Zoey

I remember very clearly the day that Cory and I brought Zoey home with us. We were in the Alero, Cory and I up front and little puppy Zoey in the back seat, running from window to window trying to peak out and get a look at what was going on. She was unsure, and so were we. I think we made two or three stops on the hour long trip, just in case she had to go potty.

Sitting in the car, looking from my husband in the drivers seat to our new puppy in the back I remember thinking, this is it, the beginning of our family, and the last day of just Cory and I.

We brought our puppy home to our new house that we had just moved into the day prior to her arrival.

From the beginning Zoey was mischievous, a definite alpha dog and full of energy but we loved her Shiba spirit.

Now, 6 years later, I look at Zoey and I see my first parental failure. She never got the kind of strict training that a puppy, particularly a Shiba Inu should have. She never got the socialization that would make her a dog that can be around other dogs. She was spayed too early and now has a permanent bladder control issue that requires medication. All of these things make her a challenging pet, but never the less, a member of our family.

Zoey and I have a very complicated relationship.

After Zoey bit my nephew last summer, I have not thought of her in the same way. No longer was she just another member of our family, who just doesn't play well with other dogs, now she was a threat to the children in our lives, and a liability. Yesterday Thea touched Zoey's tail while she was lounging on the floor and Zoey repaid her by biting her face. She bled a little bit, and the two little spots where her teeth broke the skin are now scabbed over and accompanied by a scrape.

I can't even explain how I feel about this situation, and the turmoil it is causing in my family. It is very upsetting. The most upsetting part is that Cory and I don't agree about what to do, and neither of us trusts the others motivation for the stance that we have taken.

No matter how you look at it, I have failed my dog, my first baby. And I have failed my child.

Just another item to add to the list of things that are troubling my heart these days.

when will winter end?

I am so ready for spring to get here, I can't even express how much I hate winter...snow be gone!
I haven't written in a while because our computer was out of operation, and we finally got everything fixed this weekend.
Leila has been doing some really cute things lately :) She makes this face that I call her frog face. She sticks her tongue out and sucks it back in over and over. She smiles and knows how cute she is!
She has a little car that you can adjust to stand up so that she can hold on to it and walk. She has mastered this now, and pushes her way around the house.
She is eating all grown up foods these days and she loves to feed herself.
We also experienced our first baby injury this weekend. Leila has a little bit of a black eye that she got while playing with her pan on the living room floor. It looks pretty sad, but she got over it fast.

Here are some pictures of our princess :)

She is 10 months old, came across a pacifier in her toy box and NOW decides that she likes to suck on them!


Leila loves her dog Zoey...she especially likes to harass her while she is lounging around by pulling on her tags. Zoey takes it like a champ!



We made a trip to Champaign last week and Uncle Evan bribed Leila to hang out with him by giving her his watch.



Fettuccine Alfredo is good!


The Coobs family hanging out!


Much love from the Coobs family, Stay warm! Spring is just around the corner!!!

Crawling!

It has been a while since the last time I posted and in that time Leila has started crawling! For a month or so now she has been doing some army crawling to get around, but last Thursday morning she was on the floor with her toys while Cory and I were getting ready for work, and she put one knee in front of the other and was off!
She started out kind of slow and wouldn't go far before giving up, but a week later, there is no stopping her! :)
We are adjusting to keeping the baby gate shut and one eye on the moving target and so far so good. So far the best part of Leila crawling has got to be watching her chase after Zoey. Leila will crawl right into her and head butt Zoey in the belly! So far Zoey has taken it really well and just move away when she gets fed up, but Leila just keeps chasing her and grabbing her tail and rubbing her head on Zoey's fur. We are trying to be very careful and be sure to praise Zoey for her good behavior and amazing temper when it comes to Leila...we have yet to catch the fun on the camcorder but we will one of these days!

We are looking forward to Christmas break when Cory and I will get to spend a week at home with Leila working on some sleep training...the sleep training we are not so much looking forward to...
We will definitely post some pictures from Christmas and a full update on all of the wonderful boxes and crunchy paper that Leila will enjoy! :)

I hope everyone that reads this has a wonderful holiday and a happy new year...for those that don't read...bah humbug!

Zoey and Leila

I wanted to post this before I forgot...

Last night Leila was being so cute and fun. Cory and I were sitting on our bed with her, and Cory was holding her up so she could stand. Zoey came in and wanted to play, she brought one of her toys with the hopes that Cory or I would throw it for her.

I picked up Zoey's toy and threw it out the bedroom door down the hallway. Zoey ran after the toy, ran back and jumped back up on the bed. We kept doing this, and Leila was standing up next to me on the bed, and when I threw the toy she would bend over so she could see Zoey chase it down the hall and run back. When Zoey jumped up on the bed with the toy Leila would laugh! It so was cute! I wish we had a third person there to get it on video...