Speed Bumps and Learning Curves

Well, not only did the shelter initially get Luke’s sex wrong, but their prediction that he was approximately 3 years-old turned out to be way off, too.  According to Dr. Ellis at Animal Care Clinic, Luke is actually only around 11 months-old!  Yes, ladies and gentleman, it appears that Justin and I have ourselves another puppy (not that we’re complaining).  The vet said that he’s very healthy, and he’s scheduled to receive more vaccinations, as well as be neutered, in about three weeks. 

While Luke’s lack of appetite worried me for the first few days, we’re learning that he just doesn’t like to inhale his entire bowl of food in one sitting like his sisters.  He prefers to eat his food a little bit at a time, although we do have to make sure that Margot doesn’t sneak and finish off his bowl of food in between sittings.   I’m just happy that he is finally eating better, and I’m sure he’s going to fatten up a little in no time. 

Overall, Luke is a very good boy, although there are a couple of issues that we’re trying to address with him.  The first issue is the fact that he jumps up to greet people.  Chad, who is a vet tech at the Animal Care Clinic and also teaches obedience training there, told us during Luke’s check-up that the best thing to do for that is raise our knee and hold up our hands whenever Luke jumps, and of course reward him if he sits instead of jumping.  We’ve been doing that, but our little Luke just doesn’t seem to be getting it.  He is definitely a smart dog, but he does seem to be a little bit slower to pick up on things than we’re used to.  So, Justin and I are just going to have to be a little more patient when trying to train him, that’s all.

In fact, his inability to “get it” is the other issue we’re having with Luke.  No many how many times I give him a quick touch to try to correct him, he immediately comes right back and repeats his bad behavior again.  The worst is when he tries to run out onto the porch as soon as we open the front door.  Despite his short stature, Luke is a pretty powerful little dog and will just keep trying to barrel through our attempts to keep him back and away from the door.  He will even lower himself all the way to the floor and stick a paw or his nose in the doorway so that we can’t shut it.  I know that sounds kind of funny, and I do at least have enough of a sense of humor to appreciate Luke’s sneaky tactics, but it’s also very dangerous for Luke and quite annoying for us when we’re trying to leave. 

This morning, I decided to practice more of Cesar Millan’s methods by trying to wait until Luke achieved a fully calm-submissive state before I even opened the front door.  Unfortunately, I can tell that it will take quite a long time for Luke to achieve that state of mind, and I only had a few minutes before I had to be at work.  Regardless, instead of just opening the door and fighting Luke off so that I could shut it behind me, I first walked to the front door and just put my hand on the doorknob.  As soon as Luke came into my space, I turned around, gave him a quick touch, and told him, “No.”  When he immediately moved forward again, I repeated the correction.  After I did this several times, he did finally stop moving forward.  So, I took a step toward him to further claim my space around the front door.  He looked me right in the eyes and backed up a step, which was good.  Then, I stood there and waited, and Luke finally sat.  However, his attention was still clearly focused on the door.  If I had had more time this morning, I would have continued standing there and claiming my space (not allowing him to move closer to the front door) until he finally laid down and relaxed.  Then, it would have been okay for me to walk out the front door. 

However, due to lack of time, after Luke sat and I stood there for a moment, I decided to go ahead and reach back for the door knob.  As soon as I did, Luke lunged forward towards the door again.  I was able to correct him enough so that I was able to get out the front door, but in order to shut the door I had to physically push Luke away with my foot, which made me feel awful.   So, I’m definitely going to work on this problem with Luke more when I have plenty of time to practice patience with him, as well.

While I’m on the subject of behaviors that need correcting, Miss Margot has developed a new behavior that is very disappointing.  She’s begun pulling on her leash during walks, which she never used to do before, and this has only developed over this past winter.  (Luke is a dream to walk on his leash, by the way.  He stays right by your side, and if he starts to pull even a little bit, he corrects himself.)  I’ve tried correcting Margot by giving her leash a quick jerk and making the “anh!” sound, but all she does is spin around for a brief second, and then continue to pull.  I’ve also tried stopping dead in my tracks as soon as she pulls and making her stand there with me for a few seconds before walking again.  The problem is that, even though we’ve stopped walking, she is still in a very high-alert state of mind.  Justin and I have both attempted to snap her out of it by trying to get Margot to look us in the eye and even sit during these pauses on our walks, but she absolutely will not pay attention to us.  In fact, she acts like we’re just in her way if we try to look her in the eye, and she’ll keep moving her head around to see what’s behind us.  I’ve also tried doing that thing that Cesar does, where he kind of taps the dog on their hindquarters with his foot while they’re walking to surprise the dog and snap her out of their anxious state of mind, but when I do this with Margot, it just ends up looking like I’m kicking my dog, and it doesn’t even work anyway.   So, now I’m considering buying one of those leashes that Cesar recommends that fits right up under the dog’s chin.   Something has got to work because it’s getting to the point where I don’t even want to walk Margot, even though I know I have to.  So, it’s starting to feel more like a chore to take her for a walk rather than an enjoyable experience for both of us, and I don’t want that.

Justin and I decided to take all three dogs out for a couple of walks this past weekend, which went fairly well.  The first walk was better than the second walk, though, and I cut the second walk short out of frustration.  During their first walk together, I started out walking both Sam and Margot and let Justin walk Luke because Sam and Margot are the two “pullers,” and I feel like they respect me as an authority figure more than they do Justin (no offense to Justin, but he’s just too tender-hearted and gentle to really demand their respect the way that I do).  However, Sam was actually being very well behaved and not pulling on her leash at all, and because Margot was turning into quite the handful, Justin offered to walk Sam with Luke.  That turned out to be a much better arrangement, because Luke and Sam were excellent walkers together.

So, yesterday, when we decided to walk all three of them again, Justin took Sam and Luke and I took Margot.  I want to preface this by adding that I had just come back from a four-hour photo shoot, which was fun, but a bit nerve-racking for various reasons.  So, my nerves were already a bit frazzled when we decided to go for a walk, which probably didn’t help make Sam and Margot feel any more relaxed.   However, the main problem was that there were a lot more people and dogs out at the park yesterday, so Margot and Sam were both at higher states of excitement and energy than the day before.  (Notice I’m not mentioning Luke because he remained a calm, happy dog during both pack walks.)   I tried to pause several times during the walk, taking deep breaths each time to try to release my own anxious energy, but as soon as we’d start walking again, it would come right back.   

Sam’s energy was more of a nervous/scared/anxious energy, which is very typical for her, whereas Margot seemed to have more of a high level of alertness and excitement in general, as in, “What’s that?  Who’s that over there?  Where is he going?  Why is she running?  What are those people doing?”  Whenever Sam and Margot would come close to another dog, however, they would both lunge and pull to get to the dog, but for different very reasons.  I believe that Margot is truly just very excited and simply wants to meet the other dog to see if he/she is friendly and wants to play, but Sam barks out of fear and actually wants to make the dog go away.   So, the owners of the dog in question don’t really know what to think or how to react to our dogs, and the whole time Justin and I are trying to yell over all the barking to explain to the other owners that Margot really is just trying to be friendly, and Sam really isn’t being aggressive towards their dog; she’s just nervous and barking because she’s scared.   In other words, every time Sam and Margot encounter an unfamiliar dog, it always ends up being just this huge, loud, chaotic, embarrassing mess, and it always ends with Justin and me having to pull Sam and Margot away from the other dog in order to restore the peace.  It really bothers me because not only is it physically exhausting and embarrassing, but I feel like it makes Sam and Margot look like they’re both aggressive towards other dogs, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

The thing is, Justin and I both feel that if Sam and Margot were to encounter an unfamiliar dog by themselves, without her sister there, those two encounters would be much different.  Margot would still get excited and want to meet the other dog, but without Sam constantly barking behind her and making the other dog nervous and unsure about what’s going on, that other dog would probably just let Margot sniff him/her and reciprocate.  In turn, if Sam were to encounter another dog without Margot there being all excited and anxious to meet the other dog, Sam would probably just keep her mouth shut and go out of her way to avoid the dog all together.   

So, unfortunately, it seems like the solution is pretty clear:  Margot and Sam shouldn’t go on walks together; at least, not in heavily dog-populated areas, like the park.   However, if we decide to walk Sam and Margot at separate times, I do think that it might be a good idea to still include Luke on both of those walks because I think he sets a good example for both girls.  Luke’s main focus during walks is following me and/or Justin.  He truly sees us as his leaders, and he behaves accordingly.  As I said before, he walks right by our sides, and we’re able to keep his leash loose and relaxed the whole time.  Occasionally, Luke will walk ahead a little bit, especially if he’s trying to keep up with his sisters, but as soon as he feels tension on his leash, he automatically slows his pace and/or returns to our side.  Justin and I both suspect that Luke would probably be able to walk with us without a leash, but it’s definitely too soon to test that theory.  I wouldn’t want to try walking him without a leash until he’s undergone some formal training and I feel confident that he’ll come when he’s called.

Anyway, despite everything that I just mentioned above, which are all correctable behaviors, Justin and I are really happy that we decided to adopt Luke.  Not only do he and Margot get along very well, but Sam has finally relaxed around him and doesn’t get as upset anymore whenever Luke and Margot start rough-housing.  Also, just as I had hoped, Margot now prefers to pick on Luke instead of Sam because she knows that Luke will be happy to play with her.  Besides wrestling, Luke and Margot’s favorite games are Keep-Away and Tug-O-War. 

My favorite is when they start chasing each other around the living room, kitchen, and dining room, which are all open and connected rooms, so it’s kind of like they’re running around a track.  They’ll run in that circle a few times, and then one of them will stop and wait for the other one to catch up.  However, if Luke hears Margot stop, for example, then he’ll stop, too, and then they will both slowly sneak around and peek into the next room, hoping to catch the other by surprise.  When one of them finally does surprise the other, then they get all excited and start chasing each other again.  It’s really fun and heartwarming to watch, because that’s the type of high-energy playing that I know Sam just can’t (and doesn’t want to) do anymore. 

So, overall, I believe that everyone is much happier now that Luke has joined the family.  Sure, we’ve got a few wrinkles to iron out, but that was to be expected, and honestly, it could have been a lot worse!

17-Weeks Progress Report, Plus Progress for Sam!

Margot turned 17 weeks-old yesterday, but unfortunately the only thing I have to report is that she STILL isn’t housebroken.  Up until now, I wasn’t very concerned because I kept telling myself, “She’s still rather young to fully be housebroken,” but I think I’ve finally reached the point of frustration over this.  

17 weeks-old

The reason I’m so frustrated is because Margot WANTS to use the bathroom outside.  If we leave the kitchen door and the sliding back door open during the day, she will get up off the couch and go all the way outside to use the bathroom, and then come back inside all by herself.  However, if that kitchen door or the sliding back door are shut when she has to go, she doesn’t whine, she doesn’t scratch at the door or ring those darn bells, she doesn’t come stare at us, and she doesn’t even sniff around much to find a spot.  She gives NO indication that she has to use the bathroom, but if that back door isn’t already open for her when she has to go, she just immediately uses the bathroom in the kitchen.  It’s gotten to the point that either Justin or I will jump off the couch and follow Margot every time she walks into the kitchen because she will do her business within a matter of seconds if she sees that door is shut.  I’ve even caught her mid-accident on a few occasions, yelled, “NO!  Outside!”, then taken her outside and praised her like crazy if she finished using the bathroom in the yard, but it just still hasn’t seemed to click with her that she is not allowed to use the bathroom in the house.  It’s like she thinks that it’s acceptable as long as the back door is shut.  It doesn’t even occur to her that we will open the door FOR her if she will just let us know that she wants out.   

I think my next move is going to be taking Margot and Sam’s water bowl out of the kitchen and, instead, putting a water bowl beside each of their food bowls in the dining room, which is connected to the living room.  Right now, whenever Margot goes into the kitchen, we’re never sure if she has to use the bathroom or if she’s just thirsty.   So, if I put her water bowl in the dining room where I can see it, then she really won’t have any other need for going into the kitchen, other than if she wants to go outside.  I’ve even thought about blocking the two doorways to the kitchen with baby gates in the hope that she’ll actually whine or paw at the gate if she wants in the kitchen.   At this point, these are the only options I can think of that I haven’t tried yet.  I’m wide open to suggestions, though, if anyone out there has any.

In other news, I do have something very positive to report about Sam.  For the last two days, I’ve taken Sam and Margot for a walk together after I’ve gotten home from work, all by myself!  The reason why this is such a big deal is because Sam is usually a nightmare to take on a walk because she barks and pulls on her leash the entire time.  The last time Justin and I took the girls for a walk, he had his hand wrapped around Sam’s leash, and she pulled so hard on it for so long that his hand actually turned blue.  For this reason, I thought that I could never walk both of the girls by myself because it would just be too much for one person to handle.  However (don’t laugh), I’ve been watching so many episodes of “The Dog Whisperer” lately that Cesar Millan has basically become my mentor.  I’ve learned a lot about how a dog owner’s energy can affect their dog’s behavior, and I realized that whenever I decide to take Sam for a walk, I automatically expect the worst behavior from her and assume that the experience is going to be a nightmare, even before we leave the house. 

It breaks my heart how much this reminds me of Lexie.

So, a couple of days ago I decided to put Cesar’s teachings to the test.  As soon as I let Sam onto the front porch to put on her harness, she began her usual routine of barking and whining, and wouldn’t sit still long enough for me to put the harness on her.   I immediately tensed up and felt that sense of dread and annoyance that I always feel whenever this happens; however, this time I was more aware of how I was feeling and reacting to Sam’s behavior.  So, I stopped trying to put Sam’s harness on her for a moment, and instead I took a deep breath and tried to rid myself of those negative feelings.  This wasn’t easy, mind you, because Sam’s barking only intensified once I stopped trying to put the harness on her, but I did my best to try to remain as calm and in control of the situation as possible.  As I walked out the front door with Sam and Margot on their leashes, instead of thinking, “Oh God, here we go….” like I usually do, I simply thought to myself, “I am their pack leader,” and began walking down the street with a newfound sense of confidence.  To my complete and total shock and amazement, Sam never even tried to pull me once!  She simply walked right by my side, and I was able to keep my arm completely relaxed as I held her leash.  Margot pulled on her leash a little bit during the walk, but that was mostly because she had more of that curious, playful puppy mentality and was excited by all the new sights and smells.  All I had to do was give Margot’s leash a little tug, though, and she’d stop pulling.

I was so impressed by Sam’s good behavior by the end of our walk that I almost couldn’t believe it.  So, I decided to try walking both of the girls again yesterday evening, just to make sure it hadn’t been a fluke, and I’m happy to report that it wasn’t!  Sam was just as well behaved yesterday as she was the day before.  I wish you guys could have seen how bad she was during walks before these last couple of days, because I’m not kidding when I say that the difference is truly amazing.  I’m actually very anxious to go home today and walk them again because I love being able to get out and enjoy our little neighborhood and Ritter Park with them.  It’s good for all of us, both mentally and physically.

Anyway, there are a few other things I could write about, but instead I think I’ll just leave you with some photos I’ve taken over the past week.  After all, they’re worth a thousand words, right?  ;)

It's definitely snuggle weather!

After a long day at the dog park.

Play date with Elsea!

Oh, just getting buried at the dog park.

Margot's a fan of the fireplace. :)

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.  :)

Sam and Jocie vs. Margot

As I mentioned in my very first post, I knew that Sam and Jocie, my other two girls, would probably have a hard time adjusting to having young Margot running around the house.   After all, Sam and Jocie are both old (11 and 12 years, respectively), and neither of them have ever been very active dogs.  Sam is part coonhound, and pretty much her only activities include eating, sleeping, using the bathroom, and cuddling on the couch.  Jocie is part Border Collie, which is typically an active breed, but Jocie is, well, a bit on the heavier side, to put it tactfully.  She has also always preferred to spend most of her time alone in one of her preferred “hiding places,” rather than interact with Sam or Lexie. 

When we first brought Lexie home 8 years ago, Sam was approximately 2 years-old, but every bit as lazy as she is today.  Lexie kept trying to play with Sam, but it only made Sam nervous, and she would run to Chris, my late husband, for comfort and protection from the wild puppy.   (Oh yeah, I should mention that Sam is also a very nervous dog who is easily “traumatized” and has been known to eat large areas of fur off her back as a result.)  When Lexie attempted to cuddle Sam the first night we brought her home and Sam tried to run away, Chris actually made Sam lie still and let Lexie cuddle her, even though Sam really didn’t want to at first.   However, from that night on, Sam and Lexie became the BIGGEST cuddle buddies you’ve ever seen, and for the next 8 years, they were basically each other’s pillows and/or body-warmers. 

Therefore, I have been hoping that history will repeat itself, and hopefully Sam will learn to tolerate and eventually love Margot, just like she did with Lexie.   Until a couple days ago, though, I wasn’t so sure that was ever going to happen.  Sam was a nervous wreck for the first couple of days after we brought Margot home.  She eventually stopped being nervous after about the first week, but Sam still refused to let Margot have much contact with her and actually started hiding behind the sofa to get away from the crazy puppy.  

Jocie, on the other hand, hasn’t acted quite as upset about Margot joining our family, but Jocie has always been kind of an old bitty with very little tolerance for younger dogs, and Margot is apparently no exception.   If Margot tries to play with Jocie, Jocie gives off a low growl, just to let Margot know that she is not interested in playing with her.  On one or two occasions, Margot has continued to press her luck with Jocie, which resulted in Jocie actually barking and nudging Margot away, but she obviously has no intention of physically harming the puppy.  Still, I do try to discourage Jocie from growling and especially barking at Margot, but only if I feel like Jocie’s just being a grouch.  If, however, I see that Margot is truly overstepping her boundaries, I will let Jocie growl at her because I feel like Margot needs to “learn her place.”  As I mentioned in my previous post, Margot missed out on two whole weeks-worth of learning important lessons regarding discipline and dominance from her mother and siblings, so I feel like it’s actually a good thing that Jocie is establishing her personal boundaries with Margot.    I kind of wish Sam would be a little more assertive and do the same.

After watching Sam continuously run from, hide from, and generally avoid Margot for almost two weeks, I’ve started to feel really sorry for Sam, but also guilty for selfishly expecting Sam to be able to tolerate this rambunctious little puppy at her age.   So, I’ve made it my mission to make it up to her and also make sure that she and Jocie know they are still the Queens of our castle. 

Justin and I were already trying to be sure to give Sam and Jocie some undivided attention whenever possible, but we have recently decided to take that even a step further.  From now on, we will be taking Sam and Jocie on a puppy-free walk around the neighborhood each day after work, during which time Zach and Kristy, who live right next door, have agreed to puppy-sit for us!  It works out perfectly, because not only do Sam and Jocie get some much-needed exercise and enjoy a break from Margot, but Zach and Kristy get to spend some quality time with their “niece,” and spending time in a different environment with different people and animals (Kristy has three cats) will undoubtedly help Margot become a well-socialized puppy. 

Our first puppy-free walk was this past Monday, and it was even more successful than I had hoped!  Jocie and Sam were both grinning from ear to ear during their walk around the neighborhood.   They were both pretty exhausted when we got back, but they were also VERY happy girls, which made Justin and I very happy parents.   Margot was also having a blast at Aunt Kristy and Uncle Zach’s place when I went to pick her up, and Zach and Kristy seemed to enjoy having her.  So, I would definitely say that the daily puppy-free walks idea is a definite win-win for everyone.

I have saved the best news for last, though.  Later that night, as Sam and Jocie were both passing out after their big walk, Justin and I watched Margot climb up onto the futon where Sam had laid down to sleep.  We were prepared to yell at Margot if she tried to bite Sam’s ears or tail, which is what she usually does.  Instead, we watched in amazement as Sam actually allowed Margot to crawl on top of her and lie down on Sam’s back, and then both of them began to fall asleep!  I was beside myself with joy!  I immediately ran upstairs to grab my camera, hoping and praying that Sam wouldn’t change her mind and jump up before I had a chance to take a picture, but the two of them actually continued to cuddle for at least the next 30 minutes or so!  I don’t know if Sam was just so exhausted from her walk that she didn’t have the energy to protest or what, but seeing that magical moment was enough to convince me even more that daily puppy-free walks was the best idea EVER!

But wait!  There’s even more good news!  Despite the fact that Sam allowed Margot to cuddle her for a little bit on Monday night, she still hasn’t exactly grown to love Margot yet.  Sam continues to avoid the puppy for the most part, although she is definitely a little more tolerant about letting Margot romp around her for short periods of time.  Last night, a few friends came over to meet and play with Margot, and at one point I decided to let the girls out into the back yard.  After Margot chased Sam around the yard for a bit, Sam finally started barking at Margot, although not really in a “mean” way.  I just thought it was kind of funny that Margot wasn’t backing down, so I grabbed my iPhone and started filming it.  However, as you will hear in the video, there was a moment when I realized that Sam wasn’t just barking at Margot because she was annoyed by her, she was PLAYING with her!!!   I realized this after I noticed that Sam’s tail was wagging, and she even seemed to be smiling in between barks, but it wasn’t until Margot ran and Sam actually ran after her that I knew without a doubt that Sam was ACTUALLY playing with her!  As I said earlier, Sam has never really played much, not even as a puppy, which is why I couldn’t believe my eyes.   I am SO happy that I was able to capture this moment on video:

So, I would definitely say that some progress is being made in terms of Sam and Margot getting along, which makes me happier than I can even tell you.   I don’t really expect much more out of Jocie because she has always preferred to be a loner, but I do think her tolerance for Margot might improve as Margot grows out of her super-rambunctious stage.   Overall, we’ve still got a long road ahead of us, but at least now it feels more like an actual possibility that Sam and Margot might eventually become friends.   :)