The Puppy Honeymoon is (Nearly) Over

Two weeks have passed, but it feels like 2 years since my sister and I drove down to Tennessee and came home with my super cute puppy, Marlee.  She's already grown since we got her, now measuring about 17 inches...and I'm pretty sure she's doubled in weight because she eats like a horse!

Marlee, 10 weeks, 17 inches

Her adorableness is just ridiculous, and I'm trying my best not to, but I think I must be spoiling her rotten.  I'm sure this will come back to bite me in the butt (or in the pants legs as the case may be).  I shouldn't complain about her really...it's only been two weeks and already Marlee seems to be crate trained and has learned some basic commands.  She has not pottied in her crate for almost 4 days!  But that small accomplishment does not provide much motivation when I have to drag my butt out of bed at 4 in the morning to let her outside.  I should be thankful that I am not cleaning up pee and poop every morning, but if I never have to see 4 a.m. again it will be too soon.

The emotional swings I have with this puppy would make anyone crazy.  One minute she is adorable and loving and making cute little puppy noises (especially when she gets the hiccups...adorable!), and the next she is on a tear to eat everything in sight, including fingers and toes (and those stupid little helicopter things off the trees).  I go from wanting to run around and play with her all day to being so frustrated at her nipping and mouthing and barking that I can barely stop myself from just sitting down and bawling my eyes out...like I nearly did the other day when she barked through my entire violin lesson.  And I'm pretty sure the vet (and probably my dad too) are tired of me calling and asking bazillions of questions...should I be concerned that she is still sneezing? why is her poop runny? why does she keep biting at me? when should I take her to puppy school? when can she meet other dogs? should her poop still have worms in it? how much weight should she be gaining? The list goes on and on.

But, even when I'm frustrated, one look at that puppy face and my heart melts.  We go to the vet next week, and then we start puppy school soon after that.  I'm hoping the puppy school will help with the mouthing.  Marlee is only 10 weeks old, and everyone tells me that the mouthing is normal...but DANG those puppy teeth are sharp! 

Happy Marlee!

I guess all the holes in my pants legs and shirt sleeves and shoes, and all the scratches and teeth marks on my hands and arms and legs, are worth it.  One thing is for sure though...the puppy honeymoon is over (well...almost).

The First Week (Or...OhMyGodItHasOnlyBeenSevenDays)

They say having a baby changes your life.  Well let me tell you, having a puppy has got to be the next closest thing.  The whining, the pooping, the middle of the night wake up calls, the manic playfulness one minute and crazy mouthing the next--it's like a baby on warp speed.

Things started crazy from the very beginning.  Two hours after arriving back in town, we made our way to the vet's office.  Marlee weighed in at just under 8 lbs and 15 inches tall.  She was given varoius shots, and we learned that she had a puppy cold and hookworm.  The vet gave us some pills (which we are still taking) along with a detailed outline of her next few visits, which will occur every 3 weeks.



Marlee, 8 weeks old, 8 lbs and 15 in

When we first arrived home, Marlee was pretty chill.  She was sleeping a lot, and pooping a lot, and that was about it.  At night, she would bark to be let out about every 2 hours or so.  After a day on the medicine though, it was like I had a completely different puppy.  What used to be a chill sleepy pup was now an exhuberant, somewhat spastic barking puppy pooping machine.  Speaking of poop...I have never seen so many different kinds of poop before in my life!    Picking it up off the kitchen floor or crate towel doesn't even phase me anymore.  And Marlee is one smart puppy.  She already knows she isn't supposed to poop in the house, so when she does it, she makes sure to move the door mat so that it covers it up.  I can already tell this cleverness is going to become a problem.  But how can you resist this face?



Marlee, 8 weeks old, when she is being a good puppy

A more active puppy meant that playtime became more fun.  Marlee really enjoys chewing on things right now.  And by things I mean anything that might possibly look like it could fit in her mouth.  This includes toys, shoes, shoelaces, pants, sweaters, gates, doors, grass, rocks, woodchips, flowers, sticks, baseboard moulding, fingers, leashes, and yes...poop.  Right now, we are working on replacing inappropriate chewing objects with toys, and we are working on some basic commands.  Marlee seems to have already mastered SIT, so now we are working on COME.  And of course, we are working on the housebreaking.  She has stopped pooping in the crate, and if watched like a hawk, will not poop inside either.  All things considered, I feel like we are making good progress.

Marlee, 8 weeks old, chewing on an "appropriate" chew toy

On Tuesday, Marlee and I will go to get pre-registered for puppy school.  I'm not sure which one of us is going to be more excited about that.  As for right now, things are great, and I am feeling incredibly blessed to get to love on this amazing pup.  We found out just yesterday that most of her siblings died from Parvo this past week.  It seems Marlee and I met at just the right time.



Marlee and me, May 11th, 2013

An Introduction

Welcome to my puppy blog, Trouble with the In-Paws.  Here you will find stories, experiences, lessons-learned, and lessons-not-learned, based on my everyday interactions with my first puppy, Marlee.  Getting to this point is a story in and of itself.  It all started a few months ago when I decided I wanted to get a puppy. 

Now, getting a puppy is not a knee-jerk decision...it requires a lot of thought and planning.  How big of a dog did I want?  What kind of breed did I want? Did I want to adopt a dog from a shelter or get one from a breeder? How much money did I want to spend? Did I want a puppy or an older dog?  The list of questions goes on and on.  And if you do decide you want a puppy (which I did), don't be fooled by their cuteness.  All puppies are cute...you really need to do your homework about the breeds.

I grew up with collies, so I decided that I wanted a puppy that was a collie or lab mix.  I also knew I wanted to adopt a dog from a shelter.  Eventually, I found both a dog and a shelter that I liked.  The shelter was located in Tennessee, and I did not feel comfortable adopting the dog without seeing her first, so my sister and I made the journey down to the Volunteer State.  When we got to the shelter, the dog that won our hearts was not actually the one we were going down to see.  But, how could we possibly resist this girl's beautiful face?




Marlee, 8 weeks old

We made the journey back to central Illinois, discussing potential names for this beauty the entire way home.  I'm pretty sure we considered every name in the book, some more than once, but eventually we landed on Marlee because of her apparent love for Bob Marley music.  After a visit to the pet store (about 3 times in 24 hours), and a trip to the vet, I was all set to begin life with a puppy, and I was excited for all the adventures this would bring.  And that is why I decided to start this puppy blog.