Maggie is home! So much to share

[Julie and Maggie]

Finally catching my breath to post an update on bringing home our sweetheart Maggie. There is so much to tell!

 

We flew home on a Southwest flight from San Diego to Oakland airport. Let me tell you that is the way to go. If anyone wants details on how I did it, just google Dog Jaunt and look up taking your pet on a plane. Awesome advice and it was perfect. She was quiet the whole trip. The only noise or fuss she made was during the first 5-10 minutes of the drive away from the breeder's in the carrier. I was calm and just let out a series of emphatic "sshhhh's" and "tschhh's" and that was it. It was a long day for me, but I was there and back home by 5pm.

 

When we got home we went straight to the back yard. My boys were home with a sitter and hubby came home later after dinner. We spent a really nice long time on the grass together. A lush green lawn was new to her so she really had a blast on it. It was funny to see her stick to the boundaries of the grass. There are several different areas of garden, deck, and side yard that she still has not gone too. Fine with me! All the rest of that space belongs to me and she has not been invited in at this point. :)  Anyway, we had a neighbor and her young son come over for a visit. Maggie plays extremely well with children. That's probably because she has been living with the breeder's family of four young children of varying ages. She was ready to play! Her energy was very happy, playful, and interactive with everyone. That was a quality that definitely stood out to me when we first met back at three weeks. She is a people person. And yet at the same time with all that excitement, she showed us how she really enjoys a good calm down and snuggle in our laps. She likes to get one of her toys, brings it to us (if we are sitting on the floor) and then scoots herself into our laps and has at it with the chew toy. A few times one of us has been sitting there and after she brings the first toy, she gets up and gets another, then another, and before you know it she has 4 or 5 toys and a blanket all around us with Maggie snuggling in. So awesome. 

 

Anyway, back to the first night. After the outside time we came into the house. She is living in our kitchen/nook area closed with a baby gate, hard wood floors. She had already been introduced to a crate at the breeder's so we really have had no issues. My husband came home and then he got his turn. The four of us spent the next couple of hours sitting on the floor of the kitchen just getting to know Maggie. She is a mouther and we need to work on that. She has an affection for toes. One time she nipped rather hard on my husband's big toe. He let out a really good yelp and the funniest thing was to watch Maggie come straight to his face and lick the heck out of it. That was a huge bonding moment for those two. We have learned since then how he needs to not let her mouth on him at all, but I am so glad that he got to experience that with her. 

 

By bedtime I was exhausted and Maggie was ready for bed in her crate. She had her blankie from the breeder and her Snuggle Puppy. The heartbeat was going and she spent several minutes just licking away at the Snuggle Puppy. I was not sure what to expect as the night went on so I really didn't sleep well. I was wide away at 4am like a new mom wondering if Maggie was still breathing or not and debating if I should risk waking her up to go check. Well by 4:30 I heard a little whine and I popped out of bed. We stayed quiet and went out to the yard for potty. By the time we got back to the kitchen I could tell that neither of us were going to get back to sleep so we just hung out very quietly with the lights low until a more reasonable time when Daddy got up to get ready for work. 

 

So this next day was all about jumping into our regular routine, blending her schedule needs with our family life. In the car because the kids have swim team practice, home in the crate because I need to go to Safeway, all that. All day a really nice balance of wanting to be with us and taking time out for a nap. Oh and you are probably wondering about the house training. Well knock on wood but as of this writing we have not had an accident. Only one time in the kitchen did I catch the sniff the floor start a squat deal and I was able to make a big sound and snap her out of it in time. I take her out constantly and when she is out in the kitchen I literally don't take my eyes off her. And if I put someone else's eyes in charge of her I still watch her using the handy dandy eyes I have in the back of my head. My favorite mommy accessory. 

 

My original plan to feed her out of the Kongs has been tossed for the time being. I went back to the bowl. Maybe I am not understanding something in how these work. I stuff it with kibble. But all she does is grab it by the small end and empties out the kibble on to the floor which is where she eats all the food. That is not the point of the Kong as far as I know. And I don't want to teach her to eat random food on the floor. So until I can work that out we are back to the bowl and three meals a day. 

 

So now in the story we are at last night and by 9pm she was ready to be in bed. Night night Maggie. We went to the living room to watch Food Network. I was beyond tired so by 10 I was out. The next morning (today) I woke up at 6 am. I'm a little freaked wondering what has happened to Maggie. I got up and there she was lying down in the crate, just hanging out. Wow. So I go up to her and it is good morning Maggie ready to go outside? I open the crate door... she is so funny with that because it takes her a while to decide if she is coming out on her own. I think she is just used to being picked up. But we went outside and did our thing. 

 

I noticed today that she is sitting a lot more for me. I'm not asking her to sit. She just seems to be focussed on me and seems to be ready to do what is next. So today I am starting to work on sit as a command from me. At breakfast and lunch today I got her to sit, or at least put her in a sit position before I put the food bowl down. She didn't do it on her own. I'm also trying to catch her in a sit and then praise her for having a good sit. I don't know, I have to work this one out some more.

 

Oh and our vet visit was today. I love this vet! It was clean and everyone was happy and the place smelled really good. I mentioned that to them and they were so surprised I noticed something like that. The doctor and I were completely on the same page. She offered me all kinds of info that jived with things I had already researched. That is going to be a great place. Found a tick on Maggie's ear. Aaack! Stupid oak tree in the neighbor's yard. 

 

Maggie has been too pooped to pop since we got home, but I think the mid-day siesta is definitely her thing. And this of course is why I have had this time to write this blog. This girl is beyond my expectations. As far as I have seen with her, her temperament is the perfect blend of energy and calm. She is clearly intelligent and responds well to us. She is ready to please but is also her own person (I mean dog). I know this is the puppy honeymoon phase and I am enjoying every minute of it. She is going to get more comfortable with us and will start trying her own ideas out. Today I caught her testing out what it might be like if she ran her teeth on the legs of my wooden kitchen chairs. All I can say is that "tsch" sound Cesar makes is going to be a life saver. She gets that. If I were merely going "no!" I would feel like a big nag instead of being a calm, in control leader. I don't know, using less words fits with me. Your mileage may vary. 

 

Well, I should close this blog for now. Mags will be up before I know it. There is probably something I should do. Oh see, I was right. Benjamin just went to "check" on her and guess what she's up. He is pretty sure she wants to get up and play. I will have to confirm that. 

 

Thanks for listening... and thanks for being there for me on my way to life with Maggie. Pictures to come during the next nap.

 

 

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Wow!  Great job of detailing everything.  She sounds like a perfect addition to your family.  She sounds like an easy baby so far.  Enjoy her!  Keep the posts & pictures coming!