Getting up to date

Sorry it's been a little while since I last blogged, Molly hasn't been very well. She keeps saying she feels guilty that she's not able to do everything she wants to do with me at the moment (due to her health playing up) & that she doesn't deserve me :( And that makes me sad because I love her a lot - and not just because she feeds me! I'm not great at reading Molly's emotions yet (I'm still only little - I turned 4 months old on Tuesday!) so when she needed comforting yesterday instead I stole a used tissue out of her pocket (Molly said she doesn't understand why I'm so attracted to tissues) & she had to try to get me to "leave it" - which I did in the end. I did make her laugh though so I know I'm a good distraction.

Anyway, back to my favourite topic - food! Molly didn't think that the food I came home from the breeders with was particularly good or agreed with me so did lots of research into alternatives & last week switched me to a different one. We're both really pleased with the results so far even though it hasn't even been a week that I've been on the new food yet. I'm only going for a poo about 3 times a day (rather than 6) & my poos are much better formed. My room-clearing wind seems to have completely disappeared & my tummy is no longer bloated (Molly didn't realise it had been until suddenly it wasn't). The new food is making me much less thirsty so I'm drinking less & weeing less. And I also seem more comfortable & settled. Now we just need to work out the ideal amount of the new food for me to eat.

My big achievement (in my eyes) is that because I've grown even more I can now jump on & off the sofa & armchairs much more easily. Before this week I'd occasionally jumped up to get a toy or remote control (hehe) but on Wednesday I realised how easily I could do it so have been up & down a lot over the last couple of days - meaning that Molly & her family can't escape from me :P I do get put on the floor though when I try to dig on the sofa! Molly said she's worried about my joints when I jump on & off the furniture but I don't care, I like being able to go where I please! Here are a few photos of me on the sofa.

Talking of being able to go where I please, I made it up 4 stairs the other day when someone accidentally left the stair gate open. I haven't learnt how to climb down stairs yet though so made Molly & her dad laugh when I slid down.

We've been continuing to work on my ability to play fetch but I don't like giving my toys up - even if Molly or her brother will then throw them again for me. I still have quite a short attention span so frequently get distracted by other things & often I'll want to play a different game (like chase or tug of war) than fetch.

Yesterday I did lots of seemingly random barking at the front door even when the people I live with couldn't see or hear anything. Apparently that's quite annoying! I make other funny noises too - I growl at my toys (but never at people) quite a lot & make Molly laugh when I sometimes do squeaky yawns.

I've had good fun playing out in the garden & getting very muddy digging for carrots in the vegetable beds. Molly finds it quite hard to dry my muddy feet when I come back into the house though because I like to try to bite the towel she uses & sometimes accidentally nip her hands instead, oops! We have the same problem when she tries to brush me but after seeking advice at puppy class Molly now gives me treats when she brushes me, yum!

I was very excitable at puppy class last night so we didn't make much progress. Molly said we're going to practise this week though. Next week will be our last week but Molly hopes we'll continue after that at some other classes. Apparently we might meet one of the trainers for a one-to-one session this weekend (if Molly is well enough) to work on my pulling on the lead because Molly thinks it's a problem. I disagree though - I get really excited on walks & Molly walks too slowly so I have to pull her along. She stops when I pull which is annoying but I still keep trying to pull. Sometimes I pull a little less on walks which tricks Molly into thinking we've made progress but then next time I pull a lot again.

I'm now usually much happier for Molly to put my collar on me but still run away when she gets the harness out - even though I know that putting it on means we can go out on a walk. Molly's brother wonders if I might have got some of my hair caught in it on one occasion which might be why I don't like having it put on. I'm fine once it's on though.

On the subject of hair, yesterday Molly's mum said she thinks that some of the hair on my face needs trimming because it looks like it's getting in front of my eyes & stopping me seeing properly. And Molly thinks the hair on my feet needs trimming because I don't have much grip on hard floors.

We haven't gone anywhere new on walks over the last few days but Molly has been continuing to take me on walks round the pavements locally a couple of times most days. On Tuesday evening I was very excited (because Molly had been out most of the day) so I made a nuisance of myself when she let me off the lead at the local Scout Hut field & untied her shoelaces! On Wed morning Molly's mum came for a walk round the block with us & then when Molly took me out that evening I constantly zigzagged so she nearly fell over me! Yesterday we just did one walk (like we usually do on puppy class days) but we went to visit Molly's mum at work! I was sneaked into the back room but I ruined Molly & her mum's plans of being discreet by barking to let everyone know I was there! I was just excited!

I'm getting better at not barking & lunging at other people & dogs as much on walks when Molly distracts me with food. She's discovered that I can't bark when I'm chewing my favourite treats! I did meet another dog nicely yesterday though (without any barking despite not having any food in my mouth) but he growled at me!

I'm also not making as much noise when the postman comes to the door or puts post through the letterbox but we've still got a bit of a way to go.

And in other news, I've learnt how to drink from a water bottle (like the ones hamsters have in their cages but a bit bigger) so that means I can now have a drink while I'm in my crate in the car. Molly originally got the bottle to go in my crate in the house but doesn't need to use it in there now because I've learnt not to make a mess with my water bowl.

We've just read this blog post back & realised that I come across as quite a badly behaved dog! I'm really not, I'm just an excitable young puppy. Molly is really pleased with the progress I'm making & I do lots of good & calm things too, they're just not as interesting to share with you! Molly said I'm a real character & make her & the rest of her family very happy.