Gravy Puppy Update

Our little Gravy Girl has been in our lives for over four weeks now! It’s hard to believe that we had planned on getting her for almost two months, and it felt like forever, but now that she’s here, time is flying by!

Changes

When we first picked her up, she weighed in right around 10 pounds. In the last month, she’s nearly doubled in weight and has gotten so big. She just keeps on growing up! She’ll probably balance out right around 50 pounds, so we’re a little over a third of the way to her full size. She’s also become so comfortable around the house. She can sleep through the night and is having fewer and fewer bathroom accidents in the house.

Gravy’s Favorites

Gravy loves pretty much everything we’ve thrown at her so far. She loves bully sticks, even though I think they’re gross. Our current highest value treat is definitely beef trachea though. She will munch on one for hours if we need her busy. She also gets a little people food here and there, but her favorite by far is plain popcorn. It’s a snack we’ve been having a ton in quarantine (because of Netflix) .

Problems

We’re still struggling a lot with socialization in the age of quarantine. Our city is still pretty locked down, so she doesn’t get much time with strange people or dogs. When we encounter people or other dogs on our walks, we do let her interact with them for a short time. She does really well, and even has made a friend with the dog that is tied up outside the house on the corner. The downside to this is that it’s such a rarity to see people that she will often refuse to continue the walk when she is distracted. Something to keep working on!

She also, again, a result of quarantine, doesn’t cope well when we do finally leave the house. She seems fine in the crate, even, until we leave. Then it’s screeching and pooping everywhere. It’s not good. NOT good. But, she’s still a little baby, so we have some time to work through this one. Overall, she’s been such a good puppy that these seem like kind of small potatoes. But so clingy. Like, I’m sitting on the couch typing this and she has her head on my laptop.

Successes

She can do pretty much all the basic tricks right now. We’ve been doing training every day on how to be a good girl. She needs more work doing them while there are distractions, however. She can sit, stay, shake with both paws, stand, lie down, come on command, rollover. She responds to her name really well. She is also a pretty good walker. Not too much pulling, and tends to keep going when told. She is also a world champion sleeper.

That’s our Gravy. She’s delightful. She’s also pretty easy, and I’m so grateful for that!