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Weight loss is hard.  I'd like to eat chicken nuggets and french fries all day, if I could.  Every day, I work at getting thinner.  The important word is WORK.  I go without lots of the tasty treats I once loved.  Sometimes I don't feel like going for a walk, but I still go anyways.  I know it's hard to believe, but sometimes I just feel like laying in my bed instead of going out on a leash.  My weight is back up to 17.2 pounds.  My target weight is 15 pounds, and this last little bit of weight is really hard to get off.  It's hard to believe that I've taken off over ten pounds, so I'm still proud of myself. 

I'd like to give a shout out to everyone else who's had a step backwards during their weight loss plan.  Just keep on stepping!  Giving up seems tempting, but keep working toward your goal.  

 
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The ear treatments have worked.  The infection is gone, and believe it or not, I can hear just fine now.  No one was very hopeful when I started my medication that my hearing would return.  But we are all glad that it did.  When someone comes home, I can hear the door open when I'm on the other side of the house.  The world is much more interesting with sounds.  I look for crows when I hear them, and I know when a squirrel is hopping through the leaves.


 
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Watching the kitchen activity from the next room, instead of underfoot


I have stopped being pesty in the kitchen.  The only action I ever get in the kitchen is a bath.  These people don't play around with the food.  I have tried everything, but begging just does not work.  Am I disappointed?  Sure.  Since there is no benefit, I no longer stay underfoot while the LADY or the TALL MAN are cooking.  Sometimes I don't even come in to watch while they are cooking or cleaning in the kitchen.  


 
 
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NOTE FROM THE LADY:  Trust has settled into our relationship.  Maggie knows that she is safe and is more familiar with the rules and schedule of our house.  We have now started exposing her to a variety of new things so she will be a well adjusted dog.  I walk directly over her dog bed.  I pet her while she's eating.  We've gone for walks in different settings.  I've waved around a yardstick, stuck my fingers in her mouth and have welcomed new people into the house.  The hard part is approaching.  She will visit the kennel for an hour or so for "doggie daycare" so she will learn that it is a fun place.  We'll visit grandma's house.  Later, she will spend the night there, too.  Being able to take lots of different things in stride makes for happier dogs, and people too.

 
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I'm now down to 16.4 pounds.  I'm changing the way that I think about some things.  The porch isn't so scary.  I'm also giving up on getting treats all day.   I only get them a few times, and when I'm following directions.  I've decided that it's alright if I'm not right next to the LADY sometimes.  If she is folding clothes, I can go to the next room and wait.  Nothing good ever happens during laundry, anyways. 


 Note from the LADY: The vet said that Maggie's ideal weight is 15 pounds.






     

 
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I don't know if my ear treatments are ever going to end.  But I have something new to report.  I can hear loud sounds.  I can't believe it.  Normal talk is still mumbled, but if you speak up, I can hear.  I can hear my new name now. I can hear cars before they are really close.  I can hear "no", and will stop whatever I'm doing before I get into serious trouble.  I'm so glad that things are improving.  


   
 
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I haven't felt very playful since I arrived.  I was focusing more on the rules at first, plus my head really hurt from my ear infection.  I'm feeling better now that my ears don't hurt.  I'm getting the hang of things, so I'm more relaxed now.  I spent a lot of time feeling worried, but I'm not so worried now.  I still don't like it when the LADY or the TALL MAN leave the house, but when they come back I run and find my stuffed frog.  I run all over the place with it.  They throw the frog so I can run and catch it all over again.   




 
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I'm now down to 16.4 pounds.  Today was rainy and I was introduced to my new raincoat.  I don't mind it, but I'm not terribly impressed.  I don't mind the rain-if the grass is not too tall.  The TALL MAN could do a little better in the grass cutting department.  The LADY also took up my raincoat in the front.  I had to get a size medium in order to have it fit in the belly.  I'm working hard to slim down into a size small so my winter coat won't drag the ground.  I don't like having to buy things in the "Husky" section.  Neither does the LADY. 

 
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I've had medicine put in my ears for five days now.  That means that I have nine more days to go.  I look bad because my head is greasy.  I smell bad, too.  I don't think that my hearing is getting better.  At least I get treats when it's medicine time.
 
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Today the LADY put me on the screened porch with Sofie.  I cried and scratched at the door.  I don't know why she would want to be inside when I am outside.  At least once a day she leaves or spends some time away from us.  I bark through the window and say, "Hey I can see you, and I know you can see me!"  She put my bed outside, but I'm not going to sit on it.  Later, she let us both back in.  When she does stuff like that it makes me nervous.  She says it makes me more independent.  I think it just makes me annoyed.