I got a puppy! Meet Pixel, the Mini American Shepherd.

[Pyxis]

She got her next set of boosters and her rabies shot today! 11 pounds now, so almost doubled in size from when she came home.

I ordered an Embark DNA test to see if she's at risk for any health issues or has drug sensitivities. So that's on the way. I especially want to know if she has MDR1, because that's common in her breed's parent breed, and it would mean I really don't want to use Ivermectin on the livestock here.

Of course it also tests for breed, and MAS is one of the breeds they identify, so that should come up as 100% MAS. Though she does/did look a little like a CKC when I brought her home. The other breed that the breeder has is actually CKC....so hopefully she doesn't come back 50% CKC, lol. Of course I'd still keep her, but that would affect her herding prospects.

 

[aart]

The other breed that the breeder has is actually KCK

What is KCK?
I tried googling but didn't get much.

 

[Pyxis]

What is KCK?
I tried googling but didn't get much.

That's because I reversed the acronym, lol! My bad. CKC, aka Cavalier King Charles spaniels.

 

[Pyxis]

The Embark test came today! I got her swabbed and it's waiting in the mailbox to be picked up tomorrow.

 

[Pyxis]

Pixel had her first grooming today A bath, a sanitary trim, and trimming the hair on her paws. My groomer is also a wildlife rehabber so she met some Canada geese, a porcupine (she said NOPE, would not get near it, which I'm good with, haha), and also her pet potbelly pigs.

And some squirrels which live in the basement near the grooming setup.

All clean!

Her groomer said she was very well behaved. And that she loves her and said if I ever need a dogsitter to let her know, LOL. She even wanted the info for her breeder.

Also here's a bonus picture of Pumpkin the porcupine. As long as you pet them the right way they're not too pokey.

 

[Pyxis]

Stick!

She had her DAPP booster yesterday. One booster left and she's finally done with puppy shots! She weighed 13 pounds. She's four months old today The basic rule of thumb for determining how big a puppy might end up is doubling the weight at 4 months. So I expect her to be around 26 pounds, which is right where the breeder thought she'd end up too. Of course when her Embark results come back, they can tell how big the dog's genes say they will be, so that will be interesting to see.

 

[gimmie birdies]

A good way to train is to tell them what they are doing-
If the pup is peeing- you say "Pee-pee" and "good-boy" after
the same for poop.
And always let them out after a nap.
Also tell them outside, "Peepee outside"

 

[Pyxis]

Well, the Embark testing is back aaaanddd:

Pixel's Embark Results

So yep. I was right.

 

[Pyxis]

I signed Pixel up for Bark Box. I'd been considering it, and they sucked me in with this month's box - it's Jurassic Park themed. I've always been into dinosaurs, and Jurassic Park is very nostalgic for me (even though the dinosaurs are not very accurate, haha). They were having a special where when you signed up you could double your first box for free, and double dinos sounded good to me so I did it.

It came today and Pixel is very happy. So far she's tried the Raptor Scraps pork jerky (loves it) and I gave her the Therizinosaurus toy which is also a big hit.

 

[Pyxis]

Chewy's having their big yearly sale, so I got Pixel some stuff. The first thing I gave her was this zebra toy. I think she likes it, haha.