, because apparently she had won the hearts of every single person in the office. I had to laugh - she was so doped up that she couldn't blink both eyes at the same time. So I gingerly carried her to the car, where she slept soundly the entire drive home. She was only semi-conscious when I carried her upstairs, and [livejournal.com profile] elenuial was definitely scared a little by how out of it she was.

But some difficult hours later, she's past the stumbling-and-puking stage of coming out of anesthesia/painkillers, and even keeps down food. She's well enough to fight, at least, and seems like a tired version of her normal self. She's even dragged over toys and demanded we play. I did pamper her a little - poor thing earned it.

She also wore the Cone of Shame at the vet, but I prefer the Donut of Shame, an inflatable U-shaped pillow that velcros shut and does the same job, but more comfortably. Still, it's the worst thing in Elsa's little universe, and she's very unhappy about it. I, personally, find it useful and hilarious.

Ah, well. At least where they shaved her leg for the IV should grow back quickly enough.
hazliya: (blue falls)
If I hear one more person say "Aw, now she won't get a chance to be a mom," I'm going to scream.

Yes, I had my dog spayed. No, it's not a horrible tragedy. Bug off.

Maybe I'm just projecting my own issues about being female onto my dog. Lord knows I could anthropomorphize a stick, never mind a living creature I care for on a daily basis. And I could be over-emotional from days of grieving and worrying about the surgery. But this has been going on for a while. [livejournal.com profile] elenuial's mother tells me every single time we talk about how she cries over the fact that Elsa will never be a mother. I expected this from her - she's completely oblivious to the reasons behind spaying and neutering other than "it's just what you do."

There are so many reasons to not breed your dog. To be perfectly frank, I don't think that anyone should breed their dogs unless they're part of a recognized breeding program and have at least as many depositors on the litter as there are potential pups. Never mind the physical toll it would take on her body (pregnancy ruins dogs) the financial and emotional aspects of it are just something I would never go through. The only creature I want Elsa to have to worry about and take care of is Elsa. As her owner, I want nothing more for her than total happiness and contentment to just be herself. And I don't think that not being bred will keep her from happiness.

But last night, [livejournal.com profile] elenuial picked up Elsa, cuddled her, and sad how it was a shame she could never have puppies.

atxcduafyuglsihiroghowaienrgbfn

I took a deep breath, then decided that I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and not kicking him to the curb.

Anyway, what's pissing me off is that it's mostly been women telling me how wrong it is to fix her before she has a litter and experiences that part of being female. Swear to freaking God, 75% of the women I've told that I'm fixing my dog say something along the lines of "aww, she'll never fully realize what it's like to be a woman."

Really, ladies? You're not a proven female until you've popped out a litter?

I hate that the culture that tells us that women aren't really women until they give birth even permeates to our dogs.

Know what I say to people who think that way?

Fuck you. I'm a woman.

I don't have kids. I might not ever. But I refuse to believe that I am any less of a woman because of that.

Now, I'll admit, my definition of womanhood isn't exactly typical. I believe that those who undergo SRS or even MFTs are women in my eyes, maybe even more so than genetic females.

(I just told off a client in my mother's waiting room who just said "aww, you don't want puppies?" She got a fifteen-minute earful, after which she admitted that she wanted to breed her female boxer until she saw the fees for stud service.)

I do agree that pregnancy and childbirth is an incredible thing. But I don't think that it's the be-all, end-all of being born with the equipment to do it.

And if you tell me otherwise, or imply that my dog is any less female because she'll never experience the joy of parenthood, I'll kick you in the crotch so hard that you never get to experience it, either.
hazliya: (Default)


I groomed Elsa today in preparation for her surgery on Tuesday. (WORRY. PANIC.) So I thought I'd take pictures of her while a) she was clean and b) it was still warm enough to take pictures outside. She loves Crunchy Leaf Rain season. Also, it's been a couple of months since I took pictures, and she's starting to look more like a real Papillon rather than a frumpy guinea pig. She's actually developed little tan freckles on her muzzle.

She also has developed a love for clothes. She shoves her head into them and refuses to let me take them off, usually preferring to nap in them instead. So I endeavor to at least buy her things that are marginally cute.

Yes, that's a Burberry print leash and collar. Yes, her sweater has side buttons.

Pictures under the cut! )

Many leaves had to die for these photos.

I think I like the sepia tones - the lighting at the time lent itself well to high-contrast, low-saturation coloring.

I'm thinking of sending a few to her breeder - which do y'all like best?
hazliya: (Default)
It's been a while since I updated on Elsa. She's almost six months now - and a seriously smart little thing.

She's getting fixed on Tuesday the 16th. I'm so nervous. Little dogs usually respond poorly to anesthesia. Or rather, worse than big dogs. But my vet is awesome, they have a great track record, and I comfort myself with the fact that if they can easily spay 2lb kittens, they can definitely spay a 4lb dog. Also, while she's under, she'll be microchipped.

She's also using the litterbox fully now. We're on step 3!
Step 1: Potty pads on floor.
Step 2: Potty pads in box.
Step 3: Litter in box!

She absolutely loves the litterbox. The transition went seamlessly, as I put in litter, she dug around, then went to the bathroom and came running over for a cookie.

The litterbox has some huge upsides. The house actually smells a whole lot better than when we used pads, we don't have to take her outside every 2 hours to relieve her tiny bladder, and she hasn't had an accident in the house since we made the switch, which is awesome. I guess since using the litterbox is fun, going to the bathroom has become an actively enjoyable activity. It also reinforces my theory that in her mind, pee on pads=pee on anything padlike. She'd thought it okay to pee on the kitchen rug and front hall doormat. But now with litter, there's nothing litterlike for her to generalize to.

Which further proves that she's a weird dog, since dogs typically can't generalize, and need to be trained to do so. Or maybe she's too smart for her own damn good.

The main downside to the litterbox is the fact that she loves to dig in it, and buries cookies in it to eat later. Nine times out of ten, she'll forget and leave it there, but still. We discourage her from doing that as much as possible.

She's on the head halter for walks now. I actually had to make one (thank god I can) since they don't sell one in Elsa's size, but it's amazing. She does spend about five minutes in "MOMMY I HATE YOU" mode at the beginning of the walk, but otherwise slips right into it. She no longer barks at geese (thanks to three weeks of threshold training) and has housebroken herself when she comes with me to the salon. Seriously. It's amazing. She learned that doors mean outside, and outside is where the strip of grass with all the pee is. So she runs up to the door and sits, waiting for me to clip her leash on.

Freaking genius dog. If this is what she's like at six months, I don't even know what she'll be capable of as an adult.

Speaking of growing up, she's in a chunkerbutt phase. See, puppies get lanky, then chunky, then lanky, then chunky, then even out to where they should be. And she is going from lanky to this slightly pudgy fluffball thing. And regularly spits out baby teeth into my hand.

On another note, Monday I groomed four Great Danes in a row. It was exhausting. My body is one big pulled muscle. It's very difficult to get a 180lb dog to do anything he doesn't feel like.

Time for tea and paperwork. And Ibuprofen.
hazliya: (blue falls)
Let me preface this by saying that Elsa's mother was an excellent mouser.

So, within the last week, there seems to have been a return of the cabinet mice. There were two nests - one next to the stove, where we put the emitter (and they have not returned since), and one in the pantry. There seems to be only a few this time - not a whole lot of damage done, just droppings and a few nibbles. Still, nipping this in the bud.

Enter my four-month-old pup. She has a very, very strong prey drive. When she picks up her toys, the first thing she does is shake them into submission, born from an instinct where she would've been snapping the neck on a rodent. And not just the side-to-side head toss, but an actual sharp, precise snap. She also has a need to chase, which is good... except for one little thing.

Elsa absolutely sucks at being sneaky.

When she sees something she wants, she freezes and pulls her ears forward. She moves as little as possible, and her breathing quiets. So far, so good. She sinks her shoulders, and her nails don't touch the floor so as to keep her feet silent. She bolts off like a shot...

...and then gets so excited she barks repeatedly. And growlsnorts.

Stealth level? Zero.

See, this works fine on deaf things, like toys or leaves, but squirrels and bugs hear her noisy self and know enough to bugger off. So, if Elsa is to be any kind of hunter, the barking needs to stop.

Anyway, we set some traps on the shelf a few days ago. No bait eaten, no nothing. No new traces. I checked them this afternoon - nothing. I come home, settle in, check them again. Success! One dead mouse. So I get the treats and clicker and Elsa obligingly follows me into the kitchen as I warn everyone not to come into the kitchen for the next fifteen minutes or so ([livejournal.com profile] elenuial had already let me know that he supported my decision, but wanted nothing to do with the process. Squick factor.).

Step one: Free dead mouse from trap, place it on kitchen floor. Elsa comes over to sniff it.

Click. Treat. Continue until Elsa routinely taps it with her nose to indicate interest.

Step two: She picks it up in her mouth.

Yes.

Dead mouse. In the mouth.

Click. Upgrade treats to cheese.

Step three: Trade mouse for cheese, at varying distances.

When it is brought to me? Big hunk of cheese and treats.

So, after fifteen minutes of practice, she now understands that bringing me a dead mouse will earn her large rewards. I disposed of the mouse, brushed her teeth, washed my hands, and gave everyone the all-clear.

And she went back into the kitchen later on her own, sniffing around where the mouse was on the floor and looking for it.

Awesome.

Next is teaching her how to make the mouse dead, the details of which I'm not really looking forward to. I'm trying to do this as humanely as possible. Suffice to say, it will probably take a few gruesome tries.

Ah, well. Time to get a second emitter to drive them into her sharp little puppy teeth.
hazliya: (laughing dogwood)


Elsa's about to hit 4 months. The teenage years.

Hoo-ray.

Anyway, it's been a while since I took photos, and the weather was (temporarily) nice. Plus, I like to keep her breeder updated once in a while.

Help me pick the ones to send? A few favorites should do. But I can't pick.

Romp in the backyard fotoz. )

I've noticed the she looks less puppylike, and is growing into dog-ness beautifully. Of course, now her hormones are turning her into kind of a jerk - which I knew would happen as she approached adolescence.

Ah, well. At least she's cute.
hazliya: (Default)


The bed is from my mum, and [livejournal.com profile] elenuial's mother got her the baby blanket.

Yes, the blanket says 'hug me.' )

The ears are taking over her head.
hazliya: (ghost dog)
Commands Elsa knows so far:
-Sit
-Down
-Up lv1 (stand on her back legs to touch fingertips with her nose)
-Spin lv3 (meaning she can spin about 3 times before she gets dizzy and falls over)
-High-five (both paws hitting the palm)
-Paw lv1 (just one foot so far)
-Take it lv2 (whatever is in my hands she can't take without permission)
-Crawl lv1 (butt on the floor, she can go about a foot)
-Watch me (maintain eye contact)
-Speak

Commands Elsa is working on:
-Over (roll over to the left, command works about half the time)
-Drop it (new) (whatever's in your mouth, put it down!)
-Leave it
-Wave Wave (new) (sit up and flail her front legs)

Right now, my main focus is on leave it and Fetch lv2. Leave it is still tough, but going well. Fetch she understands well, but still gets overexcited and grabs for our hands when we have the ball. Level 2 will be when she sits to ask us to throw it and drops it neatly in front of us.

I did have an awesome couple of moments today, though - out of curiosity, I sat on the floor with treats and put one in my outstretched palm, our cue for "you can have it, but when I say so." We'd only ever done 10-second bursts, but she surprised me by going easily through 15- and 20-second waits. At the 30-second mark, she sat and sniffed my hand, but didn't so much as move to take it. Super impressed, I gave her a huge chunk of liver for her effort. I think she might've even gone longer, but that was like a freaking hour for a 3-month-old puppy. And, even though I'd only taught it to her hours before and using her toys, she spat out a stolen tissue when I told her to "drop it!" from across the room.

Genius pooch.

When she wants to go into the kitchen, instead of pawing at the door, she sits to ask. Same thing with food - when I have her food dish in my hands, it only hits the ground when her butt does. She's awesome about that.

She's been barking to demand things a lot less lately. In fact, it's almost gone completely. She'll bark once in a while when we're training on something new to let us know that she's getting frustrated and needs a break, or else she's barking at something she's hunting, like while pursuing a ball we threw. Her predatory instincts are frightening - the growling and gurgling she makes when she's taking down plastic prey is almost identical to that of a pit bull. But the barking situation is great.

Nipping is still a little bit of a problem. She's three months old, and constantly wants to fight. She gets yelled at for putting any pressure down on fingers, toes, and pant legs, but still needs to be reminded once in a while. Otherwise, she's great at directing her puppy rage toward the toys.

Leash walking is going well, too. She doesn't pull or drag (except for the dead bird - she wanted that thing so bad) and will generally leave things alone and continue when told "let's go!" She greets people by wiggling her whole body and either crawling toward them or rolling onto her back. She does the same thing to other dogs, but the attention span for the latter is less than half what it is for two-legged creatures.

She's doing wonderfully - I couldn't have asked for a smarter, more eager-to-please puppy. She's only about fourteen weeks now, and I can't believe how well she's doing.

I guess the test will be how she does when [livejournal.com profile] elenuial's folks visit in a few days.
hazliya: (ghost dog)
I think I need to reevaluate things when it comes to Elsa.

I'm a trainer. I know what I want. I know what I expect of her. 100% housebroken. Responds to commands. Quietly asks, not demands loudly. Well-behaved in public. No biting or jumping.

Except I keep forgetting that she's three months old.

Either I need to lower my expectations, or she's just that much of a handful.

She had a bad day today. Behavior, housebreaking, everything. I'm very frustrated with her. We're going back to square one, and see if that helps her with her behavior. Meaning no more access to the kitchen, no treats, and a zero-tolerance policy for mistakes. If I'm not supervising her directly, back into the kennel.

She was doing so well. I hate backslides. They're unacceptable, and I can't wait until she's a goddamn adult.
hazliya: (jacket)
We've set a date. May 14th, 2011. Holy shit, this is happening.

Elsa has graduated from restricted to two rooms of the house to having five rooms! When she's out, she can travel freely between the office, living room, kitchen, pantry, and bathroom. Housebreaking is going well, and she's so good with commands. We've added "high five," "roll over," and "crawl" to her repertoire.

Right now, we're trying to dissuade her from fingers and toes. She's very fierce and has tiny, sharp teeth before she enters the teething phase. She's doubled in size since the day she came home, a fact that mystifies us every time we notice.

So far, so good.
hazliya: (Default)


Wow. She grew a lot in two weeks. I mean, I knew that the growth at this age is ridiculous, but still...

Her ears have gotten bigger.

As far as updates go, housebreaking is going well. She's got pretty good accuracy, and a predictable routine. She knows about eight commands right now (sit, down, paw, take it, spin, watch me, up, and we're working on "leave it") as well as picked up on a lot of the household routines. She knows that the kitchen means food, and when we turn the lights off for the night, it's time to sleep. She sleeps through the night well, and "cleans up" by pulling all of her toys into the crate with her to sleep with. She's also gotten into her barking phase, but it's not bad at all. She responds well to being ignored (or should I say, learns well from it). She's still frustrated easily, but she's a baby.

[livejournal.com profile] elenuial is completely taken with her. With his encouragement, we're kind of dual-booting her in both english and japanese. Her nickname is Elsa-momo, partly because of the bat-lemur in Airbender, partly because it's sickeningly cute, and partly to ease the transition when we go to Japan, where Momo will be a lot easier for people to pronounce than Elsa.

All in all, she's doing spectacularly and growing like a weed.

That being said, on to the cute photos.

More under the cut! Appearances by the unfortunate Mr. Whale. )

I think I'll send a few to her breeder. If nothing else, she'd be interested to see how Elsa's lines and markings turn out for reference. =)

December 2011

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