Two more weeks have passed and we’re creeping up on the one month mark of puppy-in-the-house joy. I won’t say that she’s been some precious angel: in fact, there have been moments very much like last night when she — making eye contact with me and (I swear) giving me a “whatcha gonna do bud?” look — squatted down without warning and peed on the carpet. But she is a bundle of energy and love, and that’s what matters.
“whats you tryin to say der?”
There has been some promising work done by both puppy and masters on basic commands these past couple weeks. We have been continuing to focus on some of those foundational obedience skills: SIT, DOWN, FOLLOW, & NO. And while no one expected a three month old pup to be a master of listening to some bossy human, she has picked up enough of the basics to make our lives a bit easier.
“needles be hurtin'”
Our first trip to the vet took place about a week ago, too. This sets us up to protect little Cricket’s health with some important vaccines (and we hear kennel cough is spreading through the off leash parks this season!) But it also meant our first solo car ride, which could have gone better. And by better, I mean with less puppy barf at the end of it. Because of pandemic restrictions I had to wait outside while she had her appointment, but I did figure out pretty quick where they put the needles: she was so tender there for a few hours she wasn’t having any of us picking her up.
“im sleepingz here”
So many people (including us) figured that new puppy equated to sleepless nights. We were proactive on this front and as we introduced her to her new crate and home we set alarms for the wee hours of the night to ensure she had a chance to go outside to pee as she learned the rules. I’ve been slowly time shifting her closer to respectable hours, and this morning when I went to fetch her at five thirty in the morning, she was as much as “already??” and it took me a bit of work to coax her from her comfy bed. And that’s boding well for my own sleeping habits.