Our First Weekend with Jetta

Jetta is officially home! On Friday, November 2nd Dan and I picked up Jetta from the vet. Her surgery went well and she was successfully spayed. She was very out of it when we picked her up -- still groggy from the anesthesia. We wrapped her in a fluffy pink towel and I snuggled closely with her in the car.

Our first stop was Petsmart to pick up some puppy food for Jetta (Simply Nourish) -- we already had some toys, temporary food and water bowls, somewhere for her to sleep, a leash, collar, and harness. She was very quiet but was also very curious about everything around her. We had a very nice employee help us with our last minute needs. She was very knowledgeable and her suggestions were fantastic. Next stop... Jetta's forever home!

As expected, Jetta just wanted to be held her first night. She was quite playful as the evening progressed, but she did not like it when Dan and I went about the house without her. She was always close by (watch your step!), but if she wasn't being held she would cry. Our biggest accomplish of the evening... she learned her name! Once Jetta starting getting playful Dan and I stood on opposite ends of the family room and we took turns calling her name until she came. When she arrived, she got a piece of a treat -- which was smaller than a Tic Tak. Since she just had srugery we had to ease her into eating that evening.

Later that evening we enjoyed some FaceTime with Dan's mom (Carol). We had a blast! Carol would call out to Jetta and sure enough, Jetta would run to the phone. It was super cute!

When it was time for bed Dan and I thought we were in for a tough battle. As a temporary bed/sleeping area, we dressed up our large bathtub with old towels and bed sheets. We also included a plastic mat with a puppy pad on top (as a possible potty space), water bowl, food bowl, and some toys. By far, the best item in that tub was a couple of old shirts with mine and Dan's scents. Jetta whined and whined, but as soon as I covered her with my shirt she laid down and went right to sleep. She even slept through most of the night! At about 5:30 a.m. she whine for a minute or two and then went back to sleep. What a good girl!

Dan went to the Men's Breakfast at church on Saturday, November 3rd, so he was up first and spent quite a bit of time teaching Jetta she can't just cry. She made a lot of progress with him. I got up about an hour after Dan left. Jetta and I worked on being independant. Once again, she got better and better at wandering the house without having me close by -- even though I was secretly watching her. She really likes getting cozy under furniture, so I had to make sure she didn't go anywhere she'd get stuck.

Once Dan got home we spent a lot of time playing with Jetta. She is such a sweet and playful pup. Dan also noticed how Jetta liked to go under furniture, so we decided to make her a temporary "cave" out of a box -- complete with a little door and windows. We threw in some towels and shirts that smell like us and she went in for a little bit here and there, but she was more interested in playing.

Just after 11:00 a.m. we packed up Jetta's things, stopped to pick up some lunch, and went to my parent's house. My dad was in Peoria with the LT Boys Cross Country team for State (they came in 3rd place!), so my mom got to meet Jetta first. Dan and I want to make sure Jetta is comfortable with everyone, not just us, so we made sure she got some real cuddle time with my mom -- and they certainly did.

Next, we made our way up to Wisconsin for our brother-in-law's birthday bonfire. During the drive up Jetta was pretty antsy. She just wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Although, her favorite thing to do was climb her way up to my shoulders and just stay there... and that wasn't go to happen. During a short trip, between two stops, she curled up on Dan's lap. What a sweetie.

Dan's sister (Mandy) and her husband (Cale) have a rescue dog (Vito) who is part sheep dog (and that's all they really know). He was very excited to meet Jetta, but Jetta was a little nervous around Vito. While Cale held Jetta, Mandy held back Vito and let him slowly get closer and closer to Jetta. Jetta kept sticking her face into Cale's coat -- it very obvious she was thinking "If I can't see you, you can't see me." Too stinkin' cute!

That evening she got passed around while we sat outside around the bonfire. Jetta was especially comfortable wrapped up in Carol's down blanket -- no surprises there. She had fun playing in the house with everyone. Dan's dad (Dan) really had her jumping around when he moved his hand around like a random creature. Sometimes she'd get a little scared and crawl up on his lap for protection.

Mandy and Cale have a train that go through their backyard and while Jetta got nervous when it came by (3 times!) she got better every time it passed by. What a brave pup!

That night we tried putting Jetta's large box/"cave" in her bed area. Nope. She did NOT like that one bit. We left her alone and she kept crying... and crying... and crying! Finally I told Dan that her crying really didn't sound right. So I suggested that he take the box out of her sleeping area. Once he took the box out and covered her with our shirts she curled up and went right to sleep. Interesting.

On Sunday, November 4th Dan had to get up early to go work A/V at church. Jetta made it through the night with very little crying. Apparently she cried once at about 5:30 a.m. Dan heard her but I didn't. That's doesn't happen too often, usually it's the other way around -- Dan sleeps through everything, including earthquakes. The next time we heard her it was time for Dan to get up so he took care of her and played with her.

After Dan left for church I played with Jetta and we tried potty training. When it was time for me to leave I brought her back up to the tub and she went right down. I can't even remember if she really cried.

After church my parents came over for lunch so my dad could meet Jetta. Jetta came as soon as my dad called her name. She is so friendly and loves the attention!

That afternoon I had to work and Dan had a volleyball game. Since Dan was going to be making a trip out by my parent's house after volleyball, to look at some furniture, my parents took Jetta to their house for the day. Later that evening, we all met up for dinner at mine and Dan's house. Of course, Jetta was showered with attention the whole time.

That evening she went down super easy! However, we must have had a successful potty training day because now Jetta cries to let us know she needs to go out -- a definite pro! However, she seems to think she needs to go out almost every hour. When her cries started to sound a bit more urgent Dan took her out. He took her out once and she went #1. Then, an hour or two later she went #2. About an hour or so later she cried again. She didn't sound urgent, so we made her wait. After a few more on and off little cries she made it through the night. About 15 minutes before our alarm went off I heard her whimpering, so I took her outside and she went a little bit. There was frost on the ground, so she was really quick.

After I left for work Dan took over playing with her. He called on his way to work to say she went outside once more and that he left her in the tub with classical music playing on Spotify through his computer. She went down without a fuss. He's going to check in on her during his lunch break.

We did learn that Jetta was born on Saturday, September 6, 2012. So she'll be two months tomorrow. On her paper work she is described at a Chihuahua short hair/mix. We're guessing she has some Dachshund somewhere in her. The Chihuahua portion is the most dominent, but we've noticed that her mouth/nose area is a little longer than most Chihuahuas and her torso is a little longer as well -- or so we think. In the end it really doesn't matter. She's a gorgeous girl and we love her! Maybe this means her ears will stay floppy?!

In other news, I don't know if you know this, but Dan is actually allergic to animals. However, Dan has virtually no reaction to Jetta! Praise the Lord! I think he sneezed a couple of time and his skin got a little red when she licked his face, but that was it. Phew! Once Dan saw Vito his allergies seriously kicked in. Hopefully this means he'll be fine with Jetta. She's still not allowed in our bedroom -- especially our bed.

I must say, I am so impressed with Jetta's progress. She's adjusting to her forever home very nicely and potty training seems to be going well. We may be running low on sleep for the next couple of weeks, but it's totally worth it. Jetta is a beautiful addition to our family and I feel so blessed to have her in my life.