BIG changes coming...

It's been a while since we've posted. Liffey has gotten so big. She's really a monster now- as tall as Keeley, but is still pretty skinny. She eats like a horse, so that will change soon enough.

Our best find to date is a harness for her made by the people who make the gentle leaders. Blind dogs certainly don't care about facing forward, so the gentle leader was not an option for our sled dog, and regular harnesses fasten on a dog's back, so it kind of encourages them to pull. This new harness squeezes her legs when she pulls, so it is annoying without hurting her. She has stopped pulling considerably with this $30 investment (best money spent on her so far!).

Liffey is starting to calm down- thank goodness. She is a kind-hearted puppy, but she has so much energy and apparently loves to eat carpet. She's destroyed carpet in several rooms, so we now have to replace that and are saving up for hardwood floors in a couple of rooms that currently do not have them.

Our big news is that Keeley, Limerick, and Liffey are going to have a baby brother or sister (a human one this time) in February. So, it looks like Liff is going to have to get a professional trainer this winter. She's a sweetie, but such a handful and we definitely need to work on this before baby comes.

Liff's favorite toys: kongs. She loves to chew. She destroys all of Keeley's soft plush toys that she loves- not making her any friends on that front. But, the two pups are playing together more and more... they have become good friends, although Keeley still has moments where she clearly has had enough!

It's been a while...

Ok, Ok (Kevin and Dottie)... I finally get the point. It's been a while since I updated the Dog Blog. The end of the semester and Jason's graduation kind of sidetracked me for a while, but that does not mean the girls have not been busy!

Liffey is in her 'terrible 5-6 months' age right now. She is a sweet girl, but man can she chew and terrorize! She got some awesome new shades... so that she doesn't poke her eyes out when we go hiking. Look how cool she is.




She's over 40 pounds now- a big girl. She loves wrestling with Keeley (although Kee is not nearly as keen on it at times). Limerick still has not entirely come around to the idea of puppy. We do think that Limerick can also tell that Liffey has a disability because as anyone who knows Lim knows... she doesn't have much patience for anyone. It took until a couple of weeks ago for her to start swating at Liffey when she gets too annoying.



Liffey has trouble because, like most puppies, she has a ton of energy. Unfortunately for Liff, she cannot run without bumping into things, so it's tough for her to get tired out. We are starting to run with her now, so that she can get tired. It'll be a while until we can run more than a mile with her- since their growth plates do not close until 10 months, so you can overwork their joints if you run them too much too early. Overall Liffey is a very sweet girl, is likely preparing us for kids (because she is a LOT more work than a normal puppy), and will be even better when she is no longer a puppy!!

Growing like a weed!!

Jason and I both left for the weekend (all work, no fun unfortunately) and when we got back we both thought that Liffey had grown another 2 inches! She's like a weed. My parents puppysat this weekend and reported that she is like an 'unguided missle' with all of her boucing off of walls and people and Keeley.

Liffey had her last puppy check yesterday at the vet and is already 26 lbs!!! She's going to be a big girl.

Liffey is really amazing how she learns to navigate. I took her to work this week and without a leash she followed me down the hall by following my voice. She even made a straight path- a rarity. Blind doggies truly are incredible in how they learn to get around. She does not bump into things at home nearly as much as she used to (until she gets wound up and starts running full speed ahead).

We were getting frustrated with potty training and someone on the blind dogs listserve gave us the only productive advice we've gotten so far: when we take her outside (which we always do after sleep, play, drinking, eating), have her walk on her own. Something so simple- yet so important. Since she's still little it's sometimes easier to pick her up and carry her- and sometimes we worry that she won't make it- but for a blind dog that makes a big difference. We've been doing this for about a week and I think it's making a difference. She has to know where to go and how to get there on her own to be able to be trained! Ah ha!! Again, so simple, but so important.

She loves outside and apprently loves digging even more. We'll have to fix that little habit considering that we are in the midst of a nice landscaping project. If she weren't so cute.... :)

Keeley, on the other hand, has seen her tumor get progressively bigger over the past month. She now has to go on a stronger drug instead of the naturopathic treatment we've been trying. We hope that it won't have side effects and we also hope that it doesn't break the bank. Doggie drugs are not cheap! Send lots of good thoughts her way.

Liffey's first snow

This was a BIG week for Liffey. We got about a foot of snow here in Denver and so she got to experience her first storm. She was not too sure what to make of it. Keeley, on the other hand, LOVES snow. As you can see, Kee was in heaven, while Liff was trying to figure out how to stay out of the snow (pretty hard in a foot of it).






Liffey continue to learn a lot, but we are kind of at a frustrating point where she knows she should go outside to potty, but she is not signaling that she needs to be let outside. So we are still having accidents, and we hope that ends soon! Liffey has also revealed herself to be a chewer!!! Keeley was not, so we are having to learn all of the methods to keep her from chewing on things she shouldn't. Any tips?

She's a good and sweet girl- just a handful right now. But, I guess all puppies are. We are so luckily with Keeley, who is the world's best dog, so we forget how much work it is to raise a good pup!

Bold Blind Puppy

Liffey is getting braver and more bold every day. Today we went to Longmont to my parents' house and Liffey explored the yard. My parents have a beautiful pond in their yard, which adds to the excitement. We figured it would be good to introduce her to the pond slowly and while we were on hand. She will spend a lot of time in their yard during her life, so it's good to know how to swim! I dunked her paws to 'show' her that the pond was there. She played and had a great time on the edges, being careful not to fall. Then... kerplunk. We knew it was coming- but didn't know when. This puppy is amazing- she just goes with the flow. You would expect that a blind pup would have some anxiety or nervousness. She bobbed in the water (floating) for a moment, not worried at all. Then, she started paddling and we got her out. She shook it off and started running around with glee. She was hilarious. Unfortunately, since this was unexpected there are no pics. This cute one of the big puppy will have to suffice for now. It's a picture of her after she tried to demolish the doggie toy basket.

Getting big!

Liffey is really getting big! We had her 11.5 week check-up and shots on Friday and she weighs 17.5 pounds!! When we brought her home she was only 10.5, so she is certainly not the little pip squeak that we brought home 4 weeks ago. Today is her 12week birthday. She now goes up and down stairs without much problem at all- she's just cautious (usually- until she loses her puppy mind and starts racing around, which makes us very nervous... but the vet told us not to worry too much. After all, she is a puppy and she's kind of insane). She is also making slow progress on the potty front. She at least is able to hold it longer, so she has fewer accidents. She doesn't really signal to go outside to potty, but if we keep an eye on her we can catch her. I really hope she starts connecting it soon so that we can let her play in the house without constant supervision. Now we are getting a little more sleep, but we are not very productive when she's playing.

Liffey and Keeley are bonding more and more. Liffey has come to campus with me a couple of times and Keeley gets really jealous (who would blame her), but then when Liffey gets home, Keeley is very excited to see her and licks her and wrestles with her. I think they are going to be good buddies. Limerick still hisses a lot, but she now spends time in the same room as Liffey, so that is progress (it's all relative with out wonderful but grouchy kitten- who incidentally turns 9 tomorrow! Happy Birthday Limerick and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!).

Progress is being made... slowly

Liffey is making progress this week. She went down the back steps all by herself yesterday- twice! That is huge progress, especially on the potty training front. She also took a big trip to campus last week. She was kind of overwhelmed by all of the sounds as we walked across campus, but she did ok. She's a pretty adaptable pup, which is wonderful.




As you can see, Liffey has also been a HUGE help on our landscaping project!