Sheep

This morning Molly took me to Angie's farm which was very exciting. First I met a huge Great Dane. Molly is sorry about the poor quality photo, she couldn't see her phone screen due to the sun & didn't have time to get her camera out of her bag.

Then I met some sheep & hens. The sheep came over to say hello & Molly was very impressed with how well I behaved. I wasn't scared but wasn't particularly interested in them either (& didn't do any barking at them to play with me), which Molly said was ideal. I was actually more interested in eating their yummy poo!

Then we had a quick visit to an enclosed field where I did some recall practise between Molly & her dad. I soon got tired but I did really well at coming to them when they called me. Silly Molly dropped her phone by the field gate though & didn't realise until she was back home so she had to leave me sleeping & go back to get it!

After a long rest & some lunch I went to visit Molly's nan again. I wasn't quite so calm this time, despite being taken out on a short walk to the shop where lots of people fussed me.

Molly has gone out to see my friends Issy & Jess tonight without me! Apparently I'll be able to see them tomorrow though. Molly is a bit apprehensive about how I'll cope with any firework noise while she's out (because I've not heard any since I've been home so she doesn't know what I'll think) but the rest of her family have said they'll take good care of me. We heard some in the distance before she left & they didn't bother me at all.

A quieter day

Today me & Molly have had a quieter day after our original plans were postponed. We were both happy about that though because we seem to have been very busy recently.

I've recently realised that I can climb on top of & sit on the stool that Molly sometimes sits on to play with me/give me attention & from there I can see more, including over the hall divider to the front door.

Today we've had two walks round the village. Before lunch we went on a new route where we met some friendly people & I said hello to another dog. This evening we went to the Scout Hut field again but I barked at another dog I saw because I wanted to play. Molly took some toys with her this evening but I wasn't interested in them while we were out because there were too many other distrations. On both walks Molly took some treats with us so we practised my 'sit's & Molly encouraged me to follow her when I got distracted sniffing. Molly was impressed with how well I listened to her.

I've eaten all my meals out of various Kong toys again today. At lunch time I didn't finish all my food because I was tired & a bit full from the treats I'd had while we were out but this evening I was very determined to get as much food out as I possibly could.

We did a few training sessions today & Molly said I'm doing well. We're currently working on a few different things but we're in the early stages with most of them. I'm getting good at sitting when there are distractions around me though. I like training because I get lots of treats!

I've also done some playing with various members of the family today & a lot of sleeping.

This position made Molly laugh, she said it can't have been comfortable because I looked like I was about to fall off the chair!

And this was me claiming the chair as my own. Molly was originally sharing it with me but when she got up to answer the phone, I sprawled out.

And Molly took the two photos above because she was surprised to see me cuddled up with my teddy as I usually prefer chasing it, shaking it & chewing it - she said that you can tell I'm a terrier!

I have also caused some chaos today. I've done various shoe stealing & chewing like I usually do. I pulled Molly's mum's handbag off a chair & stole her chewing gum & lipsalve so she had to chase me to get them back. I hadn't paid any attention to the Christmas tree over the last week but today I noticed it & had fun trying to bat the baubles & chew the tree itself. And when Molly & her mum sat down to do a crossword I tried to help them.

New Kong fun & a funny sleeping position

Molly took some photos of me this evening as I ate my tea out of one of my new Kong toys. They mean it takes me much longer to eat a full meal (10-20mins rather than the 2mins it takes me to eat the same amount from a bowl) & help me expend some of my excess energy too. I have to knock/wobble this particular one to make pieces of my food fall out. I also like growling & barking at it too but that doesn't make the food come out.

Molly went out this evening & came home smelling of another dog - traitor! Molly would like to explain that she was actually out babysitting (although the family did have a dog) in order to earn money to feed me & buy toys etc for me. Anyway, while she was out I fell asleep on her dad's head after we got back from a walk.

Geese & bubbles

Yesterday evening we walked to the Scout Hut field & back & did a few practise 'sit's while there were more distractions around. I did really well on most of them but was too preoccupied when we tried it in a field - there were so many other interesting things around. After that I went straight to bed & slept through the night as usual.

This morning I had my breakfast in my Kong toys again & then Molly's dad looked after me while she popped out to a GP appt. When she came home I was so pleased to see her that I put my tongue in her ear!

Then we went out to a local reservoir where we met up with Claire & her daughter Ffion. Molly was impressed that I was so well behaved when I met some geese - I wasn't scared but wasn't particularly interested in them either. And I didn't do any "play with me" barking - I saved that for the joggers & children we saw! Molly wasn't quite so impressed with me when I ate goose poo though. I also watched Ffion playing in the park, went for a walk & sat calmly (once I'd realised I wasn't going to get any people food) while Molly had something to eat & drink outside the cafe. Molly says she's sorry about the first photo being so badly composed, she couldn't see the screen of her phone due to the sun so had to take it blindly.

When we got home I was too tired to eat my lunch & went straight to sleep. While I was asleep Molly unpacked my new Kong toys which had arrived in the post while we were out. I had my (late) lunch in one when I woke up but haven't tried the other yet. It's a bit different so Molly hopes I'll get the hang of it.

Molly's dad bought me some dog-friendly bubbles when he was in town today so we played with them. I wasn't interested in them when they were in the air but I pounced on some of them once they'd landed on the floor. And I got a bit confused when they kept landing on me!

After that me & Molly did some training & apparently I did very well. We practised 'sit', 'leave it' & 'bed' & tried 'down' for the first time. Molly's dad is also trying to teach me the name of one of my toys because he did that when he used to have a border collie, but Molly says I'm not that clever. Molly's dad said I'm clever in a different way.

Play, Kongs & Saffie

Yesterday evening I had fun playing with Molly's dad. He made a tunnel out of a big sheet of cardboard & tried to tempt me through it with my skunk toy attached to a piece of string. I wasn't interested in his plan though, all I wanted to do was chew the cardboard.

I have been showing my agility potential today though by chasing a toy under and over Molly's brother's legs.

In my last blog post I mentioned how Molly said I was clever. Well last night I did something else that I thought was extremely clever, although I don't think Molly agreed. Molly's dad made a divider across the hallway with a piece of wood to help keep me off the carpeted areas when neccessary. It goes right up to the radiator on the wall but there's a little gap under there. It's too small for me to fit through but I discovered yesterday that if I squeeze into the gap & wriggle, the board moves slightly & I can get through! So I couldn't be contained & caused lots of chaos with free reign of the house when I was hyper, having zoomies & chewing everything! Today Molly's dad adjusted the board though so I can't do that any longer. Never mind, I'll be able to get over it soon.

Last night I went to bed a bit earlier than usual so Molly could relax for a bit longer before she went to bed. I went to bed without any fuss again & would have slept for longer this morning if I hadn't heard people come downstairs.

Molly often struggles with me first thing in the mornings when she's the only one awake & I'm really hyper. She finds it hard to play with me during this period because I tend to nip in my excitement. Today Molly came up with a new plan to help me use up some of this excess energy in the mornings & we both like it. I now have my breakfast in Kong toys, rather than out of a normal bowl. This slows down my eating & makes me use my brain as well as making me use more energy. And it's good fun! When I originally tried my Kong toys a few weeks ago I didn't really understand how to get the food out of them but I certainly got the hang of them today & enjoyed rolling them round the kitchen floor. Molly also fed me my lunch & tea in them but isn't sure if she'll do that every day.

This morning we went out to visit Molly's friend Naomi & her lurcher Saffie. I couldn't believe how big Saffie was & how loud her bark was compared to my little bark! I was very confident exploring a new house & garden & getting to know Saffie. We're hoping to go for a walk together in the next couple of weeks.

 

This afternoon Molly took me for a walk to the local petrol station. I did lots of barking to make sure everyone knew I was there. I thought they might miss me otherwise because I'm so small. Apparently this embarrassed Molly a bit, oops! Molly also went out without me this evening & came back smelling of another dog!

We didn't do much training over Christmas but Molly said we're going to start doing it daily again now. We didn't practise recall today but we did do some work on 'sit' & 'leave it' & I started to learn 'bed'. I'll do anything for food but am not so keen if I can't see a treat. I also let Molly brush me today without trying to chew the brush as much as I usually do because she distracted me with treats.

This evening Molly played tug of war with me again. I love playing with ropes (& string & other things like that) so we had a lot of fun.

Rain & being clever

Yesterday was Boxing Day & it was a much quieter day here. Molly & her dad spent a couple of hours playing a game they called Monopoly & Molly's mum wasn't very well so I had to try to entertain myself for a while. I wasn't very good at that.

I had two walks round the block but seem to have forgotten the command "sit". Or perhaps I was just ignoring Molly, hehe. We're starting puppy training classes in less than 2 weeks so Molly is hoping they'll be helpful. On the second of yesterday's walks both Molly & her dad had to take me out because it was raining so I didn't want to go. They had to tempt me along until I got distracted enough to forget about the rain.

Molly thinks yesterday might have been the first time I'd experienced heavy rain - at least since I came home 4 weeks ago. And maybe if I had experienced it before then I might have forgotten what it was like. I wasn't happy going out in the garden to go to the toilet yesterday so on a couple of occasions I decided that rather than going to the back door to signal that I needed the toilet (& risk getting put outside in the rain!) I just went to the toilet on the carpet instead. They weren't very happy when I did that!

And when it was time for me to go outside for my last wee before bed I acted really pathetic. I tried to hide underneath Molly's coat, climb up her legs (my way of signalling that I want picking up), run back into the passage & when none of those methods kept me dry I just stood there & squeaked at Molly in the hope that she'd let me back inside. She didn't until I'd done a wee though. The photo below was taken after Molly had attempted to dry me but I was still quite wet.

Luckily when we got up this morning it had stopped raining so I've been happily going outside to the toilet again. It started raining again this eve but last time I needed to go out for a wee Molly successfully distracted me from the rain in the garden so I could get on & do one. I'm spending more time just confined to the uncarpeted floors though for the moment, just in case. I got bored this morning at just being stuck in one area (although Molly says I was just being silly because I had her attention & all my toys to play with) so started digging up/chewing a broken bit of the tiled floor again.

This morning Molly took me out to visit a couple of places. First we went to the vets. I like it there because I receive lots of fuss from the staff & owners. The vet even gave me some treats to tempt me to stay still to be weighed (she said I wasn't too heavy) & for my flea treatment. And I surprised Molly by willingly eating my worming tablet. Molly was a bit embarrassed by my barking at the other dogs though - I just wanted to play with them! Before we left Molly bought me a smaller light to clip onto my collar because my original one was too big & heavy for me. This one is much better & doesn't bother me at all when it's on.

After that we visited a couple of pet shops where Molly bought me a new toy (a frisbee from a brand that seem to hold up to my chewing) & a new lead! The clip on my old lead was too small to clip onto my harness easily so this new one should be better. The lead is much nicer too & it worked well when we tried it out this eve.

Molly spoke to the groomers in one of the pet shops while we were there but she said they weren't very helpful & didn't seem to know what they were talking about so she's now planning to take me elsewhere when I'm bigger. She's not sure where yet though.

When we got home I was too tired to eat any lunch & went straight to sleep! This afternoon I've done a bit of playing in the garden & lots of sleeping. We also had another walk in the rain this eve (just round the block) with Molly's mum & they both said I walked really well & they were impressed I didn't bark at the people who went past. Molly also played tug of war with me with the special rope that she only gets out when we're playing together.

Talking of getting toys out - my spare toys all live in a box on a shelf in a cupboard. This morning I discovered that if I stand up when Molly is getting something from the cupboard I can help myself to toys from my box!

I have also just learnt to climb on top of & over a small stool that Molly often sits on (so she doesn't have to sit on the floor) when she's playing with me in the kitchen or hall. The stool originally sat next to the divider that goes across the hall to keep me off the carpet when necessary but Molly moved it because she said it wouldn't be long til I climbed onto the stall & then over it.

Molly says I'm very clever, perhaps too clever for my own good. This morning I stole the remote control & turned the TV on while I was chewing it!

Here are some photos which will hopefully make you smile :)

 Don't I look cute posing for the camera?!

Just a few seconds later I had to investigate what Molly was pointing at me

 Exhausted

Christmas!

So my last blog post went up to the evening of Christmas Eve. As you'll know that was quite a busy day for me but it wasn't over yet. Alfie's friend Sam & his brother came round for a little while. I got quite wound up & silly & had to be separated from everyone because I wouldn't stop nipping Sam's feet, oops! Molly then popped out to deliver a last minute Christmas present but she left me behind. She did return in time to put me to bed though. We all slept well that night!

Yesterday was my first Christmas Day! Molly's parents said they were happy to get me up & look after me while she had a lie-in which she said was very kind of them. I was a bit confused that she wasn't there when I got up but she appeared about an hour later so that was ok. Her parents are very good at looking after me but it's just not the same.

Molly weighed me & I weigh a whopping 4.4kg. I'm only 12 weeks old & although I don't look fat I do love my food so Molly is going to check with the vet on Saturday that I'm not too heavy because her Googling suggested that I'm heavier than average.

In the morning we went for a walk at the local country park which was good fun. I did lots of running around in the mud. I did embarrass Molly a bit though by barking at other dogs (because I wanted to play with them) so she said we need to work on that.

Then we collected Molly's nan so she could come back to our house for the rest of the day. I love her a lot & am usually good at being gentle with her, unless I get overexcited. Molly had to pop out briefly to get her nan some money from the cash machine round the corner so I stayed with her nan for a few minutes while I did that. I was quite well behaved apart from chewing her slipper but again I was confused as to where Molly had gone so I had to search the flat to make sure she wasn't hiding from me.

When we got home Molly & her family dressed up in silly outfits & headbands. I don't know why.

Then I had a long sleep in my crate while they opened their presents. I was sad to see that they'd already cleared away all the wrapping paper when I got up - I'd been looking forward to playing with that. I was soon distracted though when I spotted that Molly had opened a couple of presents for me! She tried to only give me one of the toys to play with to start with so I had to steal the other one off the sofa myself. I enjoyed playing with both of them & am very grateful to Molly's lovely friends for thinking of me.

I also stole an envelope with some money in that Molly had received - apparently I shouldn't have done that! After that all of the people's presents were put away so I couldn't play with any more of them.

Then Molly realised she'd forgotten to give me my lunch, oops! So when she popped me out in the garden first for a wee I started eating the grass. How did I know when I'd be fed again?! Molly said I was just being silly though as my lunch wasn't even 45mins late. When everyone else sat down to eat their lunch they gave me a chew to keep me occupied & it worked. Apparently I'm very food orientated.

After everyone had eaten I received lots of attention from everyone & had games & cuddles. I'm not very keen on cuddles though - if I'm wide awake I just want to play & if I'm sleepy I prefer to sleep on my own. Molly's mum thinks that's because I get too hot otherwise. Molly & her family are used to this but Molly's nan was a bit disappointed that I wouldn't settle on her knee for long.

Then the family sat down to watch some Christmas TV together. To keep me out of mischief Molly gave me a pig's ear. I love them but am only allowed them occasionally so I got very excited & spent a while chewing it. Then I took it out in the garden though, put it down somewhere & forgot where. Molly couldn't find it either. So I spent quite a lot time wandering round the house & sniffing the floor trying to find it.

After that I watched a bit of TV & tried to join in by barking.

Then I got bored of not being the centre of attention so started stealing Molly's boots from where they live in the hallway & dragging them into the living room where everyone was sitting because I know that gets Molly's attention & then she chases me round the house. She found it very funny today - she just couldn't get cross at me. After I did this 3 times she put the boots on the stairs behind the stair gate so I couldn't get them.

After they finished watching TV I had a rest, then Molly & her mum walked me round the block. It was the first time Molly's mum had walked me & she said I was really good on the lead.

When we got home I was sad to see Molly's nan leave but I hope I'll see her again soon. I then got hyper again but because Molly's boots had been moved out the way I started running round the house with her Dad & brother's boots instead. I know I did lots of shoe stealing today but I didn't chew anything else that I shouldn't have - Molly was very impressed that I left the curtains, rug, carpets, sofas etc alone.

Then the best part of the day happened - Molly's mum tripped over one of my toys & spilled gravy on the carpet! So I had to help clear it up - yum yum!

Just before I went to bed Molly's mum discovered a poo & wee on the carpet in the dining room, oops! They weren't sure when I did them. Molly said she was disappointed because I'd not had any accidents for so long but apparently it was herself she was disappointed with (not me) because due to the chaos of the day she hadn't been taking me outside as often & watching me as closely as she should have been. I'll prove to her today how well I can do!