Lost Tags

Maya new favorite chew toys seem to be her tags.  They seem to hang at just the right spot for her to grab a hold of them.  She struggles a bit to get them into her mouth, but once they're there, she won't let them go.  And little by little, she's been stretching the ring they're hanging on.

Last night, she finally pulled a little too much.  We were out for a walk when she took of running, and the leash came right off her collar.  Luckily we were still inside the complex, so I didn't have to worry about her running out into traffic.  Unfortunately, it also meant the ring where I attach the leash (and her tags) was broken.  And her tags were missing.

We (and by "we," I mean "me") spent about 10 minutes looking for her tags.  Retracing our steps wasn't hard, but those suckers don't glow in the dark!  I eventually found them and immediately decided that I needed a smaller ring to attach them with so she couldn't get them in her mouth.  We'll see how long this one lasts.

Weekend Adventure

Apparently Maya does not like my mom, and I have no idea why.  We went to my parents' house over Labor Day weekend, and she was fine with her.  But my parents came to my place this weekend, and Maya wouldn't go near her. 

Maya is always tentative around new people, but she'll warm up to them eventually.  Sometimes it takes a little longer with some people, but having them give her a treat always helps.  She was kind of timid around my dad, but I had him give her a treat and she was fine after that.  She didn't go run into his lap or anything, but she didn't run and hide from him either.

Now my mom is a different story.  It didn't matter what my mom did, Maya would not go near her.  If my mom had one of her toys, she didn't want that toy anymore.  If my mom walked towards her, she ran and hid behind me.  She wouldn't even take a treat from my mom!  She had to drop it or toss it towards her to get her to eat it.  I had never seen her refuse a treat before.  But the two funniest things happened Saturday night and Sunday morning. 

Saturday night, we made up a bed for my parents in the living room.  My mom was really tired, so she decided to lay down while we were chatting.  Sure enough, she was asleep 10 minutes later (if that long).  My mom snores, and since I don't, Maya doesn't really know what a snore is.  She (my mom) started snoring very softly, and Maya started growling very softly.  The louder my mom got, the louder Maya got.  When she actually started snoring, Maya started barking.  This woke my mom up just enough for her to start snoring softly again, and Maya started growling softly again.  This cycle went on for quite a while as my dad and I laughed at both of them.

Sunday morning, my mom and I were laying down in the living room and Maya was in her bed about 7 - 8 feet away.  My mom wondered aloud of Maya would come near her now.  I called Maya over, and she started heading our way (I should say my way).  She was almost to us when my mom put her arm around me.  Maya suddenly stopped, stared at us, and backed up into her bed again!  We laughed, of course, but what is up with this dog?!?

Cats!!

Maya has discovered cats.  She's seen plenty of cats before, but she's pretty much ignored them up until now.  For some reason, she decided that today would be the perfect day to start chasing them....while on a leash.....with me on the other end....  What this basically means is that she was pulling on her leash like crazy and kind of choking herself on it.  I never let her off the leash (or let go of the other end), so she never actually caught any of the cats, but she tried.  I have a feeling this morning was just the beginning....

Lying Puppy

As it turns out, Maya is not very trustworthy.  I've mentioned before that she loves eating leaves, especially off of one particular house plant.  Today I found this in the middle of the living room:

 

 In case you can't tell, it's a piece of a leaf.  I asked her if she had taken leaves off the plant, and she swore she hadn't.  She even put up her right paw as she said this.  Not 10 minutes later, I caught her red-handed (red-pawed?):

I'm not sure what I can do to get her to stop.  She knows she not supposed to do it, but obviously she doesn't even care that I'm standing right next to her.  Now this particular plant happens to have thorns.  I wonder if getting stuck with one of those will finally put an end to this, but I somehow doubt it. 

Poor Puppy!!

Yesterday, Maya was going crazy around the house, so I decided to take her out to run off some energy.  We went to a little park/dog run by my brother's place.  I called him up while we were there to see if maybe they wanted to bring Amos out.  Unfortunately, it started raining before he got there, but he invited me up for dinner.

Now those of you read this blog know that Maya and Amos don't exactly get along.  It's not that they don't like each other; it's just that Amos plays too rough and Maya doesn't like it.  She ends up barking and snapping at him, and he still doesn't leave her alone.  Last night was no different.  I'll let her defend herself unless it looks like he's getting too rough, or she gets tired and comes to me for help. 

Last night she got tired and ran up to me for help, and I picked her up and set her on my lap.  Amos walked away after a minute or two and went to his water bowl.  Thinking she was safe for the time being, she decided to jump off my lap.  My brother's place has hardwood floors, and I'm not sure if her feet slipped out from under her when she landed, or if she just landed on her side, but she ended up hitting the floor on her side, hard.  She got up, but was kind of stumbling, not quite sure of herself and started crying.  This was the first time I ever heard her cry, not a quick yelp, but actual crying.  I felt SO bad, but there wasn't much I could do.  I just picked her up and checked her over and tried to comfort her.  Even Amos, who had been chasing her around like a madman, was all of a sudden very gentle and looking concerned.  It was almost like he was saying, "I didn't do it!  Please be ok or they're going to blame me." 

After a few minutes, she was ok, but seemed a little tentative.  On the upside, Amos left her alone.  I think he was scared of hurting her.  And by the end of the night, she was back to her normal self and even initiating the playing with Amos.  But still, poor baby!!  :(

Escape Artist

When I got home today, I was greeted at the door by a very excited little puppy.  I loved that she was excited to see me and all, but she was in her kennel when I left this morning.  So how in the world did she get out?  And more importantly, what surprises did she leave me?

As it turns out, the answer to the second question was easier to figure out.  Maya had free reign throughout the house for who knows how.  I checked everywhere and didn't find any presents waiting for me.  Shockingly, my plant still has leaves on it.  There are no teeth marks on any furniture or other possessions.  Good puppy!!

Now how did she get out?  I still have no idea.  I'm guessing I didn't close the door completely and she eventually pushed it open.  I don't think she can reach her little paw through the openings and open the latch.  I guess I'm just going to have to watch the little escape artist closely and see if I can figure it out.

ADD Puppy

If anyone thinks it's not possible for a dog to have ADD, they need to meet Maya.  Since the day I got her (or at least since the day she started eating), she'll forget all about her food if anything else is going on.  This has actually happened mid-chew.  Taking her out took forever for a while because she'd forget to pee whenever someone walked by or a car started.

A couple of days ago, we were at PetSmart picking up some puppy chow.  While I was checking out, the cashier gave her a doggy treat.  She was munching on this when a fly (or mosquito) caught her attention.  Apparently bugs are more interesting than treats.

Bye Bye Toy

Looks like I'm going to have to throw away Maya's favorite toy.  I barely gave it back to her and she's already chewed through it again!  I don't think I can fix it this time, so it might be time for the trash.  Oh well.  She has others to keep her happy and busy.  

Puppy's First Hair Cut

I had noticed that it was getting harder and harder to bathe Maya, and that she needed a bath more and more often.  And with her hair as long as it was, I'm sure she was burning up in this Texas weather.  So today Maya had her first trip to the groomer. 

I barely recognized her when I picked her up!  She looks good, but it almost looks like they threw her in a dryer and shrunk her -- she's tiny!!  Anyways, here are some before and after pics.  Let me know what you think.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

I wanted to get better pictures, but she wouldn't sit still long enough.  I should get her now since she's sleeping on my feet.

Finding a Groomer

Maya needs a haircut, bad.  The problem with having a puppy for the first time is that you don't know about things like groomers. 

Earlier this week, I made an appointment at PetSmart for this weekend.  It's really the only place that I know of that has grooming services, and they seem to always be busy, so they must be ok.  And then I talked to my neighbors.  Let's just say that Maya now has an appointment with a different groomer.  I'm not saying that PetSmart is bad or that I've had a bad experience, it's just that enough people have that I would rather not take her there for her first haircut. 

Maya is still shy around other people, so I'm hoping tomorrow goes smoothly.  Wish us luck and I'll post before and after pictures tomorrow.

Vegetarian Puppy

For some reason, Maya loves eating grass and plants.  I've heard that dogs like to eat grass when they have an upset stomach, but I don't think that's it.  If she did it every now and then, I would say it's a possibility, but she does it daily.  In fact, she does it every time we go outside. 

My problem right now is that she does it whenever we're inside too.  I have one plant that she loves to munch on.  I've tried keeping her away from the plant entirely, I've tried catching her in the act and telling her to stop, I've tried almost everything I can think of, but nothing works. 

She knows she's not supposed to be near it, which is what makes it frustrating.  She'll wait until my back is turned, and then sneak over to it, grab a leaf, and run away with it in her mouth.  My poor plant used to have a lot more green leaves towards the bottom than it does now.  Any tips on getting her to stop?

She Barked at Me!

For the first time ever, Maya barked at me!!  It wasn't like when I put her in her kennel and she wants out; she actually barked at me!!

This past weekend, Maya ripped through her favorite stuffed toy.  Since I've had adventures with dogs eating stuffing and getting sick, I decided not to take any chances and took it away from her until I had a chance to fix it.  Well, today I had time.  I grabbed the toy of the ledge (where she couldn't see it), and grabbed a needle and thread.

As soon as she saw the toy, she started jumping on me and trying to get at it.  I tried telling her "down," but she seemed to have "forgotten" what that means.  I kept nudging her down, but she just kept jumping back on me.  I just kept having to turn away from her.  She wasn't cooperating, so it took me forever to get it done.

When I finally finished, I gave it to her and she took off running with it in her mouth.  For the next hour, she wouldn't drop it, scared that someone (me) was going to take it away again.  At one point, she walked up to her water bowl, looked down at, and walked away.  It was like she was trying to figure out how to drink without dropping the toy.  Apparently keeping a hold of the toy was more important than drinking water.

Carpet Cleaners

I am so mad at the carpet cleaning people!!

Maya doesn't mind if I put her in her kennel as long as I'm in the room with her.  If I put her in her kennel and go into another room, she cries and cries until I come back.

The carpet cleaners were supposed to come this morning, so I had to put Maya in the bathroom when I left for work.  Normally, I put her in her kennel and head straight out the door.  If she hears me leave, she knows I'm not ignoring her and doesn't cry.  But if she's in the bathroom, she doesn't know if I leave the house or not; she only knows that I put her up and I'm somewhere in the house ignoring her.  She cried and cried and cried.  I felt so bad, but there wasn't anything I could do.  I just kept telling myself she would be ok and that it was a one-time thing.

When I got home around 1:00 pm, the carpet cleaners had not been there.  I was so mad because I made Maya cry for no reason!! If they had arrived right then, I probably would have screamed at them.  I know they don't know I have a puppy and that she would be crying, but when you make an appointment, keep it!!

House Breaking Again?

I'm not sure what's up with Maya, but she's decided that she rather not go outside to potty.  Yesterday, we were hanging out in the living room when she got up, walked to the middle of the room, looked straight at me, and then peed.  She'd never done that before, even when I just brought her home.  A couple of weeks ago, I just about had her ringing the bell whenever she wanted to go out, and now we're back to this?!?!  And she did it again today.  Help!!

Ringing Bells

One of the things I decided almost immediately was that I needed to teach Maya a way to tell me she needed to go out other than just walking to the door.  If I'm in another room or studying, I might not notice that she needs to go out.  When my brother's dog was a puppy, he taught her to ring a bell when she needed to go out.  I figured this would work perfectly.

I remember he had a little Christmas-type bell that he tied on a string around the doorknob.  He would hit the bell every time he took her out, and she made the connection.  So I got a bell, tied it to the doorknob, and every time I took her out, I would hit the bell.  She was just starting to hit the bell when she needed to go out.  And then we went out of town. 

I made the mistake of not taking the bell to my parents' house last weekend, and by the time we got back, she had forgotten everything that she had learned.  Right now I'm having to keep an eye on her because she's not ringing, but at least she's going to the door.  Guess we're starting over on this one.

No Habla Ingles

For the last week or so, I've been working with Maya trying to get her to voluntarily go into her kennel.  I started by giving her a treat when she walked towards it, then when she put a paw in, then when her head got in, etc.  And I'm saying "kennel" each time hoping to form a link between the two in her head.

Last night, I thought she finally got it.  I got her attention, said "kennel," and she walked right in, all the way!  Yahoo!!  But alas, it was not meant to be.  This morning, I did the same thing, and this was her reaction.

Apparently, "kennel" in English translates to "come sit in my lap" in puppy-speak.  Oh well.  Good thing she's cute.

Rain

I've discovered that Maya hates the rain.  If it's raining and we go out, she'll go just to the edge of the grass where she's still covered and do her business there.

However, she loves, loves, LOVES rain puddles.  She loves to splash through them and then jump on me.  I don't particularly mind her running through the puddles, it's the doggy bath and extra laundry it creates that I mind.  Oh well.  I'm sure when (if) she outgrows this stage, I'm really going to miss it. 

Meeting Grandma and Grandpa

Maya and I are heading to my parents' house for the weekend.  I'm not sure how this is going to go because she hasn't been with me all that long and I'm already changing things up on her.  I'm sure she'll love having big open spaces to run in, but I'm still a little nervous.  I just hope she doesn't keep everyone up or wake everyone up too early.  Wish me luck!

Who's Walking Who?

I haven't really taught Maya how to walk on a leash yet.  I know it's something that I'm going to have to do some time, but she's so little, it just hasn't been a priority.

One thing that everyone thinks is really cute is that I don't even have to clip the leash onto her collar.  In fact, if she's in a hurry, she won't even let me clip it on.  Instead she'll grab the clip end in her mouth and start pulling me.  And she'll do this all the way to wherever she's going to do her business.  I guess I haven't stopped her because I think it's really cute too.

Bad Coffee Table

I take Maya for a walk almost every evening.  We walk somewhere between 1 and 1 1/2 miles every night.  I know it sounds like a lot, but she has a lot of energy.  But if it's raining or I get home late from school, Maya doesn't get her walk.  And that's when she goes crazy.

I guess she just feels like she has to get that pent-up energy out because she'll start running like crazy through the house -- around the dining room table, around the living room, through the bedroom, and she does it at a full-out sprint. 

Tonight was one of those nights when I wasn't able to get Maya out for a walk.  She was doing the typical running around when she cut a corner a little too close and ran into a leg on the coffee table.  She stopped dead in her tracks, turned around, and started barking and growling at the table leg like it was its fault!  I could almost see her little brain thinking, "Where did you come from??  Bad coffee table, bad coffee table!"