Here’s an update on Maggie. She has been a super mom to her six puppies. They are now seven weeks old and she is trying to wean them. They’ve been eating puppy food for weeks to help get ready and help her handle feeding six pups. She is also teaching them to be submissive to growls, not wander off and this week she showed them stairs. There couldn’t be a better mom around.
Maggie has changed since she arrived. She now barks to alert when someone comes to the door. I’m safe at my house with two other dogs barking along with her. She does really well being left with the other two dogs. No serious separation anxiety but that’s not true with storms. On the 4th of July, as the fireworks ceased, we had tornado sirens sounding and a big storm. Maggie didn’t like it at all. She slept either in my lap or beside me. She is a very good traveler. She and the pups traveled with us seven hours each way to Wisconsin. She went in the lake by mistake. It was funny to watch her go down the steps and into the water and then out of the water with a look of surprise.
When the pups were first born, Maggie was rarely away more than a short time. She willingly went for a short walk but raced back to her pups. Now she is happy to be near them but not beside them all the time. She was watchful of people near her puppies but never showed any signs of harming anyone. Gypsy, my puppy mill mama, sleeps beside the puppies each night and even spent a stormy night in their pen. Maggie was very accommodating of her.
Maggie likes to get petted and if I’m petting either of the other dogs, she will come in to get some too. She’s not shy. She has learned to sit and waits near the door instead of trying to sneak out. She is very good at recall. She gets very excited to go for walks and was walking about two miles before she got real pregnant. She keeps up with the two Golden retrievers and walks nicely on a leash.
Maggie weighed 24 pounds at the vet the other day. She is a small dog but has lots of cuteness and personality. She is the best retriever of tennis balls at this house.
We are all transitioning as Maggie and her pups go through weaning and the pups start to be more individuals and members of their litter pack. This will give Maggie a chance to become part of our pack and transition to being a resident dog here.
Families have been coming to meet puppies. It will be a sad day for Maggie and me when they are all gone to their new homes. It will be the end of her breeding life and the start of a new life as a RAGOM adopted dog.







