Thursday, October 29, 2009

It is now a week since Maggie went to puppy school. The house is very quiet. I keep wondering if she misses us and if she is learning anything from being at school. Can't wait till Sunday when we can pick her up.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Maggie has been in puppy school since Thursday and we are missing her terribly. They had a picture of her on their website and then sent us individual pics as well. She looks healthy but kinda sad. I keep wondering if she thinks we just left her there. I hope she won't be mad at us when we pick her up!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Today's the day. Maggie goes to puppy school. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it, but as the day grew closer I realized it is bitter sweet. A much needed break from getting up so early to walk and feed her, but her presence has changed our lives so much that she will be missed. Hard to believe it will be ten days without Maggie. I worry she will think we have abandoned her. Will she be angry when we come to pick her up after ten days?
Looking ahead there are a few aspects of Maggie's personality that need to be changed. She loves people, which is good, but gets so excited around strangers that she jumps all over them. As she has gotten a little older she has become more independent and therefore does not always listen to us. When she is outside and we call her to come in she looks at us and then turns around as if to say I'm not ready yet. She needs to improve on her walking skills, she is all over the place and will not walk by our side. She also needs to understand it is good to chew on a toy, but not good to chew on one's hand.
Overall I think i was a good decision to sign her up for puppy school and I am hoping the ten days will fly by for all of us!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009


Maggie got another bath yesterday. It wasn't like I really wanted to but after frolicking in the backyard she came in caked in dirt! Her face and all four paws were covered. Lucky for me my daughter was home to help(since this was a two person job) and we lifted her into the laundry room sink. The last time we attempted this she was twelve pounds lighter and significantly smaller. This was a bit of a challenge! But we were successful and after rinsing the dogie shampoo off she looked like a different dog.


Was this our Maggie? With wet matted fur she looked like a skinny and sickly dog. Kinda scary. We thought about using the blow dryer to speed up the drying process, but decided not to scare her anymore then necessary.


For being so cooperative I gave her a new rawhide bone and she spent the next hour chewing it. By the time she finished her fur was almost dry and she looked more like herself again!

Monday, October 19, 2009

We found Maggie's first tick and promptly removed it. I first noticed a small black bump on her head and when I showed it to my daughter she took a closer look and decided it didn't look right. On further scrutiny we determined it was indeed a tick and pulled it off with a pair of needle nose pliers. Maggie didn't seem to notice or care. She hadn't been scratching it so it was a fluke that we even noticed it at all. Of course now we are paying closer attention to her fur and looking through it as much as possible.
Maggie spends some time in the back yard among the bushes and ivy so it is no surprise that she picked up a tick to begin with. But then again when we go for our walks she runs through the bushes and ivy around the neighborhood. I guess it doesn't mater where she picked it up as long as we found it and were able to remove it.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Maggie has reached twenty-five and a half pounds at four months. I was told to double that number to figure out what her adult weight will be. So, she will be a relatively big dog! She got the last of her shots at the vet and this is the first time she became lethargic from them. Maybe it was the rabies shot this time that affected her but your heart goes out to a pup who wants to sleep all day.
While on our daily walk we met Pepper, a three year old goldendoodle. He reminded me of Maggie's siblings so I asked where he was from. Turns out he does come from the same area as Maggie, Brogue, PA and actually from an Amish breeder that I had contacted originally but didn't have any pups available at the time. Lansman!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

So Maggie found not one but two dead mice on our property. I hadn't realized what she was going for except she kept ending up at the same spot. On further scrutiny I noticed something black and squished. Well, I nearly screamed from disgust. I don't like dead animals!! Maggie on the other hand does not seem to mind then and even enjoyed chewing on it for a few seconds.
My question is, if she had been successful in consuming the dead mouse would anything happen to her? Would her cute little body allow her to digest it or would she have thrown it up?
I cringe at the thought of it.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

An interesting thing has happened with Maggie. My daughter was giving her a piece of ice that we use as a treat (yes, she loves ice!) and she told Maggie to sit. She pushed Maggie's butt down while she said it. Well after only a few such incidents when we tell Maggie to sit (even without a treat coming) she will listen. Amazing. Who would have thought it was so easy to train her. It was kinda by accident we found out that we could even train Maggie. In addition, there are a few key words we use that Maggie will recognize. "Treat, hungry, outside and walk" are some of the words she recognizes. With Maggie set to go to puppy school in a few weeks I feel confident that she will be a quick learner.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

We had a little incident yesterday. There was a very big bug in the kitchen. I don't have a fear of bugs, but I simply don't like them. My daughter who was home with me wasn't any help either. I thought about leaving it hoping it would disappear but then I realized that Maggie would eat it. So I put on my brave face and tried to get rid of it. The only problem was that during the process I let out a loud scream which in turn scared Maggie. She went running out of the room right into the back yard. I hadn't realized I had screamed until Maggie came crawling back into the kitchen looking very scared. I tried to console her and let her know I was not mad at her.
I hope I will not have to go through that process again but nobody ever knows. Maybe I will luck out and Maggie will get to the bug before I notice it!!