This week J has worked out that he runs three miles with Margot every morning. Plus she walks at least two miles with me on the lead in the afternoons, either to the bus stop to meet P or around the common when we have extra curricular sporting clubs to get to in the early evening. No wonder our pup sleeps quite a bit during the day. Or is that what most dogs do as a matter of course?
Last weekend, my brother visited for the day with his two dogs so Margot had a field day in terms of playtime. She didn’t stop running about after Freddy, playing tug or teasing him with a stick. I think our pup really missed the extra company come Sunday.
Running Free
You can see in the photos the freedom Margot felt when we went up into the forest with Freddy and Dexter. It was so brilliant to see them all chasing each other and running about. Well, really it was Freddy and Margot doing most of the chasing while Dexter, being that much older, looked on as if he was past all that.
At a later point, one of the two younger dogs picked up a stick and there was a race to steal it from the other one, followed by some rounds of ‘come and get it’. This was hilarious to watch – I haven’t seen Margot play this game before but she certainly picked up the rules very quickly. The way she teased Freddy with half of the stick hanging out of her mouth waiting for him to chase her was so funny. They passed it back and forth between them quite a few times.Â
Tug o’ War
I really enjoy playing tug games with Margot at home. She communicates very clearly when she wants to play by choosing something from her toy box which is long enough for me to grab hold of with my hands whilst she grasps the other end between her jaws. It doesn’t always look that comfortable but she never lets go without a fight. Each time we play I am reminded how strong she is!
G brought a massive piece of rope with him as a toy for the dogs (another Amazon purchase) and you can see in the pictures how much Freddy and Margot enjoyed fighting each other for it. Both of them were determined to hold on. I’d love to have seen how this game was initiated between the two of them – I only saw what was going on when they were going for it in the kitchen…
Excited to have a playmate
Seeing the dogs together having so much fun this weekend reminds me why company with other dogs can be such a positive experience.
Of course, it’s important that dogs are socialised when they are young wherever possible and know how to behave with each other. Not all dogs are as excitable and exuberant with others as our pup and we are still very careful when we are out and about. Margot loves to interact and play with any other dog she meets, but we do follow that unwritten rule: if a dog walker sees us and puts their dog on a lead, we do the same.
I’m bushed
After all that excitement on Saturday and with very little rest during the day, our pup was exhausted during the evening. At least it meant that she was extra snuggly on the sofa though.
Margot says…
I don’t like it when they all go out of the house and leave me on my own. It’s too quiet. Occasionally, they leave the door open into the room with the comfy chairs, which means that I can look out of the window and see when they come back. It is quite exciting when there is movement outside. It doesn’t happen that often sadly.Â
Next week… What’s the best way to look for a dog walker? I’ve started doing some research on our local dog-friendly Facebook group.
This week, we decided to head for somewhere completely different to give Margot a new experience. I can’t remember if ‘the beach’ was on the socialisation list as a location in either ‘Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy’ or Graham Hall’s book I referred to in earlier blog posts. According to the Oracle, some dogs absolutely love the sand and the sea and others don’t. We wondered which side of the fence our pup would be on. It didn’t take very long to find out…
It should have been the postponed puppy play date on the Saturday with my brother and his dogs, but I was paranoid that Margot’s eyes weren’t completely better – G and I agreed that it was better to be safe than sorry.
Heading to the Beach
In the car on the way to the coast, there were times where it seemed as though Margot knew we were going somewhere new and exciting. At other times she lay down and went to sleep… (She is clipped in to the seatbelt on the back seat, I promise.)
First Time on the Sand
Although there was the usual coastal wind to contend with, the skies were blue and the spring sun shone. It was perfect for our first foray onto a sandy beach. Near to the car park on a large grassy verge, there were quite a large number of dogs, both on and off the lead so plenty of distraction for our young pup as we crossed over to find the sand. We chose to walk on the beach where there were fewer people, but on a day like today, it was always going to be busy. Time to practise that recall over and over again then…
Playing on the Beach
It was so lovely to see Margot’s excitement and exuberance at having the freedom to frolic about on the sand. She and P chased each other and there was a bit of interaction with a couple of other dogs. The one in the picture below was very friendly; the other I didn’t get a photo of was a bit too friendly and had to be dragged away by his owner. Still, no actual harm done. As predicted, we had plenty of opportunities to practise her recall and she came straight back 95% of the time. Nobody on either end of the age spectrum – children or people with walking sticks – were approached or jumped on by our pup. I’ll take that as a win.
To start with, Margot stayed very much on the sand and the sporadic piles of shingle thrown up on the beach by the waves. However, it didn’t take long for her to dip her paws into the water, especially when P started to try her hand at skimming stones. Margot would chase them, but never brought any back.
Loving the Water
When the sun shines down onto the surface of the water, the sea always looks incredibly inviting. In reality, it is really cold at this time of the year, but that didn’t stop Margot from running in and out of the waves. Fortunately, there was no complete immersion although she did get very wet.
We had a few concerns when we saw her drinking the sea water – apparently it can cause a stomach upset or diarrheoa even with the smallest of amounts. I remember having mouthfuls of salty water when swimming in the sea as a child. It’s certainly not a pleasant taste so I was surprised Margot would even try it to be honest. Or perhaps having tried it, making a conscious effort not to ingest any more. (Either she didn’t drink very much sea water at all or her stomach has an iron constitution. Another win in my book.)
Afterwards…
Once we had all had enough of strolling up and down along the sand, we made for the grassy verge behind the natural sand dunes. At this point the portable water bowl was vital – I’ve never seen Margot so thirsty before and she guzzled the lot. She also has this odd way of lying on the ground sometimes. We call it the ‘Superman’ even though this position is the antithesis of flying. Surely it can’t be comfortable.
If you google taking dogs to the beach, there are plenty of safety precautions to consider: firstly, checking that the beach is dog friendly; looking out for broken glass or sharp objects; discouraging your dog from eating sand and sea water; being aware of the tides and currents if they go into the water; taking great care when walking on a clifftop and protecting your pup from heatstroke. We didn’t have to worry about that last one on this occasion, but I did read a few warnings about washing the salt out of their fur after a dip in the sea. (I think if I’d done the googling beforehand, we may not have ventured that far. But it’s fair to say that we all really enjoyed it, especially Margot, so I’m really glad that her first experience of the Dorset coastline was a positive one.)
In the Forest (again)
Over the weekend we also took Margot back to the forest. Here we came across a six-month old labrador puppy which was much larger than our pup. I couldn’t believe it when the owner said that her dog was a month younger than Margot. It made us realise just how petite she is and that the 25% of miniature poodle in her heritage may well make all the difference. I do hope so – she looks really cute being the size that she is. I’d love it if she didn’t grow too much more to reach her full adult weight. However, I realise that there is still a fair way to go yet. I’ll keep you posted.
Margot Asleep (or nearly…)
Margot says…
‘I had so much fun at the beach. There was so much space to run around on the sand and on the edge of the water. I couldn’t understand why it tasted funny and sometimes it kept chasing me. I do hope we go back there again soon.
I’m still enjoying walking around the open space near our house. The big person walks around the circuit at least twice but I don’t mind because she lets me explore and only calls me over when I am a long way away. Sometimes I watch her walk on ahead to see how long it is before she looks back to check where I am. It’s never that long.’
This week we were invited over to my brother’s house to introduce our pup to the two border collie puppies (one adopted, one still being fostered) and their older Lab-mix. It promised to be a big social occasion for Margot with it being the first time she would be up close and personal with other dogs without the restriction of the lead. There was some trepidation before we left our house for our afternoon of ‘fun’, but we needn’t have worried. From Margot’s point of view, those few hours had to have been the most exciting with other furry friends up to this point. (And we all had a good time too!)
Travelling in the Car
My brother and his wife live a good hour’s drive away from us. You may remember that on the previous weekend we travelled a little further afield on purpose in preparation for this increase in our car mileage. On the way there I sat in the back with Margot where J had installed one of her fluffy mats. We decided to dispense with the box seat and simply plugged her in to the seat belt to give her more of a chance to lie down in comfort. With the thick mattress raising her up a bit, there’s not much room for manoeuvre, but she certainly looks safe and comfortable travelling in the back. It only took Margot about ten minutes to settle down before she promptly fell asleep as you can see in the pictures above. The same thing happened on the return journey. We all felt that this was fortuitous in terms of getting away somewhere during the summer holidays as well as out and about in our home county.
Initial Meet and Greet
As I mentioned before, my brother has a relatively big (30kg) black Lab-mix called Dexter. P absolutely adores Dexter and she has been wanting to introduce him to Margot since we brought her home. Desperate for the two of them to get along, we were delighted when her initial meeting did not involve jumping all over Dexter and making him bark at her. We had been warned by my brother that the mature canine in the family doesn’t allow any poor puppy behaviour from the other two border collie pups. (Let’s face it, poor Dexter had to put up with eight puppies from October when their arrival was a complete surprise. It must have been a huge shock to his system as well as to the humans in the house. I think he has coped rather well.)
Before long, Margot was following Dexter around like a lost puppy – it was so sweet to see. The icing on the cake was when she picked up his beloved toy and placed it at his feet having watched him play with it for quite some time. My brother had been expecting some growling, but not a bit of it – they seemed like firm friends from the outset.
In the Garden
When we first arrived, Freddie and Axel, the two border collie puppies who are ten weeks younger than Margot, were kept back in their gated space. Two total fluffballs, they were the ones barking in their excitement to get involved. And so cuddly. Whoever said that dogs don’t like being picked up has never met these two: so soft and so happy for human contact. I was expecting some bitey behaviour, comparing them to when Margot was that age, so initially I was a little wary, but they were ever so sweet. In fact I was a little bit envious!
In the garden, Margot soon took the lead, but again, the three of them played together beautifully. My theory is that there was no lead to get in the way or fight against, but instead the freedom to run around. They were probably tired before we even got to the agility park…
Agility Park
G and N had booked us thirty minutes at an agility park down the road for the dogs to run about in. And run around they did. In fact they did nothing else apart from run around and chase each other. Again it looked like so much fun. Margot had a ball. The three puppies have matching harnesses in an array of colours which you can see in the first picture below. In the fourth photo it almost looks like Margot is giving Dexter a kiss – maybe it was that moment he realised that she was a female. (Cue some awkward behaviour…)
What’s great about this place is that you are inside a fenced field with no fear that the dogs can run off anywhere whilst not on a lead. Recall practice didn’t really work on this occasion with too many other distractions. Although if you came somewhere like this on your own, it would be perfect for practising that. In terms of the agility equipment in the field, J managed to encourage our pup through the tunnel and P used the mini jumps with Margot successfully – when she didn’t knock them off herself with her wellies!
Our first official puppy social was a great success and one we are hoping to repeat once a month in the future. Now I can see why puppy classes have such a benefit. Margot was, in my brother’s words, ‘brilliant’ with the other dogs and it was easy to see that she had a wonderful time.
Six-month Vet Check
Last weekend we also had our monthly weigh in with the veterinary nurse, the lovely Alice we have seen three times now. The first thing she said (after commenting on how much Margot had grown) was that she was going to be a petite dog. Apparently, her feet are quite small now in comparison to the rest of her body. Having considered her paws as being on the large side for quite some weeks, this took me by surprise. But I suppose it’s all relative now that she’s grown a bit more. Although it took Margot a few attempts to walk onto the weighing scales and sit down, our pup got there in the end and is now just above 13kg. (No wonder I have difficulty lifting her up!)
We also used this opportunity to ask Alice’s advice about spaying. Margot will be coming up to six months old in a couple of weeks. Any time after that we can expect to see signs of her first season. According to the pdsa website, the signs to look out for are ‘a swollen vulva, changes in behaviour and bleeding, which can be light or heavy.’ It usually lasts for 16-18 days and happens every 6-7 months. There was also the warning that she will become very interested in male dogs – this made me smile to myself as Margot continually strains at the leash whenever we come across any other dog, male or female.
I remember our first meeting with a vet for Margot’s second set of vaccinations, where she spoke to us about the benefits of spaying. It is certainly a priority for the near future as I can’t see us going down the breeding route. Lynwood recommend the surgery 18-22 weeks after the first season so it could be over the summer holidays. But then again, the first season can be as late as when the dog is two and a half years old so it’s not worth planning for it yet.
Alice mentioned laparoscopic spaying, which has a range of advantages: it’s less invasive, takes under an hour, leaves smaller surgical wounds, has a lower risk of infection and offers a quicker recovery time. I suspect it comes with a heftier price tag too. But something else for us to consider when the time comes. I’ll keep you posted…
Margot says…
‘I know that this seat pad is too small for me now, but if I curl up I can just about sit on it. I’m not sure why I look so guilty in this picture. I haven’t chewed on any forbidden furniture recently, I promise! Lots of it tastes really bitter anyway. I don’t know what it is that they are spraying, but I don’t like it at all.
I had the best time ever a few days ago hanging out with that group of dogs. The old chap was my favourite, but the little boy pups were good fun too. They had bundles of energy just like me and kept following me around the garden. I liked being the leader!’
Margot Asleep
And finally…
Next week… it’s half-term, so lots of visits to and by friends and hopefully some more adventures a bit further afield.