Puppy Parenting: Week One in Review

So, as many of you may know DRB and I have become the proud parents of Beauregard's Chocolate Penny aka 'Beau.'  He is a chocolate lab who we got from friends of ours' parents, The Haxthausens.  He is now 10 weeks old and over 15 lbs - and has a clean bill of health from our Dr. at Hockessin Animal Hospital. 

In the past week, all five of us (Beau, DRB, Lilly (Siamese 16 yo), Darby (Tabby 14 yo), and me) have had some major changes and adaptations, but over all its been a week filled with love, learning, patience and PUPPY!

Here are some of the things we learned/accomplished:
Transporting Pets - A long plane ride (including a lay-over in Houston) from Louisiana to Philadelphia makes for sad, scared puppies. Huge kudos to Continental Airlines for taking good care of him while on the flight.  And thanks to PetRelocation.com for putting me in touch with the right people at PHL to figure out where to pick him up!

Crate-training - not so much.  The first night we put him in the crate we borrowed from Odin's parents.  He howled for 3 hours straight, late into the evening.  My ear plugs worked pretty well to muffle the sound, but DRB had none and between the threat of the neighbors calling the police and the insanity created in your head by puppy barking, caused him to break down and let him out of the crate.  Under some good advice from a long-time dog owner/trainer, we started feeding him in the crate to get him to realize - crates are good!  That's where you get yummy food!

House-breaking is a process! - We thought we had him housebroken and during the week he was!  The weekend hit and as our schedule relaxed and became less rigid and routine, so did Beau's.  That didn't work out so well and resulted in some accidents on the kitchen floor.

Puppies need exercise! - I think we are both going to lose weight with this dog.  We are trying to take him on three long walks a day through our property and give him lots of "outside time" with playing in the yard.  We've started him on retrieving a chew toy after learning that sticks aren't very visible to puppies when they land far away in the grass.  We also took him on about a 3-4 mile hike on Sunday.  It included learning to swim, splashing in the Creek and following his new best friend Odin everywhere! 

Puppies are NEEDY! - Wow, having raised two cats, I didn't realize that little itty bitty baby puppies have lots of insecurities and need lots of love and attention.  Little Beau is quite a snuggle bunny and tries hard to be a lap dog.  Right now, we are letting him get a little lap time and carry time, but we will wean him off that as he gets bigger - which is soooo soon!

Many people have asked how the cats are adjusting to having the new addition in the house.  We took many precautions to be sure that the cats we able to acclimate slowly and didn't feel left out.  We have a puppy gate up separating the first floor from the rest of the house to give the cats "safe space" in their favorite area.  We are coaxing them down to the first floor by feeding them on the steps - where they can see Beau. 

They have quickly learned that the gate protects them.  Darby has ventured down to the landing and been nose-to-nose with Beau.  There was some hissing and Darby put Beau right in his place by smacking him hard right on the nose.  While I am sure it did not hurt and Darby doesn't have claws, it sure scared the little guy!  He yelped as if someone had stepped on his tail and then cowered between my legs for protection.  It was sweet.  Since Darby continues to venture back to observe the new family member, I'm sure each will get enough courage up to eventually become fine friends.  Lilly on the other hand has become completely content to rule the 2nd and 3rd floors and never leave her kingdom.

Well, its time to take him out again.  This week, we are learning to "ring the bells" when he has to go out.  Off to practice!  More next week.  Stay tuned...

But its just a box of rain...

I had a ball taking this quiz. I'm Terrapin Station. And, yes, for those of you who don't know - I am a Dead Head. There is just no other band quite like them.

Take the quiz. What song are you? Post it here!

Wuthering Werewolves? Heathcliff - A Vampire?

Given my new fascination with all things Twilight, when I saw this post on the Identity Theory blog (via @ChrisBrogan) I couldn't help but let my mind wonder...was Heathcliff a vampire? Was he Edward Cullen of another era? Was Catherine Earnshaw really just Bella in Victorian garb?

The ages are about right. Heathcliff's brooding nature is certainly a vampiric characteristic. The teen angst is thick enough to cut with a knife within Wuthering Heights if you read it with that in mind. And, I agree with James Warner's theory that Heathcliff's "time away" could explain what happened... just sayin'... Here is Mr. Warner's take on it: "One disturbing thing about Heathcliff is his complete disappearance for a few years, before returning transformed, with “upright carriage” and a manner “quite divested of roughness,” not to mention a sudden facility for cards and the determination to systematically ruin all who have wronged him. If this was a fairy-tale, Heathcliff would appear to have sold his soul to the Devil – instead the explanation we're offered is the speculation that he may have been in the Army, although this seems like something it would have been easy enough for the other characters to check up on, which they never do."

But, Mr. Warner and I are not the only ones who think this... TL Stone has a great essay explaining the possibilites as well. What are your thoughts? Could Heathcliff be the precursor for Edward Cullen? Were vampires alive and well in 19th century Brit Lit?

The photos portraying Heathcliff over the years certainly support the theory, particularly this one:
Ralph Finnes as Heathcliff circa 1995:
Thanks to dancinshoes25 on photobucket.com

RELEASED! Laura Ling and Euna Lee from the Clutches of North Korea

Let me first say, I am, historically, not a fan of Bill Clinton. But today, I am.  Not sure what he did or said to the crazy Kim Jong-il, but he got Laura Ling and Euna Lee released.  I'm so happy for them and their families.  Let's hope that Mr. Clinton did this without risking the already volatile relationship between the US and North Korea, and without jeopardizing the release of other Americans imprisoned in North Korea.

Thanks to The Guardian for the pic!

Laura Ling: The Past 140 Days Have Been The Most Difficult, Heart-wrenching Times of Our Lives
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2009 Top Party Schools List Released by Princeton Review
The yearly Princeton Review list of the top party schools in the nation was released on Monday, showing off the top 20 party schools.
http://www.associatedcontent.com

Cats Do Control Humans, Study Finds - Yahoo! News

Um, I could have told you this! :)  Lilly has me well-trained...

Cats Do Control Humans, Study Finds - Yahoo! News
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If you've ever wondered who's in control, you or your cat, a new study points to the obvious. It's your cat.  Household cats exercise this control with a certain type of urgent-sounding, high-pitched meow, according to the findings.  This meow is actually a purr mixed with a high-pitched cry. While people usually think of cat purring as a sign of happiness, some cats make this purr-cry sound when they want to be fed. The study showed that humans find these mixed calls annoying and difficult to ignore.

"The embedding of a cry within a call that we normally associate with contentment is quite a subtle means of eliciting a response," said Karen McComb of the University of Sussex. "Solicitation purring is probably more acceptable to humans than overt meowing, which is likely to get cats ejected from the bedroom."

They know us
Previous research has shown similarities between cat cries and human infant cries.
McComb suggests that the purr-cry may subtly take advantage of humans' sensitivity to cries they associate with nurturing offspring. Also, including the cry within the purr could make the sound "less harmonic and thus more difficult to habituate to," she said.
McComb got the idea for the study from her experience with her own cat, who would consistently wake her up in the mornings with a very insistent purr. After speaking with other cat owners, she learned that some of their cats also made the same type of call. As a scientist who studies vocal communication in mammals, she decided to investigate the manipulative meow.

Tough to test
Setting up the experiments wasn't easy. While the felines used purr-cries around their familiar owners, they were not eager to make the same cries in front of strangers. So McComb and her team trained cat owners to record their pets' cries - capturing the sounds made by cats when they were seeking food and when they were not. In all, the team collected recordings from 10 different cats.

The researchers then played the cries back for 50 human participants, not all of whom owned cats. They found that humans, even if they had never had a cat themselves, judged the purrs recorded while cats were actively seeking food - the purrs with an embedded, high-pitched cry - as more urgent and less pleasant than those made in other contexts.
When the team re-synthesised the recorded purrs to remove the embedded cry, leaving all else unchanged, the human subjects' urgency ratings for those calls decreased significantly.

McComb said she thinks this cry occurs at a low level in cats' normal purring, "but we think that cats learn to dramatically exaggerate it when it proves effective in generating a response from humans." In fact, not all cats use this form of purring at all, she said, noting that it seems to most often develop in cats that have a one-on-one relationship with their owners rather than those living in large households, where their purrs might be overlooked.

The results were published in the July 14 issue of the journal Current Biology.

Policy Refresher: Commenting on Blonde's I-View

To all my dear readers and followers:

• First - THANK YOU!  Thank you for following, reading and responding.  It is your voice that keeps me going and keeps Blonde's I-View interesting.
• Second - This is not an anonymous blog - I tell you who I am - in a pretty detailed 'about me' section for that matter.  I ask that you tell me who you are.  I don't need a bio - just a name.  Doesn't even have to be your real name; it can be your online persona's name.  The more info you are willing to share the better, IMO.  My personal view is that hiding behind the anonymity of the internet is cowardly.  Don't say something on my blog that you wouldn't say to me in real life, looking me in the eye.
  
• Third - Not all comments get published.  Comments that cannot curse words, spam, border on or cross the line into defamation, etc or are just plain false will not get published.  It is for these reasons that I have a comment moderation feature in place.
• Fourth - It is my right to publish or not publish comments - I tend to err on the side of publishing if you are willing to take ownership of your comments; not publishing when you don't.  But I do, as the owner of this blog, reserve the right to not publish a comment for any reason I choose.
  
• Fifth - Opposing views to my own do not factor into the decision whether or not to publish comments.

I hope that you will continue to read and interact with Blonde's I-View.   I'd love to hear your thoughts on my policy and about the comment policy you have instituted on your blog!

Hayden Christiansen to play 'Sean' Scanlon in Abramoff Scandal Movie

It's not always a great thing when you realize that a movie is being made about people you know (knew) and its going to portray them in a very negative light, despite the fact that that they were involved in major wrong-doing.  But.... when you find out that hottie Hayden Christiansen is going to play them - it sure softens the blow!!!  And, despite his name really being Michael Scanlon most people in these parts called him Sean, so before you criticize me for getting it wrong - I'm giving the caveat as to why I used that name in the post title.

I wonder who will play Brandi?

For more info on the movie: check out IMDB






(Thanks MSNBC.com for a good photo of Sean)

Best Wedding Team EVER!

Just a quick round up of the best wedding team I could have ever imagined.  If you want a wedding to go flawlessly, employ any one of these fabulous people!

• Reception: Adrienne Hastings and the fabulous Chef Lee - Lewes Yacht Club
• Flowers: Carl Grimm - Bayberry Flowers
• Photos: Angie Moon - Angie Moon, Photographer
• Hair and Make-up: Made Ya Look - Melissa, Heidi, Rose, Heather, Donna, Ann Marie, et al!
•  Dress: Hitched Salon (DC)
• Wedding Party Attire: Lilly Pulitzer!  especially the King of Prussia Store
• Transportation: Christine Hastings - The Jolly Trolley
  
• Rehearsal Dinner: Leo and Keith - The Back Porch Cafe
  
• Registry: The whole team at The Enchanted Owl and Karen at Everything But the Kitchen Sink
  
• Rentals: Grand Rental Station
  
• Hotels: The Bellmoor Inn and Hotel Rehoboth
  
• Minister:  The amazing Rev. Ashley Jansen
• Invitations: Shane at Tabula Rasa (Salt Lake City)

Stay tuned for detailed posts on each of these - with interviews!

Cat in the Lap!

How am I supposed to get any work done??  So much for blogging from a lap top, I've got a big fat happy cat taking up as much room as possible.