Stop! Cuddle Time!!!

I jokingly refer to this as mine and Margot's MySpace pic.

I have no problem admitting that I love that Margot is a Mama’s girl.  I especially love the fact that she always kind of has to be wherever I am, even if she’s not giving me 100% of her attention.  Like, when I’m sitting on the living room floor in front of the fireplace (aka “my spot”) and she’s romping around the living room, playing with her toys, eventually she always gravitates over to where I’m sitting and ends up playing with that toy on my legs or in my lap.  I especially love it when she tries to climb into my lap after she gets tired of playing, like she used to when she was tiny.  She’s too big to fully fit in my lap anymore, but she still tries her best by curling up into a tight, little ball.  If she can’t get comfortable, she’ll settle for lying on the floor beside me and resting her head in my lap, even if the nice, big, soft couch behind me is completely empty. 

She always ends up in Mama's lap.  :)

Margot has also recently started “helping” me with housework.  She’ll follow me from room to room as I straighten up, and she especially loves to help “pre-wash” the dishes by licking the pots, pans, and plates that are within her reach as I’m loading the dishwasher.   It’s all very, very helpful, and I’m constantly thanking Miss Margot and telling her that I’m not sure how I’d ever get the housework done without her.  ;)

As much as Margot seems to prefer being by my side more than anyone else, she’s still very much a Daddy’s girl, as well.  In fact, when it comes to giving kisses, Justin is definitely her favorite person in the whole wide world.  Most people, including myself, can only take so many of Margot’s kisses before we have to push her away, but Justin loves receiving her kisses as much as she loves giving them, which absolutely makes her day.  As soon as she jumps onto the couch and starts licking his cheek, Justin says, “Kisses?!?!  Thank you, Margot!”  Hearing this positive feedback always gets her very excited, and her little nubble (aka her docked tail) starts wiggling back and forth as she continues licking him all over his face.  Without fail, Margot’s excitement and bombardment of kisses always sends Justin into a giggle fit, which only excites Margot more.   I have to say, it’s pretty stinkin’ adorable. 

Cuddle pile with Justin and Sam

Justin is also Margot’s go-to person whenever she’s really cold and needs major cuddles in order to get warmed up.   Whenever she gets a bath, as soon as I’m finished towel-drying her and she’s released from the bathroom, she always lets Justin wrap her in a towel and a blanket, and then he holds her until she eventually stops shivering and usually falls asleep in his arms.  Also, if it’s not very cold in the morning when I let Margot out to use the bathroom, she’ll usually come back inside and immediately start playing with Sam.  However, if it’s an extremely cold, frosty morning, as soon as I let Margot back inside she makes a beeline up the stairs and jumps into the bed with Justin so that he’ll cuddle her under the blankets.  That pup does NOT like to be cold!  (Most Dobes don’t.)

Speaking of Sam, she and Margot are continuing to get along extremely well.  They basically just play, cuddle, eat, and sleep together.  I still cannot get over how much Sam plays now.  It cracks me up sometimes because Sam almost looks like she’s annoyed with Margot and wants her to stop bugging her, but as soon as Margot stops, Sam gets her started again.  I also have to laugh every time Sam puts Margot’s whole head inside her mouth, and Margot just lets her!  I have no idea what that’s all about, but they both seem to enjoy it, so whatever! 



Sam's method of shutting Margot up is quite effective.



Anyway, as far as developmental milestones go, the only thing I really have to report is that Margot is continuing to do well with housebreaking.  I think she’s starting to understand that Justin and I let her and Sam out on a pretty regular schedule (first thing in the morning, in the afternoon when Justin comes home for lunch, as soon as I get home from work in the evening, about an hour after dinner, and then one final time before bed).   If she needs to go in between any of those scheduled times, she’s been pretty good about making her needs known, either by giving us “the look” or even whining on occasion.  She’s had very few accidents in the house while we’re home, although we do still occasionally find a mess in her crate, which sucks.  However, I’m pretty sure that she does try to hold it for as long as she can because she doesn’t use the bathroom in her crate regularly.



21 wks-old!



I’m hoping to get Margot scheduled to be spayed during the week of Thanksgiving, but that all depends on whether or not I book a wedding this weekend (I have two consultations lined up today and tomorrow).   So, cross your fingers for me/us! 

20-Week (5 Months?) Progress Report

"Helping" me edit.

So, I have a question.  Margot is 20 weeks-old today, so technically that means she’s 5 months-old, right (assuming four weeks per month)?  However, she was born on June 13, so shouldn’t I say that her 5-month birthday is on November 13?!?!? 

Well, in any event, I’m happy to report that there has been more progress in the housebreaking department!  Margot seems to FINALLY be grasping the concept of telling us when she needs to go outside!   I’ve heard her whine on a couple of occasions, which prompted me to ask her if she needed to go out, and she’s also started giving us “The Look.”    I wish I could say that there have been minimal to no accidents in the house since Margot has started indicating her need to go out, but unfortunately I cannot, thanks to this horrible Hurricane Sandy-induced weather we’ve been having.  However, with that said, over the last two days Margot has actually made some progress in that department, as well, as she seems to be getting used to going out in the rain to use the bathroom. 

Speaking of the horrible weather we’ve been having, Margot got to experience her first snow yesterday morning.  As much as she hates the cold and rain, though, I wasn’t expecting her to like snow very much, and my assumption proved to be right.  As soon as I opened the back door and she saw the small amount of snow that was covering our deck, she put on the breaks and even tried to run back into the kitchen.  I stopped her, though, and basically shoved her little butt out the back door.  She sniffed at the snow for a few seconds, just trying to figure out what it was, while I encouraged her to go pee.  Finally, she reluctantly went out into the slushy yard and found a spot, but she turned her head and GLARED at me the whole time she peed.  When she was finished, instead of running back into the house and jumping on the couch like she usually does, she made a beeline up the stairs to our bedroom, jumped into the bed with Justin, and burrowed herself under the covers with him!  I couldn’t stop laughing.  What a little wimp!

In other news, Margot has been a wild child in the evenings since we haven’t been able to take her to the dog park.  However, this isn’t necessarily a totally bad thing because it means she’s spending more quality time with me and Justin again.  My only complaint about taking her to the dog park so often was that I felt like she was becoming a little bit disconnected from us, if that makes sense?  For example, Justin and I both felt like Margot wasn’t minding us as well as she had been before we started taking her to the dog park.  I actually wondered if it was possible that being around so many dogs all the time was kind of putting her in a “wild pack animal” mindset rather than keeping her in the “obedient family pet” mindset.   (To be clear, it’s not that she was being “bad” whenever we’d take her to the dog park, but she definitely didn’t listen to us very well whenever we’d call for her.)   For that reason, I’m actually kind of glad that the dog park has been put on hiatus for the winter, especially with her only being 5 months-old.  She’s going to do a lot of growing up, both physically and mentally, from now until spring, including some formal obedience training, and she is going to be spending the majority of that time at home with me and Justin.  Therefore, by the time Margot starts going back to the dog park on a regular basis, she’ll probably be much more strongly bonded to us, more mature, and hopefully more obedient when we give her a command. 

I am Sam and Margot's human mattress.

In fact, I can already tell that she’s started bonding more closely to me and Justin, especially since the weather has been so cold, because she LOVES to snuggle.   Last Sunday, I was in snuggle Heaven because that’s pretty much all that Margot and I did ALL day.  At one point, Ashley and I were watching “Moonrise Kingdom” on Blu-Ray and I was sitting in the floor in front of the fireplace while Margot played with her toys.  Little by little, I noticed that Margot was actually migrating over to where I sat, until finally she was actually playing sort of half-on my lap.  Then, when she finally wore herself out from wrestling with her new stuffed monkey and chasing after her tennis ball, she didn’t climb onto the big, soft couch and snuggle up with Sam.  Oh no!  Instead, my “little” 40-pound Doberman puppy chose to make herself fit into my lap by curling up as tightly as possible  and resting her chin on my arm as I cradled her.   It meant so much to me that she insisted on napping in my lap that I almost cried.  It was just so sweet.

After dinner that same night, I became a human mattress when both Margot and Sam decided to nap on top of me while Justin watched football, and later, when I went upstairs to watch one of my trashy Bravo network TV shows, Margot followed me upstairs and cuddled with me in my bed.  I know I’ve mentioned this before, but my favorite thing about Margot cuddling with me is watching her fight off sleep.  She does this thing where her chin slowly sinks down farther and farther, but she keeps looking forward with her eyes (“puppy dog eyes”).  Then, her eyelids get heavier and heavier, until finally she can’t fight it anymore and she rests her head on my leg, arm, chest, etc. and falls asleep.  It just kills me. 

I swear, if this dog gets any more lovable I think my heart may actually explode.  :)

Margot wearing Lexie's old Yoda costume!