(Note: if text is underlined -- and turns red when you put your cursor over it -- it is a link to a picture that you can open by clicking on the link)

Molly weighed 18 pounds this morning -- up from 14.5 at her first trip to the vet a little over a week ago. You can see the difference in size just by going back to some of the early pictures of her. For contrast, here is a picture that I took this morning.

Pauline has written about Molly's little green bed. Growing bigger means it is harder to fit into the bed. But she still can manage if she curls real tight.


One of the nice things about having a puppy is that their ability to really chew hard is still limited. So, there are lots of things just sitting around the kitchen that can become great toys -- from her standpoint -- and that she cannot, at this time tear into little pieces. The green bed also serves as a toy box.

Here is another picture that also gives you an idea of how she is growing.

Part of growing up is taking walks on a leash. We went on another walk in the park yesterday. She is doing really well -- not fighting the leash. Real serious training starts in a few weeks, but she is off to a great start. Here is a picture of Molly when she needed a break from walking, with Pauline dressed for the sharp winds we had yesterday.

Spike and Molly were playing in the (relatively) warm weather yesterday -- and, out of one sequence of shenanigans, Pauline got a very funny picture. Click Here.  Do you suppose that was just a snowball? Or a custard pie ...

Everyone seems to ask what Spike thinks of this idea of having a new puppy in the house. As you can see, he is very tolerant. If you don't know Spike ... he is getting on toward 14, and has been dealing with cancer and general old age --- and is a generally longsuffering fellow. As you can see.

Sometimes I get the sense that the questions from him is "Do I have to do this?"

But, on the other hand, he generally likes company.

Molly is mostly respectful and in awe of him. He reinforced that awe once, last night, when she stepped over some kind of line and he gave a really fierce growl, which sent her away like a bullet, whimpering. Good for him.

One good feature of this for Spike is that with all the attention being paid to dogs (people in the kitchen MUCH more than usual), he is getting more attention too. And much appreciation for his being who he is.
And, not incidentally, hamburger that we cook for Molly and give to him, too.

This was little monster morning. High energy and into biting and barking. So, lots of rolling her over on her back -- and lots of growling back when I did that. My guess is that now that she has been here for 4-5 days, some kind of shyness is wearing off. And, she is getting bigger. 14.5 pounds when we picked her up on Wednesday, 16.5 pounds yesterday.

I don't mean to be too negative. She also wants to please. But it is clear that without firmness, she would grow into a real handful of trouble. Eighty pounds of it. Yikes.

On the plus side, she is getting a clearer idea that outside is the place to pee and defecate. Accidents in the house are fewer (though this requires eternal vigilance).

When she was outside at 6:30 this morning the seagulls were crying. That stopped her in her tracks. She thinks snow is wonderful. If you dive into it, little snowballs scatter, and you can dive again at them, and so on.

About 6 inches of snow came down last night. Taking Molly out last night was ... funny ... also cold. She was not at all sure how to squat for a bowel movement in such deep stuff.

She did a pretty good job of sleeping the night through again.

She thinks the snow is GREAT! Bounces around. Wants to chase Spike, but he isn't taking her up on it.

She managed to get DOWN the stairs today. Had to bark at the stairs a couple times, because it is a scary business, but she did it. Both back legs come down at once.

Today was the first day we closed her in her crate with the gate shut. That is where she is now. It seems fine if she is ready for sleep when you put her in.