First Time at the Dog Park

Last week Hadley had a puppy play date at the dog park! We met my fried Joe and his one-year-old dog Willow. At first Hadley was nervous (so was I). She loves other dogs but she had never been around so many at once. When we stepped out of the car a couple of them were barking at her. I think that made her nervous. She isn't a barker.

Once she got inside the fence and was off-leash she started playing and had the time of her life. That was the first time she had ever been off-leash outside before and I could tell she was enjoying the freedom.

Joe's dog Willow was so cute and her and Hadley played nicely together. The other dogs there weren't as good as Willow. One was a Great Dane and he started to get a little too excited so his owner decided to go home. There was also a Pitbull mix there that was playing nicely with Hadley but then he started getting a little aggressive and Hads got scared and started yelping. His owner and him left pretty soon afterward.

After that Joe, Willow, Hadley and I had the whole dog park to ourselves. She ran around a lot and chased Willow. Joe threw a tennis ball for Hads and instead of skidding to stop like a normal dog, she stopped her front paws and her back paws went into the air and she did a hand-stand. It was so funny and so cute!

Hadley really had a great time and there will definitely be more dog park play dates with Willow!

Heres a picture of Hadley, Willow and Joe at the park.

Hadley's First Snow Experience

This morning Hads experienced her first real snow! She loved it and was jumping around, playing in it. She kept getting it on her nose and then would get frustrated when she couldn't get it off. It was adorable.

After she finished playing in the snow, I took her to the vet to get her last set of shots (FINALLY!). Right as I was putting her into the car, she started shivering and whining so I put my mittens on her front paws to warm her up. She LOVED them! It was the funniest thing and she got really upset when I took them off of her at the vet. All the front desk ladies were laughing at how funny she is. She did well with her shots and is currently taking a nap on my lap with two blankets on her that she burrowed under.

Overall, she liked the snow, but she liked wearing my mittens even more!

Hadley wearing my mittens in the car

Hadley's First Thanksgiving

For thanksgiving my family went to my Aunt and Uncle's house. They have a little Maltese named Lexi and she has never been socialized so she is afraid of other dogs. The family really wanted me to bring Hads with me, so I did. I'll take any chance I get to bring her somewhere. 

I was a little nervous she would be too excited with Lexi there because she just loves other dogs and sometimes can't contain her excitement. She is only four months old after all. My aunt and I decided to have a few pre-thanksgiving puppy play dates to get Lexi used to Hadley. She never got used to her but I brought her anyways.

Thanksgiving started out as a pretty stressful day. About 20 minutes before Hads and I were supposed to leave for my Aunt's house, she got a huge burst of energy and had a little accident on my bed. We ended up getting to my Aunt's house over an hour late after two loads of laundry and a lot of scolding. I was not too pleased with Hadley but I can't stay mad at her for very long, even if she makes me wash all of my bedding two days after I had just washed it. Aside from her accident, she was very good for the whole day.

During dinner we decided to put the dogs in their individual crates so we wouldn't have to worry about Lexi getting aggressive with Hads. Hads didn't make a peep the whole time and just quietly took a nap. Lexi barked and freaked out the whole time so I felt pretty proud that my 4 month old puppy was better behaved than the 4 year old dog. Proud mama moment!

Throughout the whole day Hads was loving up my family and everyone kept saying what a good dog she is. I feel so lucky that I got such a sweet and cuddly puppy!

Here are a couple pictures of Hadley on her first Thanksgiving:

Hads and her Nana Carrie (my mom)

She had a lot of fun playing with the carpet fringe

Hads and her new bandana from my mom

Update on Me:

Lately, I've been feeling a little down and thinking about the holidays coming up is not helping. Usually, I love Christmas and I get really excited for it but this year has been rough and I just wish the holidays would pass quickly. The only part I am excited about is seeing Hads play with all her new toys and watching her tear apart wrapping paper.

My anxiety has been pretty bad again lately which is causing me to fall behind in school. Before I got Hadley, I would have just stayed in bed and moped around instead of dealing with things and moving on with me day. Now that I have her, I have no choice but to leave my apartment to take her for walks and out to go to the bathroom, doing that helps me get out of my funk. 

Also, I think Hads can sense when I am feeling off because she will come up to me to give me kisses and snuggle. That always helps because who could be unhappy when they are getting love from a puppy?

Overall, having Hadley has helped me immensely and I'm so glad I have her. She is the sweetest little thing and she makes any bad day better. Even if I'm having a really tough day she will always do something cute or goofy to make me smile and I am so grateful for that. Now if only she could do my school work for me...

Here's a few recent pictures of my girl!

Goofball smiling for the camera

Protective Dog-Mom Instincts

First, I want to start this post off by saying Hadley and I are both doing very well and she is doing great with her training. Here are a couple photos of my little cutie playing outside. She is exactly four months old today! She is growing so fast, I can't believe it! 

Now to the story...
About a week ago, Hadley and I were in a scary situation. We were taking our normal walk near my apartment and I saw a man with a German Shepherd across the lawn. The dog was right next to the man and I assumed the dog was on its leash, so I didn't think much of the dog. Hadley and I were minding our own business from across the yard and then she found a piece of plastic in the grass that I had to take out of her mouth. I bent down and was prying open her mouth (a regular occurrence on our walks) and all of a sudden the German Shepherd was charging at us with its teeth barred. I tried to step between the dog and Hadley but it went around me and stood over Hadley. She was crying and so scared. I had to push the dog off of her and whip Hads off the ground as fast as I could. Once I got her off of the ground and in my arms, the dog ran back to its owner, who didn't try to call his dog, and Hads was shaking and terrified.

We were relatively close to my building so I looked back and the dog's owner had the dog by the collar. I assumed he was putting the dog on a leash. I put Hads back on the ground to walk to the front door and go inside. We were walking toward the door and I heard the dog charging behind us again! This time I whipped Hadley off the ground before the dog got to us and had to use my legs to get the dog away. It ran back to its owner and this time I was livid.

My dog-mom instincts kicked in and I had so much adrenaline flowing through me. The owner didn't even try to apologize or say anything and he STILL did not put his dog on a leash.  I am not a confrontational person and I have never yelled at another person before but I lost my cool. I felt so protective over Hads and I was so livid that I yelled at the dog's owner. I told him, not so nicely, that he needs to leash his vicious dog if it is going to charge at other people and other dogs. He said "calm down, your dog is fine." As you can imagine, this set me off even more and I had some choice words for the dog owner. After I finished yelling at him with Hads in my arms, I stormed back into my apartment. I was still so angry, I felt like I could have beat that man to a pulp. I must have made quite the impression on the German Shepherd's owner because I have not seen him anywhere near my apartment building since it happened.

It was such a scary situation to be in and I was so angry. If something ever happened to Hads I would never forgive myself. She is so important to me and I just love her so much that the thought of her getting hurt makes me crazy. In that moment I truly thought that dog was going to harm her and I would have done whatever I had to do to make sure she got out of the situation unharmed. We were lucky that the dog didn't bite either of us.

It was kind of cool to know that I have those protective mom instincts I have always heard about. I've heard stories about moms who lifted a car off of their kid because they had so much adrenaline and I always thought that was crazy but now I fully understand it. I just hope we are never in a situation like that ever again.

Also, just a suggestion to dog owners out there.... there are leash laws for a reason. These laws are put in place to protect other dogs, other people and even your dog! This particular dog clearly is not well behaved and I feel its owner was too trusting of his dog and of other peoples' dogs. His dog was definitely in attack mode, it had its teeth barred and was charging at us. That says attack mode to me. Some dogs may see another dog charging like that as a threat and may attack back. Luckily for this dog, Hadley is very gentile and still just a little puppy so she didn't attack back but a lot of dogs would have because of their instincts. The other dog could have been seriously hurt, Hadley could have been seriously hurt, and I could have been as well. Please leash your dogs!

Silly Pup!

Now that Hadley is getting better on her leash we have been going on more walks. I wanted to share this video with everyone because I think it's the funniest thing! When we are walking, she gets tired and lays down with her legs stretched behind her and scoots around like a seal! After I took this video we were walking down a grassy hill, she did it the whole way down! She is so funny!

Our First Weeks Together

It's already been two weeks since Hadley and I found each other! Time has really flown by and so much has happened...

Hadley has already met most of my friends and family, they have all fallen in love with her.. She gets so excited when she meets a new person that she loses control of her butt because she wags her tail too much, it's adorable.

Here are some pictures of her meeting my friends, Katie is on the left, Lauryn is on the right:

Her training is going well despite quite a few accidents on the floor and in her crate. Hads is starting to give me a warning when she has to go outside and the number of accidents she has is going down. Once in a while, right after we come in from her going to the bathroom she will look me right in the eye and pee on the carpet just to test my patience. I can't get too mad though because she is so cute! She also has already learned to sit and is getting much better on her leash.

Hadley enjoying a nice walk on a fall day.

Personally, I have been doing pretty well and feeling a lot happier. It is nice knowing I always have someone to go home to and someone that really needs me. She is quite a handful but I have so much patience with her because I know she is young and I just love her so much. All of my friends and family have said that they see a change in me and I am more of my bubbly self. I think that's all thanks to Miss Hadley. I am so grateful to have her in my life and I fall more in love with her every day.

Some things are a little more difficult with her around and it has been quite an adjustment. I find it hard to focus on my homework because I feel guilty for not spending time with her. Also, I have to keep an eye on her at all times because she always finds something to chew on that she shouldn't be. I have been getting a couple low grades and turning assignments in late so I just need to work harder at making time for my homework when Hadley is napping. Also, I find it really difficult to leave for work or school because she whines a lot. It breaks my heart to hear her so distressed. My friends all tell me that it's normal for her to be a little afraid and she will get over it but it is still so sad to hear. On the other side of that though, she gets really excited and happy when I come home so that does make my heart feel full.

Hadley and me:

In these passed two weeks Hadley has done some new and exciting things. She has gone to PetCo twice to buy new toys and to get comfortable with riding in the car. She visited my work and made friends with a Budweiser Clydesdale, I really wish I got a picture of that! She wasn't afraid at all, just super curious about the horse. She also had a vet appointment where she did very well and didn't seem too afraid. When I got her she was 9.5 lbs. and now she is 14 lbs and growing quickly. I wish she would slow down just a little bit! She also has gotten two baths (due to some messy accidents). She doesn't like the bath itself but she really likes snuggling with me when she is wrapped up in her towel afterward.

Overall, it has been an amazing two weeks and I can't wait to share more fun things about me and my girl.