Stevie is doing much better being on her own since Megan left her crate where she has access to it. Megan said she felt bad about Stevie being in the crate (the door is always open), but I tried to explain to her that many dogs think of it as their "den" or "sanctuary" and feel safe there. Dogs think humans are crazy because our "dens" are so big and roomy.

Anyway, they have been working on "step up" and "step down" as verbal commands with the stairs at the end of the bed. Stevie is great at going up: as soon as she realizes she's there, she bounds up two at a time. If Megan throws her toys (to play fetch) and Stevie realizes they aren't on the bed, Megan will tell her "Step down!" and she'll go find the stairs, make her way down them and go get the toy. She's really something!

G

Stevie loves her new "key chain" so much, Megan has determined that she is going to go back to Petsmart and buy all the rest of them. I'm thinking of pilfering one from her to give to Newt. He sometimes gets anxious when we leave, so if he has something to chew on, it might help.

She continues to go up and down the stairs and gets better at it all the time.

Smart, cute, funny... as Megan would say, "I had a date like that once".

Min Pin hugs, G

Megan and Stevie went to Petsmart this afternoon to talk to a trainer and get an initial evaluation. Stevie rode in her crate in the car and Megan let her out in the parking lot. But she gets so excited when she's outside, she spins around and around, so Megan carried her into the store. Stevie loved all the new smells. The evaluation area is away from other parts of the store and she let Stevie wander around and sniff and snuffle to her hearts content while Megan chatted with the trainer and they observed the pup's behavior. The trainer commented that it was great to see a pup so young okay with wandering away from her owner in a strange environment. She knew there was another dog there (there's a house dog that one of the trainers has there), but it didn't frighten her or keep her from exploring every inch of the evaluation area. The trainer said Stevie is "very intelligent and confident". I said, "she didn't say that where Stevie could hear her, did she???" But, too late, yes, she had. I reminded Megan of the vet who told my IMPS rescue boy Newton he was "handsome and brave"... he has never let me forget it.

No trip to Petsmart would be complete without bringing home a new toy. Stevie got a rubber "donut" that looks like it has chocolate frosting and sprinkles on it and a ring of "keys" that have different hardnesses and textures. Megan said that the keys have been keeping Stevie occupied since they got home.

Stevie continues to go up and down "her" stairs and if she wants to get up on the bed, Megan refuses to help her; she has to use the stairs. She takes two at a time going up, but all four going down. Going down the stairs is still a little scary, but she's doing it more on her own every day.

I've added a new photo to the gallery so you can Stevie on her stairs with the keys in her mouth. Megan said she's been running around the apartment with those keys in her mouth ever since they got back and it's just too funny.

Oh, yeah, Megan also left Stevie's crate in her area with her while she was gone today along with as many toys as she felt comfortable leaving her with without supervision. It must have made some kind of difference, because Stevie didn't tear up her papers today. Hmmm.

More soon...
G

It's official: Stevie can go up *and* down the stairs at the end of Megan's bed all by herself. She's still a little hesitant on the "down" part, but she even took herself down the stairs to go potty yesterday! (Yes, she is back to going potty on the potty papers 100% again.)

Stevie's latest trick is that she has learned to go up the stairs *with* her toys in her mouth. One more place she can move her toys!

She's still just a little bundle of energy all the time, and as much as Megan loves her, I think she's looking forward to a time when it's not "all bounce all the time", which, I hate to tell her, is going to be a few years...

Cheers!
G

Stevie went to the vet today for her last set of puppy shots. She weighed in at 4.6 lbs... about a pound for every month old she is. They said she may have allergies (her eyes are a little weepy at times) and the doctor took a long time looking at her eyes. She seemed to think there was some type of reaction and encouraged Megan to get her checked out by a specialist. That is, of course, the plan after a few other items are taken care of.

She seems to be getting bored or anxious as she has been tearing up her papers during the day when Megan is gone. So far, the DAP doesn't appear to be helping that issue, but she's only had it for a couple of days. The vet gave Megan some reading material and separation anxiety information. It's probably time to get her some more engaging toys, too. I feel another trip to Petsmart coming on.

G