Got a call from the vet today. Maggie has tested positive for Lyme Disease. I had taken her to the vet last week for a shot and they took blood to run some tests. The results came back positive. This phone call came out of the blue. When the phone rang I checked caller ID and saw the vet calling. I knew this was not a social call, but had no idea they would tell me this.
Maggie does not display the common symptoms of Lyme disease, such as lethargy and arthritis. However they need to test her urine for kidney function. They recommended I put a Tupperware container under Maggie the next time she pees and bring the pee to the vet. This should be an interesting endeavor!! Will Maggie even pee into a plastic container? Will anyone else in the family step up to the plate and offer to take on this job??
I'll keep you posted.

Haven't blogged in awhile.

Maggie continues to grow and amaze us. She is now eight months old and although still considered a puppy she is acting more like an adult dog. Her personality is more prevalent and she has adjusted to a routine.

Maggie had been enjoying the snow this season and she loves to play in it as well as eat it. With the heavy storms it has been a little difficult to let her out in the backyard to "take care of business." so at this point as long as she is outside we don't mind where she goes.

She still loves to go for walks but with all the snow on the ground she doesn't stop to smell the grass, and our walks take a shorter period of time.

A couple of weeks ago Maggie chewed through her leash, so I went out and bought a new one. Her first leash was made out of rope so I purchased one made out of leather thinking she would not be able to chew through it. But she got ahold of it and promptly chewed in ten minutes.

Moral of the story....keep Maggie away from all leashes!

At six months Maggie has finally learned that the swinging door between the kitchen and dining room is not a barrier for her. It happened one day when we were eating in the dining room. We saw her nose push the door and before we knew it she had joined us in the dining room. She was sooooooo excited! Happily she has been house trained and I can only hope this will continue. She loves roaming around the house and smelling things that are new to her.
On the negative side my freedom has been compromised. Maggie follows me throughout the house and at night she loves to lay in bed with me and watch tv.
It is a struggle to get her off the bed at night and put her downstairs in her crate for the night. We will see whose will is stronger, but I have a feeling I already know the answer to that!

It's been awhile since writing in this blog. Maggie is approaching the six month mark. She is acting like a big girl, really understanding what is going on around her. We have started to let her roam more freely around the house. I kinda wonder if she is thinking, where did this part of the house come from???

She certainly likes having more freedom and likes to be with us more then sitting in the kitchen by herself. We have not gotten to the point of letting her wonder the house if we are not home. I would be afraid that she might make herself too comfortable and get used to sleeping on someones bed. So I checked on her when things got a little too quiet and discovered her eating my dried flowers in the living room. I can't imagine they tasted good, but she decided that it was her afternoon snack and I had quite a mess to clean up!
So much for giving her some freedom !!!

We took Maggie to the dog park in Radnor today. I have seen this park for quite some time and decided that Maggie was ready for the socialization and the running that comes with the territory. When we got there Maggie was a little unsure at first but quickly realized that she was free to run and sniff the dogs that were there.
There were a lot of dogs. Most of them were larger breed dogs and full grown. At first Maggie went after the larger dogs but quickly realized she was not the leader so she made her way to a different area that was occupied with smaller dogs. She made friends with one particular dog, a small white one named Dexter that appeared to be a mixed breed. They ended up running around together quite a bit.
I grew tired and sat down on the grass at one point and many different dogs approached me, dropped their tennis or football and waited for me to throw it for them to chase. Well, how can you resist these adorable and playful animals so before I knew it I had a game with two different dogs going on.
We had a nice hour and when we were ready to go I could tell Maggie was disappointed. We then took her to the pet store and bought her treats. I now realize we will have to visit this park on a regular basis

So I took the plunge and bought a harness to use when we walk Maggie. She is getting bigger and stronger and tends to pull on the leash. Even though we are in the midst of training Maggie to walk besides us instead of pulling us I decided to give this a try. So this afternoon I took Maggie for a walk. She didn't love the harness but she didn't hate it either. But I did notice she was unable to pull the leash like she has done in the past. It is a little confusing how to place it comfortably onto Maggie, but I hope in time it will become a no brainer.

How can one dog get so dirty? I know stupid question! Maggie was just at the groomers. She came out with a nice haircut and CLEAN fur. Today she spent a good part of the day outside and of course most of that time digging in the dirt (not to mention eating everything in sight). So once again we are faced with the dilemma. Do we give her a bath? She is getting bigger and it is harder to get her to stay in one place as we bathe her. I know dogs don't care if they are clean or not, but it would be so easy to have her shower or bathe by herself once a day like the rest of us humans. Wishful thinking!!