American Pit Bull puppy

The American Pit Bull Terrier, once a symbol of the ideal family dog, has been much maligned of late due to changes in people-dog culture. These changes have affected all breeds but especially the work breeds like the APBT who are strong and stubborn but also extremely eager to please.

Our puppy is smart and cuddly but also (at 3 months) extremely mouthy and jumpy. For an adult this is extremely manageable but for guests and children (our 5 year old!) this is a major concern.

Training and research has begun in earnest and unfortunately because she has not finished her vaccinations we have to do this without other dogs or the places other dogs go.

One site that has been very helpful has been Bad Rap, which is an advocacy group for Pits. There are many links on their website that have been really informative especially in the areas that I am focusing on (mouthiness).

The hardest thing I have found so far about training Luna is training our 5 year old who wants to do all manner of things with the puppy but is overwhelmed by her spiciness and enthusiasm. A nip from the puppy can be scary to a little girl and I am on high alert to make sure that we address this issue.

Chew toys= Good chewing
Play that does not involve jumping/biting for things we hold in our hands
= Puppy Learning more of what we like
Leash+new people= Necessary for avoiding mouthy jumpy behavior
Little girl +mommy at all times= More opportunities for correcting puppy to puppy behavior

Is there anything more precious to a dog lover than her snoop's snout? Our little lululuna is a dear little one. And I have been a bad mommy taking her for walks before she finished her immunizations. The vet tech ripped into me for letting her walk on the floor of the vet office. Oh my. I have forgotten my dog mommy rules.

I finished my first triptych- Nicho Home.

Mr. D is off to India today to keep his dad company and to help out after his dad's emergency surgery (a Scooter crashed into him and broke his back in several places). Thus we are again without the da.

yellow jacket.

Name change request.
Instead of yellow jacket.
"Fu@*&%$ Bast=^( "

This might clear things up with those who may not be familiar with the species.
Crawling up into my jeans and stinging me. Didn't find the FB until I frantically took the jeans off in the back yard and turned them inside out.

There he was crawling around. Seemingly unaffected and unharmed. Inside my jeans.

Not for long.

We have been keeping busy unpacking and parenting our new puppy.

We have been learning the new routes to the grocer, farmer's market, parks and all the good places that most folks only have to learn once or twice because they don't move so much. It is exhausting and I don't mean to complain but I do experience no small jealousy when I hear people talking of gardening or vacations or just lounging around during their time off. I will straighten up my attitude folks. Really I will. Just as soon as I open my last box for at least 5 years. Until then, prepare yourself for a little whineberry tea.

Booty has been plucking and strumming my old guitar and we have been eating most of our meals al fresco. Just the way we like it. So, all is well and the sun is treating us fine.

We knew, when we were traveling south from Tacoma, that we would be getting a dog on arrival. We just didn't know how or when.

Our first night on route south, (after the movers had packed most of our things and we had cleaned our slate of Tacoma), was clean and lovely. We stayed at the Willow-Witt ranch in Ashland, Oregon. This place is a paradise of fresh air. Nestled in the hills and away from the hustle of the much frequented and quaint town of Ashland, is a place of goats, chickens, pigs and gardens. It was a balm for us after our dusty7 hour  drive. We cooked in the outdoor kitchen with vegetables we picked from the garden. We bathed in the outdoor shower. The moon was full and shone on the wooded knoll like magic. Perfection.

We were graced with a thorough and warm educational tour of the place by a natural educator and farmhand, Tim.

Our short stay ended with tears, because we had to leave our friend Izzy (we named Luna Izzy), the border collie lab who kept company with us on our last day. Sad to leave her but happy to know she was a rescued dog who was living her fantasy. Imagine her joy when jumping into the pig pen to wrangle some piglets.

What more can I say but that when we came to Oakland to settle in and find a dog, the first one we came upon was already named Luna. How strange is that? To have named your own dog but not really named her, just predicted her in a way.

The hills of Ashland are so much harsher in climate that the town itself but the air that we breathed upon the elevated land was glorious and despite its meager warm months (2)  we believed its inhabitants were better off.

Our next stop was a nightmare of sorts. Mr. D got lost in the hills of N. California and nearly had a cardiac event. Because of his absence (2 hours) I nearly had a nervous event. And because of Booty's near death horse backriding experience I felt like I had nearly lost both my family members in the same day, (not to mention her none-too-favorable experience). It turned out to be pretty much a complete wash out. So we left early to put some distance between us and the experience. Incidentally, the place at which we stopped was called Coffee Creek ranch. A "supposed" dude ranch that was short-handed and had to rely on an elderly gent, (who had broken his back in 5 places) to serve the meals.

Our movers came on Friday and promptly forgot where they placed the nuts and the bolts of all of our things. This was funny especially since it involved our bed and its assembly, (we had been sleeping on the hardwood floor).

Finally, today there was a clear path from each room to each room so we ventured forth to find a DOG.

And what a dog we did find.
Ten minutes from our house.
A black and white Pitt puppy.
Beautiful temperament.

Even Mr. D was smitten.
This little girl, Luna Molly, has instantly taken a hold of our hearts.