Lily the Rottie

My First Beach Day!

2009-08-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, Lily, got to go to the beach for the first time! We were prepared to just have her test out the water and wade in it a little bit. We didn't want to traumatize her and have her hate the beach. We did not expect what happened:

Yep, she loved it. She played fetch and tug in the water for about two hours straight and did. not. want. to. stop. She wouldn't even rest. She jumped over waves and dove under the water. I think it's safe to say she's a water dog.

Here's to many more beach trips to come!

Camp Bow Wow!

2009-07-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Lily had her first day at Camp Bow Wow last week on July 22. She passed her temperament test with flying colors and had a blast with the other campers! I got to watch her on the web cam on my breaks at work which was really cool. She liked to follow the employees around trying to get them to pet her. She also played with the other dogs and liked to go outside and run over the plastic mini dog walk type thing that they have. They said her favorite friend was a dog named Kate. They even feed her raw at lunch!

She had her second day today and was so excited when we started to walk in the door that she was pulling me and couldn't wait to go behind the gate to play with the other dogs!

Here are a couple of pictures that they took of her at camp:

She'll be going every Monday and most Wednesdays and I'm sure that she won't mind!

Weekly Weigh-In and Training Update: July 26, 2009

2009-07-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

Momma and Mia were out of town last weekend so, unfortunately, we missed our weekly weigh-in day. Mom has also been kinda lazy since then and hasn't really had time to update our blogs.

We are now thinking that I may be a Black and Tan Coonhound Mix because I have really gotten long and tall and lost all stockiness. My nose and ears have gotten longer too.

So, as of July 26, 2009, I am still only weighing about 21-22 lbs. I am 18" long and 14" tall.

We have not done much with training in the last two weeks because they have been CRAZY. I had my first day at Camp Bow Wow last week (I had a BLAST!) and we've been to the dog park every other day. I have had tons of socialization.

Our homework assignments for obedience class are to learn a trick involving a down (I am going to learn to crawl) and to learn a trick involving a sit (we will work on high five). We are also supposed to be working really hard on "Leave It."

That's all for now. It's bedtime!

Exhausted after obedience class today.

Weekly Weigh-In and Training Update: July 12, 2009

2009-07-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

As of July 12, 2009 Lily is about 15 weeks old and 20 lbs. She is 17" long and will not cooperate with me to get her height measurement.

Sit and Down: We have mastered the sit. She was reliably sitting on verbal cue in class today. She was also doing downs with the hand signal.

Leave It: I hadn't worked on it at all during the week but during class we got to the point where I could drop the treats from about 6 inches without her going for them.

Fetch: Fetch is going even better. I am no longer giving her treats when she brings the ball back and drops it. She very much enjoys the game now and brings me balls to throw occasionally.

Crate Training: Crate training is going a bit better, I suppose. She's still not thrilled about being in there but has been whining less at night. She also is whining a little less when I put her in there for "quiet time."

Potty Training: She has not had any potty accidents in the house that I know of and has only had a few poop accidents. They happen at night after I have gone to bed and Daddy is supposed to be watching her. He watches her but not close enough that he'd see her having an accident. I wouldn't be surprised if she went to the door but he just didn't notice.

Loose Leash Walking: I still haven't worked on this with her. I think I am going to wait to see what Rachel says about it before I start teaching her.

Goals for the next two weeks: Work on "Watch" and increasing the length of eye contact before she gets a treat, get "Down" on a verbal cue, work more with leave it.

First Puppy/Basic Obedience Class

2009-07-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

Lily had her first puppy/basic obedience class today. I wrote a little about it over on Mia's blog.

Lily was not thrilled about having to stay in her crate in the car. She wouldn't stop whining and barking and about 30 minutes into the trip she knocked the crate over onto little Mia. When I stopped the car to get Mia out, Lily's cage was soaked with drool. She was so stressed that I just let her sit on my Mom's lap for the rest of the trip.

Lily did great during her class. She was focused (for the most part) and calm. I'm pretty sure there were six other dogs (a Golden Retriever Mix, a Pointer Mix, a Rottweiler, an Italian Greyhound, a Golden Retriever, and a Border Collie). Our trainer said that there would be a Jack Russell Terrier puppy next class too.

We mostly talked today and worked on leave it, coming when called, watch me, and sits/downs. All but one of the dogs already knew how to do sits and downs. Everyone seemed really nice. Two of the dogs have been in the class for a while: Ziggy the Iggy (Italian Greyhound) and the Rottweiler (Pita, I think). Most of the class Lily was sitting or lying at my feet. At one point she fell asleep under my chair. (Mia also fell asleep at her first puppy class.) She was friendly with the other dogs and really wanted to play with a few of them. I think she will do well in the class.

She definitely did not want to go in her crate (even with a frozen, stuffed kong) while it was Mia's turn though. So I held her while we were waiting and my Mom held her leash while it was Mia's turn. I think Lily might be developing some seperation anxiety and that has me worried. I am going to do some research tonight and figure out what I can do to prevent that from becoming any worse.

Needless to say, we are all exhausted. I'm surprised I am still awake. Mia and Lily have been asleep for about 3 hours.

Weekly Weigh In and Training Update: July 5, 2009

2009-07-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have been really busy the last few days and haven't gotten around to writing this post yet!

As of July 5, 2009, Lily weighed 17 lbs. She was 15" long and 13" tall.

Sit and Down: Lily now knows the verbal cue for sit. We are still working on the verbal cue for down. She is also learning that she has to sit calmly and "ask" if she wants to get up on the couch or bed.

Fetch: She is now fetching further distances and doing a lot better with dropping the ball.

Crate Training: This is going a lot better. Last night she whined all night and we couldn't figure out why. I found out this morning that she needs more room. She didn't have enough room to lay down comfortably and now I feel bad.

Potty Training: Lily is now always going to the door when she needs to go outside. I don't think she is at a point where she would hold it if we weren't paying attention or couldn't take her out but I know that will come with age.

Loose Leash Walking: I am going to start working with her on this today in preparation for the walks we'll be able to take in a few weeks once she gets her second shots.

She is still pretty itchy from her staph infection but we haven't found any more pimple things on her. We have three days left of antibiotics so I think things are going well.

There are a few things that I need to start working with her on in addition to what we have worked on already. Obviously, we need more work on leave it and getting down on a verbal cue but we also need to work on her being calm when people walk into the house. She gets very excited and mouthy. We also need to work on her mouthiness because it HURTS. Those are the goals for the next couple of weeks/months.

We start puppy class on Sunday! I am hoping that she will enjoy it and that it will wear her out.

4th of July

2009-07-05T08:18:00.001-07:00

Mommy and Daddy took me to a 4th of July BBQ last night! I had so much fun. Their friends have a big chocolate lab named Max and I got to play with him for almost three hours straight! In fact they had to keep putting Max inside so we could rest and not get over heated.

Here are some of the highlights:

Vet Appointment

2009-06-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Mommy made a vet appointment for me because I had these pimple-like spots on my belly. She had mentioned it to some of her friends and one of them told her it could be a staph infection. Off to the vet we went.

It turns out I do have puppy pyoderma (which is a staph infection). She said that this is probably also why I am so dandruff-y at the moment too. She gave us 10 days of antibiotics that should clear things up and Mom and Dad have to give me baths once a week with an oatmeal and/or aloe shampoo.

Not too difficult and Mom got out of there with a bill that was less than $100! Woo!

"I don't like it here"

Weekly Weigh-In and Training Progress: June 28, 2009

2009-06-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

Kaitlin here...I have decided to do weekly weigh-ins and training progress updates to better document Lily's puppyhood. I wish I had done this kind of stuff when Mia was a puppy. I am also taking pictures like a crazy woman because she won't be this small for very long!

As of June 18, 2009 (at Lily's first vet appointment) she weighed 11 lbs. Today, June 28, 2009, she weighs 15 lbs. She is 15" long and 12.5" tall. She is approximately 14 weeks old.

On Tuesday we will have had Lily for 3 weeks. So far we have worked on sit, down, fetch, roll over, leave it, and touch. She is also reliably responding to her name now.

Sit and Down: She knows the hand signals for sit and down. Sometimes she will respond to the verbal cue for sit.

Fetch: She will fetch her toys at a distance of about 7-8 feet but sometimes would rather play tug with them than drop them at my feet like she's supposed to.

Roll Over: She was catching on to roll over very quickly but I have decided to hold off on that until she is less mouthy. My hands are all scratched up from her little needle toothies.

Leave it: After ten minutes of work on leave it I could throw treats up to about 2 feet. She is crazy for treats too so I was surprised at how quickly she caught on.

Touch: I am teaching her to nose target my index finger. She is doing relatively well with this but having a little trouble because she'd much rather put my finger in her mouth and bite down! I am hoping that by teaching her this it will help with her mouthiness.

Crate Training: Crate training is not going as well... I bought a 36" crate hoping that we wouldn't need a crate divider. It was a cheaper brand that didn't include one. The first night with her purple crate pad she peed so I took the pad out and gave her a small towel to lay on the next night. She peed on the towel too so I took that out. She also peed in it with no bedding at all. I knew after that night that we needed to get some kind of divider but I couldn't find one that would work with our crate. We ended up with this:

Plastic lid reinforced with weave poles.

We had a successful night last night, yay! She always gets a stuffed frozen Kong when she goes in her crate so that usually keeps her busy for a while. She also gets fed in her crate.

Potty Training: She is still doing really well with this. We still have to take her out about every 45 minutes but she is sometimes going to the door when she needs to go out and has even whined or rang the potty bells by herself a few times.

All in all, things are going very well. She will start a puppy/basic obedience class on July 12th that will last for 6 weeks. In about a week and a half we will get her her second set of shots so we can finally take her places!!!!!!! We're getting a little stir crazy in here especially since she's starting her wild puppy stage! It's difficult to properly wear her out inside.

New Collars

2009-06-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

So Mom finally got busy today and made me two of my very own sets of collars and leashes. I had been borrowing Sissy Mia's leashes and Mom bought a cheap-o collar at the store the night Daddy found me because she knew she wouldn't have time to make one. She made the collars to fit my neck at the very smallest setting so that I can grow with them! Mom and Dad haven't been weighing or measuring me so far (they will start weekly weigh-ins and measurements on Sunday) but they think I've probably gained about 4-5 lbs.

She also made Mia and I matching 4th of July collars!

Can you guess which one is Mia's and which one is mine?

Sleepy Puppy...

2009-06-24T22:30:00.001-07:00

Here is a montage of sleeping puppy photos...Mom's favorite part of the day ;o).

Can you guess what my favorite toy is?

My New Crate and Helping Mom in the Kitchen

2009-06-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

Mom found me a 36" crate on sale at Petsmart for only $29 yesterday! Most crates that size are normally around $100. We got a great deal!

Mom also made me a really nice (purple) crate pad for about $12.

This morning I spent the entire morning baby gated in the kitchen with Mom while she made homemade pickled green beans, asparagus, and cauliflower. She also made some Blueberry and Cream Cupcakes!

I helped out by...

...snoozing under the dishwasher with my Wubba and Cuz.

Unfortunately, I got left in my crate while Mom and sissy Mia went to agility and then again when Mom and Dad went out to Olive Garden. Bah humbug.

My Auntie Jill has also agreed to watch me on Mondays and Wednesdays until I am old enough to go to daycare. So I won't have to be left in a crate all day anymore!

Farmers Market

2009-06-20T20:57:00.001-07:00

Mommy has made it her new mission (other than working on Mia's reactivity) to socialize me the right way this time. She socialized sissy Mia with lots of different people and places and situations but not enough with other dogs.

So she plans on taking me to doggie day camp once or twice a week and taking me to the dog park almost every morning and maybe evenings. Daddy is also going to take me to a puppy training class as soon as I'm old enough and we can find one.

Right now we're a little stir crazy because I don't have all my shots. That means that I can't go anywhere unless someone is holding me. The last thing we want is for me to get sick and be in the hospital.

Mommy decided to take me to the local farmers market today partly for the socialization and partly so that daddy could sleep longer (I was wide awake and rearing to go!). The farmers market was packed and I got petted by not less than 30 people - men, women and children! Everyone was offering me water and treats too. It was a lot of fun! I even let people hold my paws and gave a few ladies kisses.

We got a good haul at the market:

Fresh homemade french bread, vanilla rum cake, cauliflower, red and green bell peppers, a watermelon, a bunch of dill, tomatoes, white onions and honey! Yum!

Mommy and Daddy had a yummy dinner with all of the fresh produce and I had a yummy dinner of a chicken wing and drumstick!

So far, I am doing great with potty training too!

All in all, it was a good day. Mom is going to make a few things for me tonight that she'll post about later!

Introducing Lily Mae

2009-06-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Lily is a Rottweiler Mix puppy that we found being attacked by a cat outside of our house on June 8, 2009. She was about 10 weeks old at the time and only about 9 lbs. We weren't sure at first whether we were going to keep her but she wrapped our paws around our hearts. Her estimated birthdate is March 20, 2009. She is a spunky little girl and loves to play with anything or anyone/dog/cat!

She loves to play with toys and chew on chewies. Right now she is still sleeping a lot but is WILD when she's awake. It's tough at the moment to keep her entertained and well exercised/stimulated because she doesn't have all her shots so we can't take her anywhere (unless we hold her) or take her on walks, etc.

We think Lily might be a mix because the vet thinks she is only 12 weeks old and she is very small for her age (if she's a purebred) at only 11 lbs. We wouldn't mind her being on the smaller side but we will love her at whatever weight she grows to!

In about a month after her final vaccinations she will start attending day camp at Camp Bow Wow on Mondays and possibly Wednesdays. We already went in and toured the place and picked up an application. They will even feed her raw for lunch and she can stay from 7 am to 7 pm if we want her to at the same price!

We are looking forward to a long and wonderful life with her.