Saturday, August 30, 2008

Disobedience

hi hi hi yes, that'd be me. Last night I drove my parents crazy, I kept barking, but the food mom was cooking smelled so great that I wanted some myself. When I calmed down, and sat nicely for some minutes, I finally got my reward - a tiny bit of boiled veal (no spices geez, I don't eat that).

I was told I needed to learn to behave and stop begging. Also, there are moments I trick parents into thinking I am sitting, but I am actually taking a potty break. This usually happens any place but my potty area. I sometimes even look at them innocently. But each time I go to the right place, I get royal treats, yummy!

Of course, sometimes I am extremely stubborn and hold it for a loooooooong time when I am taken to my potty area hihihi. But lately I noticed this is not something my parents like. Oh well, I am trying, but I am still little - I am only 12 weeks old!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Shots

Today I had finished the most important series of shots. I had Nobivac DHPPI, Nobivac L(epto) and Nobivac R(abies). In two weeks' time I will be totally protected against many diseases, including the dreadful distemper and parvovirus.

I was a very nice girl, people admired me for how well I behaved, I stood still, in a sit position, to have my shots. Mom was holding me all the time by the way, she likes to hug me a lot and I love to kiss her and lick her. Then I had my nail trimmed.

So let's recap my vaccines:

1. When I was 6 weeks old, on July 16 I had my Nobivac Puppy DP.
2. When I was 8 weeks old, on Aug. 5 I had my Nobivac DHPPI and Nobivac Lepto.
3. When I was 12 weeks old, on Aug 29 I had my Nobivac DHPPI, Lepto and Rabies shots.

Prior to this I was wormed each time before my series of shots with Drontal Puppy first time, then Drontal Plus.

The scheme is the one recommended by the breeder and the company that manufactures the vaccines.

I will have some optional shots, the most important one being Corona, which is a pretty nasty disease. But we will wait two weeks.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Mom and dad

Dad
http://mediguard.ro/default.asp?Page=Dog&Breed=0&ID=27&Lang=Ro


Mom


http://mediguard.ro/default.asp?Page=Dog&Breed=0&ID=3&Lang=Ro

Photo copyright belongs to Mediguard Kennel

The story of my name

In late November 2007, my parents were shopping at a supermarket and there was a pet shop there. A Golden Retriever puppy was so cute that my aunt, my mom's sister wanted one right away. My parents wanted a puppy, too, but did not want to make a hasty decision.

Prior to this, they had seen an adorable stray puppy, and they wanted to adopt him when returning home, but the puppy was never there when they returned. Lucky me.

So, they returned home after shopping and they took the decision that night, after hours of debate. They decided for a German Shepherd and a boy. Mom searched for names and they decided to name the boy Max, but just in case she also searched for girl names - she loved Emma.

The people who had a German Shepherd kept delaying things - December passed, January came almost to an end and my parents already had puppy fever. One day dad took mom shopping, tricked her and got her into a pet shop. There was a Golden Retriever girl mom played with and visited lots of times, and dad told her "pick a puppy" Dad wanted her, mom too, so they came a long way from a German Shepherd and a boy! Emma, the Golden Retriever, came into their lives tail wagging - she knew she was going home. Unfortunately Emma crossed the bridge after fighting the terrible distemper virus. She was a true fighter, so bold and courageous.

My parents decided to wait, so that they didn't expose a new puppy (me) to the terrible virus. They contacted a breeder and waited for months for me to be born and finally come home. In the days prior to me coming home dad changed his mind about the name and told mom he wanted to call me Karma - my official name they both love.

My mom still wanted Emma a lot. On my way home, in the first half an hour or so, I experienced motion sickness and I threw up twice. Mom freaked out, she had flash backs of Emma (not me) being terrible sick and refused to call me Emma. So I got to be called sweetie pie, cutie, etc till I got home - no name mentioned. Once home, mom was trying to make me come by calling my name - Karma, clapping her hands, uttering my name cheerfully, etc. But I was looking to her with " WHO are you calling that?" kind of eyes. I am Emma. Yep, after that she made the mistake to call me Emma once she was away, she just called me in a regular manner, not the way you teach puppies their name, and I answered right away. Dad laughed a bit, mom tried several times to teach me that my name was Karma, but each time she did that, I was just looking at her. They eventually decided that I would only respond to Emma as name and that was it. I have answered to this name right away, no training needed at all.

Tribute to Emma - Nov,1 2007 - March, 5 2008


I had a sister, Emma. She is not exactly my sister, we have never met, and we don't share relatives. Emma came into my family on January 24th 2008 and tragically crossed the bridge on March 5th 2008. My parents were devastated. Unfortunately, Emma had already been infected with the dreadful distemper virus prior to my parents adopting her. They didn't know any better and got her from a pet shop. She started showing signs of the disease in the first few days, but mom and dad thought it was an allergy. Unfortunately, the vets who saw her did mistakes, and only one suspected distemper but did not perform any tests, in spite of requests. Mom and her mom were the first ones to see neurological signs and that was the moment they knew what they are confronting. Despite huge efforts from dad, mom,all my grandparents, my aunt and uncle to cure her, nothing could be done. But they kept hoping till the very last second. She crossed the bridge with mom and dad by her side. And also the vet who had been housecalled. She passed in a dignified manner, as she had lived her extremely short life. She did the ultimate gesture for my parents - she spared them from taking a decision dad could never take. Her heart simply stopped beating.

She was the most extraordinary puppy ever. Beautiful, kind, extremely well mannered, sensitive, discreet - she was not a puppy, but a real angel. She has showed incredible things to everyone who knew her. She even cheered mom up when she was crying from despair, in spite of being extremely ill. She was a true lady, such a gentle, huge soul locked into a tiny, frail body. She was perfect in every possible way.

To honor her memory, I have the same call name (I refused to answer to another name but Emma).

If you ever consider getting a puppy, do not get one from a pet shop - spare yourself the pain of possibly losing a puppy - you have no idea how extremely painful it is. Adopt from a shelter or contact a reputable breeder. Do not be afraid to ask too many questions - a reputable breeder/shelter will kindly answer all of them, give you plenty of details and also check on you!

This time, dad and mom contacted a reputable breeder and they waited until August 12th to get me home. It was a long trip that lasted a whole night back home. But distance did not scare parents.


Emma


Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Obedience

So far I can sit nicely, stay, come, take it, leave it and fetch. Erm I kinda have a funny way of leaving things, especially that I love doing whatever I am doing. Such as chewing everything. Dad spoils me, but the moment I see mom, I always keep a toy handy so that I might seem innocent. Like this...hmm I am not chewing the carpet/floor/door/etc, but MY toy! And I also give her the most innocent look ever. She knows what I do, but since she doesn't catch me in the act, she pretends to ignore it. And they said they wanted to redecorate the house, so what's the point in denying me the pleasure of helping them? First, I thought carpets can be dragged and folded, I thought they looked better that way, but I was told to forget about this redecoration idea. They are still a wonderful way to play tug of war alone!

My favorite game remains tug of war, followed by chasing everything that moves!

Having fun

I always love to have fun and play with my human parents. They love me dearly and I return their love, too! They say I am the cutest and who am I to argue? Parents are always right, but I like to rebel from time to time, erm but not when it comes to them praising me!

Last night I helped mom clean

I really don't understand why we can't clean together, I just love it! I'd really love to play tug of war with the mop, but mom says it would take us centuries to clean this way. Oh well...I still give it a shot whenever I can.


Hi


My name is Emma, oh well, my official name is Karma Mediguard, but I refused to answer to the name Karma and answered right away to Emma. So I got to be called Emma.

I was born on June, 5th 2008 and I also have a lot of cute nicknames such as cutie pie, sweetie, sweetie pie, kong (can you tell I am obsessed with food?), etc. Of course I eat my food, not pies, but still...

Speaking of my favorite food, apart from dog kibble I also love apples, nectarines, chicken. I like to play with carrots but I don't like them so much. I also loooooooove yogurt and kefir! Give me that and I am extremely happy.

I have a lot of toys, I especially like the ones I can play tug of war with. I retrieve well (of course, since I am a Golden Retriever) and I loooooooooove water. I'd jump in the tub, but I am too little and someone needs to fill it with some water and scoop me up, so I create my own swimming pool by spilling water out of my water bowl.