Slight diversion from the usual news here… see, when I first started this blog back in 2010 (coincidentally when we moved to Austin) I wrote about whatever I felt like.  I don’t regret taking an all horse direction last year and have really enjoyed focusing on Simon, but there times like today when I had some crappy rides this weekend and don’t really feel like going on and on about my horse.  For those days, I’m going to experiment with a new thing called “Selfie Sunday” (which may or may not include actual selfies) where I give you a little bit of my life outside the barn.

Unless you hate and stop reading because you guys only care about my horse… there’s that too.

Most of the weekend I’ve been trying to heal from a head cold that won’t go away, but the time I spent outside of my house were with my buddy Pascale the puppy.  She’s growing like an absolute weed, which I know isn’t shocking for a puppy but it’s been a long time since we’ve had a puppy so every time she shoots up it surprises us.  We went to the vet Saturday morning for her final round of vaccinations, and she’s gone from 10 pounds to 27 in about two months.

She’s also a really, really good puppy.  There was only one night of crying in her crate and some spray bottle correction before she learned that she was to be quiet and sleep in her crate when put up.  It took about two weeks and a few accidents, but she’s completely house trained.  Don’t tell my other dogs, but I fear she’s the smartest canine in the house.  The good news is that she uses her brains mostly for good purposes (like sitting for treats and figuring out what is and is not a toy) instead of evil.

She still has annoying puppy habits though.  The biggest problem is our dog door, which is both a blessing and a curse.  Blessing because the dogs can let themselves out into the back yard whenever they want, but on the flip side… Pascale lets herself into the yard whenever she wants.  She is quite the playful creature, and wants us to see all the lovely toys she brings in from outside.  Her favorite outside toys are sticks and leaves and garden gloves which she brings in to chew on my carpet.  Awesome sauce.

Then there’s the snails.  Yes, that’s right – snails.  I didn’t realize we had so many snails in our yard, but soon they will be an endangered species because Pascale loves snails.  She brings them in to toss around on the floor, crunch, throw in the air, and eventually eat.  I know Tim gave her a French name but that doesn’t exactly mean she needs to start partaking in escargot?  Usually we rescue the snails fairly quickly and throw them in the front yard, but I just cleaned a hard (aka dead) one up that had stuck to the hardwood floor underneath our TV.  Again, awesome sauce.

Still, she’s a great puppy and I love her to pieces.  She’s turning into a really good barn dog, and I love having a pup out there with me when I ride.  She’s also my second rescued dog, and once again confirmed my feelings that I don’t need to be buying anymore purebred puppies in my life.  It’s so gratifying seeing her go from a emaciated wormy puppy to chewing on an all natural dog chew on a big fluffy bed.  Definitely one lucky pup!  I’m glad she found us.

You may also like:

Pascale the Not so Puppy Update Selfie Sunday – Working Through It Selfie Sunday – Heart Dog Selfie Sunday – BT Update Pascale’s Gotcha Day