She sure is growing up gorgeous. She still looks like the same Mollie I met, but just grown up (or nearly so). She also seems to have more expressions on her face in recent photos, like she's growing into her personality as well as her body!
She has her eye tests at 8 months, temperament tests at 10 months and x-rays at 11 months. If she passes all the tests she'll leave me at 12 months old or a week or two before that - so early or late September. If she doesn't pass to become a brood bitch she'll need to have her season, wait three months then have her spay and recover before she goes to Big School. So that could be any time from 12 to 16 months old.
Yay, Mollie! I know you've been doing a lot of socialisation and training with her. What did Mollie have to do be able to wear her new jacket, Mags?
I went for a long session with my supervisor round a shopping centre and the surrounding roads then a coffee in a cafe. Mollie had to walk everywhere on a loose lead, ahead of me - not pulling towards distractions, always in straight lines. We did steps, stairs, open stairs and lifts. We stopped at various different places for obedience assessments (sit, down, upsit, stand and wait). I was given a couple of items to find and 'buy' so that I was not so focussed on the dog and she could see how Mollie was when I was rather distracted. She wasn't great in the cafe but I was given advice (no Kongs!) and she's slowly improving now. Otherwise she was A1. Mollie wears the jacket for meal times only for two weeks - then 'easy' routes until it becomes normal for her. Otherwise, if something untoward happens they can 'blame' the jacket and be put off wearing it.
That's a lot for a six month old - bravo! Also interesting about the cape. I never even thought about getting a dog used to a cape. I guess Brogan was so used to having all manner of weird clothes on him from eight weeks old that one more thing didn't bother him. For the Kongs in the cafe was it that your supervisor didn't think she should have had the Kongs to begin with, or that she'd outgrown them at this stage? The "cafe Kong" seemed a rather good idea to me!
It's Mollie's foodieness that's the problem - all the other pups had a Kong then happily dozed off. Mollie has the Kong then 'what's neeeext, what's neeeext?' So no more food in cafes for poor old Mollie moo. She's doing much better, 'tho sulking! Remember what a wee angel she was when we went for fish and chips? I was lulled into a false sense of security!
I know! I'm having a hard time reconciling the puppy I met with your tales of crazy puppy times and not settling down. Are you sure she wasn't switched in the night by the puppy fairies?
