Behind the Blog: Meet Ziggy!

I’ve been wanting to open up on my blog a bit lately.  I don’t have a whole lot of friends in real life but I’ve met some amazing people online and I like sharing parts of my life with those online friends.  So hey, if you’re one of those, feel free to read and get to know more about me.  And if you’re not one of those, also feel free to read and get to know more about me.  Maybe we can become friends.  🙂

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This little guy is the latest addition to my family.  I met Ziggy at an adoption fair when I went to pick up my brother’s puppy.  I fell in love with him and knew I had to have him.  Sadly I could not get him that day. I live with my parents and they would not have been okay with a surprise puppy.  I went home and attempted to convince them that he would fit in perfectly with us.  My dad was not sold.  In fact, he told me that there was no way I was getting a puppy.  Needless to say, he changed his mind.  I went back to the rescue the next weekend and got to bring Ziggy home.

He’s finally getting the hang of things around here.  He’s very rambunctious and he takes up all of my energy, it seems.  When I got him from the rescue, he was malnourished and sick.  I took him to the vet, got him some medication, and started feeding him some food that he actually could eat.  His foster family was feeding him food meant for a much larger dog and he couldn’t comfortably eat it.  Once he got some puppy food that was easier for him to chew he really started to put on the pounds.  I’m happy to say that he seems to be about normal weight for his size now and that’s why he’s finally got so much energy.

I’m so excited to have this little guy as my new friend.  Follow me over on Twitter (@katiesbookblog) and Instagram (katiesbookblog) to see more pictures of the little guy as he grows.

Tell me, do you have a pet?  Dog, cat, fish, reptile?  Also, if anyone out there has tips for teething puppies, please let me know.  Ziggy has some of the sharpest teeth ever and my legs and arms look like they’ve been through a woodchipper.

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20 comments

  1. That is such an adorable little guy!!I would never be able to convince my family that I need a puppy living where I am now. All our dogs growing up lived in our garage and spent most of the time exploring the land we lived on. Now I live in town and so a dog really isn’t an option right now. I do have an adorable little kitty (that really isn’t so little) who is convinced she is the rightful world ruler.
    Thanks for sharing your adorable puppy with us!
    Amanda

  2. He’s adorable! And he’s got a precious name to match 🙂 I have two rescue dogs and there’s definitely a “nursing back to health” period before they’re 100% themselves. It’s a bit challenging but totally worth it.

  3. Aww Ziggy is so adorable! I wish I could get a dog, but I live in a tiny apartment and work all day, so it’s probably not the best time. Instead I guess I’ll just admire all these cute dogs on the internet!

    And although I’ve never personally dealt with a teething puppy, when my friend’s dog was tiny he would twist wet rags (that he didn’t mind never using again) into a rope-like shape and freeze them to make cheap chew toys. I guess the coldness felt good to the puppy, and the fact that it was frozen and hard made it easier to chew. Anyway, hope that helps and thanks for sharing Ziggy’s adorable pics!

    1. I completely understand about it not being the right time. It was that way for me for years so I’m really happy I’m in a place where I can handle a dog. Hopefully you will reach that place soon and I’ll expect pictures then!

      You are not the first person to tell me about the frozen toys. I’m gonna give that a try and hope they ease some of his pain and stop him biting me!

  4. Ziggy is adorable. Such a cute little guy!
    I have a dog too and in the beginning they are a lot of work, especially when they have puppy teeth. I can still remember Felix chewing on my arms and feet and it felt like getting a piercing. It gets better or basically stops when he gets adult teeth. Until then, I highly recommend wrapping a blanket around your arm when playing with him.
    A dog is such a reward. On days when you feel down, he’ll be the one “thing” that will cheer you up every time. I would not want to miss Felix and hope Ziggy will be as great of a dog as mine 🙂
    Can’t wait to see more pics of him on Twitter and Instagram and feel free to holler if you need any information.

    1. I’ll give the blanket a try. He nibbles every time he plays so that actually might help me out.

      And yes he is already cheering me up. He’s such a sweetie and I just love being around him!

      I will definitely let you know if I need some information. He’s my first puppy ever to try and train!

  5. Aww ur pup is adorable and love the name! For teething I used a wet cloth which I froze in the freezer for a couple of hours and then I used to give it to my dog when he was going through the teething stage, it did help him a lot even though he still preferred my arm lol.

  6. Ziggy is adorable!! We have an orange tabby cat called Ripple and he’s the absolute joy in my family haha. We adopted him about 4years ago and we love him to bits. He loves to eat and just run around the house 🙂

  7. He reminds me of the dog that my ex-mother-in-law has named Tippy. Actually Ziggy looks a lot like Tippy when Tippy was a pup, even down to the tilt of the head. Ziggy looks so cute, and he’ll make a fantastic companion for you as he matures.

    As for the teething… You can feed him cold carrots; which will soothe his gums, and are probably safer than those chilled chew toys for pups on the market. Find him a couple of chew toys that he likes, but don’t get him a chew toy that mimics something that you don’t want chewed; i.e. a sneaker-shaped chew toy, a remote control-shaped chew toy, etc.. Rope toys are good too; he can chew it by himself, or you can use it to play with him.

    When you see him chewing something he shouldn’t, tell him “Leave it,” physically remove the object (or remove him from the object if he’s chewing on something big), and give him the chew toy; when he starts chewing it, praise him. This will not only teach him the “Leave it” command, but it will also teach him what he can chew and we he cannot chew. When he chews on you, say “ouch” in a high-pitched voice, get the chew toy, give him the chew toy, and then praise him only after he starts chewing on the chew toy. You are going to have to repeat these things about a million times, but he will learn if you are patient and consistent.

    Hope this helps!

    1. Thanks for the tips. I have never heard of the cold carrots so I’ll have to give those a try. Luckily I am extremely patient so I am willing to do everything a thousand times over. He will get the hang of things eventually, I just may not have any fingers or toes left with the way he likes to nibble on them!

  8. He is adorable!! I have three dogs, a black lab, a yellow lab, and a chocolate lab. I also have 2 cats. If Ziggy likes to chew I recommend deer antlers. Our black lab chewed everything and this was the only solution that he would chew on the antlers and leave everything else alone. You can get them online from Doggy Loot. They come in sizes so you can start small and get bigger ones as he grows.

    1. I love labs! My brother actually just adopted a lab puppy and she’s so adorable. If I hadn’t immediately loved Ziggy, I probably would have gone for a lab. Thanks for the suggestion about the deer antlers. I’ll have to get him one of those!

  9. Aw!! Just look at that face 😀
    Right now, my family has 2 cats that we have had since each were a year old (they are 5 and almost 7 now). We finally moved into our first home and have applied to adopt a German Shepherd from a local rescue. My husband’s childhood dog was a GSD and we really want our kiddos to grow up with one.
    I’m kind of puppy crazy right now – my mom-in-law’s silver lab just had a litter of 7 and my neighbor runs a rescue, so she fosters a lot of different dogs. She has a momma dog and 5 pups right now 🙂

  10. Rescue puppies are the best! I adopted my little terrier pug mutt Cooper almost two years ago. He was very shy at first but has since become a friend to every person he meets. It’s like having a child now haha. He’s just another part of the family now. Congrats and good luck with Ziggy!