Sally's Debut at the Dog Park

It was a rare sunny winter day and we decided to take the girls to the dog park. Now this wasn't just any dog park outing, but it was Sally's FIRST time going to the dog park and it was Lucy's first time back to the dog park since last fall. Lucy seemed to know what was going on as I packed their bag with towels, wipes, leashes, and dog treats. She whined with anticipation and as soon as I opened the front door, she sprinted to the car. Sally, on the other hand, didn't know what was going on. This was the first time she rode in the car without being in her doggie crate and thankfully, she wasn't squirmy. She just laid down on the backseat...meanwhile, Lucy was drooling down the side of the window while she eagerly sniffed the fresh air out the window. As we pulled up to the dog park, Lucy whined and could hardly contain herself.

As soon as we got to the off-leash area, Lucy took off sprinting, as she usually does. Lucy took off to check out the 100+ dogs at Ft. Steilacoom while Sally didn't know what to think. She was overwhelmed by all the sights and smells. We thought Sally would sprint off in excitement and eagerly chase after all the doggies because after all, that is what she does at home. She sprints up and down the stairs, sprints in and out of the house, and chases after Lucy. Sally is fearless and fiesty. We thought the dog park woudl be no different. But, I think she didn't quite feel comfortable with all the big dogs, so she stayed close by our side and desperately tried to stay close to Lucy's side. However, Lucy had another idea...she was excited to have a "break" from her little sister and could care less where Sally was. LOL!

One positive thing we learned from the dog park outing was that Sally is starting to take to her training. She does recognize her name...a few times we called her name and she did come running to us.

We will have to try this again and continue to socialize Sally with other dogs. While Sally is clearly comfortable with Lucy, she is still very much tentative with other dogs, which is normal considering Sally is only 12 weeks old.

Here is a video clip of when we first arrived at Ft. Steilacoom Dog Park...

Sally's 12-Week Vet Appointment

Today, we had Sally's 12-week vet appointment where she received a couple of her vaccine boosters. When she arrived at our house, Sally weighed 10 lbs and was 8-weeks-old. Now after a month living with us, she weighs in at 20 lbs! She is a growing girl! The vet cleared her to go on daily walks, go to the dog park, and socialize with other dogs. Now that she is vaccinated, we can begin her leash training and get her used to playing with other dogs.

The first few weeks were a rough adjustment - for Lucy, Sally, and us. But now we are really into a routine. Some updates/milestones for our little Sally Brown:

• Sally is able to sleep overnight for 6-8 hours. If we go to bed between 10-11 pm, most nights she can sleep until 6 AM without a midnight potty break.
• Sally is getting good at the housetraining. She rarely has accidents inside and when she does, it is usually our fault (we didn't recognize her signs - pacing, whining, etc).
• Thanks to Lucy's lead, Sally is starting to respond to verbal commands. She looks at us when we say her name, when we say "time to go" she follows Lucy's lead and goes into her crate, and she is starting to whine and pace when she has to go out.
• Sally's personality is almost completely opposite of Lucy's. Sally is fearless and fiesty while Lucy is reserved and tentative. Sally will sprint up and down the stairs without fear of tumbling and slipping. Sally will take a running leap at Lucy to play with her, despite their dramatic size difference.
• Sally loves Lucy. Sally loves to snuggle up next to Lucy and if given the choice to snuggle on the couch or bed with us or snuggle on the dog bed next to Lucy, Sally will always choose Lucy. It is very cute to see the two of them bond to each other.
• Sally is mischievious and will get into anything left out. She loves to sneak into the laundry bin and chew on sweaty socks or our shoes. NOTE: Lucy never had this tendency.
• We love Sally, but we are constantly reminded how great of a puppy Lucy was and how well-behaved Lucy is. Hopefully Sally will follow Lucy's great example.

New Addition to the Peanut Gallery - Meet Sally

Clark and I have only been married a few months, but we expanded our family. No, I am not pregnant...but we adopted another puppy! Lucy has been such a great dog that we couldn't resist getting another one. We have talked about it many times, but never found the right puppy or somehow talked ourselves out of it. However, we came across this cute little yellow lab mix and we just knew she was part of our family.

Meet Sally (named afte Sally Brown from the Peanuts comic strip), our 8-week-old yellow lab mix. We think she is mixed with Pitt Bull Terrier, German Shepard, and Sharpei. She is a shelter dog, so who knows. But whatever she is, she is darn cute.

We brought her home on the Friday before Christmas - Merry Christmas to us! Lucy wasn't sure what to make of her...she wagged her tail with excitement, but after the first day, she seemed annoyed that Sally was still here. Sally is snuggly and very loving, but man, she has a lot of energy! We are reminded how much work puppies are with the housetraining, crating, and constant attention they need. Getting Sally also made us appreciate Lucy that much more...Lucy is such an independent, mellow dog. Sally is a puppy that needs to be taken out every few hours to potty when we are home and can only sleep 4-5 hours at night before whining and needing to go outside. Needless to say, Clark and I are very tired in this first week of parenthood.