I has a puppy!!!

EEEEE!!! His name is Jameson (Jamie) and he is a Brittany/Black Lab mix. He was 5wks old when I got him over Memorial weekend. Right now he is back out with the family I got him from to get some extra time with his mom and one of his sisters. I did some reading and discovered that pups shouldn't be separated until around 8-10wks because of vital socialization with mother and littermates and that removing them from their mom too early can cause them to be very mouthy and to cry often, the two main issues that I was having with Jamie since bringing him home. For being so young, he took to potty training almost instantly. Some of that is probably due to me watching him like a hawk and timing his outings with his meals, naps, and any time that he had to spend in his crate. God bless the internet and it's wealth of information! I had never really thought to take pups out after naps, but with Jamie it has turned into routine, otherwise he'll pee on the floor. He hasn't messed his kennel once, and has never pooped on the floor. He has gotten to the point now where instead of running around and sniffing and whining, he will even go to the back door and paw at it to be let out! So proud of him! I'm sure a lot of that progress will be undone by his being back with his family for nearly a month, but we've got a good foundation laid so I'm hopeful that as long as I look after him like I did in the beginning, he'll pick up where he left off quickly. He is also surprisingly good on a leash...usually walks right beside me on the left side. It's uncanny. However, he talks to me the ENTIRE time, I can never figure out what's going on. I miss him like crazy though, and I only just took him out yesterday early evening...It feels like he's been gone a week already. I CANNOT wait for next Monday or Tuesday when I get to go out and visit him! It will be so exciting to see how much he's grown! I also can't wait to get him back and get him into puppy classes! It will be so great for him to be old enough to follow instruction and have stuff to exercise his little doggy brain. I try to take him for a walk every morning and evening, but it's hard to know how much exercise he needs at this point. He's so little that you wouldn't think very much, but after taking a spin around the block with all of it's hills, he's still hyper for a good 15-20 mins after...I think he needs more mental stimulation, but as of right now he does NOT have the attention span for anything other than playing tug-o-war and working on the "come" command...

Wow, a lot has changed!

Been a very long time since I last posted in here...

Well for starters, I did end up switching to that other league that I mentioned in my last post! Dead Girl Derby is their name, and being a freaking amazing group of ladies is their game! My first practice with DGD was coincidentally the same day as the first round of try-outs for KCRW, and I am very glad that I made the switch as several new girls who came in after me had tried out for KCRW and not made it...I think I heard somewhere that around 30 or so tried but only 10 or less made it. I definitely would not have been among those that made it, haha! As of right now, I am a very happy member of the Lovely Lethals. I was amazed that I was drafted when I was; I had sprained my ankle pretty badly in November and hadn't been able to skate for at least a month when they did the first draft. Luckily for me, even though my ankle took forever to heal (and probably still isn't fully healed), I've been able to rebuild pretty quickly and am improving more and more as time goes on. Once I get certain aspects of my life figured out, I definitely want to find a time to start working out and building my strength and endurance in my upper body and core. Thanks to skating, my lower body has been getting stronger, but derby is a full-contact sport and maintaining balance is key. I am also determined to learn how to do a 180 stop. I recently discovered that I actually CAN do T-stops with my left foot; being able to do that now is definitely going to help me in getting the 180s down, but it's going to be a long process no matter what.


As for Waxy's after I sprained my ankle I couldn't walk hardly at all so working as a waitress was out of the question, obviously. I left there and got back in touch with the staffing agency that I have used a lot in the past, doing some odd stuff here and there for various places, hoping that something permanent would turn up. I was able to land a pretty sweet gig doing office type work for a small medical supply/billing company fairly close to where I live. It's part-time for right now, but as the business grows I'm hoping to be able to pick up more hours. It is perfect for right now though, as I gear up to get back into classes this summer.


Who knows when I will update this again, but I will try not to let it be so long next time!


Edit: Oh, by the way, at least for the time being, my derby name is Betty Fright!