It’s been a few weeks since my last post on Our Millie so time for an update.

Things are slowly settling down, but the chaos is increasing daily. Millie has had a growing spurt and now has developed long legs and a lot of confidence (and with this pushing all boundaries!). Grace has now officially become “mum” and Jasmine is definitely the crazy auntie (we all have one!) but they both get so cross with her still at times. I am not sure how they don’t hurt her as it sounds terrible when it all kicks off.

Millie, on the other hand, has discovered life is great and just leaps about all over the place – she has developed stalking techniques and a simple walk around the house suddenly becomes a nightmare as the dog jumps out of nowhere and attacks you – her teeth are like needles and we all have cuts all over our ankles. She has also developed a growl and silly bark, which is driving us all crazy.

She is relentless in her playing with the other dogs. They tolerate it for a while and then growl at her, which causes more barking. Then there are the chases around the tables and chairs which are a very regular occurrence, but now Millie is getting too big to hide under the coffee table so she will have to get quicker to avoid being caught or hopefully will realise that this game has to stop.

We are amazed how well the older dogs have adopted her, especially Grace who comes to her defence when the other beach dogs get a little rough with her. Jasmine is also protective and all the beach dogs are terrified of her so when she gets involved in the growling, they all scarper. She is definitely the boss still.

As to the training, it’s all been a very slow process. She is very clever and soon gets distracted. She sits, stays (to a point) and still comes pretty much all the time now unless there is a smelly disgusting thing to eat on the beach – we are having to lead walk her because the beach is a mess just now. She also wants to play with all the other dogs on the beach and any passing pedestrian – this will take some breaking. The other problem is getting something out of her mouth once it’s in there – she will not give anything up and it is a source of constant frustration.

Now she is tall enough to jump on the sofas and our bed … a big problem as she now thinks that everywhere is a good place to sleep – she likes to cuddle up in a nice warm place and sees this as anywhere she can get too…. In the evening, she loves to cuddle up on me, but wants to still bite Karen – I think it’s just an affection thing but she hurts … again very frustrating we are trying everything to stop this.

Feeding time is manic – she hoovers up her food and then tries to eat the other dogs food too – you have to stand guard to stop it happening. The other dogs seem to let her do it as well which is unheard of as Grace will also eat anything and doesnt share!

Final inoculations on Monday and then we can start going out for the day to different places – there are tons of little bays and beaches where they can just run around and play. Millie is slowly getting in the water, the other dogs love the sea and she cannot bear sitting and watching so tries her best – it will come. She got very brave earlier this week and went in to chest high, but a small wave wiped her out which she was not too keen on…but it will get better as she gets bigger.

She is very cute and endearing and we love her to bits – slowly we will get her sorted but she is a beach dog and has had a tough start … nature and nurture and all that. A puppy is very hard work and you do forget this, but we are all adapting to this crazy whirlwind of a dog. I can’t wait to start taking her on long walks with Jasmine.