3 Months Old

What a difference a couple of weeks makes. We now have a puppy that is sleeping 8-9 hours at night and consistently standing by the door when she needs to toilet. YEA!

We made a hook for the leg of my desk at work so she can be tethered and doesn't have to be in the kennel ALL day. This is how she spends the majority of her day now:

She is doing very well with commands, and we have started introducing wait before going out a door. This morning I opened my office door (had it closed to try and get some heat in here) to take her out and noticed that she was in a sit waiting for me to "release" her before we went out the door. I'm glad she has a really good memory, because sometimes I forget.

Because she is doing better (still puppy, however), we have started giving her a little more freedom around the house (notice I said "a little"). This is what happened when I was brushing my teeth and NOT supervising a puppy with a little more freedom:

That is grease off of Joe's bicycle that Mariko decided to explore :-( Needless to say, she's in her kennel when I brush my teeth now.

We are also starting to introduce the bed command (and of course, we had to buy a bed just for her). We still have a LOT of practice here, but she is so smart, I know she will catch on fast.

Today we were able to greet a man with a VERY long and scruffy beard. She was so excited to be able to greet a friendly stranger that the beard didn't seem to phase her at all.

Next week I travel, so she will be staying with a friend for a few days. I'm hoping we will still be friends when I get back :-) but I know she will be in good hands and have a lot of love and fun while I'm gone. It will be a little strange not dragging a puppy around, however. I'm also nervous that I won't recognize her, as she grows a little more each time I put her in her kennel and then take her out. She was 23 pounds when we weighed her on Saturday.

Excited to reach 4 months and have a fully vaccinated puppy.

Puppies and Snow

Lots of fresh, powdery snow this morning, it was beautiful, however, I was running a little late so . . . when I got to work and let Mariko out of the car for "hurry," she decided that it was MUCH more fun to play in the snow and try to grab the leaves underneath, than conduct business.

Sorry about the quality of the video, I was trying to grab video quickly and still not allow her to eat all of the leaves on the ground.

Needless to say, our morning constitutional took a little more time than most mornings.

Another Week Gone

Wow, last week flew by. Mariko is starting to understand so many things, but also starting to show a little attitude as well. She is running to the door when she needs to go out and is sleeping through the night (yea). In fact, this morning about 4:30 Joe woke me up and said, why is the dog out? Ummm, must not have locked her kennel. She went over to his side of the bed and started pulling on the covers (must have known I wouldn't wake up). I put her collar and leash on and took her out and she conducted business, went back into her kennel and slept until 6:30 when I woke her up to feed her. It is so much easier to get ready in the morning with a puppy that is sleeping in her kennel as opposed to one that is tethered to the tub faucet trying to be a puppy. What a difference a week makes.

She still prefers being out of the kennel while at work; after we have been outside and come back in she will RUN to the blanket that I have on the floor before I can get to my desk to put her in her kennel. This is how she starts out:

This is how she ends up:

I like the way she uses the ball for a nose pillow :-) And, notice she has wiggled out of her cape. Yes, if she would give me 10 seconds to get to my desk after we come back in the door, cape and collar/leash would be off so she could go in her kennel and be comfortable (attitude!).

This week we are going to focus on playing with the ball so that she will hopefully learn to hold it in her mouth. She really isn't ball motivated, which makes playing with other animals hard.

She weighed in at 18.3 pounds at her 11 week checkup on Saturday. I'm sure within the next couple of weeks I will no longer be able to pick her up . . . hoping for REALLY good puppy manners when that day comes.

Our Morning Routine

All of my reading reiterates that dogs are creatures of habit, even more so than humans. I am beginning to understand this now that I am bringing a puppy to work with me each day.

When we arrive at the school, she has an opportunity to "take care of business" before we pack up and go in the door. Without fail, she accomplishes this task. I grab Mariko's bag, my purse and her kennel and we head through the doors and down the hall (while all the time she is displaying incredibly nice leash manners :-), well, most of the time). After I open the office door, she runs to her water bowl, gets a huge drink and then, before I can put everything that I have packed in the door in it's respective place, she runs to the spot where she wants to spend her day and this is what I find when I finally make it to my desk:

I actually have to wake her to put her in the kennel so that I can leave the office to get ice and water.

She really, really wants me to understand she is a "good girl."

First Day at the Gym

Today was the first day to take Mariko with me to the Sport Academy. I usually go to the 7 a.m. class, but decided 6 a.m. would give me more time to be ready for work so . . . we headed out the door at 5:30, peanut butter Kong and kennel in hand. Stopped just outside Sport Academy for one more "hurry" where she was a very good girl and took care of business before we went in the door. Once in the building she surprisingly had great leash manners for me and we headed up the back stairs (yes, she even went up the stairs) to set up the kennel and dive into the peanut butter Kong. I covered the kennel with a blanket and set up for class. Not a sound out of this smart little girl the entire time. Finished class and took her out the back door for another quick "hurry" and then we packed up and headed for the showers where I work (I figured it would be easier in a less crowded environment until she is really well behaved, then we will stay at the Sports Academy to shower and get ready for work).

We hauled all of my essentials into the shower room (and no one is ever there at 7 a.m.), Mariko ate breakfast while I showered. Then while I got ready, she decided to pass the time and play with the mirror. Made my morning, it was pretty funny.

Hey, I want you to play with me!

What an exhausting morning!

So glad everything worked well and she is so well behaved. I will admit; however, that I'm ready for a puppy that is proficient with "stay" so that I don't have to haul this kennel around all the time :-)

What a great puppy you are Mariko! Now it's time to "officially" start our day.

What We Practiced This Weekend

This weekend was full of house cleaning and puppy practice.

Here's Mariko practicing her "I'm mad at you" face:

When that didn't work, she tried her "pouty" face:

Can't wait to see what we practice next weekend!

Week Two

WOW, week two has come and gone with us as new puppy raisers and Mariko experiencing life as a service dog in training (and we have survived). When we picked her up at the airport she weighed in at 10 pounds, today her weight was 17 pounds. Yep, she loves her food!

She is doing very well at work and seems to prefer sleeping on a blanket under my desk rather than in her kennel. I think she already understands that this is what life will be like when you're a "good" dog, ha ha. Yes, I believe she is already telling me that she's a "good" dog.

This is the life!

She already has her own little routine after we go out for "hurry" while at work. After she finishes her "job" we walk half way around the building and come in through the back door. She knows where my office is, heads straight for my office door, grabs a quick drink of water and then heads under the desk for a much needed nap. Oh, the life of a dog :-)

This work stuff isn't so bad.

We had a puppy play date with another CCI dog on Wednesday and decided there is still a lot to learn about appropriate play behavior. Looks like I need another trip to the pet store to buy a bunch a small, squishy balls for her to learn to hold in her mouth while she plays. We will continue this puppy play date on a weekly basis.

We have started introducing "release" into her commands and she's doing very well. I must admit that I'm very anxious to get her third round of puppy shots completed (so that her immune system can handle being around other animals) and then we can start "puppy school."

On to week three!