Rua

Rua Laoise

We named our new puppy Rua (ROO-uh). Her middle name is Laoise (LEE-sha). Rua is Irish/Gaelic for “red-haired” and Laoise is Irish for Louise (middle name of my Great-Aunt, Mother, and my Sister, to name a few).

What an adorable puppy. She is so smart, too. She figured out how to go up our stairs (we have a ranch with 14 carpeted stairs to the lower level) yesterday. Then, this morning, I thought I would see if she could go down the stairs…yep, she made it. Incredible. She actually slept through the night. My husband Doug is in a state of shock. He has never had a puppy that was this incredible. Oh, did I mention that she hasn’t had an accident yet?

The following blog is of her arrival!

Rua’s First Adventure - Saturday – September 25, 2010: After much anticipation, we FINALLY picked Rua up yesterday. We arrived at our breeder, Whispering Pines Kennel in Hull IA around 3:30pm (2-3/4 hour drive from Omaha). She was in their house and ready for us (freshly bathed and smelling puppy fresh). I brought a small towel to rub over Rua's puppy mommy, Mary Ann, and her littermates, so we took care of that before we hit the road.

After lots of reading, I decided I would start out by sitting in the backseat with her while my DH, Doug, drove. She played a little and slept most of the way home...no whining, no fussy, no need to potty and no throwing up. My DH was stunned at how well she did (he has done this a number of times before and this was my first time).

We got home at 6:30. I put her collar and leash on and took her to her designated "potty spot". We had success! We played with her for a bit in the yard, and then, since she hadn't eaten since the morning, fed her dinner. It was taking her a while to eat...one kibble at a time. She would grab it, back away, eat and repeat! So, I decided I would go work on our dinner while she was in the laundry room (designed spot) eating hers. Silly me...while the main bars are too small for her, apparently either side of the gate are just a wee bit wider. You can image my surprise when she ran into the kitchen.

After dinner, it was out to "potty" again. She did her first "poo". She is going to be much easier to clean up after than our previous 55lb doodle.

We were snuggling a bit after that and she zonked

out on my lap. I put her in her crate (had a stuffed

toy and scented towel in there). She stretched out

and that was it. When we came to bed (crate in

our bedroom), she woke up and made a few whimpers, but went back to sleep. I WOKE up at 2PM to lightening and thunder and I got up...she finally started whining a bit, so we collared and leashed up and with flash light in hand, went to her "potty" spot as it was starting to rain. The lightning and noise didn't bother her at all.

Put her back down...then the whining and crying started in earnest. Poor baby...she missed her dog momma and littermates. I drug my comforter to the floor next to her create and l curled up next to her kennel with my hand next to the crate. Worked like a charm...she fell asleep and I climbed back in bed.

At 7AM this morning, I hear my DH opening her crate. She hadn't made a peep yet but we need to start getting her on a schedule. Again, my DH was totally shocked with how well she did her first night. So, out to "potty", eat breakfast, back out to "poo", in to play, and finally NAP time. She cried a bit, but right now is snoozing! Or so I thought.

Well, time to go create some new adventures. Stay ‘tooned!

You are welcome to check out her page on Doodle Kisses website.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/profile/DoriBergman