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

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

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

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.

New Collars

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?

My New Crate and Helping Mom in the Kitchen

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

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

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.