It's day five at our household for Apple, and she is acclimating splendidly.

First, she knows what "no" means.  At least most of the time she does.  We don't have a lot of rules in our home to begin with, so understanding "no" is pretty easy for her.  For example, she's definitely not allowed on our bed yet, not until she's got the pee-pee routine down pat.  So instead of plopping herself in our pillows or something, after we've said "no", she simply gets away with being absolutely adorable at our bedside, gracefully placing her two front paws on the very, very edge of our bed and feverishly wagging her tail. 

And, good God, in the, um, spirit of compromise, we can't say "no" to that.

What I do often say "no" to are Apple's elaborate, prolonged lick baths.  Not the ones she gives to herself.  Rather, the lick baths she gives me.  She starts at my palms, then works her way down fingers and fingertips.  Sometimes she licks my face, bare arms or feet if we're just lounging on the couch after a long walk.   Not for a few seconds, but for something like five undisturbed minutes. 

If lick baths were her job, Apple would earn a mighty paycheck.

Second, Apple doesn't do crate-training.  Not because she can't, but because she doesn't need to.  We took a tiny leap of faith this week and have discovered that Apple has been sleeping through the night with little problem, actually.  She does her business in the backyard and/or during our walks (though she hasn't pooped on our walks yet).  And I let her out in the backyard for what I call A Fun, Final Pee-Pee with Deb around midnight.  After that, at about 3:00 AM or 4:00 AM, my husband lets her out while he uses the restroom. 

If she has an accident, it's minor and quickly cleaned and done away with.  Accidents, though, have been a rare, liquidy sight around here.

I've given myself the benefit of the doubt in this journey.  It's been a significantly long time since I've had a puppy of my own, but  I am getting used to having this little girl around.  So is Chris, and this is his very first puppy!

I know.  I LOVE watching Apple and Chris interact and head out for walks.  So cute.  So, so, so very cute.







Apple can already sit, stay, do up-ups and down-downs and even "go, go, go".  A whispered but animated go-go-go means walk.  I say this to her because she looks up at me for approval all the time while we're out.  And I want her to know that she can walk and sniff and roll around the grass if she wants.  She can be a more independent doggie, I tell her.

Chris says that she's deemed me her mommy, and this is why she looks to me for approval.

Aw.

She really is the Apple of our eyes.  (And, for those of you who are wondering, the name Apple was given to her at birth by her previous owner, not by us.  We kept it for it suits her.)

More importantly, Apple is sweet and absolutely crazy about Chris and I.  So we must be doing something right. 

Right?