Freyja, 9 Weeks

Freyja had a good third week with us. She had a vaccination last weekend and already weighed 16 pounds, so she is growing by leaps and bounds. She is definitely taller than she used to be, and can’t fit under the sofa anymore, though she is still running behind it.

Freyja’s fear period is pretty well behind her now: Though it still takes some coaxing to get her going on a walk, she does great after a block or two, and absolutely adores meeting new people (she is much more cautious with meeting new dogs). She’s visited both Bush Park and Willamette University now, and did just great on both occasions. This dog is still incredibly people-oriented. When we’re out and she sees someone in the distance, she sits down and watches until they go out of sight. If they walk right by us, she flings herself in their path by way of introduction—all wagging tail, wiggling body, licking tongue, happy whine—in an ecstacy of greeting. She hasn’t learned yet that not everyone wants to love her up, and is incredibly disappointed when we keep her from bounding over to someone who doesn’t seem interested in saying hello.

Freyja is still all mouth, and we’re working hard on the chewing issue, mostly meaning we have to watch her like a hawk to make sure she doesn’t chew on something she shouldn’t. We distract her with toys, but her attention span is only a minute or two, and then she’s off to eat something else, anything else, up to and including the fireplace bricks (don’t ask me, I don’t get it either). So that’s a work in progress. As you can see from the pictures, she also likes chewing on us. Poor Jeremy’s hands are covered with scratches because he’s her favorite, and we have to be careful what clothes we wear when we’re playing with her, because she likes catching us by grabbing our knees, and that leads to a lot of ripped fabric. Maybe she’s actually sharpening those little fangs on the fireplace! 😉

Puppy-ferret relations continue. There have been no major incidents, though Ajax is not shy about grabbing Freyja’s paw or nose if she crowds in on his personal space. Jaxie’s main strategy, however, is to play “Snapping Turtle” in the mathom, as in the photo above; or, as Freyja calls that game, “Whack-a-Mole.”

Freyja continues to score well on the new toy front. We got her several more toys of different sorts last weekend, and are rotating through them so she doesn’t get bored. Ajax is also fond of many of her toys, so we’re constantly recovering dog toys from behind the sofa. I think her favorite new toy, though, is just a fresh ice cube. We offered her one after a walk on a warm day, and she absolutely loves crunching on them and pushing them all around the room.