Friday, November 26, 2010

Thankful for so much...

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and family! We had a very nice one with my in-laws, very relaxing. On Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we picked up a little something that's been keeping me extremely busy. Here she is....
She is 9 weeks old and is called a "Chin-wa":  1/2 long hair toy Chihuahua, which you can really see when her ears are up, and 1/2 Japanese Chin, which you can see in her markings. The Japanese Chin are usually black and white, but they have the same markings on their faces as this one does. She's super sweet and cuddly, and is spoiled already!! I think the girls have decided on a name for our little sweetheart now... Maggie. What do you think? Does it suit her?
Maggie loves to go outside, but it's been really, really cold lately. We are all getting a workout taking turns with her. She's really smart though - if you let her smell the treat in your hand and tell her "go pee" - she does her business right away just to get her treat.
We have one pet right now, a cat, but she is about 14 years old and doesn't want to be bothered much by the girls, so they are enjoying this playful little bundle of energy! This is our first puppy ever, so we have a lot to learn, but so far we can't get enough of our little puppy love. :) If you have any advice, I'd love to hear your experiences with your puppies!

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

she is super cute! we want a dog someday, but I am nervous about all of the work involved! LOL!

Christine said...

What a sweetie! Not the best time of year for a puppy with having to walk her.

I suggest that you crate train her. Especially since she already knows to pottie when you tell her.

What you do is after the go potty, you take them in the house and play with them, let them wander, whatever for about and hour and them put them in the kennel for an hour. Then you take them to go potty.

As they get used to that, you can extend the amount of time out and later lessen the amount of time they are in the kennel. You can read about it by searching on googe. It really worked well for me.

Plus, you will now have your dog kennel trained for times you are away from the house. I had quite a large kennel that I used until I knew that she could stay out while I was gone without problems. She even slept in the kennel for a couple of years. Once they are used to a kennel they LOVE going in there. It's there safety zone.

Anyway, have so much fun with your puppy! She is adorable and Maggie is such a cute name for her!

jen said...

Aww! She's super sweet! And I love the name Maggie- it was our last dog's name- and she was as sweet as they came!
I agree with the person above- Crate train!!! And if you've never had a puppy before, puppy school. Not at a pet store- some kennels & vets have schools- ask your vet for a recommendation. It's more for training you than the puppy! But it's also great for socialization! And see if there's a local off-leash dog park- they are GREAT!
We've had our puppy since August- he's almost 9 mos now- there will be days... But for the most part he's SUPER! And I think it's great for the kiddos!

Evgenia Petzer said...

she is super cute! I can imagine how excited the girls are!

sheila said...

She is soooo Adorable!!! I have a Japanese chin-papillon mix named Lucy and she is very lovable and loyal. Also very smart and easy to train. It just takes persistence and lots of Love and praise. Good luck with your sweet new family member and enjoy her!!!

Judy said...

I love your pup. My suggestion is to check out Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, on National Geographic channel. We have had a lot of dogs and found so much help from him.
The love you get from Maggie will outweigh the work you will have to do. I am happy for you all.

Jennifer said...

awww...she is so cute!! Congrats on the new family member :)

Suzy Girl said...

Love the little puppers! Wow is she a cutie. Maggie Magpie! Definitely watch Cesar...you can't get any better than him! Enjoy her.

Melonie said...

Oh she is adorable and I am sure the girls will have so much fun and so many great memories with her!!! On a side note....WOW Taylor got so tall:)
Glad you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Kat Jessee Layton said...

What an adorable puppy! I'm sure you and your girls are going to love having a dog around, their love is endless!

Kathy Eddy said...

She is adorable and I love the name.

Surfk9s@msn.com said...

What a wonderful name for such a darling puppy!

Elizabeth said...

What a really cute puppy!!! She is adorable and her name is precious, she looks just like a Maggie! I can see many layouts of your beautiful girl!!!

I suggest crate training too. And as much as Maggie whines, keep her in the kennel. Trust me when I say this! :) Our puppy's are 10 now and although they have their kennels {which we use now only for long times away from home {like 4 or more hours or so}they don't use them much anymore when we are home or at night. They both have a blanket now. But they slept and loved their kennels for years, they still do!

My biggest suggestion is that you get it in the car ASAP. We didn't do this with our dogs and they are still wild in the car. Also, if you do car rides or anything like that speak to them in a regular voice. We get all excited and say "want to go for a ride" and they freak. I wished we had just said something like "car" in a normal voice and that would have been that.

One more thing! :) Consistency is key when training a dog.

I am excited for you and your family! Your girls are going to LOVE having a pet that is theirs!!!

Have a great weekend Danielle!
e.

Unknown said...

Love the dog. I would like to follow your blog, but I can't seem to find it anywhere on your site.

Thanks,
Dee:)

Kristine S said...

MAGGIE IS PERFECT.

elaine said...

Never, ever start feeding her food from the table. She will beg every time after that you sit down to eat. This is a habit that can never be broken.
Elaine Musil

Cherie said...

So precious!!! I just want to snuggle her :)

I have a long hair Chihuahua and I just love him. He is very sassy! We crate trained him and he loves his "house". It's great because when we aren't home he stays in there and we know he's safe.

Have fun with your new little one!

Mindy Miller said...

Seriously, Maggie is the cutest puppy ever! :)

betsy (pharmgirl) said...

oh my gosh! i just LOVE her! congrats! she's beautiful!

Wahkuna said...

OMG, she's a doll! So super adorable! Congrats on the new addition! Puppies always add so much love and excitement! We can't wait to get one someday too! BTW...I love her name, very cute indeed.

Cook Scrap Craft said...

oh my gosh. That dog is the cutest!

Stacey Michaud said...

oh, so much fun ahead! Puppies are amazing! We used crate training with our Golden and it worked great. He learned boundaries and never chewed anything in our house. We slowly weaned him from the crate to a small part in the kitchen to having free rein with the house! Oh, and we did puppy school. It is totally a blast and great training for all of us!

Laci J said...

I like your blogs! You asked me about my Dec. Daily album. The December is a stamp, its in the Calendar Stamp set by Fancy Pants. Cant wait to see yours!

Marlou McAlees said...

Awwwww how cute!!!! Total sweetie :) I have a wee pup too, she is a Havanese called Gracie and is nearly 10 months :) love her so much, you will get so much love and fun from your sweet puppy , hugzz xx

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh!! Your puppy is so cute. Hope all is going well. My advice with puppies is don't give up. Repeat, repeat, repeat, they'll finally get it. And praise. When she pees outside make it like it's the best thing that ever happened, say things like good girl, and give her a pet and a treat. When she has an accident, unless you catch her in the act, just clean it up. They can't remember things like we do. If you catch her in the act, say no, then rush her outside. Then praise her if she finishes up outside. (can you tell I'm a dog lover!!)

Ania said...

Aww, so cute! Congratulations with the new family-member! :)