First Grooming

We shaved all her fur off. No, seriously. She was very badly behaved. I'm not sure if I like this particular groomer, I'm considering doing future trims myself, finding another groomer, or getting it done at the vet. I'm very happy with the new cut, she looks cute before but her fur was tangled and she's softer and happier now.

First Trip to the Dog Park

We visited the dog park for the first time today! Lots of fun, now Jasper's asleep downstairs because she ran around so much. At first she wasn't sure if she liked it...

New Photos

Updates

Reference.


She stole this. :)


A couple weeks ago.


Right side.


What she looks like now.


Tongue!


Left side.


Right side again.



Before her face trim.


After her face trim! You can see her eyes... or at least one.



Everything's been fine, we've been to the vet, she's been behaving well, etc. She can sit on command and go to her "room."

She has a pink collar, now. Before she had a blue one, and, well... puppies named Jasper with blue collars aren't very girly. Pink works better. :)

More Pictures

She's just so pretty I had to post more.


Happy in the crate. She's already very chill -- no crying whatsoever (except when she needs to potty, which is allowed).


Doing my best not to carry her around, but can't help it.


Sleeping. Look at that gorgeous fur!


Chewing on her second favorite chewthing (her favorite is fingers).

Settling In

Jasper's settling in well! I shouldn't have read so much about dog training, it hasn't been useful so far that I can tell. They said not to let her pee on the floor, ever, but then they also said that she would prefer to "go" in the same place every time. Then again, most books also mention to make sure to find a good breeder who has the puppies in the house, has them socialized, has them in a large area with potty training started as soon as they have some semblance of control.

Well, she was kept in the garage, in a pen. So no worries. Low expectations plus any results equals high satisfaction!

That's not very generous of me. She was kept in a clean pen, with water and high-quality food available always. The people who own the parents just did it the way they wanted to, it's not my business to condemn that. Jasper's doing great, friendly with everyone she's met so far and all. I shouldn't complain about the pen, it only set back potty training, and hopefully not by much. She's been going on the pads while we're around (yay!), but that could have to do with us grabbing her every time she squats and unceremoniously dumping her on the piddle pad.

She's adopted the squid I bought her as a surrogate family member. A sort of mother and sister, rolled into one rather unenergetic package. When she's awake and hyper, she'll grab the squid's body and shake her head. It's about half her size, so it's pretty funny. And when she's sleepy or lonely, she sucks on one of the tentacles.

Very sweet. So very happy with her so far.

Meet Jasper Marie

Natalia speaking.

This is Miss Jasper Marie.



I think she's pretty gosh darned lovely. You should agree. I mean, what are you going to do, argue with that face?

She's full Shih Tzu. Unregistered, but the parents are purebred, in any case. She's going to be pretty big (for a Shih Tzu) when she grows up -- around 18 pounds. We got her from a neighbor, who's sort of a backyard breeder. Actually, definitely a backyard breeder. Their dogs don't go for walks, they have a run in the backyard. Two dogs. Neither neutered.

Oh my, pregnancy! How unexpected!

In any case, this little darling is one of the results. Love her. (Click to enlarge.)






P.S. My voice doesn't really sound like that!