Thursday, October 18, 2012

14 Weeks - Exposures

Maddie's 14th week was mostly about exposures.  Just getting her out and about around traffic noises, passing people and dogs, meeting children, and visiting new places.  She has done great and it has paid off as she hardly notices most of it.  And us humans have been having a lot of fun checking out the local, historic downtown areas and patio dinning.  I am constantly scouring the internet for good locations, festivals, and downtown events and wondering why we never did this without a puppy.
Maddie has done great with patio dining, but I do stack the odds in my favor.  We often try to eat when she has not quite woken up yet or has been busy and is ready to chill out.  I always bring a mat for her to rest on and with temperatures cooling off, I always bring something to cover her up with since she will not wear a coat.  For entertainment, I usually have a stuffed Kong and a bully stick for her to chew on.
Patio dining with the husband
Keeping Maddie entertained and happy with bully stick and stuffed Kong
Another activity we did along with Riley was the Southeastern Greyhound Adoption 5k fundraiser. Maddie and Riley were running mates.  Each runner is given the name of a greyhound at the event and name tags are attached to the leash for easy identification.  The runners often seek out their running mates to meet and take photos with.  Only the name tags were too entertaining to attach to our leashes.  
Yes, that is a person in a bunny costume at the 5k.


Maddie ended week 14 at nearly 27 pounds.  It is hard to believe she has doubled in size in six weeks!  I think she has finally outgrown "is that an Italian (or worse... "minature") greyhound".  We are still being asked often if Maddie is a whippet.  One funny conversation:

"What kind of dog is that?"
"Greyhound"
"A mix?"
"Yes, a mix between two greyhounds."

It is fun to mess with people.
Meeting a statue in downtown Decatur
Learning to be a city dog and pee on the sidewalk


Maddie's ability to "hold it" has grown in leaps and bounds.  She easily does 7 hours at night and has gone up to 5 hours during the day.  But sometimes that makes things difficult.  She used to she pee as soon as she hit the grass.  Now I might want her to pee at a certain time because I am leaving for a few hours, but she does not have to go.  Or I might be gone for close to her limit and she asks to go out too early messing up the schedule.  All in all, she is doing much better with house training.
I finally moved Maddie out of my bedroom and into her big girl crate in the dog room.  My room just cannot fit a bigger crate.  It is so small and I would not be able to get to the bathroom.  I tried to keep her next to my bed for as long as I could, but finally one night she just couldn't stretch out and get comfortable in the 30 inch long crate.  I thought I would sleep on the couch for a few nights, but she quickly got comfortable and went to sleep, so I went to back to bed.  She is in good company with Riley and Allie as neighbors.  Both are calm and steady.  It has been several nights now and she has never complained.
Weird Halloween decorations
Still has a gorgeous, comfortable sit
I continue to work on handling.  Checking her ears, rubbing her gums with dog toothpaste, touching her all over, and dremeling her nails.  I love how short her nails are.  The breeder was very good about trimming nails weekly so I have continued those efforts with weekly dremeling.  I worked very hard to get Seven and Riley's nails short enough to be up off the ground without hurting them.... Maddie's nails are well off the ground and I hope to keep them like that. 
 
The Taste of Acworth
And some hiking!