4 Weeks of PuRe JoY......or maybe it was TeRroR!?

Hey friends! Since I got off to a slow start, I’m going to give you all a quick rundown of the past 4 weeks with Tier, aka the Terrorist!

Week 1

Much to my surprise, I got Tier on Thursday, December 6!  The first week I had her were full of first; meeting her kitties, Butters and Nietzsche, meeting her new BFFs Bink, Reina, Shorty and Tink, meeting numerous new people, seeing her new house, riding in the car, etc!!!  She did remarkably well with everything and is not afraid of anything!  The breeder, Christy, told me Tier was a bold puppy and I joke that by bold she meant BAT SHIT CRAZY!  Let’s just say that this little terrorist has a LOT of spunk and personality!  Here is a picture of Tier with Reina…. 

Reina doesn’t know it yet but, she and Tier are best friends for life….whether Reina agrees with that assessment or not!

In addition to all the new people and puppies, Tier got weighed on the Saturday after I got her; a whole 12 lbs.  My dad thought it would be a good idea to weigh her each week to see how much she grows, which I now affectionately call the “weigh-in, Biggest Gainer Style”! (I love Biggest Loser so decided to incorporate it into Tier's life...hehe!)

Week 2

In her second week with me, Tier got to go to the vet for the first time!  My mom has a good friend, Dr. Heather Steyn, who is a vet and owns Advanced Animal Care.  When my mom told Heather about Brear passing and getting Tier, Heather asked if she could be Tier’s vet.  I had been to Heather’s clinic (which is B-E-A-UTIFUL!!!!!!) before but had never taken any of my animals to see her.  Heather told my mom that I could book an appointment with her anytime and that the first exam would be free.  So, I went ahead and took a chance with Heather and booked Tier’s first appointment and boy am I VERY happy I did!!!!

When we arrived at Heather’s I was a little apprehensive because I had recently lost Brear, was SUPER protective over Tier and didn’t know any of the people at the clinic.  But, I was soon put at ease because everyone was SO nice and accomodating!  I first saw a vet tech who asked me LOADS of questions in order to update Tier’s chart and get a sense of her background.  Then Heather came in.  We sat and chatted about EVERYTHING Tier.  She spent over an hour with us discussing training, diet, grooming, Schutzhund, socialization, daycare, swimming, running, etc, etc, etc!!!  After over an hour of talking all about Tier, Heather did a physical and gave Tier her 8 week puppy shots.  AND, Tier didn’t cry once while getting her shots, thanks to one of the vet techs and some delicious treats!  Tierney is VERY different from Brear when it comes to food; Brear was anorexic at best and very difficult to keep weight on, Tierney is very food driven and a very easy keeper!  Over two hours later, we were on our way home with a bunch of new puppy info, new food, toys, signed up for daycare and puppy class and a dictation of everything we talked about!  It was so nice to have a vet spend that much time with me discussing Tier and be given notes of everything we talked about; thanks to the nice vet tech who dictated the visit!  Yep, if you haven’t guessed it by now, Heather is now Tier’s primary vet! 

Biggest Gainer weigh-in saw 16 lbs on the scale for this week!  She gained a whole 4 lbs in ONE week!  I remember thinking Brear went from puppy to adult in about 2.2 seconds but I forgot just how fast the GSDs grow, it's amazing!

Week 3

Tier’s third week with me involved numerous visits to family members' houses for the holidays.  First stop, Aunt Barbara’s house for numerous snacks and some play time!  Here is a picture of Tier at Aunt Barbara’s house…..

Yes, Tierney got so tired she face-planted into the floor and fell asleep there!  Aunt Barbara’s house is pretty exciting and full of lots of treats for puppies; her face-planting incident was just a natural consequence of a great visit with her favorite great-aunt!  She got to run around the backyard, chew on a brand new rope Aunt Barbara bought her, get TONS of puppy treats and may or may not have gotten a few pieces of summer sausage, courtesy of yours truly!  What can I say, she deserves to be a little spoiled every now and then…..and by every now and then I mean ALL THE TIME!!!  

Next up, Tier took a 2.5 hour car trip up to Glendo, Wyoming, on Christmas day to visit my sister, brother-in-law, nephew and nephew’s girlfriend.  She was very good in the car and slept most of the way.  Upon arrival she was greeted with four, yes FOUR, Jack Russells, a Labrador and a Bulldog.  HOLY OVERWHELMING BATMAN!!!  She was very nervous and scared at first but when we took them on a walk about 30 minutes later, she quickly became the hero-worshipping puppy I know her to be!  She especially thought Grace, the Lab, was VERY cool and wanted to walk right by her the whole way!

When we got back from the walk Tier spent the afternoon attempting to escape the Bulldog, Captain.  Captain, an intact male, thought Tier was pretty exciting and attempted to breed with her all afternoon.  Little did he know, she had NO idea what the heck was up with his advances, after all she was only 10 weeks old!  After a great day of snacks, presents and playing we headed home to prepare for the next trip!

Here is a picture of her on the way up to Glendo, just hanging out with Grandpa in the backseat of the car….

 

The next trip was a 3 hour car ride up to Steamboat Springs to visit more family!  She did very well on the trip up to Steamboat and, again, slept most of the way in the car.  When we arrived she met Hannah, a 9 year old Australian Shepherd, with which she fell madly in love with and commenced her hero-worshipping ways, per the usual!  She and Hannah ran around the back yard in 2 feet of snow with Tierney attempting to bound through the snow like a Gazelle, seriously lacking grace but making up for it with extreme cuteness!  Here is a picture of her playing in the snow….

 

Tier enjoyed all of her trips to various family members’ houses and is very thankful to you all for the numerous treats and toys she got!  Tier also had a wonderful Christmas at her Grandparents where she was given more presents than me!  I’m thinking I might have some competition with who my mom and dad love more….I’m pretty sure Tier might take the cake on this one!

Biggest Gainer weigh-in for this week saw Tier at 18 lbs!  She slowed a bit in the weight gain but still seeing huge numbers for such a small little girl!

Week 4

This week started with sickness…..  I noticed a little rash on Tier’s tummy and a few days later a large hard bump that felt like a cyst.  When I noticed the large bump, I immediately emailed Heather (didn't want to call since it was 9:45pm) about the bump.  Much to my surprise, I received an email back from her a few minutes later asking a few questions about the bump and if I could email her a picture.  Once I sent the picture, we continued to email back and forth a few more times, ending the conversation with a recommendation to get Tier into the clinic in the morning.  Unfortunately, Heather wasn’t going to be working the next day but Dr. Alvillar, another vet, would be there and we could see her. 

I called first thing in the morning and the staff was already expecting my call because Heather had forwarded them the picture of Tier's tummy and her recommendations! (Seriously, I couldn’t ask for a better healthcare provider for Tier than Heather!!)   They got Tier right in and Dr. Alvillar did a needle aspiration of the bump and found fluid filled with white blood cells, indicative of a cystic abscess.  She also took one look at Tier’s tummy and agreed with Dr. Steyn’s initial assessment, based off the picture, that she had a mild case of puppy Pyoderma.  According to Heather and Dr. Alvillar, Pyoderma is very common in puppies and, typically, easily treatable.  Thanks to the wonderful staff and vets at Advanced, Tier was quickly on her way to recovery….but, by the way she was acting you never would have known anything was wrong with her, she’s a trooper! 

Biggest Gainer weigh-in for this week saw 20.6 lbs on the scale!  Not as much as the first week but still consistently gaining and growing!  It’s amazing to look at her pictures of when I first got her and where she is now, she’s HUGE compared to what she was!  Here’s a little comparison…    

 

 

My little terrorist is growing up fast!  But, in the process of growing up, she has brought laughter, joy and an enormous amount of fun to my days! 

Stay tuned for Tier’s upcoming events including her first puppy class and first day at daycare! 

To all you readers out there I say, "Until next time my friends," and to that big beautiful girl in the sky I say, "THANK YOU Brear for the gift of my little terror, Tier! Miss you and love you forever!"  

Ciao,

TieR and ShAnNoN