Just another Manic Marlee

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 :)



Cuddle time!