Tummy Ache = Uh Oh?

I awoke this morning at the God forsaken hour of 7:30am and had an email from Mommy that Stella had a rough night and had a bad case of, how shall I put this delicately... diarrhea. Oh, brother. This was not going to be a pretty day. I got there just after 8am and immediately took Stella out of her Cage and straight out the front door, in case she had any diarrhea that was just waiting to make me clean it up.

Stella seemed in rather good spirits - she didn't appear sick. It was a bit cold and rainy out, and the last place she wanted to be was outside. Instead of exploring the surrounding grassy areas like the day before, Stella kept running straight to the steps leading to the front door. After trying for the umpteenth time to climb the steps herself (to no avail), she'd run back to me, paw at my legs as if to say, "Hey, pick me up, guy." She'd then run back to the stairs and look back at me as if to say, "Don't you get it? I want to go INSIDE." No such luck. I withstood her unrelenting cuteness and held my ground. I kept picking her up, alright, but moving her farther and farther from the steps. Equally stubborn, Stella kept running farther and farther back to the steps. As you can see, she can't climb steps yet.




Finally, Stella caved. She didn't quite give me what I was looking for (never thought I'd say I was "looking" for diarrhea), but she finally peed and that was good enough for me. Hey. I was cold, too, ok?

We went inside and Stella and I played for a bit. Then we got super duper tired and rested our eyes for about the next two hours on the couch. It was much needed for both of us, I'd say. Stella woke me up a couple times, like when she decided to move from the gap between my knees to my stomach. Or the time she walked up my chest and curled up on my shoulder and into my neck. It was precious. Sorry, Loyal Readers, no pictures. I was too dang tired to get the camera!

We finally woke and Stella ate about half her bowl of food. Yay, Stell! That's only about 1/8 of a cup. But she's little, you know. I wonder if her tummy is larger right now than someone who has had gastric bypass surgery. That'd be a good bar bet.

After she ate, I took her outside and she peed. Once again, I was thwarted in my attempt for the Good Stuff. Drats. When we went back inside, I did a little homework and the Stellster curled up next to me on the couch for her second nap of the day. She had a long night of bowel movements, lay off!



After Stella awoke, or rather, when I decided to take the opportunity presented by her lethargic mood by scooping her up, we (read I) decided to try some crate training. Results? Not good. BUT! Better than yesterday. I put her in there with her food thinking maybe she'd eat and that'd calm her down. Uh, no. I decided to move her from the kitchen to right next to me in the front room so that she could see me and see that she had not been cruelly abandoned, hoping that this might calm her down. Uh, no. Actually, it worked for about two minutes. Then the wailing returned. I used a lifeline to Phone a Friend, and when the friend heard the wails he/she said, "awww" and gave one of those half chuckles, which says, "I'm not sure who I feel worse for. The dog for being so miserable or you for having to hear it." Knowing this friend, he/she most certainly meant the former.

Amazingly! Holding the phone up to the cage with the speakerphone on seemed to intrigue Stella enough to keep her quiet for a bit. And when she did... I waited a couple of minutes and then took her out of the Cell, gave her a treat, and praised her effusively. Which made the training quite successful.

Having been in the Cell for about 45 minutes, I figured Stella might need to use the potty. Good thinking, Me. I took her outside and got a double whammy - pee and poo! Woo! And the best news was that there was no diarrhea. Her tummy ache was officially over. 

We went back inside and played for a bit, followed by Stella's third nap of the day. I quietly packed my things and sneaked her into her Cell before stepping out around 4, with her yelps trailing me as I left.

Things Stella (and I) Learned Today About Being a Puppy

• When you are a puppy, you are so cute that people in cars literally stop to tell you how cute you are (as if you didn't know).
  
• There is some sort of lesson in this Prison Cell thing they keep putting me into. I just don't quite have my finger on it yet.
  
• Cell phones are strange. The sounds emanating from them are alternately alarming and soothing. Stand by for further investigation.
  
• No matter how many toys you put in front of me, I prefer every bit of Tommy's clothing I can possibly get my teeth on. But mostly, I love ears. Mmmm. Ears.

Examples:

Sorry, no examples of ear biting.