ETA to combine Day 1 with Day 2 so that I could use the first post as an introduction post.
I think I'm going to play where 1 real-life day equals 2 in-game days (rather than 3 in-game days), just because I feel like my pups often grow up way too fast, but I may modify this if I end up feeling like gameplay is moving too fast/too slow.
Day 1Pippa and Abbot: 12 days old
Upon introducing the two, I got a very quick sense of their differing personalities. Can you tell from this compilation?
Abbot is an angry little guy! (I can't blame him; I was also an angry child
) All he seems to do is scowl and bark at Pippa, while meanwhile Pippa's a happy-go-lucky pup.
After the meet-and-greet, the next thing we did was head to the closet to pick out some clothes. I tried laying a bunch of options on the ground, thinking they would interact with the clothing, but alas they did not. So it was
my choice what they ended up wearing.
Pippa really liked her new bow (which is really hard to see, I know). And I expected Abbot to absolutely hate whatever I picked out for him...
But to my surprise, he loved his new socks and matching red collar!
So the pups were already pretty hungry, so I took them to the playpen to eat. Abbot immediately went for the plate of leftovers:
But when he stepped away and Pippa jumped in, he of course got mad and had to bark about it:
She ate too much, then displayed one of my favorite pet interactions, where they sit back and hold their stomachs (even though it does feel a bit abusive?):
I thought it was funny that Abbot was hamming it up for the camera while Pippa was in pain. But you can't feel too bad for her. After she stopped moaning, she
immediately started eating again.
Meanwhile, I was really struggling to get Abbot to eat anything after that initial bite of leftovers. So I decided to try the bottle. Enter another of my favorite interactions:
Pups figuring out how to drink from the bottle! He had a few sips and then refused to drink anymore. Ugh. He's so stubborn compared to Pippa.
So after they were (mostly) fed, I decided we'd get some fresh air. But first I took them to the toy closet and let them each pick out one toy:
Pippa went pretty immediately for the green auto-rolling ball (an obvious choice):
And I
thought Abbot was going to choose the yarn ball...
But then be brought me the tennis ball...
and proceeded to tug-of-war me for it!
In the backyard, they wrestling while I planted some carrots and...what are those purple flowers called again?
In the role reversal that I was
not expecting, Abbot
loved the watering can:
And Pippa absolutely hated it:
Even after I stopped watering her, she proceeded to cower a bit:
I'm so sorry, my love!
Why are you so angry at the carrot, Abbot? What did it do to you??
Shortly after, he gave a big yawn and started acting drowsy, so I knew it was nap time. To the living room we went!
In his typical fashion, Abbot refused to sleep very long—but what he did next was so adorable! He got up, went and laid on the same pillow as Pippa, and went back to "sleep" (his eye were still open).
Isn't that so cute?? They're bonding!
But then when I put Pippa away (because Abbot was
starving, and I needed him to focus on eating), he didn't whine or even look a tad bit sad. So I guess he doesn't like her too much yet.
I did get him to eat though:
And then, because it's almost Valentine's Day, I gave him a few heart treats:
And then the last thing I wanted to do today was see if he would pose for me. There's currently an open puppy pose show over at WW, and I think it'd be fun to enter a pup I'm naturally raising (my other showdogs are all breeding-project dogs).
He loved doing tricks for the camera, yet he didn't seem too keen to pose:
But then finally, after throwing a pose or two and getting some positive reinforcement via petting, he started to pose more and more:
Of course, he's not correctly aligned here, but he's showing promise! We'll try again tomorrow.
But before I go, I thought it'd be interesting to pull up their personalities, since they are so different:
Abbot's kindness is 90!
I don't really know how these personalities traits correspond to in-game behaviors. I know there's a guide somewhere that I'll have to peek at once I get to know these two a bit better. Day 2
Pippa and Abbot: 14 days old
I re-dressed Abbot today after his posing session yesterday. Until he decides to stop acting like the devil, he's going to wear these horns. (I don't mean to sound too harsh; I'm definitely developing a favorite between these two, and let's just say the devil can sometimes be endearing.)
So first things first, I wanted to decorate the family room a bit to make it feel more homey. I tried to add a photo of Pippa and Abbot, but for some reason the colors got all distorted. I tried another photo and had the same problem, and I don't know why
(Also, I didn't mean to change Pippa's outfit. My game has been having trouble loading, and I offloaded some custom clothing in an attempt to fix the problem, accidentally deleting her bow in the process.)
Then the pups were hungry, so we went to the playpen to get some food.
Y'all, these two will
only eat what the other is eating.
Here's Pippa looking on longingly while Abbot eats:
Planning her attack...
(Side note: Look at Abbot's scowl. He knows.)
Sneak attack!
Sneak attack = success.
Even though it's 35 degrees outside, I wanted to have a beach day with these two. First we stopped at the toy closet to pick out toys:
Abbot was very endeared by the bone:
And finally Pippa chose the tennis ball:
And off to the beach we went! Where the pups immediately got in a fight:
You're the worst!
I hate you!This was the first time I saw Pippa get mad back at Abbot!
I just want you to be frens and lub each other
Anyway, the hermit crab came out:
And they of course scared it back into its shell immediately.
There was a ball and a frisbee already at the beach. I started throwing the frisbee and Pippa
loved chasing after it, but she was terrible at catching it. This happened 3 or 4 times:
Is that her low acrobaticness showing?
Meanwhile, Abbot caught it every time, and I can't help but feel he was showing off a little:
After a long day at the beach, the pups were tired, so we headed to the living room, where I lit a fire to warm them up. While they slept, I decorated with some of the shells we found at the beach:
Pippa woke up first, and to try to keep her from waking Abbot up, I gave her a brushing:
But I don't think were quiet enough:
Then it was time for Pippa to get put away so I could have another posing session with Abbot. But first! Treats.
We were somewhat more successful today in our session. I got this picture out of him, though I might try again tomorrow to get his back toes perfectly in line:
I don't think it's possible to get a heart-shaped nose on a puppy? I managed to get him in this position multiple times (back foot a row of pixels behind the front foot), and never got a heart-shaped nose.
Anyway, we had to stop because he was exhausted. He's only a wee pup, after all. He literally fell asleep while we were posing:
So then I took him back to the living room and put him properly to bed:
Good night, Abbot!
Side note: I had significantly less barking from Abbot today, I think. I mean, he still barked. About halfway through playing with him today, I started spraying him with the spray bottle every time he angry-barked. Is that cruel? Not sure if it worked, or if it's just him getting older/more used to Pippa.