It's been 2 weeks... has it really only been that long?

[Kristen Eric Lacey and Paisley]

This past Saturday marked the two week mark for how long Lacey has been home with us. It is safe to say, the honeymoon is over! Lacey is now 9 weeks and is just a hyper ball of fur. Don't get me wrong, we love her dearly. She has instantly become part of our family and we have so much fun with her. It is just a lot to get used to.

We have finally established some of a routine for her. This has helped quite a bit with potty training. Its been a week since she has had an accident (hopefully I didn't just jinx myself lol). Part of our success with potty training has been due to crating her for periods of time. She is never crated longer than 5 hours during the day (which is not every day) with the exception of bed time. Lacey has gotten much better with bed time. We play John Mayer for her and she is quite almost immediately, only to wake up at 6:15 or so. The most challenging issue is Eric's part-time work schedule while he is waiting for his graduate program to begin. Working part time is great because she is not alone for too long, but at the same time it makes crating inconsistent and we worry that doesn't help her in some ways. 

Because of crating, I feel like she is getting a bit better at entertaining herself. We still play with her a ton but now at least she will take her kong and naw on it, which also helps tire her out. I think she is just becoming more comfortable with Eric and I so now she feels like she can finally relax a bit. We have found that she can be super sweet all day, but at about 8:00-9:00pm she becomes a wild child. She has the "zoomies" for about an hour and just goes nuts. She runs obstacle courses around our living room since we currently have her gated off to only this room. Blocking off her space I think has also helped. During her zoomies, her nipping seems to be at an all time high. She doesn't only nip us but pretty much anything she can get her mouth on (normal puppy behavior).  We just try to discourage it by giving her a toy instead, or by yelping. Bitter Apply Spray has also helped tons because lucky for us, she hates the taste. On days when none of this seems to work, stopping play and ignoring her works best. If we just say "no" and look away, she gets really pouty and stops. She never nips hard,we just want to stop this as early on as we can; however, we know it will get worse before it gets better as she begins teething. 

Our biggest obstacle is the fact that she is still not fully vaccinated so we can't take her on walks or let her run outside. She goes to the vet this Friday for her second round of parvo and other vaccines. I think that once we are able to start walking her it will help her energy level drastically. We are doing our best with trying to entertain her indoors. Although, with the weather getting warmer (or at least for now it is - what can I say, it's Cleveland) its growing more and more difficult. She keeps wanting to be outside and I can't blame her, I want to be outside too! We are staying strong though and doing our best to hold her attention indoors.  

Despite our hyper little pup in the evenings, we are getting used to Lacey being with us. I probably made her sound like the worst pup in the world, but she truly is so sweet, and ridiculously smart. Lacey makes us feel dumb most of the time with how clever she is. She has been doing great with commands; provided there is a cheerio waiting at the end for her. We have worked on "come," "sit," and are working on "stay". For some reason when she sits she gives us her "paw" by default. I'll take it. :) 

Will keep everyone posted on how she does the next few weeks. Luckily my spring break starts this Thursday so Lacey will have me home with her for 12 days. Can't wait until summer comes and it can just be the three of us, bonding all summer long. :)

Here is a pic of Eric and Lacey... She's getting so big! Can't wait to figure out how much she weighs at her vet appointment this Friday! (Something tells me she won't end up being 45-50 lbs like the breeder said!)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Adorable puppy.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Just because she can't get down, you can still take her places.  You can carry her on walks, take her to Home Depot or Lowes and put her in the cart or any type of garden center.  I used to just take a big rubbermaid tub and put it in the cart and put ours in it.  They went every where with us until they had their shots.  It is great for socialization and even the car ride itself will tire her out.  She is cute as a button and it won't be long now.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

First of all, she is as cute as they come!  Second, you did not make her sound like the worst puppy at all.  We have all gone through puppyhood and know exactly how you are feeling.  It is definitely a challenge.  I totally understand about wanting to walk her and work off the excess energy.  We were the same way and believe me, once Libby had all her shots and we could walk her, it made all the difference in the world. We actually we took her out before the full series of shots and made sure she didn't go on grass or meet up with other dogs until fully vaccinated.  I think Lacey is coming along great, afterall this is all new to her too!   

[Pat and Traveler]

Such a cute puppy--and sounds like she's become a beloved part of the family.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

She is adorable! And Cheryl is right- mental stimulation wears them out quickly! 

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Cute pictures!  You're right, once you can let her run off some steam outside, things will calm down.  A tired puppy is a good puppy.  And it's not just the exercise - these guys need the mental stimulation of different surroundings.  Sounds like you guys are off to a good start.