Alex FAQ

Alex seems to have taken over this blog. Sorry, not sorry.

I love her to pieces and will likely wear out the camera before she reaches adulthood.

I'll use this post to answer some questions you've asked about her.

 

I'm frankly shocked by how well she and Smooch are getting along.

In her foster home, Alex was socialized among several adult dogs with special needs,

which provided a solid foundation in canine manners. Smooch has been nothing but gentle

with her; in fact, she is sometimes too quiet with her corrections

when Alex is annoying the crap out of her. Since Smooch isn't physically up to

the big corrections that would put Alex in her place, I'm intervening when necessary

to teach Alex her boundaries. But it's all good, and peace and harmony reign.

We're working on leash training in the back yard, but it will be a while before Alex can go on 

an official walk. She won't receive her final puppy shots until next week 

and it's best to wait for those. Then there's the whole rattlesnake thing.
I can't imagine her staying right with us off leash just yet,
and until we develop an unfailing recall, it's too risky.

 Alex weighed 10.1 pounds when she was 10 weeks old.

She weighed 11.2 pounds yesterday, at 12 weeks.

To me, she seems like she will be smaller than Smooch

when she finishes growing, but who knows?

For comparison, Smooch weighed 19 pounds when she was 16 weeks old

and has been 37-40 pounds since she was 4. She'll be 13 in October.

The hardest part about having a puppy in the family? 

It makes Smooch seem really old, which makes me very sad.

The rescue that Alex came from guesses she's a Boston Terrier mix, but I'm highly skeptical.

I've met her mother – a long-haired, short-legged, 35-pound black mutt with a face similar to Alex's. 

Her father is unknown. I'm guessing he's at least part pitbull.

In the grand scheme of things, it matters not a bit. 

She's a lovable, squishable, huggable Dog...

...whose default expression is worried.

Her superpower is sleeping silently through the night in her crate with no accidents.

When I have to crate her during the day, the amount of time she whines and carries on 

is steadily decreasing, to my and Smooch's everlasting relief. Puppy shrieks hurt.

Smooch has willingly shared all her toys with Alex, 

but it turns out a dozen aren't enough to keep her busy so I've ordered lots more.

Chunks of tree bark add to the variety for now, and when that fails,

there's always digging, which is fine by me.

I think it must fulfill some natural instinct.

It keeps her busy and helps wear her out before she wears me out.

This puppy-raising business can be exhausting.