As a puppy Bella used to enjoy resting her head over your shoulder. She would stay there for hours if you let her.
As a gangly adolescent she still enjoys resting there when she gets the chance.
Tag Archives: Bella
Spot the dog
Bella is 9 months old and although she is close to full grown she is still very much a puppy. As you can see from this shot of her after she dived into the toy basket. Extra points for spotting the head, the tail and the stray leg.
The dog ate my homework – no seriously
Which dog ate my homework?
Bella has a thing for paper. It is simply too tempting to leave alone. This is something I need to remember when I leave papers on the office floor- for obvious reasons.
Bella, the culprit, is the innocent looking one on the left.
Bella meets the real world
For the last 5 months Bella’s life has been a mix of eating, running, jumping, playing and sleeping. The worst thing that happened to her was occasionally getting under our feet which meant a yelp, a cuddle and then back to eating, running, jumping, playing and sleeping.
Yesterday that changed. Bella went to the vet for that little operation that puppies have to ensure that more puppies don’t mysteriously start to appear.
Since then, all Bella has wanted to do is yelp, lick her wounds and be held – by Jean or I, whoever is closest. On the ground she spins in circles trying to get to the wound which is obviously irritating her and yelping, before we pick her up for another cuddle.
As I write this she is curled up on my knee making little moaning sounds. To call her a “sad sack” would be an understatement.
What she doesn’t know is that by Monday her life will be back to normal – eating, running, jumping, playing and sleeping. We can’t wait.
Sad Bella after “that op” lying on my knee – photo credited Jean.
Bella is growing up
Our little puppy who used to fit in the palm of our hands is now a gangly 18 week old teenager with a mind of her own.
We’ve had a dog trainer come in and help us to wrangle her into line. She’s much better behaved but still has those moments of total abandon when she laps the couch repeatedly at full speed with no regard for anything in her way – whether it be me or Poppie or any piece of furniture that she runs into as her turning circle increases.
In the last couple of weeks she has worked out how to jump up on our bed and Poppie’s last haven of peace and quiet is now gone. But Bella seems to know that the bed is not a place to misbehave and it’s not unusual to find them both side by side, surrounded by their toys, sound asleep.
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- Poppie on the bed with Bella behind
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- Bella eyeing the camera
Lean on me …
As Bella grows she is starting to copy Poppie. Whatever Poppie does, Bella does. When Poppie spends time on the back of the couch watching the world go by, so does Bella.
To Poppie it’s a distraction, to Bella it’s just being friends.
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- Lean on me …
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- I’ll be your friend …
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- … somebody to lean on.
From one generation to the next
One of the things that our dear old dog Daisy used to enjoy was standing on the arm of our couch, looking out the lounge window to the street, and barking at everyone that walked past.
She taught Poppie and now, it seems, Poppie is passing it on to the next generation.
On Friday I photographed Poppie and her barking apprentice Bella, on the arm of the couch, waiting for a new victim to come into view.
It reminded me of a similar photo from 2005. The only difference is 8 years and a new couch.
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- Poppie and Daisy in 2005
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- Poppie and Bella in 2013
Bella Day 23
Today was a landmark day for Bella. For the first time she summed up the courage to go down our stairs.
Up until today we always knew that if Bella was upstairs, that’s where she would stay – largely out of trouble. And Poppie knew that to escape the constant ambushes all she had to do was head downstairs.
This morning Bella turned up downstairs unannounced. Clearly nowhere in the house is safe anymore.
At 12 weeks, Bella is learning a huge amount. She now understands and responds to her name, knows where and when to line up for a meal and understands what the word “no” means. She is starting to pay attention to Jean and I but clearly her role model is Poppie. Whatever Poppie does, Bella copies and wherever Poppie goes the wee girl isn’t far behind.
I managed to capture Bella’s second stair descent on video.
Bella Day 7
After a week we are starting to get a routine going. The routine is Bella chewing everything while we spend huge amounts of time outside trying to get her to “go toilet”.
Already the mats are looking a little ragged around the edges and feet – any feet – are fair game for chewing and chasing.
Our slightly chewed Poppie – ears and tail mainly – has worked out that height is the answer. Bella can’t jump up on to couches or beds yet so Poppie spends a lot of time on the bed or the couch – much to Bella’s disgust.
Welcome Bella
We have a new member of the family. An 8 week old puppy called Bella. She is a Bichon Frise cross Poodle and is, according to Jean, as cute as a button.
Bella has spent two days settling into home and already our routine has been turned upside down.
Poppie the dog doesn’t quite know what to make of her but is certainly making sure Bella knows she’s second in line.
Rosie the cat has spent a lot of time outside – voluntarily – but I suspect their showdown will come soon. Curious Bella with all the innocence in the world versus smart Rosie with claws.
And, of course, Bella is already the most photographed dog in Wellington.
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- Bella – day one
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- Bella likes chewing stuff – my slipper with my foot still in it
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- Bella and her first toy
La dolce far niente 