Puppy Ownership

Many of you might not have a slight interest about the life of a puppy parent, but I think it's quite rewarding and fun. Bella has taught me a lot about caring for someone else rather than myself, patience, and a whole new level of cleaning (oh, the dog hair and the stuff she is able to track in!). I had no idea how much work a puppy really is...thankfully she's already 5 1/2 months old! It's hard to believe how fast she is growing up. Last time we weighed her she was 43 pounds, so it wouldn't surpise me if she was close to 50 now. Since she's grown up we've began to trust her a little more around the house. We don't have to worry about her chewing on the furniture, but she'll still pick up tiny things that I have missed (like my dry cleaning tags). Why are dogs so inclined to put things in their mouth??

We have been taking her to training classes about 2x a week (unless the class was cancelled or we couldn't make it because of another obligation or bad weather) for about 3 months. She has come a LONG way since we first began training her. I remember when we were first trying to teach her "down" and when I would correct her she would just roll over, hoping I was playing. She would also chew on EVERY THING--your fingers, hair, arms, shirt sleves, shoe laces, ankles; you name it she would chew on it (that's where my patience would wear a little thin)!

Last night she hit a milestone, or at least what I believe was a milestone. Every night, at the end of each class each dog has to go through a "test" which involves the trainer (me) having to cross his/her arms, drop the leash and command "sit/down". Each dog has to do it on their own, without correction (which what they say is the hardest part about passing). Other "tests" are the trainer leaving the dog when they are on a down and a sit and "come when called" command. Last night Bella was able to pass all of the tests!! I have to give her a C- though because when I said "down" she would crawl toward the trainer...but he gave me a few tries for her to get it right. Dan and I were so relieved because we've been going for months and because she is such a friendly dog, we were afraid she would NEVER pass!

We couldn't be happier with her though. She is such a good girl and we're happy to have her in our family!