4 months - 44 pounds - 20" tall

Bella had her first puppy kindergarten class last Thursday. She was her calm and reserved self for a majority of the time but did find a couple like-minded pups to befriend. Since most of the other puppies are so hyper she preferred the two quiet ones and the kids :) I was able to find a class that allows the whole family to participate in the training so Mason and Jeff are learning too! Mason did very well considering his excitement. Jeff learned some things and has to be more firm and consistent with Bella ;-) Of course she is the BIGGEST pup in the class but not the oldest... there are some adorable smaller breed pups the Mason would love to take home that are a few weeks older than Bella.

Teething is getting the best of Bella. Her mouth bothered her quite a bit over the weekend and she didn't eat well. We softened up her food and kept the ground turkey frozen for some comfort. But she's eating half of her normal amount. She's also having some soft stools. Her ears have also been at half mast. Typical teething woes. Poor baby! This too shall pass and she'll be back to her normal self only with her big girl teeth.

16 weeks - 40+ pounds

With both ears up reliably and 4 teeth lost and replaced with big girl teeth, Bella looks more like a mini adult Shiloh. Her proportions are spot on for the time being. At 40+ pounds, she is a solid girl. Soon enough she'll be a gangly teenager! Her favorite activies continue to be chasing the cats, farting and chewing on beef bones. Puppy kindergarten starts on the 16th which is just days short of her 4 month birthday. House training has made great strides and she is now notifying us when she has to potty so she can be trusted much more than just a few weeks ago. She still hates her crate but we're working on some techniques to make it more pleasant.

Dh and I have been shopping for a used RV for this year's home coming. It has been YEARS since we've been out to NY and we're doing out best to plan ahead. We're also planning on attending the Hutchinson IABCA show in May. While we'd love to bring all the kids with us, we will have to play that by ear depending on our budgeting ability.

Here you can see her and her boy searching for Easter eggs.

15 weeks Lost 1st Tooth!

Bella continues to grow like a weed and she's lost her first baby tooth this Friday. Her second bottom tooth fell out Sunday morning.

Also both her ears on up although they are assuming some funny positions.

The puppy fur pattern has been replaced with a more mature 'adult' sable coat. No more skunk stripe.


We had an April snow event which buried her beef bone. She quickly found it and decided she's rather chew on it inside by the fire today.

3 Months & 33 pounds!

Bella's at least 33 pounds at 3 months and OMG she IS such the thinker! We're trying our best to outsmart her but she has been testing us lately! I haven't had such a testy little bugger in a while and I can't get her to stop teasing the cats! All she wants to do is play of course but at this rate, we'll be going through many many cats! I'm guessing she was a medium temp cuz she is no softy. She starts kindergarten on April 16th. Because she is such a thinker, she doesn't appear to be as outgoing as some social butterflies but she has proven that she is only sizing up and analyzing situations and people before reacting. I've taken her to work with me and she already has her favorites there. We'll have some fresh pictures of her up this weekend and it is amazing how much darker she is already. Her back no longer has the skunk stripe but has the overall 'sable' look.

11-12 weeks Growing Fast!

Bella is growing like a weed! This week Jeff weighed her at 11.5 weeks old and she is 25 pounds! Amazing!

Bella has certainly been showing us her us her brains and we're trying our best to constantly out think her - she needs to stay out of trouble! Our cats have been doing their best to stay out of the way of her HUGE paws but are often unsuccessful. All Bella wants to do is play but she towers over them now which isn't as well received.

Her adult coat has been coming in along her spine and she is holding her ears up albeit they aren't perfect.

Bella's First Week Home - 10 wks old

We've settled on a name and Bella wins! Bella is our golden sable girl from the Dec 2008 Holly/Acer litter. She was Blossom aka red collar girl. Of course we are a bit biased but she is pretty much the smartest puppy ever. By her second day home she's managed to train us very well.

Aside from one upset tummy blowout in her crate, she hasn't had a single potty accident in the house! Pretty amazing we think.