Lexi - Adopted November, 2008

December, 2008 - Lexi's mom sent her foster mom an update on her sweet girl!

She’s doing very well…she’s a smart girl and I think she will do well in obedience class, which we start this coming Saturday! She’s really picked up on the “sit” command (i.e. sitting for her food, sitting to go outside, etc.) She seems to have already been taught “watch me,” as the first time I said it, she quickly turned her head and looked at me! The first few nights, she slept on the couch, but now she sleeps on the cozy dog bed I bought for her! Yay!

She and Ziggy for the most part are really getting along well. They play hard and then sleep hard, often next to each other on the couch. I think they are still working out who’s “the boss” between the two of them (though of course we try to make sure they know the humans are the real bosses!) There have been several scuffles, where I think Ziggy gets tired of Lexi playing (Lexi has tried to hump a few times too – not sure if it’s dominance or just playing – she only does it when they play). At those times, Ziggy sort of snaps her jaws like “Knock it off,” and then Lexi snaps back, and they start to fight. Luckily we watch them very carefully and have been able to stop them quickly! It’s happened four or five times so far…because of this, we don’t feel comfortable leaving them alone together when we’re not home, so we’ve been crating Lexi when we can’t be at home. It’s a large crate we’ve put in the living/dining area so she can still see Ziggy. I would like to give her the run of at least part of the house, but she knocked down the baby gates we put up in between her and Ziggy one day, so we’ll take things one step at a time! We’ve been working on getting her to see the crate as a good place, i.e. where she gets treats, food, toys and can relax and not just a place she has to go when we leave! She is already improving – the first week she howled for a bit when we left, and now she is quiet and relaxed as we leave.

Last week, we took the two dogs to the Dogs at the Dome event sponsored by K-9 Connection – what a blast! Lexi followed her nose up and down the Metrodome concourse at this off-leash, indoor event. We were there about 2 hours. I have to admit I was worried she wouldn’t come to us when called, but by the end, she was doing an excellent job of coming to us, even though there were many things to distract her! She did a great job – and she was a bit of a celebrity, as the Downtown Dogs staff was there and recognized her! They were all happy to see that she’d found her new family!

Lexi loves running in the yard with Ziggy – they chase each other and LOVE the snow. We have taken her and Ziggy to the Canine Coach’s indoor playtimes twice, and she has done a great job – she seems to get along with every dog!

Sorry this is so long! Just thought you’d like an update. Thank you again for helping us adopt Lexi! I will attach some photos from the Dome event - Number 5 cracks me up - Lexi squatted to pee right under the "Women" sign by the women's bathroom (indoor elimination was allowed at this event - owners had to pick up).