expending puppy energy

We have had to become a little creative in how to exercise our puppy, as she is not yet fully vaccinated and thus the vet strongly recommended that we wait to take her on walks.  Bummer.  So, what do  you do with a 15 week old Australian Shepherd puppy that has more energy than the Energizer Bunny?  Use the treadmill and teach her how to fetch, of course.

Exhibit A:  The Treadmill
Around the time we adopted Maeby, we simultaneously fell in love with Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer.  One of the tricks he uses to exercise dogs is by using a treadmill.  So, we have been doing this with little Maeby.  She goes about 1/2 mile at 3.5-4.0 mph and does fantastic, except when Sonora walks by, which almost always necessitates a flying leap off of the treadmill by Maeby, who never passes up an opportunity to try Sonora's patience.

Exhibit B:  Fetching
The comment I always receive after indicating that we adopted an Australian Shepherd is, "Oh.  They have a lot of energy."  Yes.  I know.  That is kinda why we picked the breed.  With this in mind, we decided to reinforce her fetching using some yummy treats, so that we can help her burn off some energy, even when we are too tuckered out from a full day of work to move out of the patio lounge chair.  Please pardon the dusty backyard.  We hate it too.

Now while this all is super fun, if everyone could join with us and cross your fingers in hopes of the vet clearing Maeby to go on walks this week, that would just be stellar.  Muchas gracias.

maebysaurus rex

As it turns out, Maeby is a puppy.  Meaning she loves to chew.  Anything.  Hence the nickname "Maebysaurus Rex."  However, we are being very diligent about supervising her, so there haven't been any serious casualties, if you don't count the stuffed Monkey's arms.  It's okay... he wasn't using them anyway.  

She's been pretty fun.  She loves playing fetch and can usually go about 10 rounds before the puppy-ADD kicks in and she is off to tackle the nearest stuffed dog toy.  She is very observant and has pretty much already caught on to the command "Sit" by watching 'Nora and Franzie.  And, Nora and her are getting along pretty well and have become awesome playmates.  But Nora doesn't mind putting her in her place when she bites a little too hard with those sharp puppy teeth.  Let's see... Her favorite place to catch an afternoon snooze is under the coffee table.  AND, the BEST news is that, after the first few nights home that were a little rough, she has been sleeping through the night!!!  Yay!  

She has already doubled her weight in the two weeks that we have had her, weighing in now at 8 lbs.  Oh, how they grow up so fast.  :)

maeby

Meet the newest addition to our family.  Her name is Maeby (Arrested Development, anyone?)...

Maeby and her froggy best friend, Tobias.

Maeby is an Australian Shepherd.  We just adopted her today and she is a sweet heart!  We think she is going to be an awesome running and hiking buddy!  She is so funny because she will fall asleep anywhere, practically mid-stride.  Narcoleptic?  Could be fun.  Ha ha!

And, we feel that she is taking everything pretty well.  She seems pretty calm and collected considering she was taken away from all of her brothers and sisters today, had to endure a complete change of environment and take her first bath.  Whew.  What a day!  Maybe she will sleep well tonight?!  Well, here's to hoping...

Post bath and our reading material for the next few months.

Sonora has taken to her better than expected.  While she is treating her with somewhat bored indifference, it looks like they are going to get along.  

Future BFFs.

We are so excited about our newest little family member!  I'm sure there will be more puppy pictures to come in the near future!