Sorry about the “mass-blog”. I got a little busy last week and finally had time this morning to put stuff together. Zuzu likes to sit with me while I type it all out on my iPhone outside, then e-mail it to myself for posting later!
Quality Time
Last week was so good! Jim finished working at Google the week before, so last week was spent at home, prepping for his final presentation, attending daily conference calls, and doing move prep.
Why is that good, you ask? Because each of those things lead to free time in between! So, not only was Daddy home, but I was home most if every day as well.
Zuzu got at least two good walks a day, plus playtime during conference calls, and training, and extra brushing, and lots of cuddles and love and feet to take naps near. And, like any baby, that made her happy! And a happy dog tends to be a good dog.
Two Things to be Cranky About
Noise and Food.
Zuzu does not want any noise or smell on the other side of the fence. With neighbors on both sides within about ten feet and a middle school athletic field and track at our back fence, she is finding it challenging to protect us. And I am finding it challenging to teach her that not every noise or smell is a threat. I would rather her ignore the sound of our neighbor putting trash in his bin and children playing in the back, but guard me from the stranger (gardener) that opens my fence and walks into the backyard with no warning carrying hedge trimmers.
But no, she'll wag her tail at the giant, non-English speaking (and luckily, very sweet) men that descends upon our yard, but bark her head off at the PE teacher talking to her students!
With the food, one day she is fine and the next she will only eat the "good stuff". I don't blame her, but I can't afford to fill her belly with only lean meat, rice, and her veggies of choice! She is eating up to six cups of food a day. I would rather at least three or four of those be dry food. I'm not giving up though. Other than meat, eggs, and rice, her favorite is still the coconut oil on her dry. Maybe I'll just do more if that.
Zuzu’s First BBQ
Zuzu lived through her first barbecue on Saturday. I was hoping that we could leave the doors wide open and just let her and all of the kids wander the house and yard freely, but that didn't quite happen.
Strangely, there are almost no bugs here. I will never understand how that's possible and I will miss it terribly when I return to the East Coast where screens and bug spray are a way of life, but other than spiders, fuzzy bumble bees and fireflies that don't blink, there are no bugs.
The real problem with the open doors was that the high school kids wanted to lay in the grass and eat their food. (Again, only possible in a bug-free land.)
In Zuzu's world, anything on the ground is there for her! The kids were OBVIOUSLY there to be wrestled with, licked, and nibbled on, and they had food on the ground to share with her. Food on tables is not for sharing. Food on the ground is fair game! So, there was lots if crying when she was brought inside while children were on the ground WITH food. We were the meanest doggy parents on the planet!
The middle schoolers were way more fun! They didn't just talk and hold hands; they played! Zuzu loved volleyball. She loved trying to steal the ball every time it hit the ground and even managed to pick it up in her giant mouth a couple of times. She loved that they would stop in the middle of the game and give her lots if scratches. And she loved that they would play soccer and tag with her!
The thing that I was worried about - the outside table and inside counter filled with food - were never an issue. Zuzu ignored them! That made me very happy. I think she was just more concerned about being a part of the action than about stealing food. She did get fed a very good dinner and she did manage to snag a few Cheez-it's when the box fell off the table, so it's possible that she was happy enough with that.
I even gave her some seedless watermelon for the first time, thinking she would love it. She took it in her mouth and spit it out! Blech! Silly puppy.
Overall, the experience was a huge success.
First Babysitter
We did a morning whale watching trip on Memorial Day, then went out to lunch with friends that we hadn’t seen since NY last year, so Zuzu had her first babysitter. Two kids that Darby routinely babysits came over with their mom to play. Here is the picture and the text that I got from Jenny:
“Having fun with Zuzu! She’s pretty mellow these days and so lovable. Hope you had fun with the whales.”
I texted back - Mellow? What Dog are you babysitting! Tressa was jealous that she would lay still for the picture next to the kids.
She was very excited to see us when we got home!
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