Bella at Five Months

Bella is now five months old. Gone is the timid, tiny tot. She's changed so much.

This was her standing on her tippy-paws at three months, barely able to look inside the door...

This is her at five months...

Her love for sticks remains, but look at her three months later. At 9 1/2 pounds, she's huge...what do they put in that puppy chow?

Wish I had videotaped her actions before she came to a stop with the branch of leaves. She is a maniac. When she gets the zoomies, I step out of her way, and let her go. And man, does she go. When she's outside, it's wild to see the dirt kick up under her paws as she dips and dives under bushes, over branches, through my chair, under the table, and around the yard. When she gets the zoomies inside, she reminds me of a dog in a cartoon running in place, but not going anywhere. Once those paws connect with the wood, she zips behind the baker's rack, under the table, around a chair, behind the couch, rattling the vertical blinds to the end of the cocktail table, a quick spin, and back the way she came.

She still loves playing fetch...over and over and over and over and over again. It just doesn't get old for her. Her toys are scattered everywhere, fluffy filling floats on the floors. With each tug, the unstuffed whatever gets thinner. Any paper that falls to the ground is hers. And I mean anything. Toilet paper cannot be on the holder as she can now reach it. I've tried closing the doors, but still I find an entire roll stretched throughout the house like a Halloween prank gone bad. Half- bitten rawhide bones and sticks seem to reappear no matter how many times I sweep them up. And she hates the broom, with a passion. "Leave my stuff alone!"

Much like Max, she too is what I would call "quirky." She lifts her leg to pee, has a thing against anything white, hates having a collar put on her, and thinks the leash is something to chew on. I still haven't been able to walk her. If I'm able to somehow get the leash and collar on her, she makes herself dead weight. Dragging a dog is not fun. She also "sees" things that we do not see, which sort of freaks me out. Oh, and she hates that puppy in the mirror, who she barks at, tries to scratch, bites and pounces on.

She's also not a girlie girl dog. I've tried every clip, barrette and rubber band to keep her hair out of her eyes. As soon as I put them on she freaks out by rubbing her head against the ground and uses her paws to pull them out. Once she gets them, she chews them. I've had to cut her hair myself. I'm no groomer, but at least I can see her beautiful big eyes and she can see the world better. Although, she still has a hard time finding the stick when we throw it to her, even if it's only a foot away from her. She frantically searches everywhere for it, except for the spot where it landed. She's not the brightest bulb. But she is cute and lovable, when she wants to be.

The best part of the day for me is after my husband leaves for work and Bella bangs on the side of my bed to come up. She snuggles on my husband's pillow and will remain there until I get up. Anyone else who tries to lie in bed with her she thinks of as a "chew toy" but towards me, she's the loving little puppy.  Now stop growing girl!