Watch Dog

It's been awhile since I have written about Daisy, but I am never lacking stories about her! Life is sometimes too busy!

When we first rescued Daisy, it was really interesting to see how she didn't know the typical "cues" dogs tend to learn since she had been a stray. For example, most dogs react to the sound of a doorbell or knock at the door. She has mastered it now.

When the weather is nice, we leave our back door open so she can go in and out as she pleases. This has been both a positive and negative choice by us. Because we were often leaving the door open, Daisy wasn't having any accidents in the house which we thought was great! Except that when we didn't open the door, the accidents were very frequent - she wasn't learning how to tell us she had to go, even though she knew she was supposed to outside. We are still managing this but the 3 of us have gotten much better at communicating :) On the other hand, it gives her more free space to roam when we get home and need to get her dinner or our dinner ready. 

She is seen here playing watch dog. I think it is so cute when she sits there like that just looking for someone to come. Usually she barks when she hears someone come in or approaching our house. It's quite funny because she is so gentle. She puts on a good front. 

Racer

There are many things I am learning about "parenting" a dog and I really find that the most important things have been boundaries, consistency and exercise. I never realized how much exercise dogs need until I saw how much energy our dog has when we wake up in the morning or let her out of the crate in the afternoon. I grew up in a family of mostly small dogs, 25lbs or less, who do not necessarily need much exercise or playing to tire themselves out. All of that has changed since Daisy, the 38lbs lap dog came into our lives.

There are some afternoons when I let her out of the crate that she runs laps in our mediocre size yard at the speed of what seems like a cheetah. It could be just puppy spurts, but she looks like a maniac. Regardless, I don't always feel like it is enough.

As my husband and I have started to get into running, we have decided to turn some of our walks with Daisy into runs. The first few times we were hesitant as we weren't sure if she could keep up or how long she would last. My first run with her was two weeks ago and man can she run! For our first mile I had to keep up with her, and the second mile she had to keep up with me.

We have recently been enforcing "heel" in our training and she's getting really great at it which is making our walks and runs much easier. Our furthest distance so far is 3 miles. I hope she can keep up with our endurance as we gain our miles!


As a side note, since Daisy is a rescue dog, we have thought some of her behavior has shown a sense of anxiety. We're not positive about it, and we are doing things to avoid it, but it can be difficult for animal to really express themselves. I have recently read that longer walks and more exercise helps with anxiety in dogs, not only because it tires them out, but because it clears their mind the way exercise does for humans! Neat, huh?

Here she is after our first run together. We were both tired. It was a hazy, hot and humid afternoon.

Crazy Daisy's Toys

Since my in-laws do not have any grandchildren yet (my husband is their only married child and we aren't popping any time soon) they of course had to spoil Daisy as their first grand-dog with toys and treats. We learned very quickly that Daisy has great teeth! 

We are so lucky that she has never tried to nibble or snap, even while being playful. 

Daisy loves the animal looking toys with squeakers in them - the more squeakers the better! You bet that the squeaker will be out in a maximum of a day's time, or less. When we through three destroyed squeaker toys in one week, we knew we needed to seek new options.

After several destroyed toys, we had to find some alternatives or the cost of upkeep on her toys would drive us to bankruptcy! 

We were told the best types of toys to give her while she is in the crate are ones she has to work at...her all time favorite is her Kong. I used to think this was just used to put peanut butter in, but they have Kong treats that fit right inside and really make the pup work to get it out! Daisy wasn't a huge fan of the peanut butter anyway. We have two Kongs for Daisy...she loves to play and nibble on them even without the treats! She likes it in the crate, on the couch or outside. Worth the purchase!

Daisy's First Day Home

My husband and I adopted Daisy on May 10, 2014. She was named Emma by the shelter we found her at, but she wasn't yet responding to that name so the transition was quite simple. She is approximately one year old and according to her records she is a Lab/Pug mix. When she feels like playing her Lab role we call her Crazy Daisy and when she feels like acting like a Pug, we call her Lazy Daisy. She is a great mix of both.

Since adopting Daisy, Brendan and I have learned so many new things about ourselves, as well as the newest member of our family. I can’t imagine what it is like to have children because this 35lbs bundle of pooch has opened my heart in new ways I never imagined! Daisy has not only taught us new ways to love, but also new ways we must work together. Since she was a rescue, she had very little training or boundaries in her first year of life so we basically have to start fresh with her as if she were a new puppy. Training must be consistent with Daisy and we don’t expect anything to happen over night.

I hope through our new life with Daisy, we can share some fun stories with you about the experiences we have as first time dog parents.

Here she is on her first day as a McCaffrey. She hated her first car ride home. I imagine it may have reminded her of her long ride from Indiana to Massachusetts.