Well, I have been terribly remiss in recording Zuri’s progress and now it has been so long that I won’t even attempt to write up everything that has been happening. Needless to say I have pages of notes….some have even survived her paperholic tendencies. For those of you who “subscribe” to her blog, I apologize that you will be receiving many update messages.
Here is a brief run-down on some of the fun things she/we did during the summer.
Stick and leaves were still (and continue to be) the main source of fiber in her diet. No matter how often I vacuum, within minutes it looks like a wood chipper has been set up in the house…..well, actually….she was!
Even better than sticks, the discovery of all the sprinklers in the back yard. She chases them just like a tether ball and tries to attack those pesky drops and streams of water. It is a great way to keep cool! We tried a “cool collar” but one tooth investigation and that was that. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Oh I do have so much to learn about puppies.
During the incredibly hot summer, she quickly showed that she is no dummy. It only took about 3 minutes for her to discover the joys of air conditioning in the car. Only problem is that the vent is in the front which means that I now have learned to drive with a 100 rottweiler resting on my shoulder so her head can be close to the vent….talk about some crazy looks from other drivers!
Maybe she should be a tracker?! While driving back from doggie class late one night, she started barking, growling, trying to go through the windshield, pacing in the back. Just could not figure out what the heck was going on. Well, about 1 to 1.5 miles later the answer “came” to me…..whew….skunk somewhere!! After another couple of miles, she went back to her pillow and slept all the way home.
This summer Zuri decided that she would do the big dog thing and hang her head out the car window. She loves the wind in her hair but loves meeting people at stop lights even more. She is quite the socialite, but we all knew she would be.
Four major events this summer: She started going to playschool! Boy oh boy does she love that!!! She doesn’t get to go but once or twice a week, but has an absolute ball. They even play with garden hoses – heaven for her AND heaven for me because she comes home exhausted! Have to admit that the first day was hard….on me. Almost as bad as watching my son climb on the bus his first day of kindergarten!
We successfully made it through one of those “endearing” who’s-the-alpha-bitch periods. Now that was an interesting time and just a teeny sample of what was to come. More on that later. Actually, once we established the alpha, things got much better in training and obedience. Maybe I should mention that I won THIS battle. The war has yet to be determined, but I am confident in the outcome….maybe…haha
The time came…..she was spayed. I sort of hated to do it, but knew it was the best thing and the safest thing. Loved the instructions from the vet: keep her quiet, no jumping, no steps, etc etc. Who did he think he was kidding? Anyway, all did go well.
We had our first overnight visitors and with a dog. This went sort of well….thanks to playschool. Toby, her doggie visitor, weighs about 8 pounds, is 13 years old, is deaf, and has trouble seeing. Zuri kept going to her toy box and “giving” Toby different toys which he ignored. Once the toy box was empty, she tried playing with him. She was being such a good girl but 100 pounds of playful puppy vs 8 pounds of old geezer…..just not safe, so she had to spend most days at play school.
That’s my quick summer update. Obviously there was lots more….her obedience successes, lots of new commands in the works, etc. But I’ll stop here and start on September with individual posts.
