Summer turns 9 months!

I can't believe how time flies and how quickly my baby puppy has grown up..

From this [insert baby photo]

to this [insert recent nice photo]

As we celebrate Summer turning 3/4 of a year old, I felt it would be fit for mummy to write about how having her in our lives (or rather at the centre of our lives) has been..

I am thankful for:

Easy toilet training Less than 10 pee accidents and even less poopoos!

Easy and wonderful bedtime habits She enters her playpen on command at 9pm every night and sleeps through till 7am on weekdays and 8 on weekends, alone in the living room, even when she wakes up before she's "allowed" she just stays quiet and entertains herself.

Improving eating habits After a long drawn fight over what she wants to eat (more precisely what she doesn't) which included her pulling a 2 1/2 day hunger strike because she REFUSED to eat her dry kibble, we came to a compromise. I put warm water on her food in the mornings, and boiled chicken with the water in the evenings. She gobbles it up nicely, and I'm thankful because she eats and grows.

invisible boundaries She was a remarkably easy puppy to train, knows not to enter the kitchen or climb up the 3 steps to the family room. Could have been hard because of our "open concept" home, but she's pretty good at recognizing my mental lines =P

Zero destruction To date, no household items or shoes have been destroyed. Phew. She has her fair share of toys and knows what is hers.. She chews and wrecks her Nylabones, plays with her squeakies, swings her rope toys and cuddles and nibbles her stuffed toys. All her toys are well taken care of and so far we've only had to replace her nylon chews.

Healthy chewing habits Summer loves chewing on anything we provide her with for the purpose - nylon chew bones, fish skin chews, compressed vegesticks, pork bones.. It keeps her teeth sparkly and her breath fresh and I'm thankful for that! It also entertains her for hours.

Compliance to being taken care of She comes when called at daily brushing time and lies still till its over, sometimes she falls asleep! She hates having her ears cleaned but allows me to do it and lays real still till its over (she used to rub her ears all over the floor after that, but now she just lays down and we can see her trying to control her urge to do that. haha!). Stands nicely during her shower (rinse-shampoo-rinse-conditioner-rinse) without "shaking" and getting me all wet. Allows groomer to cut her nails and shave her bum without fuss. Eats pills from hand willingly and allows liquid meds to be syringed into her mouth.

Independence While she's pretty sticky and loves bringing her balls to people to play, she can entertain herself for hours in the living room when people are doing their own thing in other parts of the house. Plays with toys, chases ants, people watches and takes her all time favourite naps..

Brave! Everytime a big thunderstorm rolls round, we have a habit of peeking at her if she's alone to see if she's alright. She always just continues chewing, playing, napping, sleeping or whatever she was doing before. Even if its the middle of the night and the lightning and thunder and ripping across the sky.

Leash manners Summer's NOT the best dog on leash, especially when there are canine friends around. She can't help herself but wants so desperately to make friends. However, she doesn't pull with terrible blister-inducing force anymore. Neighbours have stopped to comment that Summer is remarkably well-behaved, even when Rachel (my 8 year old sister) takes her for her afternoon walk around the block.

The golden smile that can light up anyone's day I love when we take Summer out and people stop to pet her. She sits nicely, smiles at them and wiggles her tail and invariably they walk away smiling too! She's also really good at welcoming us home after a long day, and no matter what happens, she always brings a smile to dad's face. =)

I wish she could be better at:

Not jumping on people She gets really excited when meeting other dogs and she loves jumping on them to play. Also bulldozes human guests when welcoming them into the house. This has to stop!

Learn to be reliable off leash I never let her off leash now because the doctor has forbidden her from running. When she does get free, she runs around like a rabid dog until her hips hurt and she has to lie down. If not, theres no way to catch her. Argh!

Difficulties we've faced:

Hip dysplasia We finally let Summer go under anasthesia for detailed xrays of her hips to be taken and she was diagnosed with a pretty bad case of hip dysplasia. Her hips are so badly formed and the sockets so shallow that she is NOT a candidate for reconstructive surgery. We've been instructed by the vet to walk her for 10 mins at a time (no longer) several times a day, and swimming for no more than 30 mins is also allowed. She is understandably bored - all the puppy energy has to go somewhere! - and is becoming a little more stubborn than before when she was well-exercised.

We're keeping her on limited controlled exercise till she turns 14 months (countdown: 5 months!) and following a strict regimen to make sure we build more muscles on those thighs to help support her weak hips. This means she gets 10 min walks 4-5 times a day as well as 30 mins of swimming at least 3 times a week. While the exercise control is boring and frustrating for her, it is even more tiring and frustrating for us! Keeping a 9 month old puppy calm and slow all the time is NOT an easy task! Ferrying a wet dog to and from swimming every other day isn't any fun either..

It really sucks to see your puppy in pain, but now she seems to have more good days than bad. She plays with her toys on the baby mats we've installed for her and makes the most fun out of her days.. She's undergone a course of 4 injections of Cartrophen Vet to help control the degeneration in her joints and her pain, and I keep her on daily glucosamine supplements as well as a homeopathic remedy for her pain. We're hoping to keep her comfy enough to enjoy life and to avoid surgery which we can't afford.

Summer's been for us exactly what her name implies - a ray of sunshine to brighten up our lives! Love ya baby =)

[insert cute photo here]

- Summer's mummy