Who's training who?

As of 12:30 yesterday, I am officially a dog owner.  My home visit with Cleo on Friday was great.  The family who has been fostering her were incredibly helpful and have told me to call if I ever have any questions.  I went shopping right after they left to buy her some treats, dog toys, a comfy bed, and her very own blanket.  I then spent even more money after adopting her--new crate, dog food, etc.

Then we came home.  Trying to break her of habits she previously had has been interesting.  My goal was to try to keep her off of the couch.  She waits until I get comfortable, and then she jumps up.  I then show her to her bed.  She usually seems pretty satisfied with that.  I tried putting her blanket on the couch, thinking if she was going to be up here with me, she could at least lay on her blanket so she wouldn't shed all over the couch.  This is how well that worked.

The past 24 hours have certainly been entertaining.  She is already house-trained, so that is one less thing to worry about right now.  We just had our first accident in the house, though.  Completely my fault.  She came to tell me and I didn't respond right away.  We then sat outside for a while and I watched her sprint back and forth across the yard.  We played fetch...well, I threw a ball and she went after it.  We are still working on that whole bring it back to me thing.  Then she spent a good while chasing her own tail.  Not sure if that was more entertaining for me or for her. :)

Phone Interviews, Reference Checks, Home Visits, Oh My!

I apparently passed my portion of this whole dog adoption process.  They liked what they saw on my application and I guess I didn't sound too crazy over the phone. :)  They called my two references who gave rave reviews (and promised to rescue me in the event I don't know what I'm doing).  Friday is the day of the home visit.  The current foster family will bring Cleo to my house to see how we get along.  Then comes the adoption, which could possibly take place Saturday morning.  Now to figure out what types of things I need to buy before then.  Is there such a thing as too many toys for a dog?  Is there such a thing as spoiling them?  You know how they say some kids have too many possessions.  Are dogs the same?  Different?  Oh my goodness.  I am so freaking giddy and nervous all at the same time!  The 12 year old girl inside me is doing cartwheels right now.  Well, maybe not cartwheels because I have never been able to do that.  Perhaps she is just jumping up and down and squealing.  So, so excited!!!

Am I ready for this?

I have toyed with the idea of getting a dog for years, but I've also lived in an apartment for the past ten years so it never seemed right.  Since I just bought a house, do I really have anymore excuse not to do it?  While I was supposed to be working from home yesterday, a friend decided we should go check out the pet adoptions she passed on the way over.  There were 6 dogs in crates, but I was really just drawn to one.  While the other dogs would yap and bark once one got started, she was very chill.  Super cute dog, too.  They call her Cleo because her eyes look like they have eyeliner like Cleopatra.  I kept hovering around her crate, reading about her, excited that she is already house and crate trained.  Bonus!  The lady offered to let me take her out at least 3 times before she finally just grabbed the leash and opened her crate.  I felt like an awkward teenager on a first date.  Here was Cleo, excited to be out of the crate and ready to explore Petco.  The woman who is currently fostering her walked around the store with us telling us all about how great she is.

So, I filled out an application and now wait to hear from them so they can come and do a home visit to make sure this is the best fit for both of us.  Let's see if I get to soon be the proud owner of a new furry friend! :)