Play Dates

I've recently discovered play dates, and they're great!!

A few days ago, Maya was not cooperating with my studying.  She kept trying to jump on me, tear up my books, run off with my pen or highlighter, bark nonstop, and other very distracting behavior.  I know she was just feeling neglected and wanted me to play with her, but I just didn't have the time.  As I fell further and further behind, I just yelled at her more and more.  The more upset I got, the worse her behavior got.

That's when I decided to pay my neighbor a visit.  She absolutely loves Maya, and Maya is pretty crazy about her too.  She's always offering to take Maya for a few hours whenever I need to get some work done, so I decided to take her up on her offer.  After making sure she wasn't busy, I dropped Maya off and headed back home to study.  I got 2.5 hours of uninterrupted studying, and Maya got 2.5 hours of uninterrupted pampering and playtime.  It's exactly was we both needed.  When I picked her up, I was recharged on my patience and she had gotten some much needed attention.  The rest of the evening was good for both of us.

Last night, Maya had a second play date.  I had just taken her out for the last time before heading to bed.  On our way back home, we ran into a neighbor and his dog.  We stopped and chatted for a few minutes while the dogs played.  About 10 minutes later, another neighbor came by with her dog.  The three of us chatted for about 30 minutes while the dogs continued playing.  It was great because all three dogs are about the same size, so they play really well together.  By the time we finally went home, Maya was beat.  She got some water, and then went straight to bed and was out like a light.  This let me get a couple more things done before I called it a night.

I'm thinking I need to start setting up some play dates for her a little more often.  :)

Comfy Couch

I'm one of those people who does not like dogs on the couch, on the chairs, on the bed, etc., so I've tried to teach Maya that these are forbidden areas.  The bed is easy -- she can't get up there.  The chairs have been easy too -- I think she's scared she'll fall off because they're not very big, so she doesn't try.  But the couch is another story.

Until recently, Maya was just too small to jump up on the couch.  However, a few weeks ago, she figured it out.  She has to take a little bit of a running start, but she can jump up there now.  I tell her to get off whenever I catch her, and she usually listens.  Only once have I had to actually pick her up and put her back on the ground.  But I don't know what she does when I'm not around.  She's in her crate when I'm at school or running errands, so I know she can't get on the couch or into other things.  She's has done a few things in the past (if you'd like to see what she likes to do with a roll of paper towels while I'm in the shower, click here), but for the most part, she stays out of trouble.

For the past week or so, I've been convinced that she hangs out on the couch while I'm in the shower.  But since I haven't been able to catch her, it's not like I can do anything about it.  Today, I got proof that she was up there.  I left the TV remote on the couch, and when I got out of the shower, the TV was on a different channel.  I guess she sat or stepped on it while chilling on the couch.  But again, what can I do about it?  I know I'm never going to catch her (she gets off when she hears the shower turn off) and I can't do anything about it unless I catch her.  I guess I'm just going to have to accept that she's found a new place to relax for a few minutes each morning.

CPR Puppy

Since moving to this part of Texas, I have discovered a new breed of flies.  Just think of a regular housefly on steroids.  I was kind of hoping the cold had killed them all off, but alas, no -- one magically appeared in my bathroom this morning.

Like most people (or at least most people I know), I don't have a flyswatter.  So what does a girl do when she needs a flyswatter and there's not one to be found?  She grabs the nearest article of clothing from the top of the hamper.  In my case, a pair of shorts.  After too many swings and misses, the fly finally hit the ground.

As it was lying dead (I thought) on its back, I went to find something to pick it up with.  That's when Maya decided to investigate.  I assume she thought it might be a good toy.  She sniffed it, maybe licked it, definitely pawed at it.  I walked in just in time to see her flip it back onto its legs with her paw, at which point it flew away again. 

I eventually managed to hit it again with the shorts and get it in the trash, but somebody should teach Maya that CPR should be saved for animals that fall into the cute-and-cuddly categories, which most definitely does not include bugs.

Where to Sleep....

Ever since I stopped putting Maya in her kennel overnight, I never know where she's going to decide to sleep.  If I had to guess, I'd say sleeps in her bed 60% of the time, the floor 30%, and her kennel 10%.

I used to read every night before going to sleep, but I haven't done it in a while because I've just been too tired at bedtime.  Last night, I decided to read a chapter before going to sleep.  When I was ready for bed, I took my glasses off, reached for the light, and glanced down to see where Maya was.  She wasn't there.  I glanced at her bed, the floor, and her kennel.  No Maya.  I put my glasses back on and took a closer look, and that's when I found her.

I'm guessing she didn't like the light being on because I found her asleep mostly under the bed with just half of her lower legs sticking out.  This was surprising for a couple of reasons, but mainly because she didn't fit under there a couple of weeks ago!  I'm not sure how she got there, but she got there and was fast asleep.  I'm guessing she fell asleep next to the bed and rolled over and ended up under there.

But since she wasn't able to crawl under the bed a couple of weeks ago, how did she crawl back out?  She was up before me the following morning, so I guess I'll never know!

New Year, New Home

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Maya really needed a new, bigger kennel.  I knew she would need one eventually, but I wanted to hold off until I was sure that she was gone growing.  Well, last week I decided that I couldn't make her wait any longer.  That's when I noticed that she had to hunch down to get in, and pretty much stay in that position.  She couldn't stand up and she couldn't stretch out.  I know, bad mommy. 

So last week, in honor of the new year, she got a new kennel.  She hasn't spent a lot of time in it, mainly because I've been home a lot lately.  The first day, she just kind of looked at it and didn't know what to make of it.  The following day, she decided to go inside it and try to hide a treat by digging through the plastic floor.  She used to try that with her old kennel too.  It didn't work there either.  By the third day, she was going in there and chilling every now and then.  I think she liked that she could stand up straight in there, with a couple of inches to spare. 

Yesterday was the first day that I put her in and left her there.  I ran to the store and was back in about 30 - 40 minutes.  When I came back, I could hear her crying as I walked to the door.  I don't know if she was crying the whole time I was gone, or if she just started when she heard my car.  Either way, poor puppy!  She was not liking the new kennel.  She didn't like when I put her in her old one (I assume because it was cramped), but she didn't cry either.  I wonder if the extra space somehow scares her....?  Does she not feel as secure and safe now?  I'm sure she'll get used to it in a couple of days, but in the meantime, it breaks my heart.  :(

Growing Puppy

Maya and I have run into people in the last few weeks that we haven't seen for a while, and they all say how big she's gotten.  To be honest, I thought they were crazy.  I see her every day, and she looks exactly the same.  And I guess that's the problem.  When you see someone (or something) every day, you don't notice the small changes.  It's only when you stop seeing them for a while and those small changes add up that you notice.

Why am I mentioning this?  Because yesterday, I realized Maya could no longer fit under the bed.  We were playing fetch (yes, inside) and one of her balls went under the bed.  This has happened before, but it usually goes all the way through to the other side and she can go around the bed to get it.  Well, yesterday it didn't make it to the other side.  She ran around the bed like always, but there was no ball.  So she came back to the front side, but still no ball.  She went around a couple more times before she realized where it was, but she still couldn't get to it.  Then she got mad and I had to grab it for her.

I remember when I brought her home and she used to love going under there.  It wasn't really hiding, just hanging out.  Somewhere along the way, she stopped doing it as often, and now she can't do it at all.  I guess those people who told me she was getting big were not all that crazy to begin with and my baby is just growing up.   

Christmas Tree

This is my first year with a puppy, and I've had to make a few adjustments along the way.  For example, I don't have any Christmas decorations up.  I blame it on Maya, because she would eat them.  Of course, I'm ignoring the fact that I just didn't have any spare time this year to get any decorations up.

I've never completely decked out the house at Christmas time (or any other time of the year), but I always at least have a tree.  However, there's no tree this year.  This is for a few non-puppy reasons and a few puppy reasons.  The non-puppy reasons are boring, so I'm going to ignore them for the time being.  The puppy reasons are really just two -- Maya loves leaves/branches and shiny things.  And when I say she loves these things, what I really mean is she loves pulling on them until she can run away with them and hide while chewing them to pieces.  I can see her now with a branch or ornament from the bottom of the tree in her mouth, tugging until it comes crashing down.  That's why I don't have a tree.

But as we all know, Christmas is just not Christmas without a tree.  So here is my compromise tree this year:

 

Next year, when she's not so into branches and shiny things, we'll go back to the real thing.