The Dog Days of May

Picture taken as I'm writing this entry. I'm the luckiest girl in the whole world :)

Boy is it humid out! Is it May or July? Luna does not seem to like the heat, but still loves being outside. Today when she went out to potty she just hopped from shaded spot to shaded spot and even went out of her way to potty in the shade instead of her usual spot.

I slept in today and Lu got up with Chris. She kept coming over to the open bedroom door and looking in at me to see if I was still sleeping. I would hear her collar jingle and then stop in front of the door, which would prompt me to open my eye just enough to see her staring. She didn't come in and bother me or anything, just kept checking at the doorway to make sure I was still there or maybe to see if I was awake yet. She'd see me move or see my eyes open and her ears would perk up: Are you awake yet? How 'bout now?! The moment I'm awake she is right in my face ready for snuggles. I feel so loved!

Something very funny happened today. When Chris was standing by the door to leave for work I got up from the couch to say goodbye. When I hugged him, Lu got very excited and ran over to us. She then proceeded to jump up with her paws on my back, panting excitedly, and I said "Group hug!" We both got a kick out of it.

Today Lu was also more affectionate and close with Chris. She even started whining when he left for work! We're glad she's bonding to both of us more equally. After Chris went to work Lu was very restless and not sure what to do. She'd play with her bunny toy for 20 seconds, then pick up her bone, then drop it and start exploring, then play with her bottle... ADD puppy! I invited Lu on the couch with me and we both took a little nap.

This evening around 8pm I took her for a walk. I heard a horror story from Carrie on the GASSY walk (Carrie has dog sat for Lu before) about Lu backing out of her collar while on lead and running away from her! I could easily see that happening when she gets spooked, so I used the gentle leader for our walk. We've tried it before and it usually takes her until about halfway through the walk to figure out that it feels uncomfortable when she tugs on the lead. Today it took about the same amount of time for her to get used to it but once I took her to the back parking lot for laps around the lot she went into super-show-dog mode! She maintained a perfect heel for the whole 15-20 minutes we walked laps! She has done this before but never as good as today and never for this long without breaking her concentration. She was completely in the zone - head down, ears back, steady pant - walking very close to my left side, just slightly behind me, the lead dangling loosely from her "bridle". I was so impressed and so proud of her!! We usually go to that parking lot about halfway through our walk because there are only a few cars that park there and it's very secluded and quiet with minimal distractions. Then we practice things that require her full attention. Once we left the parking lot, however, she snapped back into curious puppy mode and got jumpy a couple of times in response to some unexpected noises.

We had so much fun on the GASSY walk and she loved it so much, I rearranged my work schedule to have next Sunday off so I can take her again! I am pretty sure I can arrange to have every Sunday off to make sure she can go see her friends. I'm very excited! We are also going to try to make the Meet and Greet on Saturday.

Today I got her some little training treats that look like kibble but they are liver flavored. I heard that dogs go nuts for them and she definitely likes them. I also got her another Kong so we can always have one in the freezer, and another toy. I could spend my whole paycheck on stuff for Lu! I will have to save a little money to set aside for Greyfest, (http://gpa-mn.org/greyfest.php) where there will be lots of specialty items sold.

Lu politely approached a neighbor dog this morning and let the owner pet her just a little tiny bit under the chin. The owner said that her dog used to be just as timid as Luna and now she loves people and is very social, so that was really encouraging to hear.

We still had to give her melatonin this morning at 6:30am because when she got back to her kennel from pottying outside she was very anxious and whining. She was also trying to tear apart her bedding. I have been reassured, however, that melatonin is okay to give to her if this is a problem. I have also been advised to make sure we are adapting her to OUR schedule and not the other way around, so I think we will stop letting her out at 6:30am. We are told she is perfectly capable of holding it until we get up later in the morning. Earplugs were recommended to us, though. It has also been suggested that we let her sleep on her dog bed in our bedroom but just keep the bedroom door shut. I think she would enjoy this more and be calm, as she is always most calm and quiet when she is near her humans.

She has become very attached to us and she follows me around everywhere - she always has to know where I am and get her nose right in whatever I'm doing. She is such a cutie little girl and I love snuggling with her. Although, it's probably similar to how children are cuter when they are asleep. Now I am sitting on the couch and Lu is dozing with her head in my lap. How lucky am I?! She keeps nudging me for more attention and when she sat up i wrapped my arm around her, giving her kisses on the head and she laid her head on my shoulder. I pretty much melted. It's moments like these where I think how much I love having a dog and I realize just how much I love her. She is the greatest little girl anyone could have asked for.

Even though I feel discouraged sometimes, like when she doesn't want to let people pet her or she gets spooked and jump, I have to keep remembering that she is very young, still a puppy, and we have only had her for 9 days. On top of that, I have to look at how far she has come in such a short amount of time. That says a lot about her. I can't wait to get to know her better and for her to open up to us even more.

Happy Lu in her first car ride on the way to the GASSY walk on Sunday! So many smells!

We are looking for ideas of toys and activities to keep her busy and avoid boredom, especially when she's kenneled while we're at work. Any ideas for homemade toys or other suggestions are welcome!