Puppy Whipped

 Wow.  

Sequel jumping Poppy

Having this puppy here is kicking my butt.  Winston is acting weird about his food. The cat is more demanding than ever when she isn't fleeing to outside or downstairs.

 The good thing is I didn't cry last week.  First week since Will died that I haven't cried for a full week.  Why? Because I was anxious and annoyed and irritated all week and that didn't leave as much time for sadness.

But previously, all the stress of managing the puppy was making me miss Will more. This week, the week that began with a friend's death at 75 and ended with another friend

But my therapist and I laughed a lot together this morning because I knew this was going to be hard and I am now experiencing the previously mentally accepted hardness. It is hard. I don't regret making this decision, though. Having her and meeting her needs for exercise, mental stimulation, food, sleep, and poo/pee time has once again convinced me that I made the right decision to not be a parent.  I'll be able to stand this for the short time a puppy takes to grow up (2 years) but I never would have made it the length of time it takes to launch a higher level primate into the universe!

I just now had a nice talk with Marie Hedeman, Sequel's breeder, about some of the issues we've been having and she gave me some great advice about taking the girl's food away an hour earlier than I've been doing, covering the ground with red or black pepper, and playing with her hard for a full half hour before we go to bed.