Puppy training

I have to say, I am quite impressed with Jimmy’s hair braiding skills! We were waiting to see if any kids would come to our Bible school class at church on Sunday morning, and I asked him to braid my hair while we waited. Totally normal, right? 😉

I told him that I want him to learn how to do french and fishtail braids next!

Since I’m on the topic of impressive things, I’m just going to keep going! Here’s what else has been impressive in my life recently.

Mavis has been letting me hold her and pick her up more and more! After she was attacked, I thought she was always going to growl and yelp when being held. It has definitely taken a lot of patience to help her become comfortable and even learn to enjoy touch again, but it has been worth the wait.

My parents went to the Outer Banks and ran a 5k in 30 minutes! Plus, I think their selfie skills are pretty impressive 😉

I was able to get these three chickas to sit together and look at the camera for a picture!

Malcolm and Jimmy took a nap together. Malcolm is usually running around like a wild man, so it definitely surprised us that he sat still long enough to snuggle with his papa!

Jimmy and I were able to get our Christmas pictures and cards ordered. I found a Groupon for portraits at JCPenny, and another for Christmas cards, so I got that all taken care of! Does anyone else love Groupon?

Pittsburgh is just beautiful. I’m continually impressed by the views of the city every. single. day.

Last but not least, I’m impressed with Mavis’ obedience! She is doing great in her puppy classes. The trainer has us doing some of our work in the aisles for extra distractions. I even have some footage of her in action near the end of my most recent vlog and on Instagram.

What has impressed you lately?

Mavis is five months old today!

She is growing like a weed! As I mentioned in a previous post, Mavis is almost the size of my parents’ adult cocker spaniel, so Jimmy and I are thinking she’s going to be a big girl. Just the other day, I ran into one of my clients and he said Mavis’ paws look like big snow balls. I was cracking up!

New Things

She’s losing teeth left and right. Earlier this week, I noticed her front canine teeth were both loose and by the end of the day they were gone. So weird!
She now knows: sit, down, leave it, park it, sit-stay, down-stay, and come.
To earn her food each day, she works on her commands and does puzzles like this one, or uses this food dispensing ball.
She is getting much better about being held since the attack. YAY!
She did well during her first trip to the groomer. They told me they were just going to bathe and trim her to see how she would do, but gave her a full cut since she was taking it in stride.

Likes

Food of any kind
Chasing leaves
Playing fetch
Playing with Malcolm
Snuggling with Lola
Meeting new people
Pet sitting with me–she runs straight to the other dogs instead of cowering in fear like she used to!

Hard Things

Some nights she gets up once or twice to go to the bathroom, but that usually happens only once or twice a week.
She’s amazing off-leash in our yard, but has chased a rabbit twice and I thought I lost her. We are working hard on a solid recall and I’m begging Jimmy for a fence. Right now, I either have to watch her like a hawk or put her on a tie-out.
She can now jump on the couch, which she’s not allowed to do. She still does it all. the. time.

Happy Things

I love taking Mavis to work (pet sitting) with me. It really tires her out, she and the other dogs get socialization, and it’s fun to bring her along.
Lola and Mavis now share a crate (Lola was never crate trained, but loves Mavis’ crate) and it’s adorable to see them snuggle.
Mavis is doing well in her training classes and graduated puppy level I a few weeks ago. The trainer is helping us to focus her training towards therapy work, which is really fun to learn and practice.

I think that sums things up. Mavis is such a sweet, happy pup and I’m so glad she’s part of our little family!

Living My Full Life

I’m Impressed