California Part 2

It snowed while we were in the mountains, so here are a few good pics from that. Pita LOVED running free in the snow.





























Then we went to the San Francisco Bay Area to be with more family and Pita got to play with them and meet her 2 month old cousin, too.














































Then, we went back to Boston and Pita did great on the plane again. She managed to hold it until we got to the Pet Relief Area in Boston.


Thank you to our family in California for hosting us and our puppy!

California!

Yay! We all made it to California! It was a nightmare getting to the airport and getting through check in but once they said she could go, we were happy. I was super nervous about her in cargo but in LAX, she was so happy to see us and seemed to have no problems. I quickly took her to some grass and she went to the bathroom for several minutes straight. She had held it for seven hours! Good girl!

Pita has been the most amazing puppy while here. She's loving all the attention and off leash time in Andrea and Jarred's backyard, the beach in San Diego, and the open mountain acres at April and Randy's. She has been better than she usually is at home! In the car, she stands and is uncomfortable but loves having the windows open. :-)

Here are some pics and videos from our time so far:

Pita at the car rental place in LA.

At Amanda and Bernardo's.
First time at the beach! (it's a long video but has some fun parts if you're willing to watch it)


At Grandma April and Randy's with my new toys.On a walk in the mountains.

Which coast for Christmas?

This Friday, we are off to California for Christmas, but Pita might have to stay in Boston if American Airlines says that it is too cold (under 20 degrees F). In that case, some dog loving super amazing friends will be taking care of her. THANK YOU AGAIN!!! (but I hope she can go with us!)

I know you guys know what to do, but as a puppy's mom, here are a few things to remember to keep Pita on somewhat of a similar schedule/training while we're gone:

Walking:

• You've seen the silly videos of her on walks here on the blog.
• She is getting much better using a lead.
• Here's a video of how to put it on because it took me a few tries to get it right too.
  
• Don't be afraid if she gets excited when she sees another dog and gets out of it. When they are done saying hello, calm her down again and put the lead on again.

Feeding:

• Pita eats ridiculously quickly so we feed her in three stages per meal. Also, it helps any food guarding that might come up if she has to wait for you to allow her to eat. Here's a video:

Training:

• This video shows you how we say and motion each command that she's working on.
  

Pita Finds a Stick

Pita's First Snow

Paws and Claus

This past week, I published an article on Examiner.com about December events and activities to do with your dog in Boston's South End.

Today, we went to DoggieDay to get pictures with Santa. Check it out, super cute! She was quite scared of Santa at first but once I gave him some hot dogs, he was her best friend.

She was 37 pounds on Wednesday and just got a new crate for our Christmas trip because she already outgrew the one we thought she would fit into. It takes up our whole living room and after Christmas, we will probably put it in storage.

All of the leaves have officially fallen from the trees behind our building and it is supposed to snow this weekend, so I hope to bring you fun pictures and stories of Pita (and my) first real Boston snow experience.

Three Weeks Later...

Here's a summary of what's happened in the past three weeks that I have not updated this blog. (Sorry!)

Pita graduated from Puppy Kindergarten and is well on her way to becoming a trained puppy. She now knows "Sit", "Down", "Wait/Stay", "Crate", "Go Outside", sitting left, right, or behind you, "Leave It", and "Drop It". She is waiting to eat her food instead of running and gobbling it up.

She now weighs 31 pounds and is about 22 inches long (not including her 10 inch long tail) and stands about 20 inches tall, as well. Eating about 3 1/2 to 4 cups of food a day, she gained 4 pounds this past week, a record for her!



Pita and I worked the polls in the South End and people loved her and probably voted for her candidate because they know her from our daily walks. She had fun playing with a water bottle.


We went on the T the other day. She did not want to get on the T, and shook a bit while it was running, but was happy to jump off when the doors opened at our stop.



She is losing her teeth (6 so far) and has larger ones. She looked like a third grader missing random teeth.









Daddy gave her a bath outside and for the first time she was cold. She did not like the cold hose water so we got some warmer water from the sink inside.




She loves her rubber ducky and brings it into the shower occasionally. Every morning, she will join you in the shower, as well. She loves water!




Her other favorite toys at the moment are her cow from Grandma and her Kindergarten Graduation toy (a purple soft frisbee).



She climbs up onto the couch on her own, though with the help of the ottoman which has handles that she can put her foot into and lift herself up. If anyone is on the couch, she wants to be there too.






Another fun toy is the door stop spring on the wall.



She's getting better at posing for pictures for my articles on Examiner.com: