Mabel weighed 5 lbs when we got her, and for the first several days she didn't show much interest in food. We tried dehydrated sweet potato treats, which she liked well enough, but they gave her diarrhea. We then tried dehydrated elk liver and that is pure gold to her. Her appetite has since improved and she's learned to get kibble out of the puppy kongs. She generally eats about 90% of the calories she should be getting each day. She loves ice cubes and likes putting her paws in the very cold water. Usually she'll paw at the cubes until she knocks some out, then she'll chew on them.
Mable is like most dogs and loves to chew. She doesn't seem to love any of the chew toys we've gotten her though. She likes the raw hide that her breeder sent home with her the best, but really she'd much rather chew on rocks, sticks, and landscape fabric. She can get pretty nippy on us humans, especially when she hasn't been sufficiently played with, but we are working on training her to have a soft mouth and she's getting better. She loves roughing about with other dogs and should not be underestimated. I think, once trained up, she will make a fantastic hunting dog due in part to her impressive bursts of energy and her ability to run and play for hours on end.
Our morning routine consists of playing with Mabel from around 7:30 am until she falls asleep, which usually happens between 9:00 and 10:00, and then the kids and I work on music, reading, and math. Sometimes Mabel naps in her crate inside, and sometimes she falls asleep in the dog run. Around noon we go get APS lunch, give the pup her kongs, and then spend an hour or so supervising Mabel in the back yard. Usually by 2:00 pm she is back down for an afternoon nap, the kids are free, and I have a couple of hours to work on my own projects. Five o'clock is the witching hour, when the dog is full of energy and wants to play. Matthew is usually done working around then, so he and the kids take turns keeping an eye on her while I get dinner ready. Our evenings have mostly been devoted to Mabel, which is actually just fine since the weather has been lovely once the sun gets lower and we are all tired enough that lounging about in the back yard is all any of us really want to do anyway. The kids typically head to bed around 8:30. We try to give Mable some alone, down time in the dog run while Matthew and I go for a walk or exercise, then by 10:00 ish Mable goes down for the night. Matthew has taken most of the night shifts, sleeping on the couch and taking the pup out to potty. She's gotten pretty good and can go five or six hours sometimes. She usually is up with the sun at 5:30 and the 60 to 90 minutes until the humans are ready to be awake is often the most whiny hour of the day. She gets her breakfast around 7:00. Once the kids are up around 8:00 am, they go out with her and the routine starts all over again.
I've never ever been a dog person, and have been quite opposed to having pets the entirety of our marriage. When the opportunity of getting Mabel came along, I felt strongly like it would be good for our family. I can't say yet that I'm totally loving having a dependent animal that requires all kinds of attention and whose schedule we have bent our lives around. She has cramped our style some in that we can't just leave on an adventure, or even go to the grocery store, without making sure she is supervised. I imagine that will ease up once she is fully vaccinated and thoroughly potty trained though. She is darling, and honestly, much cleaner than I anticipated. The kids have done an outstanding job of scooping poop, and the only time she's in the house is when she's in her crate. There's a certain satisfaction that comes from training her to sit and come, and the kids are definitely learning to have some real responsibility that can't be sloughed off. I look forward to seeing how this little pup blesses our lives.
Mable is like most dogs and loves to chew. She doesn't seem to love any of the chew toys we've gotten her though. She likes the raw hide that her breeder sent home with her the best, but really she'd much rather chew on rocks, sticks, and landscape fabric. She can get pretty nippy on us humans, especially when she hasn't been sufficiently played with, but we are working on training her to have a soft mouth and she's getting better. She loves roughing about with other dogs and should not be underestimated. I think, once trained up, she will make a fantastic hunting dog due in part to her impressive bursts of energy and her ability to run and play for hours on end.
Our morning routine consists of playing with Mabel from around 7:30 am until she falls asleep, which usually happens between 9:00 and 10:00, and then the kids and I work on music, reading, and math. Sometimes Mabel naps in her crate inside, and sometimes she falls asleep in the dog run. Around noon we go get APS lunch, give the pup her kongs, and then spend an hour or so supervising Mabel in the back yard. Usually by 2:00 pm she is back down for an afternoon nap, the kids are free, and I have a couple of hours to work on my own projects. Five o'clock is the witching hour, when the dog is full of energy and wants to play. Matthew is usually done working around then, so he and the kids take turns keeping an eye on her while I get dinner ready. Our evenings have mostly been devoted to Mabel, which is actually just fine since the weather has been lovely once the sun gets lower and we are all tired enough that lounging about in the back yard is all any of us really want to do anyway. The kids typically head to bed around 8:30. We try to give Mable some alone, down time in the dog run while Matthew and I go for a walk or exercise, then by 10:00 ish Mable goes down for the night. Matthew has taken most of the night shifts, sleeping on the couch and taking the pup out to potty. She's gotten pretty good and can go five or six hours sometimes. She usually is up with the sun at 5:30 and the 60 to 90 minutes until the humans are ready to be awake is often the most whiny hour of the day. She gets her breakfast around 7:00. Once the kids are up around 8:00 am, they go out with her and the routine starts all over again.
I've never ever been a dog person, and have been quite opposed to having pets the entirety of our marriage. When the opportunity of getting Mabel came along, I felt strongly like it would be good for our family. I can't say yet that I'm totally loving having a dependent animal that requires all kinds of attention and whose schedule we have bent our lives around. She has cramped our style some in that we can't just leave on an adventure, or even go to the grocery store, without making sure she is supervised. I imagine that will ease up once she is fully vaccinated and thoroughly potty trained though. She is darling, and honestly, much cleaner than I anticipated. The kids have done an outstanding job of scooping poop, and the only time she's in the house is when she's in her crate. There's a certain satisfaction that comes from training her to sit and come, and the kids are definitely learning to have some real responsibility that can't be sloughed off. I look forward to seeing how this little pup blesses our lives.
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