Cygni and Me

Lately Cygni has picked up some odd habits around her bedtime. When its time to go to sleep I go and get Cygni from where ever she had fallen asleep and move her into my bedroom. But when I go to get into bed myself Cygni will all of a sudden start whining and crying. She won’t let up if I try to ignore her bad behavior either. Instead she just picks up the pace with her whines and turns them entirely into barking and howling. I for one did not know that pomeranians could produce such outrageous noises.

Lucky though after a few nights of this I think that I have found a solution. It seems like Cygni does fine and won’t whine if I just let her fall asleep for like 5-15minutes in my bed while I read before I set her in her crate. She absolutely loves being in my bed and will sleep perfectly in it for as long as I need her to sleep. So when I want her to sleep in during mornings I can do the same thing, and just stick her in the bed. But I do not want her to think that the bed is a place she can go without my permission so I am sure to always require her to sit quietly before I pick her up and set her on the bed and she can only go on the bed when I am there.

Puppies always have little quirks about them. And because puppies are so cute it is easy to forget that while its adorable that they try to attack your pant legs now, it won’t be so cute when they are fully grown and still doing that. A lot of owners of toy dogs seem to have this problem because they treat their dogs more like little children than animals. Even though a teacup chihuahua or Maltese is a companion dog they are still dogs.

So lately I have been wearing this special kind of necklace called a Q-Link.  Its supposed to be good for like improving focus and stuff by redirecting electro-magnetic waves and the like.  But I have to say that Cygni absolutely loves this necklace.  Every time she is in my lap she tries to get at it to lick or chew on.  Its crazy how much she loves the necklace.  The perfect thing is that because the necklace is so smooth she cant really cause any damage to it, so its a perfect little distraction for her when she is sitting in my lap because it stops her from trying to lick my face too much.

As a person who spends a good amount of time on the computer or in front of the TV I have started to really like this Q-Link.  It may be just all in my head which makes this Q-Link like a portable worry stone.  Whenever I am stressed or anxious I find myself just gently rubbing the Q-Link and it tends to keep me much calmer.  With all the technology today and how stressful it can be when that technology breaks or glitches it is so nice to have something whose smallest job is to take my mind off things.

From the little info packet that I got from this Q-Link I found out that this thing might actually be able keep your “Biofield” in balance.  When your biofield is in balance then you are in balance, but things like stress from work, exposure to electronics and cellphones, and irritation from daily life can put this balance out of sync.  The Q-Link is supposed to stop this from happening.  It is pretty awesome to think that a simple little necklace can do all of that, but to be honest, even if this necklace doesn’t have these powers it has given me something to keep me up beat during those stresses.

They even make these Q-Links for pets!

First off I want to say sorry for my disappearance. Its not that easy to continue a blog with my laptop being busted. But I should be back and updating everyone on Cygni now that I have a computer I can use.

Last night Cygni just about gave me a heart attack. It was a bit late, around 10:00pm, a time where I am normally upstairs just relaxing while Cygni plays with toys in her indoor play area. Everything seemed pretty normal until I looked over at Cygni to make sure she was alright and noticed that her mouth looked funny. At first I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. Cygni was just staring back at me with her mouth open a little and her tongue was sticking out of one side of her mouth. It wasn’t until I walked over to the pen that I noticed that she had something stuck in the back of her mouth.

I had no clue what it was all I did know was that my little puppy had something the size of a marble stuck in the back of her jaw. I tried to reach in and push it out but the object’s smooth surface and Cygni’s little fangs prevented its removal. I was stuck sitting with her trying to keep her mouth open so I could figure out what exactly was in her mouth. When I finally managed to get a good look I realized that this little object had a plastic part that was stuck between her teeth or on her teeth. I once again reached it, but this time I pulled up on the plastic and was able to pop it off of her teeth.

The it turned out to be a little plastic and glass toy eye from a stuffed animal! I have no clue how she managed to get the eye, but I have a feeling it has something to do with how much my brother’s beagle tears into stuffed animals around the house. Its amazing that the thing just got stuck on her tooth instead of choking her. And after what happened I do not think I will be letting little Cygni play with anymore toys that have little eyeballs or other parts that she might be able to bite off and choke on.

As a warning to anyone else with a puppy or thinking about getting one. Always make sure that you supervise what your new dog plays with. Puppies are like babies and there is virtually no toy that a puppy should be allowed to play with without supervision.

If you are thinking about getting your own puppy there are a few things you need to address before you make the commitment.

1) What is your energy level? I’ve broken energy levels down into 5 groups ranging from very high (5) to very low (1). Think about how much time you like to spend doing physical things like running, hiking, biking, etc or if you rather just relax and watch TV or read a book. Read the descriptions of the energy levels below and pick which sounds the most like you.

Low (1) – Low energy people tend to be more likely to stay in and watch a movie than go out for a bike ride. They would prefer to spend less than 30minutes a day out walking their dog.
Med-Low (2) – Medium-low energy people are a little bit more active than their low energy pals. They may do things such as take walks around their neighborhood or go for short bike rides or swims. They are still fairly unlikely to have the drive to go for that 10 mile run but are not against going out for a walk every now and then. They would probably wind up walking their dog about 30minutes to an hour every day.
Medium (3) – Medium energy people are the middle of the road kind of guys. They are active enough to entertain the idea of taking the 10mile run but probably don’t plan on doing one every weekend. These are the guys who probably have worked a bike-ride or jog into their schedules and could devote about 1 to 2 hours a day for their dog’s exercise.
Med-High (4) – Medium-high energy are the people who see the outdoors as a big hobby. They enjoy going out and being active through biking, swimming, running, hiking, etc. Someone with medium-high energy should have no problem spending more than 2 hours a day taking their dog out.
High (5) – High energy people are the guys who first passion is exercise and the outdoors. These people love to run, hike, swim, and do anything they physically can. If you are the kind of person who actively runs marathons or triathlons then you are probably a high energy person. These people spend so much time out and about they can bring their dogs with them for 3 or more hours of activity a day.

2) Breeds Now that you know your energy level you can start to think about the breed that will work best with you. A big mistake that most new dog owners make is choosing a breed on the basis of looks only. That Border Collie might be extremely cute but if you don’t have the energy to train him and burn off his immense levels of energy then you are in for a lot of stress and frustration. Its important to match your energy level to that of your dog’s in order to prevent your dog from becoming frustrated by all its unused energy and getting into trouble. The best thing to remember is that while a breed or group may tend to have a certain energy level, each dog is an individual and its energy level can vary, not enough to let a High energy breed result in a Low energy dog though. To make this easier I am going to assign energy levels to general groups of dogs rather than to each breed. But remember that breeds within this group may have different energy level.

Sporting – Sporting breeds include pointers, retrievers, setters and spaniels. These are breeds meant for field work and have energy levels between 3 and 4. So potential owners looking at popular breeds like Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers need to remember that these popular dogs still require a good work out on a regular basis to keep them happy and away from trouble.
Hound – The hound group is typically broken into sight hounds such as Greyhounds, Afghan Hounds, and Whippets, and scent hounds such as Beagles, Bloodhounds, and Coonhounds. The sight hounds are typically high energy dogs ranking between a 4 and 5 while scent hounds whose breeds tend to keep their nose to ground rank in at an energy level about 3.
Working – Working breeds are one of the groups with the most difference in energy levels. It includes dogs such as Mastiffs, Huskies, the Great Danes, and St. Bernards. To get the most accurate idea of these breeds’ energy levels you need to research the breeds’ history and what they were bred to do. For example Huskies were bred to pull sleds and because of that their energy level is a 5. But guarding breeds such as Mastiffs and others like the Great Pyrenees are very low energy between a 1 or 2. The biggest thing to remember about this group is the fact that a great majority of these breeds are huge.
Terriers – The terrier group is pretty self-explanatory, it included terriers such as the Schnauzer, the Scottish Terrier, and the Bull Terrier. These dogs are extremely energetic for their size and because of this have an energy level of about 2 depending on their size. Teacup or miniatures will be just as energetic but their size will prevent them from spending too much time exercising. Just remember that walking the same distance with smaller legs is a lot more work!
Toy - Similar to the terrier group, the toy group’s energy rank is largely due in part to their size. Small dogs like Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, and the Maltese physically cannot exercise for too long so they have energy levels of about 1. But remember that the smaller the dog is the more delicate it is and many toy breeds are prone to broken limbs and hypoglycemia.
Non-Sporting – The non-sporting group is similar to the working group in its diversity. Once again to get an accurate rank of a breed’s energy you need to do your background research. Breeds such as Spitz tend to have higher energy levels. When looking at the breed’s background pay attention to what the dog was bred to do. The Poodle was bred as a water dog and has an energy level of around 2 or 3. While the Schipperke was bred as a boat dog and has an energy level of about 1-2.
Herding – This is one of the highest energy groups of dogs. Herding breeds have immense stamina and are extremely intelligent. Because of this they are ranked at energy level 5 and need to be in homes that can challenge their herding instinct and prevent them from getting intro trouble with all their pent up energy. Border Collies, German Shepherds, and Australian Shepherds are all extremely active dogs that need to feel as if they are “working” to stay happy.

3) Once you narrow down the breeds you are interested in you should start your research! Check out some of these websites for more information on your favorite breeds;
http://www.akc.org/
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/

Here are some pictures from this week with Cygni.

I had a really fun time taking Cygni out on the leash. Since her first walk Cygni has been on about 2 walks every day. She gets to run around and explore the neighborhood and I get to show off how cute she is. But sometimes Cygni has trouble getting caught up in the leash since she is so tiny!

Cygni wanting attention

Today I took Cygni for her very first walk.  She is only a few days over 9 weeks old but took to the leash like a pro.  She looked great in her tiny harness prancing after me.  Because she is so small we only walked to the stop sign by our house, but it was a long enough walk for her tiny legs to wear her out. I can’t wait to put up some pictures of her trotting around once she gets better at walking on a leash.

In other news Cygni’s housebreaking is going fine.  She has taken to the newspaper amazingly and continues to be crate trained. Last night she only woke me up once to get out of the crate.  Cygni is also getting used to my brother’s dog Leon the Beagle. Its amazing how big a Beagle looks next to a Pomeranian but lucky for me he is very gentle with her. Leon even entertains Cygni’s viscous attacks on him.

I am still getting all my pictures of Cygni together but when I do expect some awesome videos and shots of her playing and being adorable.

Cygni is my brand new Pomeranian puppy.  I got her from Charleston, SC and this blog is here to record her growing up with me.

Cygni weighed only 2lbs when I got her on May 18th and was initially a shy and reserved puppy.  That may have been because her day with me and my mom was the day of driving home to Florida from SC where we got her.  She did great in the car though, and would just sit in my lap and look up at me with her tongue hanging out of her mouth.  I don’t know how she did it but Cygni refused to go to the bathroom at the rest stops.  She was already a stubborn little puppy.

So far this past week with her has been a completely new experience to me.  A puppy is a lot of work and anyone who has raised one before knows just how similar they are to babies.  Cygni would generally wake me up twice every night, around 4am and then around 6am.  But as she got used to being at my house she got much better at sleeping through the night or at least going back to sleep quickly after her midnight bathroom breaks.

Lately though Cygni has been getting much more adventurous around the house and outside.  I personally think that she has a vendetta against all plant life.  I’ll put up some videos of Cygni’s war on the plants later.