Friday, April 19, 2013

Puppy No Longer

Yesterday was our Wheaten Terrier's 1st birthday!  It's hard to believe she is just one yr old and that she has only been in our home 9 months, it feels like we've had her forever.  We've had our ups and downs with Maggie, she is very energetic and doesn't listen well outside of the house, but no matter what she has won our hearts over.  Despite how many times I get mad at her, eventually we always make up.  Plus my husband and toddler adore her, according to my toddler they're best friends.  As I mentioned in previous posts I'm not big on b-days but my tot is, she was prepared to throw a birthday party for our dog and was disappointed when I said no-way!  But I did agree to at least buy her a couple birthday presents, this made my toddler happy again.  We set out to the store, I was going to buy one toy and next thing I knew I had spent way more than our usual b-day budget.  Dogs are expensive, don't kid yourself!  I must say I am pleased with our purchases though.  And yes, most of the supplies were more for us than her, oops.  For those of you with over-excited dogs you know how difficult it can be to walk them when there are other animals or people around.  We live in a big city so it's nearly impossible to avoid contact with others.  The basic collar just wasn't working for us anymore, so I decided to buy her one that fits around her chest instead of just the neck, and I am over the moon.  I have so much more control over her out in public now, at this rate walks might actually become pleasurable!  And the harness is a 2-in-1, it can also be used to fasten her in the car.  In The Netherlands there are not yet laws about buckling your dog in the vehicle, but in some adjoining countries the dog is required to be fastened in while riding in the car.  And since we briefly mentioned a summer car trip with the family it'll come in handy in the future.  Besides other basics like shampoo and a replacement pink collar, we of course bought her a toy.  When I saw it there was no doubt it's perfect for her.  It's a large ball that can't get stuck under the furniture, it's hard enough she can't tear it up in 2 seconds, and you can fill it with treats!  The combination means she'll be entertained for quite a while and hopefully work off some extra energy.  Both her and the tot were happy when they opened the snack ball yesterday morning.  It's been a big month for Maggie, we decided to trim her ourselves (not a success, will tell you about it another time), she was fixed a couple weeks ago and basically recovered, then she had her big 1st birthday.  Let's hope she matures some this year, so that other dogs actually like her, she's welcome more places, and learns to overall tone it down!  Happy birthday, Maggie!

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