Not Quite Grown Up Yet

OK, so I spoke too soon yesterday when I said that Millie was all grown up. She is in fact 10-months old on this date, but has managed more than once today to prove to me that she has not yet outgrown her puppy ways.

Case-in-point #1: Still Muddy







I took these pictures after the THIRD time I cleaned her up today from getting in the mud. The pictures do not do justice to the amount of mud caked onto her legs. We barely even have any mud in our back yard right now (Brent filled the one big hole we do have in the yard and installed temporary fencing around it to keep you-know-who out of it), but Millie managed to not only find other mud, but also to get it all over her. Three times. All I can say is thank God for the water hose and her loving to be sprayed down by it. Otherwise, I'd have red clay all over my house (more so than I already do). No towel alone could ever remove that Georgia red clay from her thick white fur.

Case-in-Point #2: Damn Puppy Teeth



The past few weeks, she has definitely re-entered a heavy chewing phase. Not that it ever went away to begin with, but it had gotten a little better. I've tried to keep her gnawing at bay by giving her lots of rawhides and toys. Still, she prefers things that cost much, much more money than that. Like, for example, my glasses. Mind you, this is pair #2 that she has demolished. The good news it that I think I salvaged the lenses, so hopefully I will only have to pay for new frames. And, since she ate my last pair, I was smart enough when I purchased these (one month ago, by the way) to buy the cheapest frames they had. Insurance won't pay for them this time though, so it's "real" money now. Which leads me to case-in-point #3....

Case-in-Point #3: Time-Out for Bad Behavior



When she outgrew her crate, we knew we still needed a safe place for her to stay when we were not home. Safe for her and safe for us (see Case-in-Point #2). So, Brent built a custom gate (we haven't stained it yet) and we made our laundry room her new "kennel." Fortunately for her, she is rarely in it because I'm almost always home and she has proven (so far) that she can behave during the night and sleep in her dog bed next to our bed without causing too much damage throughout the house. But, on occasions like today when she cannot seem to behave herself, it serves as her Time-Out zone. I put her in there after discovering the eye glasses incident, and the fact that, afterward, she could not tell by my tone that she was in trouble and tried a variety of other tactics like biting me, jumping on the couch and harassing Bailey. That behavior landed her in time-out, where she still sits as I type. Mind you, her kennel is complete with big fluffy bed, a handful of toys and a giant bowl of water, so she is not suffering too badly. But, every few minutes I am hearing the miserable groan of her wanting to be out. Hopefully that is the sound of her internalizing her bad behavior and vowing to never do it again.

I know, fat chance.

What I Mean By Thoroughly Muddy

This was several months ago during a particularly rainy week. All the objects in my yard could not cover the many mud puddle opportunities. I don't think additional words are needed. 

You Have to Start Somewhere

I should have started this blog about six months ago when we first brought Millie home as an 11-week-old puppy. She has changed so much since then, as all puppies do, but I had to start somewhere, so I'm starting with today. I'll backfill along the way with more photos and stories from her puppydom. 

Actually, I'll start with yesterday. One of Millie's favorite things to do is find any source of water in yard and dig until it creates a puddle. Fortunately for her, the lay of our land (all .25 acres of it) helps her out (two close neighbors' sprinkler system coupled with our own, not to mention a pretty rainy April and May). So, hence the name of my blog: Thoroughly Muddy Millie. 

The first time I looked off my deck and saw her this muddy, I panicked about how I was going to have to take her straight to the bathtub and all the dirt and mud that was going to get into my house. I don't think it occurred to me that this was going to be a common occurrence. Now a much more seasoned puppy parent, I've learned to not fret about it and keep a stack of "Millie" towels by the back door to do the daily rub down after she has frolicked in the mud.