Athena the Wonder Pup

Our little puppy is growing up so quickly! She's already doubled her height and now weighs at least 20 pounds. When Cam got home from being in the field for a week, he couldn't stop remarking about how big she's gotten. Since I see her all day long, I don't notice... until I have to pick her up to put her outside when she refuses to go.

Athena follows me everywhere and usually plants herself right at my feet, including under the table as I sew, at the edge of the kitchen when I cook (though I think this is because she's just waiting for me to drop food) and in the office as I blog! But every time I convince myself that she truly is "my" dog, she treats me like chopped liver as soon as Cam walks in the door. If he's been gone for a while, I'll also catch her whining at the door to the garage (where he comes in each night) or sleeping on his shoes...she must miss the big guy. :(

Chillin' in the office while I blog

Thankfully, potty training went relatively quickly. Athena was very eager to please and didn't like to get in trouble when she had an accident, so she learned to alert us by barking/whining at the back door. After weeks of success, the only accidents have occurred when she's really excited to play and forgets that she has to go.

Athena also enjoys her two daily walks. We take different routes each time which allows for all kinds of new smells and terrain to experience! I think she needs the exercise too, because if we miss a walk, she tears around the house like a crazy dog right after dinner.

The newest experience for the Wonder Pup has been learning to traverse the stairs. We tried for weeks to try to teach her how to climb up and down, even breaking down to placing treats on every stair, but she just wasn't interested. Suddenly, one afternoon I couldn't find her downstairs anywhere. Then I heard her knock something over in our bedroom and went to find her in the midst of Cam's field gear. Since then, we've learned to keep the upstairs' doors closed as she's snuck away with rolled up socks or fabric/paper from the office.

Finally, our smart little Athena has learned two new tricks/commands. She's very good at "Sit" and understands "Outside" and "Kennel", though she doesn't always want to obey. Her latest accomplishments include "Shake" and "Down". Cam hopes that some day Athena will be able to master "Roll Over" and "Play Dead".