I don't know why she swolled a fly, perhaps she'll die!

Well, it wasn't a fly, it was a mouse. While visiting my SIL last week, her kitty caught a mouse (an almost daily occurrence) and left it in a usual spot on the deck. Molly found this and took off. Jason went to see what she was chewing on, and immediately tried to stop her from swallowing.

With the sharp little puppy teeth, it was impossible to reach in and grab it. While waiting for a glove to arrive, she swallowed.

Everything seems to be ok digestively, it's just really gross.

Help Minnesota Valley Humane Society!!!

Getting Too Big For The Cat

Our poor little kitty is the target for Molly's need to wrestle. It was fine a few weeks ago when they were the same size and she could easily jump out of Molly's reach. Now, kitty gets pinned to the floor with her side held firmly in Molly's mouth. I break it up as much as I can, but the dog can reach kitty everywhere but her cat tree, top of the gate to upstairs and if she is on the table, which I discourage. I know for sure the cat is unhappy with Molly's presence and now avoids her instead of the taunting she used to do. I was hoping they would be friends, but Molly's desire to play with absolutely every one and thing she meets needs to subside before this can be.

Look How Big I Am!

Today, May 27th, Molly had a checkup at the vet and received her final distemper and the rabies vaccinations. She is now at 15.8 pounds, meaning she has gained 4.8 in the last three weeks! Apparently this is normal for large breed dogs, and typically they are three times their weight of 12 weeks. This would mean she will be about 45 pounds, very manageable.

We also took a another trip to PetSmart for a new leash (she chewed through the last one, twice) and then to the dog park. She played with a very excitable beagle. He started out being a big meanie and picking on her, but after some restraint they did fine together. The played for about 20 min straight and near the end they were so tired they would both stop to rest a few moments between bouts. Molly slept a couple hours, which is great, she needed to get some of her energy out.

Here is pic of her today, she LOVES my daughter's Dora chair. It's just the right size for her now, I am curious to see how she will curl up in it when she full grown.

Graduation!

Molly graduated from puppy school on May 11th. There wasn't a specific test to pass, I think it is just for the fact we get to dress our dogs in cute mortarboards. She (and I) got a lot out of the classes. Most of the puppies got "sit" down, perhaps not all by a verbal command, but it's a start. Molly needs some work with "come when called". If she is to distracted I won't even get a glance in my direction. She does however got "down" down, but only by luring. Here is a photo of her in her graduation hat!

Training on May 5th

This afternoon we practiced more of "come when called" and "down". She has "sit" pretty much down and will come sit in front of me when ever I am holding a treat; I don't really have the opportunity to practice to actually put her into a sit. We haven't started with using the verbal commands, but that will come soon enough. The only thing that is causing a problem is her attention span and interference by distractions. While at puppy school, she is hard to call for, there are just too many things going on that are more exciting than me. I'm still looking for that magic noise I can make to get her attention; I can not whistle and my voice is a bit soft. Once I do have her attention, and she sees that I have treats, running off again to play doesn't really happen.

The mouthing and nipping is still in full force as well the chewing. It is frustrating.

Puppy School

Puppy school began on the Monday following the adoption, after just three days at home. The class runs four weeks, and has been pretty helpful. I am doing some training at home too, using a clicker. She is responding well to it, being that she can hear it much better than my voice in a distracting situation.

Socialization is a big part of Molly's life right now. The puppies in the class all play together well and I have been trying to take her to as many places that I can during this important time. We have gone to PetsMart, so she could help shop, played with the neighborhood dogs and met the neighbors. We also have driven around for errands and to my son's daycare so she could be handled by several kids at a time.

Next week, May 11th is the last class, and there will be a graduation "ceremony" where the puppies will wear little motarboards, tassel and all.