It’s hard to believe Scoop has been a member of our family for almost eleven months, but we’re closing in on her anniversary quickly. She celebrated her first birthday last Friday (May 11th), but spent almost the entire day at the vet recovering from lady surgery. I could have easily shared a one year update anyway, but we decided she should get a do over. Sophie was not happy that she had to have surgery on her birthday!
Scoop is so much better behaved than our first dog every dreamed of being. Not that Beemer was terrible, we were just young and thought she could do no wrong and never really worked hard on manners or obedience with her. We could have probably done better with Scoop, too, but I’m very impressed with how well she’s adjusted to family life after eleven months. She was pretty easy to house train, once we got into a rhythm with her — I can’t remember the last time she had an accident inside, but it was months ago. We still crate her every time we leave the house — unless my parents are home and she’s playing outside — and even though she’ll never be that dog that loves her crate enough to go inside willingly, she is very calm one she’s inside and waits happily and quietly until our return. We’ve stopped crating her overnight, but she almost always sleeps in her own bed in our room. We do occasionally let her sleep with us — especially on bath day or the last day before we wash our sheets — and we leave a blanket over our duvet for her to lay on, because she’s a big fan of late night snuggles.
We’re pretty strict about what we feed her, with the exception of mini Milk Bone training treats. I’m sure there is something much better for her, but these tiny treats are her favorite and I love that we’re not giving her a ton of extra calories, every time we work with her on tricks. Otherwise, she eats grain-free, chicken-free kibble and likes to snack on mini carrots, blue berries, and peanut butter.
We all joke that she’s an inside dog who thinks she’s an outside dog! She does spend a few hours inside during the day — especially if the weather is bad or if one of us is at home lounging around — but mostly she runs around in the meadow out front or visits our neighbor’s dogs next door. She’s usually up bright and early and will play outside for several hours before coming back in for breakfast and a quick nap. Now that the weather is nice again and the pool is uncovered, she spends a fair amount of her time laying out on the pool deck. She is particularly obsessed with my mom and will follow her around outside or nap under her chair. My mom has never been a fan of animals, so it’s pretty adorable to see them spending time together!
When she is inside, Scoop can be found asleep at the foot of our bed or hanging out in the sunroom. She loves to sit and look out the windows towards the barn. There are always birds and chipmunks running around and while she might start out calm and attentive, when her body gets tense and starts shaking, you know she is ready for a chase! She also loves curling up in the chairs in the sunroom, so I try and leave a blanket out for her before I leave for the office every day.
She knows that Josh is the leader of our pack and definitely defers to his authority, but Sophie might be her favorite member of our family. I’m glad to see their special bond, since Beemer was already so old and sick by the time Sophie was big enough to play with her, and she always seemed a little skittish around Sophie’s abundance of energy! She is the best snuggler and if we ever need someone to “babysit” the dog, Sophie is our first volunteer. They will lay together in our bed for hours, watching TV and playing with her toys.
Scoop has also been more interested in me since I’ve been visibly pregnant. She hasn’t been kicked in the face that I know of, but she does like to snuggle close to my belly and nuzzle my face when she thinks I might be getting sleepy. I’m so interested to see how she’ll do with the baby!
We were so worried about adding another dog to our family, but Scoop is the sweetest puppy and we are so happy to call her ours. We’re looking forward to a bootcamp obedience training in a few weeks, so I’ll report back on how well she’s doing later this summer.
Happy Birthday, Scooper Pooper!
