Up in the 3 a.m. hour

Puppy emergency... sigh.  There have been two nights in a row now, where the puppy did not manage to get mommy up in time to be let outside, and since her crate is a little bigger than it needs to be, it led her to foul her own den.  This upsets the entire schedule, of course, as mommy has to put puppy on the deck so she can do the necessary cleanup.  

The Prisoner was a player both nights.  He had been inside each night.  I have to wonder if the puppy was reluctant to raise a ruckus with this presence in the house.  She and he are continuing to work on their pecking order.  This morning after the great cleanup, they had an encounter in the upstairs hallway that involved claws and hissing. Ember had to back away.  I have given Prisoner permission to keep Ember in line (not that a cat waits for permission).

Once Prisoner got safely outside with his breakfast dish, we had to have enough puppy play time, training time, and feeding so that she would go back into the now "cleaned" (although I'm sure her little nose can still smell what happened) den.  

We do some puppy calming, comforting and cuddles before she goes back to bed after such an episode, too.  No shaming here, it really isn't her fault.  It's Mom's job to give her opportunities before an emergency happens, at her tender age.

Ember safely tucked back in, I could then take meds, shower, etc.  

We've had a second session of puppy outside and puppy indoor play, to tire out the puppy for another nap while mommy cooks and eats her own breakfast. The second play time was held in the family room, a new venue for Ember.

We had some tail-chasing (which Mommy tried to catch on video, but failed), and we brought out toys that Carl likes.  The "big" chuck it ball was one of the stars of play time.  It looks huge in Ember's mouth, but Carl does a good job getting his jaws around it.

Not content with just doggie toys, Ember decided to co-opt the cat tree.  She will not fit in this space for long, folks, so I kind of let her use it as her soccer goal.  Whenever she dropped the chuck-it ball, I would soccer pass it across the room, and she would chase it and bring it back to the kitty condo for another round.

Squeaky toy play was the intermission between some of the rounds.  

Cousin Carl's "big stick" was a distraction from the game, at times.  Pre-chewed by her bigger cousin, it was quite attractive as a teething helper.

Finally tuckered out, the Little One is back napping, and mom is enjoying breakfast and a blog!

Life is good.  Spark on!