From BOW to WOW!

Maggie got her first hair cut yesterday!  Yes, she went from BOW to WOW!  :-)  We brought her back to our breeder's house for her to get a nice summer trim.  With the horrendous heat we were having we kept Maggie inside... plus her hair was really long and hot for her.

She recognized the breeders right away.  She seemed a bit overwhelmed with all of the other puppies... but that literally lasted 2 minutes.  Before I left she was chasing another puppy (Bailey), who was the same age as Maggie.  Our breeder said she just loved playing with little Bailey... we might just have to bring her back from some more play dates!

Thankfully I brought her in for a trim when we did.  Our breeder found she had little bumps/sores on her bottom.  It almost looks like poison ivy.  When we got home from getting her hair cut, I called the on-call vet and they suggested putting Neosporin on it.  She did such a good job with not licking it off.  I was a very proud Momma!  We had lots of snuggle time to distract her from licking!

Later tonight Maggie seemed so uncomfortable.  She kept crawling up on me and wanting me to hold her.  She was really sleepy and couldn't seem to get comfortable.  My heart was breaking for the little one.  If it doesn't get better I'm going to have to bring her in tomorrow. :-(

A special treat this weekend was when Maggie got to meet my Grandma (aka Maggie's Great Grandma!).  Maggie is named after the only dog I ever really knew growing up.  My Grandma always wanted a dog.  She begged and begged my Grandpa to let her get one.  He finally agreed to let her get one but only if her name was Maggie.  My Grandpa passed away when I was young so I didn't get to know him very well.  I try to hold on to every memory I have of him so I decided to name our first puppy, Maggie, in his memory.

When I was little with the "original" Maggie

I wish I had a picture of my Grandma holding her... she just loved it!  She spends hours studying pictures of little Maggie and the other puppies on the breeder's website.  She can name all of the puppies, their colors, and probably where their new homes are!  She waits anxiously by her compture for me to post new updates on Maggie (Hi Grandma.... Maggie and I love you!!)

We are looking forward to going to puppy class tomorrow evening!  Stay tuned for the new tricks we are learning!
 

Little fur-ball... Can hardly see she was so shaggy!


 

Pretty little girl!  So fresh and so clean!



Parenting Battles

Well, Maggie ended up having to play "hooky" from puppy school this week.  I was super bummed she didn't make it.  I unfortunately had to work.  My awesome sister-in-law was able to help take her out half way through my shift but couldn't make it in time for school.  I'll have to look back in her puppy book to see what new tricks I can teach her... she's getting too good at sit and lay down! 

Her new favorite toy are ice cubes.  (I can't remember if I talked about this before...)  I think it's funny when you spend all of this money on toys for kids then you give them a simple cardboard box and they love it.  Same with Maggie - I spent all of this money on toys for her and all she wants is a darn ice cube!  Anytime I open the fridge she's instantly by my side waiting for a cube to drop.  Cheap entertainment!  It has also come in handy during these (unbearably) hot days!

I'm so happy that she is feeling better after puking for 4 days.  She couldn't get enough of that special food!  She's eating like a champ and scarfing down her bowls in no time... just like my husband!  (I've joked with my husband that I need to HIM one of those food pacers you put in the dog's food bowl.... He's a little food monster!)


The Portion Pacer ball! (obviously not Maggie!).  Joe needs one for his plate....


My biggest issue with her doesn't really revolve around her -- it's differences in parenting!!!! When my husband comes home, Maggie gets thrown off the routine her and I have during the week, including doing VERY well with potty training.  When my husband is home, it's nice to be able to run my errands and take my time at the gym without having to hurry back to let her out (and not feel guilty about leaving her in her kennel).  It's nice every once and awhile to be able to sleep in and not have to wake up at 6am (I don't even set an alarm clock anymore because I can always count on Maggie to wake up at that time!).  I sometimes feel like it would be easier to just always have responsibility of her.... but everyone needs a break now and again.

Joe thinks she needs to learn how to "roam responsibly" (yes, he really said that!).  My response is, "When we have kids are you going to let the baby learn to 'roam responsibly'!?" Oh lord I can see it now... The poor child will have pulled everything out of the refrigerator/cupboards and Maggie will be there eating it all up... Ah!!! Lord, help us!!!  He says she does fine and has no accidents.  Well, clearly he didn't go in the basement (which the gate was supposed to be up and it wasn't....).  There was a puddle of pee by the door (she tried to make it outside) and then I found she POOPED on a picture of Joe and I!  I got a chuckle out of it... but the humor didn't last long.  I don't want her to realize when she slips out of our sight and pees/poops somewhere that she won't get scolded.  It's frustrating to have to get her back in to a potty routine.  We'll get there... hopefully! :-)

We are going out of town this weekend and will be away from Mags for the first time.  I'm going to miss her like crazy but I know she'll have a fun time with "Auntie" Nicole (a good friend of mine is staying with her!).  She will also get her first haircut on Sunday.  We are bringing her back to her breeder's house to get trimmed up.  She does a great job with puppy cuts and I can't wait for her to see how big Maggie has gotten.  It will also be interesting to see if she remembers her Mom and Dad!

Maggie's Busy Week

Maggie went to the vet again…. She weighs 6lbs now!  She has a little “junk in her trunk” so we were cutting her food back from 1 cup/day to ¾ cup/day.   She got her first vaccine with me being there… It was harder on me than Maggie!  Dr. Cindy and Nancy were awesome at distracting her!  We are so lucky to have such an awesome puppy!  The only minor problem we have been having with her is when she gets excited and pees her “hello” to people.  We have been working hard on not getting excited when we see her and telling others to do the same.  It is so hard to ignore the little rascal when I first get home, but I’ve been strong and we’ve already seen improvements!! Way to go Magg-ster!

Getting weighed at River Valley

Puppy school on Monday was full of information once again!  (If anyone is thinking of putting their puppy through school, Tiana is AWESOME.)  Maggie did a lot better on her obstacle course this week.  She rocked her “sits” and is slowly but surely understanding “lay down”.  (I’ll sit on the ground with my legs out.  She’ll jump over my legs and then sit down every time.  That’s my spunky little show-off!)  We also talked about food bowl safety and barking.

The last half of puppy class was spent letting the puppies all play together.  Since there is only one other small dog in the class, Maggie and the other little puppy were separated in their own pen while the big pups ran around.  It was torture for Maggie!  She wanted so badly to play with the big ones.  She did circles around the inside of the crate trying to figure out how she can get out to play!  (Maggie has been around big dogs lately… I think she’s starting to think she’s bigger than she really is!)  Tiana said next week she can roll with the big dogs - she’ll be so happy!  Speaking of next week, I am supposed to work and my husband is out of town so I will probably have to find someone else to take her.  No hooky for this puppy!

I gave Maggie her first bath this week.  She didn’t hate it, but she didn’t love it.  Afterwards, she went into her “psycho puppy” mode and was doing sprint circles around the house.  She didn’t realize when she’s wet she’s slippery so she slid EVERYWHERE!  It was rather entertaining to watch!!  Now whenever I turn the bath water on to take a shower she comes running towards it and tries to get in… maybe she did like it after all!?

All wet... pretty sure 3 of those 6lbs are fur and fluff!

Maggie continues to melt everyone’s hearts that she meets.  My Dad is not much of a dog lover and now he always asks if I brought “the puppy” over when I visit them.  He’s even held her!  My mom has always wanted a dog so we are hoping Maggie will finally break him of his “Puppy or Me” mentality!

A RARE sight.... my Dad holding a puppy

She also met my sister's dog, Macy, who is a teacup poodle.  I was curious and excited to see how they would interact.  Macy has only known my parent's house as "hers".  It went better than I expected.  Macy barked, Maggie wanted her to play.  Maggie kept going over to Macy to get her to play and Macy made it known she didn't want to play!  Maggie eventually learned to keep her distance.  Hopefully they will become best of friends!  My nieces just loved her!  Addy would wake up asking about her and go to bed talking about her.  So cute!

Addy and Maggie... BFF's.

We have a neighborhood girl that loves to come over and walk Maggie.  Maggie just adores her and gets so excited when she comes over!  It has been helpful for me too because then I can finish getting ready for work quick without having to worry where she is.

This past weekend I started working my 12-hour weekend shifts.  With about an hour commute each way, my 12-hour shift turns in to a 14-hour day by the time I get back home.  My husband had to go out of town this weekend, too, so that meant Maggie had a slumber party at Grandma and Grandpa’s!  I felt guilty making Maggie come back to bed with me when I got home at 8 in the morning.  Joe’s parents were awesome and made sure she was pooped out and ready for a nap!

Maggie has been sick these past few days.  She has been throwing up undigested food and bile.  When she threw up the bile I figured she was just hungry.  (She was also thrown off her eating schedule with me working 12-hour nights.)  After day 4 of throwing up, I finally called River Valley.  They put her on Iam’s low-residue wet puppy food.  This must be cat-nip for dogs!  Man, oh, man she jumps in circles when she sees me bring it out.  We’ve been feeding her a little bit every few hours.  So far, so good with no puking.  Some other girls at work and I were laughing about my puppy being on “bowel rest”!  I’ve been making sure she’s been getting enough water, too.  Her new favorite thing is to chase and lick ice cubes!

WHEW!  What a busy week Maggie has had!  Well, Maggie and I are off to go wake up “Daddy”!  How is it that men always get to sleep in!?  Hmm maybe we’ll have to change this…

Hugs and Kisses, Brit and Maggie

POOPED OUT after a busy week!

Happy 4th of July

Maggie wishes you all a happy and safe 4th of July! 

She heard her first fireworks last night and couldn't care less.  She was more interested in the sound of the crickets and chasing the baby frogs in the driveway!  So glad she was okay.... we will have to see how she does tonight, too!  Wish us luck!



Happy 4th of July!! She seems much happier in this picture with her new hat...



How Maggie Has Changed My Life

(Catching up on a few blogs tonight!!)

I never realized how much I up and leave until I couldn’t do it anymore.  There would be so many times I would run errands before heading in to work.  But now I have Maggie…. And I have to be mindful of how long she is in her kennel.  I used to be able to stay at the gym for as long as I wanted to.  But, once again, I have Maggie … And I don’t have the heart to put her in her kennel for 2 hours in the morning when I know she’s going to be in there while I’m at work.  My life doesn’t just revolve around myself and my needs anymore… I have a puppy to take care of.  Miss Independent (aka yours truly) can't be so independent anymore!

It is a challenge and a half to coordinate schedules between Joe and I.  When he is gone on trips, I need to make sure we have someone to watch Maggie and let her out about half way through my shift.  We try to spread out our resources and switch between Joe’s parents and mine.  Our friends have also offered their help.  It will be interesting when I start my 12-hour weekend night shifts next weekend… I’m not sure what we are going to do there.  I’m obviously going to have to get sleep during the day, which will be confusing for Maggie.  (And I don’t do well on little-to-no sleep…)

Work has been short-staffed lately so I have been picking up extra shifts.  Work knew I wouldn't be able to pick up extra shifts as long as my husband was home because we wanted to spend time together.  Now I can only pick up extra shifts IF Joe is home so she can watch her.  It's been hard since I've been sacrificing spending time with Joe, but who couldn't use the extra income in today's economy!

Today we went to the beach and of course it was too hot for her… so once again we needed to find someone to puppy-sit her.  I think we will be having to do the same for the fireworks on the 4^th… It will be interesting to see if she is a chicken little when it comes to fireworks!

I never thought I would monitor a dog’s butt so much in one day!! (Sorry, too much detail!?)  I constantly have my little shadow by my side so I can make sure she is going outside to poop and pee.  She’s getting the hang of it… She already knows to go downstairs by the door to go outside.  I’m one proud Momma!

Sleeping in is SO last season!  Maggie is like clockwork and wakes up every morning in the 6am hour to go poop and pee.  It doesn't matter what time she went to bed.... she'll still wake up at 6am! Sometimes she'll let me go back to bed.  Other times I camp out on the living room floor so she can play and I can rest!

My husband and I have our differences with raising Maggie.  I’m so glad we got a dog before having a baby… and that we are figuring out these differences now before we have another person to think about.  I think he sometimes gets frustrated when he realizes what I’m telling him might actually be the right thing to do… he never likes admitting when he is wrong and I am right!

I thought I was mentally prepared to have a puppy… But I don’t think it quite sets in how much work it actually is to raise a puppy until you have one.  However, I wouldn’t change it for the world.  She has brought so much joy to our lives and our families.  I love seeing how people “ooh” and “awe” over her.  I love when you get home to see her, her little butt wiggles and she squeals with excitement to see you.  I love watching her sleep... especially when she's dreaming and her tail starts wagging.  Wonder what she's dreaming about!?  No matter what, she gives you endless love.  Having a puppy is A LOT of work… but the memories are priceless.

My forever fur-ball buddy :-)

She's my little buddy - that's for sure.  I've been calling her "buddy" a lot lately... I hope she doesn't think that's her new name! 

Happy 4th of July to everyone and your little furry friends!

My Night with Maggie

(This was my night with Maggie a few nights ago....)

My husband and I have been very fortunate with our work schedules these last 2 weeks with Maggie.  So these last 2 days have been hard for me to leave her in her kennel.  I moved her kennel closer to the front entry so she can run outside to go potty when we get home (since she’s been sprinkling!)  I usually give her a Kong treat to distract her while I slip out the door.  Well on my first day of leaving her in her kennel for work she heard the door open, turned, and saw me leave.  I listened outside the door and she was crying and whimpering.  Yes, I will admit it, I shed a tear as well.  I felt horrible leaving my little fur ball buddy!  Fortunately, Joe’s parents were able to come let her out half way through my shift.  By the time they got there she had an accident in her kennel.  While his parents were there they played with her, took her for a walk, and fed her. 

I was planning on being home right around midnight.  Well, of course work was busy and I got out a little late.  I was already worried about Maggie being in her kennel for too long AND to top it all off I got pulled over on my way home because I had a break light out (THANKFULLY the officer was nice and asked me kindly to get it fixed).

When I finally got home, Maggie had puked and peed in her kennel.  Naturally I started feeling guilty and thought she was so distraught she was left in her kennel that she made herself sick.  I took her potty and cleaned up the puke… just what I want to do after having to deal with puke, pee, and poop all night at work (I work as a pediatric oncology nurse - so I deal with all sorts of bodily fluids on a daily basis!).

Maggie was in her kennel all night so I didn’t have the heart to walk upstairs and put her in her kennel so I could get some sleep after an exhausting night at work.  So we played and burned off some of her energy… finally heading to bed around 2am.  Around 3am I hear Maggie whining in her kennel.  I knew she couldn’t have had to pee because I literally let her out an hour prior.  I put my hand down by her and told her to go back to sleep.  She was quiet for a few minutes then started whining again.  (She usually goes back to bed right away so this was odd for her).  I took her out of her kennel to find she had peed everywhere… great another bed to clean up!  I tried taking her outside right away only to find our neighbor’s cats in the front yard (did I mention they are 2 fiesty male cats in heat who love to bug Maggie!?)

Back inside we went… and at 3am I’m scrubbing down and changing out another bed.  I put her back in her kennel only to get another wake-up call at 6am from the little fur ball.  I took her outside to potty (no cats this time) and tried to get her to follow me back upstairs to catch a few more Zzz’s.  The little heart breaker sat at the bottom of the stairs with her head tilted thinking, “Where are you going? I want to play… No more sleep!”  I picked her up and brought her upstairs… I didn’t have the heart to put her in her kennel yet AGAIN… so….

Defeated.

The little stinker ended up in bed with me.  I was desperate!!  I needed to get some sleep since I had to go back to work later that day.  I had to wake her up a few hours later.  All she did was role over for me to rub her belly… such a stinker!!  Thankfully she hasn’t minded going back in her kennel since… she doesn’t even beg to come up on the bed!  I think we have one awesome puppy :-)

(Sorry, Tiana... I caved in!!  Hoping it was a one time thing!!!)