"Sit" and "Lie Down"

Margot felt like showing off for you guys a little this morning.  Well, sort of.  She was a bit too excited about getting her treats, so she didn't stay in the lying down position for very long.  Haha! 

14-Week Progress Report



Margot is 14 weeks-old today!   Justin and I are so excited for her 16-week birthday that her birthdays feel like they can’t come fast enough right now, although I’m certain that feeling will change dramatically after she’s finally 16 weeks-old.  (Our vet recommended that we not allow Margot to go for walks, play in the park, or socialize with other dogs until after she’s 16 weeks-old because that’s when she’ll be fully vaccinated.)



14 weeks-old!



As far as a 14-week progress report goes, Margot has been a little out of her element this week due to the fact that we’ve been house-sitting for Justin’s parents, but I do have a few things to report.  For one, Margot has officially lost at least four teeth, but probably more.  Her biting has increased somewhat, but we understand it’s because she’s teething, and her biting is still pretty easy to correct with redirections.  She’s going through Nylabones so fast right now, though!  In fact, that just reminded me that I need to pick her up a new one tonight….

Another bit of progress that I’m able to officially report now is the fact that Margot and Sam have finally learned how to get along!  In fact, I think Sam has even become rather fond of little Margot.  She genuinely seems to enjoy playing with her, and we’ve even seen Sam initiate their playtimes on several occasions.   In fact, Sam and Margot spend so much time playing together in the evenings now that it sort of feels like Sam is our babysitter.  I used to come home from work, let Margot out of her crate and take her outside, and then basically spend the rest of the evening sitting in the living room floor playing with her.  Now, after I’ve come home from work and taken Margot outside, I end up watching Sam and Margot play for a little while before I start doing dishes, editing photos, or doing something else productive while they play. 

On one hand, it’s nice no longer having to devote 100% of my time and energy to keeping Margot entertained and distracted from pestering Sam every evening, but on the other hand, it actually makes me kind of sad.  The time I used to spend playing with Margot after work was a great bonding experience for us, and I always felt very close to her whenever she’d flop repeatedly into my lap with a toy and insist that I play with her.  We haven’t done that in about a week, though, and I really miss it, but I’m hoping our playtimes will resume at least a little bit once we’re back home.  Fortunately, Justin and I still get our Margot cuddle time whenever she winds down every evening just before bed, which is actually my favorite time with her because she’s SO sweet when she’s sleepy.  



Cuddling with Lexie by the fire (I miss this so much)



Another little thing I want to mention is the fact that the weather is starting to turn colder at night and in the early mornings, and in true Dobe fashion, little Margot has started shivering and trying to snuggle whenever she’s cold.  (Dobermans are known for being very cold-blooded, particularly because of their thin coats.)  I cannot tell you how much this makes me miss Lexie, as she was the Queen of Snuggles every winter.  In fact, every fall I would get really excited about the fact that it was almost time to snuggle with Lexie under the blankets and by the fire.  She would paw at the blanket and nudge it with her nose until you’d cover her up, and as soon as she got under that blanket she’d let out a looooong moan of contentment.   (Oh, Lou….I miss you so much.)



Anyway, last night Margot’s “aunties” (Kristy, Susie, and Mandee) all came over to drink wine and have a little girls’ night out on the porch.  Margot was extremely well behaved and spent the majority of the evening just sitting on the sofa with me.  As it got colder, I thought I felt her shiver a little bit, so I covered her with the blanket that was on my lap.  At first, she didn’t really understand what was happening and immediately uncovered herself, but when I covered her up a second time, I guess she suddenly realized how much warmer it was underneath the blanket, and she was perfectly content staying there.  I have a feeling Margot is going to enjoy laying by the fireplace this winter, too.  :)

Margot has been performing “lie down” more consistently, and as soon as she turns 16 weeks-old, we will be enrolling her in a group obedience class at the Animal Care Clinic, where she’ll learn even more commands, like “come,” “stay,” etc., which I am very excited about.  Not to brag or anything, but I have a feeling that Margot will be one of the star pupils in her class, as she already impresses everyone with her good behavior, like at the Chili Fest last weekend. 

Yes, I think it’s safe to say that Justin and I are pretty proud of our little girl.  :)

13-Week Progress Report

Margot turned 13 weeks-old yesterday, and I didn’t even realize it!  I guess that means it’s time for a progress report, but first I wanted to share the good news that Kristy’s cat, Posey, returned home last night!  After posting flyers all over our neighborhood yesterday evening, Kristy’s neighbor from across the street knocked on her door to tell her that he thought he saw Posey run and hide underneath a car that was parked in front of Kristy’s apartment building.  She looked under the car and, sure enough, it was Posey!   I’m so happy that they found her!

That’s not all the good news I have from last night, though.  You’re not going to believe this, but Sam and Margot played together for a really long time again last night, AND Sam even initiated one of their games!  I was seriously about to die from happiness while I was shooting this video:

It was so much fun to watch them because Sam was putting Margot’s entire head inside her mouth, and Margot had a big grin on her face the whole time!  Also, I’m no Cesar Millan, but I think that Sam exhibited some other dominant-type behaviors with Margot last night, as I saw Margot assume a submissive, belly-up position a few times.  Of course, I could be completely wrong about that, but I can tell you this:  When I was home during my lunch break today, Margot didn’t even try to pick on Sam.  Not even a little bit!  Justin and I wonder if Sam finally earned Margot’s respect last night by proving that she could obviously whoop Margot’s little puppy butt if she really wanted to.   I’m really anxious to see if they’ll play again this evening and if Margot will pester Sam as much. 

As for Margot’s 13-week progress report, I’m bummed to report that she’s still not asking to be let outside or even indicating when she has to use the bathroom.   If we happen to catch her squatting to pee, she WILL stop urinating as soon as we yell, “No!” and then finish peeing once we let her outside, which I guess is a slight improvement (she used to just finish peeing, even after we yelled); however, that’s just not good enough for me.  Ashley gave me some bells that she used while she was trying to housebreak her puppy, Banksy, last year.  You’re supposed to hang the bells from the doorknob and train the puppy to hit them whenever she wants to go outside.  I guess it’s worth a shot, so we’ll probably start trying that tonight. 

As far as improvements go, Margot is getting better at performing “lay down” on command, although it’s not exactly graceful or 100% consistent yet, but she definitely understands the command.  Her play-biting is almost non-existent now, unless you’re really rough-housing with her.  Occasionally, she will mouth your arm, but her bite is very inhibited, and she will stop as soon as you tell her to.   Margot is able to climb and sometimes jump onto the couch all by herself now, which I’m sure some of you do not approve of, but I’ve always allowed my girls to lay on the sofas with us.  (What can I say?  I love to cuddle.)  Margot also conquered her fear of going up and down the tall fire escape-type staircase that leads to Zach and Kristy’s back door this past weekend, and I’d love to add the fact that Margot has stopped pestering Sam to this progress report, but I guess it’s still too soon for me to declare that with certainty.   

I suppose the biggest thing I’d like to note is the fact that I can see a little more maturity developing in Margot now, and I’m very pleased with what a good, sweet, young dog she’s becoming.  Up until now, if she wasn’t sleeping, she was playing at full-speed, or vice versa, and there really wasn’t much more to her personality than that.  Recently, however, she has been able to take her energy level down a notch, and it’s during those down-times that we’ve been able to notice new little personality traits starting to surface, like how she really seems to enjoy watching television, and how she makes sure to give Justin and me equal cuddling time by periodically alternating laps if we’re both sitting on the couch with her.  In fact, she has become noticeably more cuddly and affectionate lately, which, of course, I LOVE.  I especially love how she takes a few minutes to cuddle in my lap every morning before she fully wakes up and we have our morning playtime.  (Have I mentioned how sad I’m going to be when the day finally comes that she’s too big to fit in my lap?)

10-Week Progress (and Worrying) Report

10 weeks-old today!

Margot is 10 weeks-old today, and she made a BIG step towards being housebroken this morning!  I let her out as soon as I took her out of her crate, but as soon as she peed she wanted to go back inside.  I knew that she needed to do #2, as well, but I was late getting out of bed this morning and needed to grab some clothes out of the laundry room.  I figured I’d let her come back inside to get a drink of water or something while I gathered my clothes, then I’d take her back outside again before I got in the shower.  While I was rummaging through the laundry basket, however, I heard Margot run out the back door again.  She was pretty full of energy since she had just woken up, so I figured she was just going back outside to run around and play.  When I stuck my head out the door to check on her, though, I found her using the bathroom in the yard!  She actually chose to go outside instead of just finding a spot in the house!  HOORAY!!!!  (I’m actually surprised I didn’t wake the neighbors with my cheering.)  So, I guess I can add that little victory to Margot’s 10-week progress report, along with her improved bite inhibition, improved willingness to redirect play-biting, and being able to sometimes perform “lay down” on command, although we’re still working on this daily. 

Practicing "lay down."

Another big change we’ve seen in Margot is that she seems to be napping less and less these days.   As I mentioned in my previous post, Margot barely napped at all on Monday evening, and last night she didn’t really nap, either, although she was much better behaved than she was the night before (thank God!).  When Margot finally started to wind down around 10:00 p.m., Justin and I couldn’t stop giggling at how hard she was resisting falling asleep.  Just like a human toddler, Margot would get this really far-off, sleepy look in her eyes, and then she would start long-blinking, but as soon as her head would fall forward even the slightest bit, she’d jerk awake and look around to see if she had missed anything.  Then, she would immediately reach for a nearby toy and start lazily chewing on it, as if she didn’t want anyone to notice that she had just dozed off.  (“I was chewing on this toy the whole time, you guys.  I swear!”)   I tried to take a video of her doing this with my iPhone last night, but the picture ended up being too dark and you couldn’t really see her long-blinking or dozing off.   I hope I’ll be able to capture her doing this on video at some point, though, because it is beyond adorable. 

Sam tolerating naptime with Margot.

As far as Sam and Jocie go, Sam is more tolerant about allowing Margot to climb on her to take naps occasionally, but she still doesn’t appreciate it when Margot tries to play with her.  They’ve gotten into some pretty decent barking matches this past week, but it’s obvious that Margot is just barking out of playfulness while Sam is barking out of pure annoyance.  It truly is one of the saddest little relationships I’ve ever seen, because all Margot wants is for Sam to play with her, but all Sam wants is for Margot to leave her alone.   It makes me feel sorry for them both, but they’re just going to have to figure out a middle ground on their own because there’s nothing Justin or I can really do to help the situation, other than make sure they don’t get into any actual fights.

As for Jocie, I’m still worried about her, especially since she threw up a little bit during the day yesterday (twice) and she still isn’t eating much.  However, I will say that she did seem somewhat better last night.  Justin fed her a hotdog and she managed to keep it down all night, plus we saw her drinking water on several occasions.  Her eye also looked good.  I didn’t see any green mucous, and the whites of her eyes aren’t red or anything.  She also isn’t having any trouble getting up and down the stairs or moving around in general.  So, I’m not really sure what’s going on with her, but now I can’t decide if I should take her to the vet to get checked out before we leave for vacation this weekend, or if we should just keep an eye on her and play it by ear.  The sad fact of the matter is that I am BROKE right now and I’m really only going on this vacation because my share of the house has already been paid for and it’s non-refundable.  I’ve managed to save JUST enough money to pay for gas and food while I’m there, so can’t really afford to take Jocie to the vet right now unless it’s absolutely, without a doubt, 100% necessary.   Trust me, I would forego my vacation entirely if it meant saving Jocie’s life, without hesitation; however, for all the reasons I mentioned above, I don’t feel like her condition is that bad.  In fact, it may be improving, but it’s hard to say at this point.   

Ooooh, Jocie.

So, we’ll continue to keep an eye on her tonight and try to get her to eat more, and if she throws up again or seems worse in any way I’ll call the vet tomorrow to see what we can do.  If she does well today and tonight, is able to keep food down, and continues to drink plenty of water, I’ll probably hold off on calling the vet.  I’m just so thankful that Justin’s parents are going to be watching the girls for us next week because I know his mother will keep a close eye on Jocie and take her to the vet for us if it becomes necessary.   It just sucks because missing my girls was already going to be hard enough, but now I’m also going to be worrying about Jocie’s health the whole time.   So, please cross your fingers that Justin’s parents give us some very good progress reports so that Justin and I can actually relax and enjoy our vacation next week.  Lord knows, after all we’ve been through this summer, we deserve at least one week free from stress, drama, and sadness.

A Weekend of Positives and One Big Negative

Well, I can say with certainty that Margot's play-biting has improved, but I really don’t know if credit should be given to the bean bottle or the fact that she’s just learning on her own that no means no.  Since that first night of the “bean bottle experiment,” when I shook the bean-filled bottle while saying, “No bite!” several times, I honestly haven’t had to use it much more.  That experience seemed to have been enough to at least help Margot understand the whole “no bite” concept.  She will still mouth and bite people, but her bites are more inhibited now, and she is much more willing to redirect and chew on one of her toys instead.  In fact, she seems to have discovered that it is much more fun to chew on her Nylabone if someone else holds it for her while she’s chewing it, and she will gladly do this for a really long time without getting bored. 

Housebreaking, on the other hand, is apparently not going as well as I thought.  Margot has always understood that going outside means that she is supposed to use the bathroom.  She also knows that when I ask, “You gotta go pee?” that means we are going to go outside.  However, I don’t believe that Margot understands that A) she’s not supposed to or allowed to use the bathroom indoors, and B) she needs to ask to be let outside if she needs to use the bathroom.   

The perfect example of this happened on Saturday evening.  Two different times, as soon as Margot awoke from a nap, I immediately asked if she had to go pee.  I then got up, opened the back door, and waited to hear Margot come running, which she usually does.  However, on both occasions, she did not immediately come running, and when I walked back into the living room, I found her peeing on her doggy bed.  I told her, “NO!  Margot go pee outside!” then immediately took her outside and sat her in the grass while saying, “Margot, go pee.”  On the second occasion, after I sat her in the grass, I left her in the yard for a couple of minutes while I went back inside to clean up her mess.  After I let her back in, she played for about a minute, but then I just happened to catch her mid-poop in the foyer when I got up to go into the kitchen!  At least this time I was able to get her outside in time for her to actually finish using the bathroom in the yard so I could praise her like crazy for finishing outdoors, but I still just do not understand why she chose to poop in the house instead of while she was outside just minutes earlier. 

It’s very disheartening because, like I said, now I feel like she’s really not getting the whole housebreaking concept at all.  And I know that some of you are going to say that I need to watch for “signs” that Margot needs to use the bathroom, but it is very difficult because she walks around with her nose to the ground most of the time anyway, whether she has to use the bathroom or not.  She also doesn’t spin in circles or seem to be trying to find a spot when she has to go, nor does she have a preferred spot in the house where she usually has her accidents.  One second she’s playing, and literally the next second there’s an accident, which happens so quickly that by the time you catch her, she’s already finished.  I’m not really sure if it’s just a matter of her still not being old enough to figure out how to ask to be let outside, or if I’m missing a step and not training her properly.  My gut has been telling me that she’ll figure it out eventually, as she is still only 9.5 weeks-old and it is rather rare that she has an accident indoors, but after those two incidents on Saturday night, I couldn’t help but wonder if there’s something else I should be doing to help her understand. 

In other, more positive news, Margot had another great check-up at the vet with Dr. Ellis this weekend.  She weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs., although Justin and I had predicted she’d weigh over 20 lbs. simply because she seems to have doubled in size over the past two weeks.  I love this comparison photo of her 7-week and 9-week check-ups.  Look how long she’s gotten!  Not just her limbs, but her little snout has also lengthened.  As sad as it is watching her grow out of puppyhood, it’s also really interesting to watch her transformation.  She’s already a pretty girl, but I think Margot is going to be a beautiful adult Doberman someday. 

  

Also in more positive news, Sam tolerated Margot napping with/on her several more times this weekend, and Margot finally performed “lay down” on command for the first time yesterday!  It’s not perfect yet, but she’s getting there.  Sometimes, she will just lower her upper body and forearms to the floor, but leave her butt up on the air, which is so cute I can hardly stand it.  I always press down on her butt to make her lay completely down on the ground before I reward her, of course, but Kristy suggested I train Margot to do this butt-in-the-air pose under the command “downward dog,” which is a yoga pose.

By the way, speaking of my brother’s girlfriend, you guys should really check out Kristy’s blog.  She’s amazing.  She completely transformed her lifestyle about 7 years ago and has managed to lose and keep off about 70 pounds!  At some point in our lives, we’ve all heard about how important it is to live a healthier lifestyle, but for many people that just doesn’t seem possible or even realistic.  What I love about Kristy’s blog is the fact that she doesn’t just preach health and fitness or regurgitate a bunch of exercise and diet tips that she’s learned over the years.  She simply talks about her own everyday life, which also happens to include a lot of nutrition and health (including “financial health”) information because those things are a part of her life now.  In other words, by sharing with the world her day-to-day routines, Kristy is actually leading by example.  Like I said, she’s pretty amazing, and I highly encourage you all to check out “Kristy’s Health Revolution.”

A Few of My Favorite Things (So Far)

No matter how rotten Margot is behaving (and trust me, last night she was PURE rotten), I can’t help but love the fact that she has recently decided that she prefers to play in my lap more than anywhere else.  She can be running all over the place, chasing a toy, terrorizing Sam, etc., but inevitably she will always come charging straight back to where I sit cross-legged on the floor and leap/flop right into my lap.  Sometimes she just sort of “tags” me, as if I’m her home base, and then she takes off running again, but most of the time she actually prefers to just stay in my lap to gnaw on her chew toys.   I really need to have Justin take a photo of her doing this in the near future because there will soon come a day when she’s too big to play in my lap like that.  :'-(

Another thing I love is the time that Margot and I spend in the bathroom together each morning while I get ready for work.  I started bringing her into the bathroom with me when she was around 7 weeks-old because I don’t want to leave her in her crate all morning, especially after she just slept in it all night and we have to put her back in her crate before we leave for work.  So, every morning I grab a couple of chew toys and a couple of biscuits, and I carry them and Margot to the upstairs bathroom with me so I can start getting ready for work.  She doesn’t like it when I disappear behind the shower curtain, and every now and then she actually takes a little peak to make sure I’m still there, but usually she just lies on the bathmat and kills time by gnawing on something.  Unfortunately, while I’m in the shower I can’t keep a close eye on her, and sometimes she finds something to chew on that she shouldn’t.   For example, the other day I accidentally forgot to put up the cord to my straightening iron, and I found her chewing on it when I got out of the shower.  Thankfully, my straightening iron is still functional because she didn’t do too much damage to the cord, but I haven’t made the mistake of leaving cords within her reach since then.  This morning, I came out of the shower to find her chewing on the pajama bottoms I had taken off just moments earlier.  Again, lesson learned:  stop being a lazy slob and put discarded clothes in the hamper! 

I’ve also started practicing commands with Margot while I’ve got her isolated in the bathroom away from Sam and Jocie, because it’s actually very difficult trying to train her with her big sisters around.  Sam is a treat hound and goes NUTS as soon as she hears me tell Margot to “sit.”  She knows that means that the puppy is about to receive a treat, and she’ll be damned if she’s going to miss out on that!  So, Sam always interrupts our training sessions by barking and trying to get in between me and Margot, and Jocie usually comes running whenever she hears all the commotion and starts demanding a treat, as well.  It’s total chaos and can be quite unproductive, so I usually try to spend some time training Margot alone out on the back deck  after Sam and Jocie have gone inside and now also while I’ve got Margot in the bathroom by herself in the morning. 

Here’s a little video I shot this morning.  You can see how Margot is so good at sitting that she will actually do it before I even have a chance to give her the command.  I also ask her to “lie down” in this video, although I only just started teaching her this command a few days ago and she doesn’t quite get it yet.  I wasn’t able to film this because I had a treat in one hand and my iPhone in the other, but I also use a hand gesture whenever I give her the command to “lie down” by lowering my hand, palm down, and touching the floor.  This morning, each time I lowered my hand to the floor and said, “Lie down, Margot,” she would actually raise her paw and kind of wave at me.  It made me wonder if, by using that hand gesture, she may actually think that I want her to make the same gesture with her paw.  Haha!  I’m really only half kidding.  I’m sure she’s probably waving because she just wants me to hurry up and give her a treat since she’s already sitting like a good girl, but then again, Margot is a Puppy Genius….

For the most part, though, Margot is pretty good while she’s in the bathroom with me.  Sometimes she gets a little whiny because she wants me to sit in the floor so she can play in my lap, but unfortunately I just don’t have time.  I’ve been trying to make up some hours at work since I had to take two sick days a couple weeks ago (stomach virus), which is why I haven’t had a lot of extra time in the morning lately, but after this week I may try to adjust my schedule so that I can actually sit and play with her for about 30 minutes before I leave for work.  In the meantime, Margot usually just ends up passing out on the bathmat a few minutes before I’ve finished getting ready, and then I carry her sleepy little body back downstairs and put her in her crate. 

Finally, I love how interested Margot seems to be in music, particularly orchestral music.  I discovered this the very first morning that I brought her into the bathroom with me.  I always turn on music before I shower, and when I did, Margot stopped dead in her tracks, turned to look at my iPhone dock, and then actually walked toward the sound.  I realized that she had never really heard music before, as we usually left the TV turned on to a random television station at night because we thought that hearing people talking in the other room would keep her from feeling lonely.   

Later that evening, as Justin and I were watching a movie and playing with Margot on the couch, she suddenly stopped and looked at the television during a scene that involved a rising orchestral crescendo.   At first, we thought that it was just the rising volume and intensity of the scene itself that caught her attention, but she reacted the same way a little later on during a scene that had a violin playing softly in the background.  We laughed at how interested she seemed to be in the music, and I told Justin that she had reacted very similarly that morning when I turned on my iPod.  So, ever since then, we have left the TV tuned to the classical music station each night when we go to bed.

I realize that this probably sounds ridiculous, especially since I already jokingly refer to Margot as a “puppy genius,” but I swear that she really does seem to prefer orchestral-type music to any other kind.  This morning was a perfect example.  I was listening to the “Cool New Music: Summer 2012” playlist on the Songza app, which consisted mostly of indie-type songs from artists like Fiona Apple, Passion Pit, Walk the Moon, etc.  Margot was just playing and doing her usual thing the whole time the music was playing, but then a really pretty instrumental song came on that featured a lot of violins and wood instruments (I wish I could remember the name of the song and/or artist), and, once again, Margot stopped what she was doing and turned to look at where the music was coming from.  I guess there’s just something about those types of sounds that grab her attention more than other instruments, such as drums and guitars.  No matter what that reason may be, we think it’s pretty darn cute.

Socializing, Sitting, and Still Play-Biting

Miss Margot had quite a weekend!   It started on Saturday morning when Justin and I decided to take her with us to Petco.  I wanted to buy her some Nylabones because HOLY CRAP does she want to bite everything right now (more on that later).  So, I grabbed the little blue harness that Margot wore just one week ago when she went to her first vet appointment, but when I tried to fasten it around her it was short by at least a couple of inches!  Our little baby is getting so big so fast!  So, we had to lengthen the harness straps as far as they would go, and then immediately added “New Harness” to our Petco shopping list.

Accidental photo taken on the way to Petco

I will admit that I was a little nervous about taking Margot out to such a public place since she hasn’t yet received all of her vaccinations, especially since I often see other dogs inside Petco; however, I’ve also been reading about how important it is to socialize your puppy between the ages of 8-12 weeks, and she is scheduled for her third round of shots this coming Saturday.  So, Justin assured me that Margot would be fine, as long as we kept an eye on her.   I should also note that this was Margot’s first experience with being walked on a leash, and she did great!  We took her for a mini-walk up and down the sidewalk to get her used to it before we finally got in the car and headed to Petco.





Margot was pretty scared when we first arrived at the store, and I had to pick her up half-way across the parking lot and carry her in.  Once we were inside, though, she decided she wanted down, and I was happy to oblige.  A few customers stopped to compliment her, and she was more than happy to allow them to pet her for a moment.  Then, as we were getting ready to check out, Margot spied one of the most adorable little puppies I’ve ever seen standing by her owner on a leash.  (The owner later told us her puppy was some kind of a Bulldog mix, but she had one brown eye and one bright blue eye, so there may have been a little Husky in her, too.)  Margot and the other puppy were a little unsure of each other at first, but after some preliminary butt sniffing, the two started wrestling a bit, and I thought I was going to die from the cuteness!  Then, after Margot’s new playmate left, an older lady asked if she could hold her.  Justin told her that she could, but warned her that Margot is in a bit of a nipping phase.  Thankfully, Margot was a perfect angel and just smothered the nice lady with face kisses as she held her.

Margot left Petco wearing a pretty fancy new ID tag, and we had a bag full of new Nylabones, a couple of chew toys, training treats, and a new harness for her.  From there, we drove to Justin’s parents’ house, as his parents are planning to pet-sit for us in a couple of weeks and we’re trying to get Margot used to them, their older dog, Samantha, and their house.   She had fun exploring the back yard and really seemed to enjoy their screened-in porch, but she was so exhausted from her adventures that morning that it wasn’t long before she was completely passed out.

Later that evening, I took Margot over to visit my friends, Susie and Shane.  I’ve been a little worried lately about Margot play-biting my friends (she actually drew blood from Kristy’s ear the other day), but I was pleasantly surprised by how well she behaved while we sat on Shane and Susie’s porch.  She just played with her toys, but also REALLY enjoyed sitting on the loveseat with Susie and watching the birds and people passing by.  Later, we took Margot inside to meet their cat, Pete, who happens to be one of the sweetest cats I’ve ever met.  Pete and Margot got along just fine, although they mostly just curiously followed each other from room to room. 

Then, the highlight of Margot’s day had to have been when we took her out into Shane and Susie’s backyard.  She had a BLAST running all over their little yard and especially through their landscaping.  In particular, Margot discovered that if she ran full-speed into the small, grassy plants that line Shane and Susie’s walking path, then she could BURST through to the other side!  We laughed so hard as we watched her plow through those grassy plants over and over again, as if she had just discovered the greatest thing on earth!  Then, Shane started playing with Margot, which was really sweet, but at the same time it made my “motherly” instincts kick in, as Shane was playing with Margot a little rougher than she’s ever been played with before.  It wasn’t that I was afraid he was going to hurt her, because Shane loves dogs and I know he knows how rough is too rough, but it was just the fact that Justin and I are currently trying SO HARD to break Margot from play-biting, and yet here she was rough-housing with Shane, which obviously included some play-biting, as that’s just the nature of an 8 week-old puppy.  I didn’t want to ask Shane to ease up, though, because, like I said, he really wasn’t playing THAT rough with her, and I didn’t want to sound like an uptight, overly-protective dog owner who won’t let her puppy have any fun.   They actually only played for about 15-20 minutes, but after Shane ended their games, he pointed out where Margot had “gotten him pretty good” with a few play-bites.  I felt bad and apologized, but Shane insisted that he had asked for it and that it was no big deal.  Needless to say, after such a fun and exciting day, Margot slept like a BABY that night.

Yesterday, we decided to take all three girls for a walk together for the first time, which went really well.  I made sure not to let Margot walk ahead of me, which wasn’t that difficult, and Jocie and Sam didn’t seem to mind having Margot along on the walk.  So, the “puppy-free walks” idea may have turned out to be short-lived, which I actually consider to be a good thing, and we’ll probably start taking Margot for walks with us from now on.

Other highlights from this past weekend included catching Margot and Sam cuddling while taking a brief nap together and seeing Margot tilt her head for the first time when she heard a strange new sound on the television.  Of course, I was also very happy that Justin and I were able to capture both of these melt-worthy events with our phones. 

The only downside to this weekend was dealing with Margot’s nipping and play-biting.  Justin and I are trying to be vigilant with discouraging mouthing and correcting her whenever she bites, but I swear none of the “tried and true” methods I’ve read about are working very well (see previous post).  One minute I’ll think that it’s working and that Margot is starting to understand that we don’t want her to bite us, but then the very next minute she’ll go into full-on Landshark mode and won’t stop nipping, no matter what we do!  As I’ve said before, though, I don’t REALLY expect an 8.5 week-old puppy to stop biting, especially since she hasn’t even started teething yet (or perhaps she’s just now starting?), which is why the constant corrections and discipline feel very disheartening sometimes.  I know that eventually she’ll be old enough to understand, but for now it just feels like we’re constantly yelling and trying to discipline a wall. 

Last night, for example, while Margot was playing on the couch between me and Justin, out of nowhere she leapt onto my lap and bit my nipple!  OMG OWWWW!!!!!!  It freaked me out and hurt SO badly that I didn’t even think about performing the usual corrections, such as letting out a loud yelp or telling Margot, “NO!”  Instead, my knee-jerk reaction was to immediately pick her up and toss her back over towards Justin, and then I quickly walked into the other room so that I wouldn’t just go OFF on her.  Justin wasn’t even sure what had just happened, but he knew enough to give Margot a very stern, “NO!  No bite!  Bad girl, Margot!”  After about a minute, after I calmed down and realized that she hadn’t drawn any blood and the pain subsided, I returned to the living room to find Margot curled into a tight, little ball on Justin’s lap.  I sat down beside them, and then I instantly melted when I saw the pitiful little look on Margot’s face.  It actually brought tears to my eyes because she looked SO sad!  I think it was probably the first time Margot had truly realized that she had done something “wrong,” and our reactions must have really scared her.  Obviously, I tried to make up with her immediately by asking if she was sorry, and then I coaxed her over to my lap so that I could pet her and show her that I wasn’t upset anymore. 

At first, I thought this little incident may have finally prompted a breakthrough with Margot, as she certainly seemed remorseful for what she had done, but then, as soon as she realized I wasn’t angry anymore, she started biting my hands again!  I’m telling you guys, I consider myself and Justin to be extremely patient people, but this play-biting phase is seriously challenging both of our sanities! 

On a much more positive note, I think I can officially say that Margot has mastered the “sit” command, although I don’t feel like I should take much credit for teaching her because I swear the Puppy Genius has just figured it out on her own.  Margot learned early on that Justin and I won’t bend down to pet her if she jumps, so now she immediately sits as soon as she runs up to greet us in the morning or when we get home from work.   Also, I usually give the girls their treats in the kitchen, so Margot ALWAYS sits anytime she’s in the kitchen with me and/or Justin.  Because Margot had already figured out that the act of sitting would bring her a reward, all I really had to do was give the action a name and lots of praise, and in no time she figured out what “sit” meant. 

Yesterday, I decided to start teaching Margot the “lie down” command, but that one is obviously going to take a little more work.  After all, she has never automatically received any rewards for lying down before like she did with sitting, so this will probably be the first command that she actually has to learn.  I’m hoping she picks it up quickly, though, because that will also give me hope that Margot does have the ability to understand, “No bite!” 

In the meantime, if anyone out there has any advice regarding correction/discipline methods (other than the ones I’m already using), which you have successfully used to end puppy play-biting, or if you would just like to share your own experience with this frustrating phase of puppyhood, please feel free leave me a comment below.  Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated.  :)