Author: Allie Zottola

Mavis at Seven Months

Mavis hits the seven month mark on January 12th!

Cocker spaniel puppy therapy dog in training

In some ways, she has become easier to care for over time (yay for house training and sleeping through the night!) and in other ways, she has become more challenging (the puppy “teenage” phase is no joke!).

New Things

  • As of December 25th, she weighs 21 pounds. Adult male cockers typically weigh 30 pounds. She is a big girl!
  • She has really gotten the hang of playing fetch and enjoys it. Her favorite ball is the hol-ee roller.
  • She is quite the velcro puppy. She doesn’t just like to be with me 24/7, she wants to be physically touching me. I love it 🙂
  • We received her AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy medal and certificate in the mail! We are now working towards the Canine Good Citizen title and then hopefully therapy work!
  • She is currently in Adult Level 1 classes and doing great!
  • She loves food. She can be in an absolute dead sleep and if I drop a scrap of food on the floor, she’s there. It’s crazy!

Mavis is like “Mom, stop. You’re embarrassing me.”

Other Stuff

  • I realized recently that I spend a lot of time with her. We work together (dog walking!), I train her, take her places, and hang out around the house together. She’s currently laying on my feet as I type this!
  • We are really working hard towards her therapy dog certification, but if it doesn’t happen, I’d love to get into agility with her. I think she would really enjoy that.
  • She hasn’t gone into heat yet, but I’m sure she will soon.
  • I filmed a vlog recently and did a little update on Mavis, in case anyone wants to see her in action 🙂
  • Her paws aren’t very callused yet, so they get cold quickly in the snow and ice. I need to get some salve or snow boots for her and Lola.
  • If she’s not snuggled up to me, she’s snuggled up to Lola. She loves her big sister!
  • Her nickname is May May. I’m pretty sure I call her May May or just May more than I call her Mavis.

Black lab mix and cocker spaniel puppy with bandanas

That’s everything I can think of for Mavis’ seven month update! She’s a fluffy ball of sass, happiness, and fun ❤

How We Started 2018

Hey hey! How is 2018 treating you so far? I can’t believe it’s Thursday already. Mavis and I are walking four dogs together today and it’s currently 14 degrees (and dropping…!) and snowing here in Pittsburgh.

You better believe I’m going to look like the Michelin Man with all the layers I put on and Mavis will be wearing her winter coat.

Cocker spaniel and chocolate lab in winter coats

I have a minute to blog today, so I thought I’d share how we started out the new year! Actually, I’ll start with New Year’s Eve.

Jimmy and I went to church in the evening and stayed after for a New Year’s Eve fellowship. Everyone brought along food (I brought chili and corn muffins!) and hung out until around 8:30 pm, when we all discussed the past year, the one ahead, and then had a group prayer.

It was a really great way to ring in 2018! Afterwards, Jimmy and I went home and read (I’m still reading and loving this book) on the couch until about 11:00, then went to bed.

Since Jimmy and I both had the day off on New Year’s Day, we were able to sleep in a little and have a slow morning. We took Mavis to Starbucks (puppuccino for her, blonde roast for me, and tuxedo mocha for Jimmy!) and Lowe’s.

Dog in Lowe's

Jimmy wanted to grab some recessed lighting supplies for our basement and I wanted to practice therapy work with Mavis! I walked her around Lowes and lots of people pet her, which was a great opportunity to work on her social skills.

I’m continually impressed by how well she does with kids. A toddler grabbed her ears really hard and she simply cried (I thought she would growl, lol) and backed away. Go May May!

In the evening, we headed to Mavis’ fourth adult level 1 training class, which was a fun way to kick off the New Year. We spent an hour working on loose leash walking, the “leave it” command, and meeting other people and dogs politely.

On Tuesday, it was back to “normal life” post-holidays. It’s feeling good to get into somewhat of a routine again!

How did you start 2018?