Happy Thanksgiving :)

Mokey loved scrabble; and by that I mean loved trying to eat it.

Mokey and Thanksgiving went very well together. This could partly be because we had thanksgiving dinner at our relatives house but I'm not going to ruin my proud owner moment by considering that. We did have family stay over with us however, another new experience for Mokey, and while she put on her shy act for a little while she did eventually go back to her goofy self. It was especially good for her to be around my two cousins, who while not little, are still younger than the rest of us :)

Also this past week, we made our 100 people mark! Yay! Of course the socialization doesn't magically stop now, but it was a goal and we made it. I'll take it. And in other news, Mokey figured out how to obtain ice cubes from the refrigerator. . . yay. . .

The height of decadence.

27 lbs

Swagger

26 lbs

If it's possible for a dog to have a cute swagger, then I'll admit to laughing over Mokeys. She trots around and acts like she's hot stuff every second she's awake. Of course, the effect is ruined as soon as she trips over the rug and face plants. Sometimes I'm a bit embarrassed when we go out in public and she trots around as if she's the best thing since sliced bread or, even better than sliced bread. Luckily shes got that cute face and lambs wool fur, so people are willing to overlook her ego in order to pet her.

This week Mokey finally learned to ascend and descend the stairs. I separated the two activities because going up and coming down were two very different challenges for Mokey. Going up? Peace of cake! What were you so worried about, you silly owner? Going down . . . Are you insane?? It took Mokey several days and lots of coaxing for her to even attempt the simplest of descending motions. When at last her feet touched the step below her she wrinkled her brow in terror and cried for her mommy. It took her two more days before we had complete success. I say complete success rather lightly since the entire way down she bemoaned her existence with loud cries. Woe is me! Woe is me!

Mokey also went to work with me for the first time this past week. She was a little overwhelmed by all the new smells and sounds, but did very well. On the way home from work one day she was so tired that when she slid off the passenger seat and onto my coat/floor, she opted to stay where she landed: (and for you safety conscious drivers, yes, I was parked when I took this picture)

Yogurt, Anyone?

Every week I've been trying to let Mokey meet 25 new people, which means by the time she's 3 months old she'll have met 100 people. That's the big goal anyway. We've been doing well so far, mostly due to a weekly frozen yogurt stop. Oh the things we're willing to do for our dogs . . . ok, if you bought that I'll just let you continue with it... Every time we go I'm always surprised by how many people will stop and talk to you when you have a puppy tagging along. Especially a puppy who looks as soft and cuddly as Mokey does. Mokey's doing pretty well with the people. She gets nervous now and then and she doesn't like to be pet for very long, but she's willing to give a greeting and a tail wag.

mokeys favorite resting place, the fireplace
22 pounds

This week Mokey amused the family by repeatedly play-bowing the bunnies. I guess they could look a little like potential playmates. She might think they're just like Oreo - a little shih tzu puppy in her training class - something funny and unexpected that could be fun to play with if only she could figure out how. I'll take play-bowing over stalking any day.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween with Mokey was pretty laid back. Of course, she instantly adored everything pumpkin and didn't seem to mind all of the extra treats. She even tolerated my sisters gorilla mask - we let her sniff it before hand and her inquisitive look as my sister put it on seemed to say: Why is she covering her head with that smelly black thing? Its fur isn't even as soft as mine!

Mokey sat outside with us for part of the trick-or-treating festivities, far enough back so that she could observe the sights and sounds without being mobbed by small squealing things. For some reason a 6 month old Leonberger doesn't inspire swarming of small children but a 9 week old one does. Go figure. Which brings up the fact that most children really don't know how to greet a dog - to them, I suppose a dog is no different than a stuffed animal. Even better, a moving stuffed animal. But you won't find many dogs naturally tolerating the dragging and hugging that goes along with that role. No wonder most dog bites involve kids. Oh well, Mokey did just fine; though I felt really mean telling acouple kids that no, they could not touch her. :( She did get to say hello to a couple trusted children who didn't try to grab and smother her and therefore scar her for life ;) Ah puppy-hood, such a tender phase. What really cracks me up is when people give me the 'are you serious?' look when I tell them why I don't just let every child on the planet grab Mokey and give her a hug. Somehow, people just think puppies are thrown into the world ready to go, when in reality socializing them takes effort and requires lots of good experiences - not screaming, grabbing ones. lol.

This week we had one day of such warm weather that I got Mokey's swimming pool out and filled it up for her - not completely full, since it's a rather large kiddy pool and I a) lack the upper body strength required to empty it and b) didn't want her to drown if she fell over (which was highly likely). While Chase observed from a safe, dry distance Mokey had fun charging the pool and catching her float toy. She's the first dog I've had that actually pounces things. As in, Nala from the Lion King quality pouncing. Chase has gotten rather used to her surprise attacks but it still cracks me up to see her try it on inanimate objects - like pumpkins, pools, her treats, leaves. . . she's a very goofy pup - just part of her appeal.