A Week of Firsts for Dharma

Saturday:

• first lengthy car ride (to her new home)
  
• first time with a collar
• first time on a leash

Sunday:

• first toy kill: a nice little stuffed bone (less than 24 hours after we brought her home)
• first ID tag on collar

Monday:

• first vet visit with her new family
• first rabies vaccine
• first (and last!) microchipping -- wow, that really stung!
• first accidents in the house (I'm pretty sure those accidents were all related to the vet visit!)
• first real whining and refusing to go to bed
• first time puppy cuddles were really needed (when we received some sad news from a friend)

Tuesday:

• first day home alone -- ever (she always had lots of friends and family at her kennel)
• first time really missing her family (she pulled out her little toy slipper and blanket from her first people mother) and cuddled those a lot
• first time napping in the bed with Emilie (apparently somebody is a sucker and will let Dharma get away with just about anything!)
  

Wednesday:

• first box of presents arrived (thanks, Holly!)

Friday:

• first walk around the entire block
• first heartworm medicine succesfully swallowed

Saturday:

• first time waking us up way too early (5:00 am -- which is the time Derek normally gets up during the week, so I guess we can't blame Dharma for not knowing it was Saturday and she was supposed to sleep in)
• first introduction to -- and subsequent "hiding" of -- piggy (one of the squeak toys that arrived on Wednesday -- she loved it!)
• first visit by people guests -- she was a little timid, but also willingly accepted a treat from them
  

Oh, about the only thing that wasn't a "first" this week was trips to the pet store -- I think we are up to about 10 different visits over the past two week!

Dharma seems to be adjusting really well. She is now finally eating her full two meals a day. She is sleeping through the night without much trouble. She willingly goes on walks with us (and actually will stay on the sidewalk, rather than wandering off on everybody else's lawn). With the exception of a few "accidents," she has been going to the bathroom outside. And Dharma just loves sitting on your lap while you are typing on the computer. Here are a couple of shots from this past week:

Dharma asleep on the couch

Dharma on her new bed from Holly's (and Emilie's) mommy

Dharma trying her best to get piggy's ear off (the ear lasted about 12 hours before we had to trim it off!)