Moxie’s is here!

Life with a puppy starts, and all of a sudden I don’t know where the time has gone. It seems to fly by, and yet I can’t believe that Moxie has been in our lives less that two weeks. The good thing is that her transition was not as drastic as with most pups. I visited her in her home located across the street. She made a few short visits here as well.

I can’t tell who Moxie will look like. She was the second smallest of the litter of 9. Both parents welcome me when I arrive. I went over to take some photographs of the litter. It is not an easy task to take pics inside, by myself, and with some active 52 day old pups.

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Puppyhood training is fresh in my mind, but Moxie is so very different a personality. She has taken to the crate, and goes in without a fuss. If she whines she settles down after a couple of minutes. When she falls asleep, she is so settled that I can pick her up and transfer her to her crate. I found her placing herself in her crate a couple of times. The only thing in her crate is her Snuggle Puppy. At night I turn on the heartbeat, and she uses the puppy as a pillow. I still have the one that Charlie used, and it is used in Moxie’s daytime crate. I was amazed that after the initial obligatory ear and tail amputation Charlie left the puppy alone. Moxie’s puppy has just had some ear licks applied.

Moxie plays with all sorts of toys. Chew toys, balls to fetch, and an empty lemonade plastic bottle she uses to play soccer. She moves from one toy to another, and doesn’t persistently chew on one toy till it is destroyed.

All puppies have shark teeth. So I am never far from a toy to replace my skin. I make it a point to have my fingers in her mouth to remove unwanted items, check her teeth, and look at her tongue. I started her on brushing her teeth though it is awkward. This will be part of her grooming routine. Golden Retriever’s are double coated, shedding dogs. Her grooming with be different. A Labradoodle is a single coated non shedding dog with more maintenance needed. This week I start showing Moxie what it takes to be a beautiful pup!

Potty training is coming along. Thinking back to my first puppy, Liberty I don’t remember as many paper towels being used. Small bladder = little piddles. But I am starting to recognize the signs. And Moxie is starting to catch on to the back door and ringing the bells.

June has been a hot month with temperatures into the 100 degrees plus. But we are vaccinated, and not under lockdown orders so Moxie has met most of my neighbors. She approaches new people with interest and a wag. I am trying to give her a new experience each day. New sights, new sounds, new tastes. Charlie’s first car ride was home from the Serenity Springs, a two hour drive. He was anxious and when we arrived he vomited. I want Moxie to be a good traveler so after a couple of days we drove out to Davis Ranch in Sloughhouse, California for fresh corn. I don’t have a harness for her yet, and so Moxie sat on my lap. Today, the vacuum cleaner came out. Fireworks are set to go off tonight.

I started working the Baxter & Bella online training program. I am glad I subscribed to this program with Charlie. At the time training could only be accomplished online. With one payment I have a lifetime membership. Moxie is taking to the training. First I reward the behavior through luring, then I name the behavior. Commands that she learned so far include: sit, down, touch, and sit to say please, go potty, and of course respond to her name. I notice when she starts to move into zone 3 or 4, and I am starting to get her to relax on her back with soothing cradling. This may allow me to cut her nails which I think will be a light color. Yes, easier!

So far Moxie has been quite a different puppy. I now see just how much anxiety my Charlie displayed. When he napped, he still was alert. He would get up if anything moved. I can leave the room, make noise, and Moxie remains asleep.

I swear that when she gets up from some of her naps she seems to have grown. I am enjoying the ability to sweep her up in my arms and get her out the door to potty. I know this will not last, but I am enjoying it while it does.

Collars by Woofas Rainbows and Raindrops is Moxie’s first collar. I ordered an ID tag from Red Dingo.

Got a little extra sleep in this morning. I plan to take more pictures every week. Stay tuned.