Puppy Diaries: 8 months old!
I enjoyed a stroll down memory lane reading my previous Puppy Diary entries. We've come so far in 6 months! As I write this, my not-so-little monster is curled up against me, snoozing. This is especially impressive because we had only one walk today due to the weather (I draw the line at thunderstorms). I hope she's not bouncing off the walls at bedtime.
But overall, she's a pretty chill 8 month old. She needs consistent exercise, of course, but I think we learned our lesson with Kimber not to build another endurance monster. Some yard play during the day plus a good hike or doggie playdate in the evening and she's settled down. (Until her injury, we had to dedicate 2 hours per day, minimum, to exercising Kimber.)
Her barking in the house is *much* better. She very rarely barks at us, saving it for alert barking when she sees something outside or when she hears barking on TV and can't figure out where her new friends are.
We've learned to limit her crate time as much as possible. She's no longer throwing tantrums, but being confined seems to wind her up. Luckily, she's well behaved enough to give her free reign while one of us is home. While DH works, she naps on the couch or hangs out in his office; she's done a good job adjusting to his work schedule and waiting for him to be available to play with her rather than interrupting him.
I'm thrilled that she remains to be a champion cuddler. Even though she's nearly 50 lbs, she still wants to climb in my lap and curl up. At night, she puppy piles on me. I've noticed that as the temperature climbs she's now seeking cooler climes after an initial cuddle; I hope that's temporary.
We still have our challenges: mulch eating; counter surfing (but we've pretty much cleared the counters so she's almost given up for lack of bounty); and newest, jumping. But she's bright and biddable, and I'm confident that all the time we pour into her will pay off in an amazing dog. She's already pretty darn great!
