Bella the yellow lab

I had gotten Bella from a breeder when she was 9 weeks old.  She lived outside in a make shift shelter with one of her siblings waiting to be purchased.  She had been accustomed to thunder, lightning, and various outside noises at a very young age but unfortunately not human touch.

When I held her in my arms the first time she was terrified.  She nuzzled her face in my neck and I felt an over whelming sense of protection for this little puppy.  She was small and so scared. She wasn’t accustomed to people holding her but I felt she enjoyed the warmth and comfort I was giving her.  I looked into her soulful eyes and hoped she would be happy coming home with me and being happy with her new roommate Cleo.

Six months earlier I lost my dearly loved Lab/shep mix Shadow to illness.  Cleo, my German shepherd went into a depression as I did for the loss of our family member.  Cleo was raised with Shadow since she was 5 weeks old and that was her “buddy”. Cleo, not understanding what happened to Shadow and where she had gone, her depression lingered.  She would sit at the door or window waiting as if she was expecting Shadow to show up at any time. It broke my heart to see her like that.  I would talk to her and look into her brown eyes and I swear I could see her sorrow.  She would sniff around the areas of the house where Shadow would camp out at, and it seemed like she was trying to pick up her scent so she could go look for her and bring her home.

After several months watching Cleo’s depression continue and her once exuberant personality gone I decided it was best for me to get her a companion.
I knew I needed the right animal because Cleo was older.  She was 10 years old and a bit cranky so I knew the animal would have to have a mild disposition to be able to deal with Cleo... So, the search for the perfect companion began.

I looked online and at shelters but most of the dogs had pit in them and I just wasn’t interested.  I wanted another animal like my Shadow; she was a loving, mild tempered companion.  So I decided on a Lab.  I told my sister what I planned to do and always helpful she took the ball and ran with it.  She was relentless in her search to help me find another animal that would fit in our family.  She found a breeder over two hours away who sold Labs.  And I am forever thankful to her because without her I would not have found Bella.

When I arrived home with Bella I carefully introduced her to Cleo, the introduction went well and then the journey began.
Cleo didn’t show much interest in Bella at first which was good because she was so scared.  When I held her I could feel her body tremble and when I would put her down she ran to a corner curled up and hid.  I was a bit concerned because I have had many dogs at that age through the years and they never behaved that way. But I was certain we could overcome any problems.

I was all prepared for Bella, I had a crate so she would feel secure, and I had her own bowls, toys, the works needed for a pup.  Then the fun began when I put her in the crate and she wouldn’t come out. She curled in the back of the crate and stayed there.  I did everything to lure her out. I went online and searched on how to deal with pups that are afraid, and that lacked socialization.

Eventually after numerous tries I did what any other normal person would do…I crouched down on my knees and crawled half way into the crate and gently pulled her out. I knew she had to relieve herself and she needed food and water.  Well that procedure went on for several days.

Finally I bought a small pen. I had the crate attached to the pen, left the door open and eventually Bella slowly would climb in and out of the crate with ease.  One problem solved.

That went on for several weeks as Bella grew, and she grew fast.  Meanwhile Cleo was able to watch her from afar while becoming more curious as each day went by.  Cleo would approach the pen and they would sniff each other but Bella wanted so badly to get at Cleo and play.  Cleo was just happy to watch and observe without any physical contact.

When the time came to remove the pen because Bella was hanging over the top of it and was just getting too big for it to contain her any longer then the game started.  Cleo couldn’t just observe anymore she had to interact with Bella.  Bella was around 3 months old and getting bigger.  Her energy was high and she was always ready to spring into action and play. Or worse, get herself into trouble which she was very good at.

Bella enjoyed biting Cleo’s legs, face, tail anything she could get her teeth on. I knew she wanted to play, but Cleo was not happy about it.  I would put Bella in her crate for an hour to give Cleo a much needed break, then I would let her out for an hour to run and play and do what puppies do.

Cleo has become used to Bella and appears to be okay with sharing her domain. Cleo plays with Bella until she is tired and has had enough then she growls and or snaps at Bella to let her know that she’s done playing.
Sometimes Bella listens but mostly she doesn’t and Cleo nips her to get her point across. Like a mother scolding her child.

Cleo’s personality has slowly come back, she looks to play and she is eating more and her depression seems to be gone but stress from Bella has taken its place. 
Bella loves to get into mischief, for some reason loves to eat paper, dirt, and actually it seems that everything is up for grabs.  As I look around, my floor is covered with toys, bones, rawhide, chewy rolls everything a teething pup would love.

At six months I decided to have Bella spayed. Although she is a purebred Lab I had no intention of breeding her.  When I left the house with her to bring her to the Vet Cleo looked at me as if I was a monster. I guess she wanted to know where I was taking her buddy and why she wasn’t going.  Cleo is attached now to Bella and worries about her.  Bella…well she was just happy to go someplace different.
When I arrived at the Vet’s to pick Bella up after her surgery, out comes Bella with a large cone around her neck and her sorrowful eyes pleading with me to take the wretched thing off her.

The Vet explained that the cone was needed to remain on her for ten days while she heals. Ten days will feel like a month to me and by Bella’s reaction to the cone it would seem like an eternity for her.

Bella clearly was not happy, and when we arrived home Cleo sniffed her and sensed something was definitely different with Bella.

Bella for the next ten days was “a bull in a china shop”. She couldn’t maneuver herself around the house with the cone on and banged into everything and everyone.  Cleo tried to stay out of Bella’s way because she kept hitting her with the cone.  Every time they tried to play Cleo would get hit with the cone.
When Bella wanted to chew her bones, a past time that she loves she couldn’t hold the bone between her paws.  Bella was not a happy puppy.

When it was time to take the cone off, everyone was very happy. The cone was removed and Bella felt free…she shook her head, and ran around like she never had before.  She could run up and down the stairs without care and she could eat unfettered. She even chewed her bones with a renewed sense of joy.

Cleo…on the other hand went back to her old self by snapping, growling and just showing Bella that she was still the alpha dog.  And Bella… well she was just happy to be free from the cone.