I’m sure people might be wondering how Winter (formerly Marshmallow) is adjusting being the “only child” now at Pinewood so I thought I’d give an update on the past week.

Some might think she had a bit of an “advantage” since this has been the only home she has known and everything and everyone are familiar. But by her actions I wouldn’t say we had much of an advantage. The first three days (and nights) were the noisiest as she adjusted to being the only puppy and became accustomed to her Iris pen under the kitchen bar area.

Putting a blanket over the pen so she can still hear us moving about but not see us helped her settle down faster. I only needed to do this the first day or two. She still fusses sometimes when she’s in the pen, especially if someone comes close to the pen and doesn’t pay attention to her. But if she vocalizes for attention, she is ignored. When she quiets down, then she gets attention.

To backtrack a bit, I took Winter with me last Sunday when I met the other families and delivered her sisters and brother. I figured it would be a good experience to do some traveling and an opportunity to meet some new people.

After we finished delivering puppies, I stopped at Costco to grab a few things before heading home. She had a potty break there and slept in her crate while I went inside.

I also took her through a drive-thru just to see something new and different. I always suggest that dogs and puppies travel in a crate. It’s so much safer for them to be contained. If a person were to be in an accident and the puppy is loose it could easily be thrown around inside the car or out a window. I’m sure we’ve all heard on the news of people getting into an accident and their dog being thrown from a car, and frightened and hurt, going missing.

So what I did with Winter was stop in the parking lot and got her out of her crate and placed her in my lap as I got in line. That way she could hear the person on the speaker and hear and see them at the window. Then after going through the line and before leaving the parking lot, I stopped and put her safely back in her crate.

I had hoped to stopped in our little local town on the way home to hit a couple more stores, but by the time I got there it was already late in the afternoon and it had already been a long day for a little puppy with an early morning start too.

On Monday, I ended up going back to town because I needed some things that I wasn’t able to get on Sunday.

I took her through another drive-thru. The gal at the window was so excited! She asked if she could pet her and promptly said, “I promise to wash my hands after!”

We have two feed stores in town and of course they carry different products so I visit both of them for supplies. They are both pet friendly. Of course, with a pup this age that’s not fully vaccinated, I always carry them. They are never put down on the ground. But there are so many sights, sounds, smells and new people to see that these are great places to socialize a puppy.

I let her help pick out a new toy at one of the stores. And my friend,”Auntie” Karen got to love on her too.

Whenever I’m out and about socializing a puppy that’s not completely vaccinated, I always bring a litter box in the back of my truck for potty breaks. We would never want to potty a young puppy in a public rest area, park, sidewalk etc. because we never know where a sick dog could’ve visited.

Sunday and Monday were the only two days she has left the house with me. The rest of the time we have been working on being content in her Iris pen, learning to go outside to potty and sleeping well at night. Like I mentioned earlier, the first three nights were noisy as she adjusted to sleeping alone. (Hope was in the room with her but she still was alone in her pen. It’s easier for me to let my puppies sleep in their crate with the door open at night and a litter box accessible should they need to go potty. Then they just put themselves back to bed. As they get older and I see they are not using their litter box all night, then I know they can hold their bladder longer and transition them to sleeping in a closed crate all night.)

I have a big area blocked off in the yard so she can go potty without being harassed by Quinn and Nico and the little monkey already figured out how to climb over it! (That’s a 24″ exercise pen).

She’s had play times and cuddles time. She’s even had a few play sessions with Quinn and Nico, of course, closely monitored so she isn’t injured. Although sometimes I wonder if I’m not there to protect them from her! She is a feisty one!

It’s been a busy week!