The joy of puppy hood

We have officially had one full week with Mina and it is starting to begin to feel like she belongs here now.  I've seen so much growth in her personality and she's gaining knowledge and confidence every day, not that she lacked confidence previously.  

While having a puppy can come with challenges and frustrations-potty training, crate training, and basic obedience training as well as just settling into a regular routine,  Mina has also brought new life, hope, and joy into the house.  

There are lots of things about being the mom to a young GSP that I have really missed as I lived life with my older pups over the last several years.  While I loved those precious moments with my loyal companions of many years, I am looking forward to starting this new journey with Mina and watching her learn, adventure, and experience things for the first time with the inquisitive nature of a GSP.   

Since we were home on the 4th of July this year,  I wanted to get the girls out of the house for a little fun, so we headed downtown for Lansing's July 4th parade.  The parade routes goes around the Capitol grounds and any time I go, I try to get a nice shady spot on the Capitol Lawn.  

Because Mina is new to walking on a leash, I didn't want to walk too far from where we parked so I was excited to see a nice empty spot on the southwest corner of the Capitol lawn.  In this same spot 10 years ago, Jake and I sat under the shade of a big beautiful tree and watched the parade together.  Sadly, due to recent construction at the Capitol, the big tree is no longer there, but we did find a small tree that offered us sufficient shade for the time we were there.

While a protest shortened the parade, it was nice to get out with the girls for Mina's first Capitol visit and to start making memories together.  

 

Tuesday arrived and it was back to our work from home life.  Thankfully Mina is pretty good at this point and was happy to be outside enjoying the day with Peaches.  I sat outside or inside at the dining room table so I could keep on eye on them while I worked.

Mina really likes sticks and decided to climb right into the fire pit to find some good sticks to chew.

She had her first visit to meet our friends at Patterson Veterinary Hospital this week and she was a big hit!  I mean, who doesn't love a puppy?!?  She weighed in at 14.18 pounds and did a great job with her first nail trim, a vaccination, and being handed from person to person.  I know this is the beginning of a long and happy friendship!

We have settled into a nice routine and she has some cute quirks, like standing on the bowl to drink water.  She especially likes to stick her head into the water bowl while Peaches is drinking.

She quickly discovered the toy basket and, after spending lots of time outside during the day, likes to drag all of the toys into the living room after dinner.   She prefers the big dog toys to any of the special puppy toys I bought for her and this giant bear is regularly used as a place for a nap.

Peaches is adjusting to having a puppy around, but we are still working through some growing pains.  She wants to play with Mina, but she also has times when she just wants her space.  I'm trying to make special time for her, but it isn't easy at this point.  I know in time she'll adjust and be very happy to have a little sister to play with her.  

When things like this happen, and Peaches lets Mina get this close to her, I know we'll be fine.  

When it is time to stop our play for the day and settle for the evening, the best way to make that happen is to let Mina climb into my lap.  After we snuggle for a bit, I can put her down on the cozy cave and she'll relax for the remainder of the night until bedtime. While I know I'm setting myself up to have another oversized lap dog, I can't resist holding her and snuggling while she is still a baby...because this time is going to go so quickly.

As the week progressed, Mina's confidence grew and she started playing chase with the neighbor's dogs.  Now, every time she runs outside, she is looking to see if they are out to play with her.

She and Peaches have also started playing together a little more.  

She has also decided that she wants to stick her head out the window as we drive around town.  This makes me nervous, so I haven't let her do it much, but she is pretty cute with her ears flapping in the wind.

Earlier this week I introduced her to zucchini and she wasn't quite sure about it.  I want her to like fruits and veggies because they make good healthy snacks and I love sharing with them when I'm meal prepping. 

She really enjoys lying on the kitchen floor right under my feet whenever I'm in there.  I can't tell you how many times I've tripped over her.  While she doesn't beg, I want to teach her that dogs are not allowed in the kitchen, but that she can sit just outside of the kitchen.  Saturday morning I had the perfect opportunity to start teaching her that.  

As I was making my smoothie, I dropped a blueberry.  Mina snatched it up and ran to her dog bed like she had won the lottery.  So we started working with the berries on showing  her where she could sit and get lots of delicious treats.  I'm pretty excited that she loved all of the berries I shared with her.   I haven't had a dog that loved to share berries with me like this since Imke.  I've missed that.

Saturday night I finally got to see Billy Joel in concert at Comerica Park.  I bought the tickets in November 2019 for what was supposed to be a 2020 concert.  Well, we all know what happened there.  All I can say is that it was worth the wait!  

Nicol joined me for the concert and so I got to visit with Fiona before heading to the concert, and Tyler got to be on puppy sitting duty.  I think Mina had a good time there, even though she had to be crated for part of the evening.  Crate training is still a work in progress.

Since I spent Friday night and Saturday morning catching up on laundry, cleaning, and yard work, we were able to spend time today relaxing and enjoying the day.  It was such a beautiful day to be outside!

The garden is looking good too.  I did a little work in there yesterday and I'm excited that in the next couple of days I'll be able to pick my first zucchini and basil of the season.   I can't wait for the beans and tomatoes to be ready!!  I sure do love this time of year!

Now I'm off to enjoy a peaceful evening outside before we're back to the grind again tomorrow.   Hope you all have a fantastic week!