Settling in & getting more adventurous

I've been continuing to settle in at home & am still surprising everyone with my confidence - virtually nothing worries me. I've been meeting the chickens over the last couple of days & have been very well behaved - they don't scare me (even though Dolly can be quite noisy when she squawks at me) & I don't bother them. I'm far more interested in other things - the garden is so exciting, I love running round & exploring out there. I like investigating things with my mouth so I've tried eating grass, leaves, bark chippings & chicken poo. When I'm placed outside the back door (to use the toilet or to play) I bound away in my eagerness, it's quite funny to watch.

Investigating things with my mouth hasn't been quite as welcomed inside the house though. I've found some bits of the tiled floor that have been filled that I like to try to chew at & dig up but Molly put vinegar on there to deter me - yuk yuk yuk! I'm also biting clothes & fingers when I get excited, despite having plenty of my own chew toys. Molly & her family are trying a few different things to teach me that it isn't appropriate so we'll see how they go.

When I'm tired I now take myself into my crate (where my bed is) where I sometimes settle down & sleep and sometimes play. I like Molly to be around as I fall asleep though & I try to chew/scratch my way out if she closes the door before I'm sleepy enough. Once I'm sound asleep at night she covers it with some blackout material which helps me sleep more soundly.

Here are a couple of photos of me falling asleep or asleep in my crate. Can you see my little pink tongue on the first one? And I was pretending to be a sausage dog on the second.
 

 

 

Sometimes I fall asleep in different places as I like being close to people. Here I am sleeping on Molly's hand! When this happens she usually puts me in my crate because she wants me to learn to sleep in there.

 

Sometimes Molly wakes me up in the night to go to the toilet & sometimes I wake her up if I need a wee first. She's bought a baby monitor now so she'll be able to sleep back in her bedroom again without worrying about not hearing me in the night. I haven't had a single accident in the house yet, which we think is a combination of the breeders getting me off to a good start with toilet training & Molly being very observant at spotting the signs that I need to go & taking me out regularly as well.

I haven't been too good at going back to sleep at night after a trip outside to to the toilet. I tend to want to play but Molly doesn't.

I've got a new favourite toy that crinkles when I play with it.
 

 

And Molly's parents found me a little plastic ball that is the perfect size for me. I bat it around & carry it in my mouth. I tried a Kong yesterday but didn't really understand it. And Molly is currently giving me a Nylabone to chew when she leaves me to eat her meals but although I liked it when I first tried it yesterday I wasn't interested when I was alone. We're going to keep working at very short times of separation though because Molly knows it's an important thing for me to get used to. I'm ok being away from Molly if someone else is with me but I don't like being left alone completely. I am still young though, just 8 weeks old.

I've had a couple of exciting trips out. Last night I went to a meeting of a knitting & literature group (Knit Lit) in the village where I had some cuddles & today I went to the vet for a routine check up. Both trips went really well & I was good in the car too.

This morning someone who missed me at the knitting & literature group meeting last night popped in for a cuddle. It was nice to see her but I was very sleepy so we're encouraging other guests to contact Molly in advance if they're planning to come round.

I tried to get out the (closed) cat flap a couple of times yesterday - it doesn't work! That's probably a good thing though because the drop at the other side would be too big for me. Sometimes when Molly isn't fast enough at putting her shoes on I jump out of the back door but Molly would rather I didn't because I'm still a bit small & might hurt myself.

 

I was a bit mesmerised by the washing machine going round yesterday so had fun watching that. I was brought up in a kitchen so none of the noisy machines bother me.

Molly has tried to do a bit more work on teaching me to 'sit' but because I'm so wriggly she's struggling to get the timing of rewarding me quite right. We'll get there though. We're also still working out which treats I like best - they all tend to be a bit big for me so need breaking up.

Yesterday Molly accidentally stepped on my paw when we were out in the garden but it didn't hurt for long & didn't stop me running around. I've stopped getting under her feet as much now but still follow her & the rest of her family around closely. We haven't started trying to learn a recall officially yet but I've been practising running after Molly in the garden & she gives me lots of praise when I return to her.

 

I'm still having lots of fun with the rest of the family too. Molly is trying to encourage her dad & brother not to be so boisterous with me when we play together but they are good at wearing me out so I calm down or sleep. And Molly's mum is always delighted to see me when she wakes up or comes home from work.

 

The rest of the family have all been looking after me for short periods so Molly can have a little time to herself & in some cases a chance to catch up on some sleep.

 

Update: Since writing the above we've been practising short periods of separation (in the car, while Molly & her family eat & just in my crate) & Molly tells me I'm doing really well. I whine a little bit if I can't see anyone or am not getting attention but I quickly settle down or go to sleep.

 

Apologies for the lack of photos, Molly hopes to have more for the next blog update but I either tend to be asleep or too energetic to stay still for a picture! And my black fur means that some of the photos Molly takes don't come out very well.

Ok, here's a final photo for you, taken about 30 seconds ago. This is how I've helped Molly write up this blog post for me - by lying/sleeping on her left arm, making typing quite a slow process!