I took Marlee to the vet again last week, and boy is she growing fast! She gained another 7 pounds so we are now up to 21.3 lbs at 15 weeks old. That extra weight doesn't seem to be slowing her down though...she still runs around the yard like crazy, especially when she is in her manic puppy mode. If you have ever had a puppy, you probably know what manic puppy mode is--this occurs when everything seems normal, then all of a sudden all four paws leave the ground at once and the puppy seems to transport itself to various locations because it is moving so fast. Don't believe me? Here's a video with just a glimpse:
You'd think she would run out of energy with all that manic running around, but let me tell you, this is one energetic dog. In the Puppies for Dummies book, it lists lab as "high energy" and there is only one dog breed it lists as "very high energy." Want to guess what breed? Yup...pointer. Needless to say, we try and get a lot of exercise. This energy is also creating a focusing problem, especially when we are in puppy class. At first, we were exercising and playing with her for about an hour before going to class, but then she would still be excited and unfocused in class (so much so that the trainer asked me if I had a treadmill at home....OMG seriously? a treadmill for the dog????). But then a friend of mine suggested that maybe the playing beforehand was actually causing that excitement because she didn't know when to stop playing--you know, all play all the time. I only have one data point so far, but it seems she was right. This past week we took a long walk and then rested for about a half hour before going to class, and she was much calmer. Next week we get to use the tunnel. I think Marlee will be excited for this (if she doesn't try and eat it!).
Long walks are great at expelling some of that energy, but it also means she will just poop out in the middle of the walk and lay down on the grass or sidewalk (or street). Then she looks at me like, seriously, I'm not walking anymore...carry me home. But my favorite part about her is when she is in her cuddly moments. She crawls into my lap to chew on her toy. Right now it is adorable, but when she weighs 60 lbs it will probably be painful! For now though, I'll enjoy any moment when she's not in manic mode or in "I'm going to chew everything" mode :)
Marlee and I started our first puppy class this week. She already knows many of the commands she will learn during this 6 week course, so the main reason for going is to socialize her with other dogs. There are two other puppies in the class. Poppy is a 5 month old Vizla, and Piper is a 3 month old lab/newfoundland mix. Right away, we could see that Poppy, being the oldest of the group, had much better puppy manners than Marlee and Piper. Eventually, they all got finished sniffing each other and got down to playing. Let me just say, Piper can give Marlee a run for her money when it comes to play. I think they are equally matched! But, it was obvious that Marlee is the winner when it comes to the sheer amount of energy she has. When play time was over, the other two puppies just plopped down nicely next to their owners. Marlee, on the other hand, decided that she was going to keep trying to play with the other two dogs. She did this by bouncing and barking and jolting back and forth between the two. Finally, she wore herself out and I was able to calm her down. The trainer shot me a look that said, "Wow, you have your hands full!" And I shot her a look right back that said "tell me about it..."
One thing that was pretty amazing was that immediately after finishing with the class, I noticed Marlee was not biting as much or as hard. It seems some interaction with the puppies really helped her to get an idea about appropriate biting. A friend of mine is also helping me with this aspect, and with being more stern so that I can be the dominant one in this puppy-human relationship. Marlee is a smart dog, and with smarts comes the ability to test the boundaries and find clever ways around things.
These pinecones are delicious!
For example, I have trained Marlee to sit, lay down, shake, stay, and come (at least, we can do these commands in a nice calm environment like my kitchen but if we go outside then forget it!). Marlee has trained me to stay with her when she eats her food (this is a whole other story). One of her current tricks is to pick up something in her mouth that she is not supposed to have (a rock, for example). Then when I call her she trots towards me...but then right at the last second, when I think I can reach down and pull the object from her mouth, she darts off to the other side of the yard. She thinks she is really clever for creating this keep-away game, but I know better than to continue that game with her and it usually ends quickly, much to her disappointment! We are still working on chewing on appropriate objects, and we are playing the toy swap where we cycle toys every 4-5 days and she thinks it's a new toy every time (this is a GREAT idea by the way).
This week, our assignment before our next puppy class is to introduce her to at least one new person (done...we meet new people daily), and to introduce her to three different "loud" noises/locations. So far, we have walked on a busy street. Later today, she will get to experience construction noise. I'm sure about the third noise yet...maybe the vacuum, or maybe we will go down by the train station. One thing's for sure, loud noises do not seem to phase this dog, as long as she can see where they are coming from, or if she is in her crate and feels safe which is the case with thunder and loud storms. I consider this a blessing!
Marlee, 13 weeks old, 21 inches tall!
It's amazing to me how much she has grown in just the 5 weeks that I've had her. She is already measuring nearly 21 inches tall...that's 10 inches taller than a month ago! We go to the vet next week so we will get to see how much weight she has put on. Even though she is bigger she still has those same beautiful markings on her paws and belly, and her big lab eyes still steal my heart :) Probably the most amusing sound is taking her outside in the morning and listening to her stretch and moan in preparation for the day's adventures! Who knows what today's adventures might be.
It's been four weeks since we picked up Marlee, and we seem to have our routine down pretty well now. A typical day for Marlee looks like the following:
4:15 a.m. Wake up and let Marlee out to go potty
4:20 a.m. Put Marlee back in the crate with the hope of getting more sleep
5:15 a.m. Place pillow over head to muffle the sound of Marlee barking out of hunger
5:55 a.m. Marlee finally stops barking
6:00 a.m. Feed Marlee, but make sure to stay in the room or she might poop on the floor
6:15 a.m. Take Marlee outside for a walk or some playtime and (hopefully) potty time
7:00 a.m. Put Marlee back in the crate with her Kong and get ready for work
11:30 a.m. Let Marlee out for another potty break and some play time
12:00 p.m. Feed Marlee (avoid floor pooping...)
12:15 p.m. More playtime outside, or inside if it is raining
1:00 p.m. Put Marlee back in the crate for her afternoon nap
4:00 p.m. Afternoon potty break and more play time
5:00 p.m. Coax Marlee back in the crate with a toy or her Kong and listen to her wimper
6:00 p.m. Feed Marlee again; still avoid floor pooping
6:15 p.m. Play time and a walk, and hopefully potty time
7:00 p.m. Crate time
8:00 p.m. Play time and final potty break for the night (maybe a play date too)
9:00 p.m. In the crate for the night. Mild whimpering ensues for approximately 5 minutes
Marlee meets my parents' dog, Sydney.
Now, lucky for me, the barking in the morning has ceased after we had our initial battle of wills (a battle that I was going to win come hell or high water...although I'll admit there were times where I was ready to give up!). The biggest challenge we are working on right now is how to determine what IS and what IS NOT a chew toy. For example, this is an appropriate chew toy (which she has already demolished in only two weeks):
Marlee and her squeaker frisbee, which she has already destroyed!
And this is not an appropriate chew toy (although I will take a stick any day of the week over my pants or my fingers!):
Marlee capturing a stick on her walk.
Marlee likes to get into a lot of things in the house too. Most of the time, she enjoys playing with an empty water bottle. I think this might be her favorite toy because of the noise and because she can get her teeth around it in all sorts of ways! But, she is also very curious and constantly exploring things like the dishwasher, oven, and washing machine.
Marlee helping with the laundry.
At the end of the day, all her annoying puppy habits seem worth it when she grabs her chew toy, curls up in my lap, and lets out her little puppy yawn.
