Bleary-Eyed and All Chewed Up

My humans have forgotten what it's like to have a puppy at home. After all, it's been more than 11 years since they've had a puppy in their home! So, the title of this blog post talks about two of challenges of having a puppy.

1) Bleary-Eyed - You can kiss sleeping in goodbye!

"When a puppy takes fifty catnaps in the course of the day, he cannot always be expected to sleep the night through." Albert Payson Terhune

 

Since Mia became part of our family last August, my humans have not been able to indulge in sleeping in. It's actually a lot better now as Mia does sleep through the night, compared to when she first came. Back then, she used to wake at around 2 to 4 am and my humans, worried that she might need to pee (puppies do have small bladders), have to wake up and take her out to relieve herself. They used to do the same for me too when I was a pup!

 

However, Mia is an early riser, and so anytime between 5.30-6.30 am, there will be sounds of pitter patter on the floor as Mia wakes (which means our whole household wakes up too). Personally, I don't mind because that means I get to eat breakfast early, which in my books, is a good thing. But for my humans, that rules out any hope of sleeping in at home on weekends.

 

2) All Chewed Up - This described the state of Mia's toys, our furniture, our shoes, our bags, etc, etc

 

It's a fact of life - you can't have a dog and a perfect house. My humans acknowledge that fact, having gone through that experience with me. Back when I was a pup, I used to love my human's high heel shoes. The heels fit perfectly in my mouth and makes for a good chew. The thing is though, I never chewed on a pair of shoes, instead, I like the variety and would pick a side of two different pairs of shoes, which to my human's chagrin, means two pairs of ruined shoes! I've also chewed through quite a few of my beds - woven basket, plastic beds, you name it, I've chewed it!

 

I'm pleased to say that Mia is following in my footsteps. She has chewed through numerous pairs of slippers, quite a few doggie toys, her bed (and mine), any sharp angle bits on furniture and floor trims, end bits of floor mats and my human's precious Longchamp bag. Here are some of Mia's chew "victims":

 

Victim #1:

One of Mia's first toys, a fluffy duckie from her original home. The duckie has since been put to rest - headless and stuffingless.

 Victim #2:

The Kong tennis ball with rope is now without its fluff covering and rope.

 Victim #3:

My humans carelessly left the remote on the coffee table. The picture speaks for itself.

 Victim #4:

A selection of Mia's chewed up toys. Note the fluffy cow which was bought to replace the fluffy duckie. In this picture, Mr. Fluffy Cow is still intact.

 

 

 

 Victim #5:

Headless Mr. Fluffy Cow.

 Mia has moved on to Ms Japanese Fish, which unfortunately did not survive for more than 5 minutes once Mia got started!

 Victim #6:

My human's bag (she is still trying to figure out if the bag can be saved with some creative patching!)

 Victim #7:

My other human's slipper

 

This is probably one of the only toys that my humans bought for Mia that still survives! Meanwhile, my humans are patiently waiting for the chewing phase to pass. Meanwhile, bags are kept away in cupboards and TV remotes are kept away from the coffee table!