The Myers love Layla!

And here I am again...posting much later than I wanted to...and posting at 3AM so please forgive any ramblings and/or mutterings that make no sense. :o)

It's official.  Layla has claimed her official sleeping spot - directly between me and my husband.  She also prefers to have one paw draped across my body.  What a snuggle-saurus, as we call her!  I know, I know...I shouldn't be allowing dogs in my bed.  But I can't help it!  It's just so stinking cute!  And I LOVE that she wants to be cuddled.  My dogs love to snuggle - but only on their terms.  Layla doesn't care about terms - she just craves love.

We are still working on being COMPLETELY house trained, but it is slowly getting there.  We haven't had an accident in several days (knock on wood!) so we hope it stays that way.  I think her main issue is not understanding HOW to tell us she needs to go out.  We know she knows that potty time happens outside b/c any accident she has is right by the back door.  However, she is still working on her confidence level and, though 1000 times more confident today than when she first arrived, she still needs encouragement to speak her mind. 

HOWEVER....Layla has found her bark.  And what a hound-like bark she has!  She didn't make a peep for so long after she arrived here.  Then, one day, she seemed to discover that she had a voice.  It began as a meager little whimper when she was excited to see me or a little hungry. It quickly grew into communication with my dogs while exploring and playing in the back yard.  Now, she is practically silent while indoors but has no problem "singing" in the backyard.  It is not a nuisance in the least bit - she only does it when trying to communicate to one of my dogs or to a dog next door.  And she will follow commands from myself and my husband when it is time for the barking to end.  But I cannot help but smile every time I hear that bark.  It's a good feeling that she is comfortable enough with us now to speak her mind when she needs to.  Layla has found her bark and we are so thankful!

For those of you out there who may be pondering the thought of giving this little girl a forever home, let me assure you that you will not be disappointed.  No dog has ever loved human contact as much as Layla.  She will be the one to never leave your side, to greet you with ultimate excitement when you come home from running errands, to understand every word you say to her and offer response in the form of a simply look. We love having her here and I just know her forever family will come along soon!

Quick update....

Wow.  I haven't been able to post in awhile and I apologize.  This will be just a QUICK post to let everyone know that Layla is doing sooooooo well.  There's so much to tell you and so many stories to share but I must save those for another time as my eyes are beginning to get a little droopy and I am afraid I will start typing gibberish. 

We did lose one of our own precious fur-babies back on July 27 so our household has been in mourning.  It was very unexpected and we are still awaiting the results of a necropsy.  He was only 3 years old, and he and Layla had become close companions.  I think even Layla has been upset about losing him b/c she's been extra snuggly since he's been gone.  Having her here has made dealing with the loss a little more bearable.  NOT that any of my puppies can take the place of any other, but having those extra puppy snuggles and tail wags around our house has helped tremendously.  I thank ARF for allowing Layla to come into our lives at what could not have been a more meaningful time. 

Well, I promised a short post and short it shall be.  Just know that Layla is getting lots of love and giving so much more in return.  I just love having her here!  More fun Layla stories coming soon!

Finally a new Layla update!

Finally!  I'm back!

Tonight will be a short post as I'm quickly running out of steam.  I just wanted to update everyone on how Layla is doing.  She has finally chosen "her spot" for sleeping - right on top of my tummy.  She was so stinking cute when she first did it that I didn't have the heart to move at all during the night for fear of frightening her away.  It didn't take me long to figure out that this little girl sleeps like a rock.  I can move all around her, shove her over, etc. and she never makes a single peep or grunt or anything.  I do have to say that we are going to have to upgrade to a bigger bed soon.  Between the hubs sprawling out, him not being able to sleep without his ginormous fuzzy brown body pillow, Abby curled up between my feet & Layla curled up next to/on top of me, I usually wake up clinging to the side of the bed for dear life at some point during the night - I've actually been knocked out of the bed once!  And that was before Layla joined our crew! 

Anyway, as you can see, she has settled in quite well here.  We are really having to work on her house-training a little more, though.  She has trouble letting me know when she needs to go out and often will just sit by the door and not "do her business" when I take her outside.  She's so desperate to be around people now that she doesn't even want a potty break.  We haven't had any enormous messes or anything.  Just a little spot every now and then - but it always happens right after she comes back inside from being in the back yard.  Oh well, she really is still a puppy so she's learning! 

And on the subject of her being a puppy...what a little playful thing she's turned out to be!  We have a basket o'goodies filled with all the puppy toys and she has discovered it.  Her favorite toys so far are the ones that make a crinkling noise.  So when it's bed time, we have to hide those toys or we'll never get her to settle down.  But it's still cute!

Anyway, she's doing fine.  She just needs a forever home.  Someone better snatch her up soon before she gets too settled in here! ;o)

Day...wait...how have I already lost count?!

Hello again.  I think The Daily Layla is turning into The Sort of Daily Layla.  I have excuses...I promise!

1. My laptop gave me the blue screen of death two nights ago.
2. Work has been crazy lately and has taken all of my computer time.
3. I've got Sondheim on the brain and have been studying my music for "Assassins" like a fiend. 
4. Layla has gotten so snuggly with me that I don't want to make her get down off the bed in order for me to go into the guest bedroom to blog. :o)

Those excuses are acceptable, right?  I mean, I'm sure I can come up with more... ;o)

Layla is doing great!  She has really become one of the pack over the past week.  She and Abby are totally BFFs now.  Although, Abby does have a mom complex and treats Layla - and all the other dogs for that matter - as if they are her puppies from time to time.  She cleans ears and paws for everyone, and lately she has taken to showing Layla how to do some puppy things.  It's so funny to see Layla taking on some of Abby's personality traits!  Let's just hope she doesn't pick up Abby's crooked tail wag...

The main thing I have noticed from our time with Layla is her need to still be a puppy.  I am wondering if she never really got to do those puppy things all young ones need to get out of their systems.  She was so scared of everything when she first got here, I can see how she may have skipped through her puppy playfulness and never understood the joy of chewing on a tennis shoe.  We are working hard with her to teach her NOT to take on those bad puppy habits, but it's so hard to tell her "No" when you can look at her and tell that she's never had a chance to be this way before and she just needs to get it out of her system.  She is so smart and really seems to understand which things she should and should not do, but she also just can't help herself sometimes.  It's no problem for us.  We've been there and done that...three times now (four if you count our human baby).  I just hope the forever home she ends up in understands what it takes to raise a puppy and knows that even though Layla is full grown, she is still very much a puppy at heart. 

It really is cute to watch her play with the others.  She's such an instigator!  She loves to get them all riled up and then run away and hide.  She just cracks me up!  I'll have some videos and photos to post soon...I hope!  Not only has my laptop given me the middle finger, but our camera has been acting possessed & my cell phone is...well...functionally challenged at the moment.  *sigh*  I'm starting to think the electronics in this house have it in for me...

Look for more cute Layla news coming soon!  We just love this little girl (and hope that you're falling in love with her, too)!

Day 3

Well, this post will be rather short as it seems as if Layla has really begun to settle in here.  We had an accident-free night and day (Yay!) so I think we have figured out her potty schedule.  She's eating like a champ and trying to get in as much playtime as possible with the other furballs here.  She's also beginning to snuggle with me a little.  I love snuggly puppy dogs...

The more she comes out of her shell the more we see how much of a puppy she really still is.  We have discovered that she loves to chew so we are working with her to teach her which things she's allowed to chew on and which things are off limits to puppy teeth.  We have a basket o'goodies just for the puppy dogs, so she is quickly learning that the things inside that basket are for her enjoyment.  My son has also decided that he needs to share some of his toys with her, so he left a couple of his cars for her to snuggle with in bed.  I'm not sure how comfy it is to snuggle with plastic, but at least Layla seems to not be bothered by the constant noise made by one of Connor's "gifts".  I was wondering why I kept hearing this little Leap Frog car sing and tell me it needed gas - then I realized the car was in the bed with Layla and every time she took a deep breath or shifted a bit, it set the thing off. (Praise the Lord for OFF buttons!)

Anyway, life in Laylaland seems to be good - at least from the human end of things!  We gave Layla a bath today and, though she was a little frightened at first, she seems to feel much better now that she's nice and clean.  And her coat is so soft and shiny! (By the way...let me make a quick plug for Arm & Hammer's Clean & Fresh oatmeal dog shampoo!  Holy cow...I have never found a dog shampoo that completely eliminates that "dog" smell like this one does.  And the fresh scent lasts a really long time!  It also soothed my fur babies' sensitive skin. BUY THIS SHAMPOO.  You'll thank me later.)

So bedtime has come once again in the Myers Household.  Again, I am the last one awake and actually have 3 very tired little doggies asleep at my feet as I type this.  I guess I'll rouse them long enough for all of us to trudge to the bedroom and turn in for the night.  Sweet puppy dreams to all!

Day 2

Layla has done so well today!  Although it has become apparent that she does not prefer to be left behind a puppy gate.  Let me explain...

After I finished posting my blog last night, I went to go calm the girls down and ready them for bed.  Layla went into the kitchen and into her cave.  She was content and gnawing on a chewie as I turned a few lights out and headed for the living room.  I put the puppy gate up behind me in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room securing Layla in the same area she had been secured the night before.  (Since we are still learning her potty schedule and her personality traits, we wanted to make sure she was kept somewhere that was completely puppy-safe for the first few nights, both for her safety and our peace of mind.)  I bid Layla goodnight and was off to bed.  Closing the bedroom door behind me, I crawled into bed anticipating being able to quickly doze off.  Not long after, I heard a crash come from the kitchen.  As I sprang to my feet and opened the bedroom door, I was greeted by little Layla standing in our doorway.  She trotted into the bedroom, tail held high, and looked at me as if to say, "No.  I shall sleep here."  Looking very proud of herself, she curled into a ball on the carpet and stared up at me, wagging her tail.  How could I resist that?!  So I took off to the kitchen to see what caused the crashing sounds.  I found the puppy gate lying on the floor.  The little stinker figured out how to knock it down!  Nothing was broken, no one was hurt and it seemed as though everyone was finally ready for bed.  Layla selected her perfect sleeping spot. With everyone else in their respective bedtime spots - Gabriel on the floor next to my side of the bed, Shep on the floor next to Kevin's side of the bed, Layla on the floor at the foot of the bed and Abigail between my feet on the bed - we snuggled in for the night.

This morning I awoke to the sounds of a puppy wrestling match.  As I fumbled for my glasses and was finally able to focus on the commotion, I saw Abby, Shep and Layla all rolled together in a big ball of fur and pointy ears and wagging tails.  Gabriel doesn't do mornings (just like his mommy) and never budged - he was all but rolling his eyes while attempting to steal a few more minutes of sleep.  I got up, took everyone outside (except Gabe since it would've taken me literally carrying him and there was no way I was coordinated enough to lug a 60 pound dog outside this early in the morning) and supervised the first outside visit of the day.  All went well, everyone took care of business and they were quickly ready to go back inside.  Then it was back to bed for Mommy Kate (as I'm lovingly referred to around my household) with three tails following close behind.

Later in the day, Kevin, Connor and I had to leave for just a little while.  So, once again, we got Layla all settled in her cave and put the puppy gate up.  When we returned home, Layla was laying in the living room next to the fireplace.  The puppy gate was down again, but this time it looked as if it had been taken down instead of knocked down.  It literally looked as if Layla had unhooked the latch of the gate and let herself out.  I wouldn't be surprised if she did - she's obviously super stinking smart!  Thus, we have come to the conclusion that Layla is not a fan of the puppy gates. :o)

The rest of the day proved to be pretty uneventful as far as doggie headlines go, but I do have to mention that Layla has become more and more playful with each passing minute.  So far she has displayed the personality of a young puppy wanting nothing more than to romp and play with her litter mates as much as possible.  She is quickly adopting my three dogs as her brothers and sister - I even caught her giving puppy kisses to Shep and Abby.  I even got a Layla kiss today!  I guess that was my reward for taking the hint about the puppy gates. :o)

Currently we are all back in our respective bedtime spots and I seem to be the only one left awake.  I guess I will sign off now and head for dreamland...that is, IF I can figure out how to fall asleep amidst all this snoring going on around me.  All the boys are sawing logs over here - Kevin, Gabe and Shep.  Luckily my girls, Abby and Layla, are displaying quite the ladylike sleeping habits.  Sweet dreams, everyone!

Layla's First 24 Hours at the Myers'

Layla's first 24 hours in her new foster home have gone so well!  After meeting her in "person" (or puppy?) for the first time, I could tell she would need lots of extra love to completely trust us.  Showing no interest in the treats or toy bone her foster daddy (Kevin) brought home for her, Layla found her "safe space" underneath our counter-height kitchen table right away and stayed there for most of the first evening.  She would venture out every now and then, ears perked high, sniffing and checking things out.  But the moment she saw one of us coming, it was back to what we have named "Layla's Cave."  Seeing how safe she felt under there, I moved her bed underneath the table with her.  She sniffed and nosed at the bed for awhile but finally lay on the kitchen tile next to the bed.  I noticed throughout the evening she slowly began to inch onto the bed until she was finally curled up in the middle of it snoring away. 

I felt as though Layla needed a bit of down time, as her introduction into our home was a bit chaotic - our three dogs were so excited to have a new fur-friend so they were a bit bouncy and hyperactive.  I did introduce our dogs to her one at a time to attempt to prevent some of the newness overload she might experience.  These individual introductions did seem to help a bit, but it was a lot to take in and little Layla just looked confused and lost.  Our 18-month-old son, Connor, was also thrilled to have a new puppy to play with but did not understand that Layla was not quite ready to roll around and be rough and tumble like the other puppies. I think he scared her a great deal, not only because he was squealing with delight and trying to get her to chase him, but also because she has probably not ever been around little ones before.  She NEVER showed any bit of aggression toward Connor (or anyone else for that matter).  She just had a worried look in her eyes as if she were trying to figure out what to make of him.

So I decided to give Layla a little alone time to deal with the excitement which I'm sure was a bit overwhelming for her.  After allowing her some space for about an hour, Kevin and I both went into the kitchen to show her some special puppy attention.  I politely asked her if I could join her in the cave and she looked at me as if she was unsure.  I bent down and slowly crawled under the table, staying at or below her eye level and making no sudden movements so as not to startle her.  Once I felt she was ready, I began to scratch her neck and slowly made my way around to her ears, head and between her eyes.  She quickly fell asleep. 

After a little more rest time, I offered her a chance to go out into our backyard to explore.  She was terrified of our door, as I was warned she might be.  So I picked her up, carried her outside and put her in the grass.  In no time she was wandering all over the yard, sniffing this blade of grass and that, chasing bugs, searching for the "right spot", etc.  It took awhile to get her to come back inside, but once I stood at the door and opened it for her, showing her I wouldn't let it close on her, she shot right through the doorway and back into her cave grabbing a sip of water on the way. 

Having a bit of late night computer work to catch up on, I sat at the kitchen table typing with Layla at my feet.  Once the work was done, I tried one more time to offer her a treat.  This time, she took it with no hesitation.  As I prepared to get her settled in for bed and since she seemed completely content to stay in the kitchen, I made sure she could get to the water dish, left her treat with her and put her toys in her bed.  I walked away and caught a glimpse of her batting her toy bone around just before I rounded the corner and went to my bedroom.  And yeah...I shared with Kevin how Layla loved the treat he'd picked out for her and how she was finally playing with the toy he brought her and he got tears in his eyes.  So that made me get tears in my eyes, which made him tear up even more, etc., etc.  Mushy, I know.  But true - Kevin loves helping these innocent animals as much as I do and it makes me so happy that we can share this together.  (Think it would help recruit more foster families if we claimed that fostering a shelter dog provides natural marriage therapy for the fostering couple???) :o)

Anyway...I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a little wagging Layla tail when I awoke this morning.  She trotted right up to me when I went into the kitchen to greet her and quickly let me know she was ready to go outside.  So, after letting my three "crazies" go out I picked Layla up and took her out back as well.  I stayed outside with all four of them and allowed them to have some supervised puppy play time.  Layla was a little unsure at first, but quickly began to try to play.  My dogs are used to rolling around and wrestling as rough as they want to so I wanted to stay out there to make sure they didn't frighten our new addition too much.  There were a couple of times when they were a little too much for sweet Layla and she would tuck her tail and run away.  I quickly separated her and let her re-approach them when she was ready.  It didn't take long at all.  She quickly jumped right back in, playing to the level of rough and tumble she was comfortable with and then retreating to the back door when she needed a break. 

After a good morning recess, we all returned to the comfort of the air conditioning.  By this time, my son was awake and came to join the party.  I quickly made myself some coffee and sat down to complete my waking up process.  (It takes me awhile...I loathe mornings.) I continued to supervise and separate as needed throughout the day.  Layla seemed to get quite comfortable with retreating to her cave on her own when she found she needed a break.  Having not wandered into any other part of the house at this point, she finally began to show some curiosity.  She would run into the living room, stand there for a few seconds and then trot back off to her bed.  A few moments later, she was back at the entrance to the living room.  My border collie/springer spaniel mix, Abigail, began to meet Layla at the entrance to the living room and test the waters to see if Layla was ready to get some more play time in.  Layla began to wag her little tail and crouch down into a pounce-ready stance.  Then, with one swipe of her paw, she would dart back under the kitchen table looking behind her to see if Abby was following.  Then it was back to the entryway to tease Abby some more.  It was so much fun to watch her take these small steps in coming out of her shell!  She was having such a good time!

Finally, it was afternoon treat time for everyone.  My puppies lined up at my feet and Layla followed suit.  One by one, as I called the "sit" command, my fur babies would plant their hind ends on the ground and gracefully (or not so gracefully in Abby's case) accept their treats.  To my great surprise, Layla fell right in line with what everyone else was doing!  She sat on command and accepted her treat!  Then she pranced over to her toys and began to play, chew, paw, etc.  Yay!  She was being a puppy! 

This pattern continued throughout the day and tonight there has been even more progress.  She has shown interest in checking out the rest of the house, following me into my bedroom and looking for a spot to lay down in there with the rest of the crew.  I also actually witnessed her get excited at feeding time tonight!  She was jumping and panting and bouncing all over the place when I began to divvy out everyone's dinner portions!  Following dinner, I took her for a walk around the block on a leash. She loved it!  She did pull a bit, but just a slight tug on her harness caused an immediate reaction and she would slow back to my pace.  Her curiosity really took over on this walk - she wanted to stop and smell EVERYTHING.  She also knew when we had returned to my house.  She turned into the driveway instinctively as if she'd been here all her life and lead me to the door.  She really seemed to enjoy herself, so I'm going to try to take her on her own little walk every day.  She was practically smiling!

It's so heartwarming to see so much progress so quickly!  It's very apparent to me that she is dying for someone to love her but, at the same time, she's afraid to allow that to happen. We do have some work to do to get used to one another, but she's so incredibly smart so I don't anticipate any trouble.  We did have a couple of accidents in the house, but I truly think it's just a matter of me figuring out her potty schedule.  She really seems to know what "outside" is for (besides playtime, of course) so I think she's housebroken.  Like I said, Foster Mommy Mandy just has to learn what Layla's signals are and what kind of schedule she's used to (if any).   To have come out of her shell this much within the first 24 hours is amazing!  She's actually just decided to get up and play with Abby all of a sudden!  She must be excited about her new friends now that she's getting to know them a little better.  I better go try to get her settled back down in bed.

Today's post is rather long, but a LOT has happened over the last 24 hours.  I'm sure they won't all be this long.  But I can't wait to see what the next 24 hours bring!  Goodnight and sweet puppy dreams to all!