Faith is now 5 months old and I gotta say, she's a pretty good dog. Things are getting better and she is turning out to be okay. I thought for awhile that she was going to be such a handful, but she has improved and is going with the flow. She's 90% potty trained but has the occassional accident in the house. Why? I don't know, can't figure it out because she knows to go outside. She has been training on the invisible fence so now she has lots of room to run. She and Sam get along well but still fight over bones, toys, etc. Just have to keep them seperated at times. She's great with our family and being much more gentle with Alex. He likes her more now.

She's been going to puppy classes which are a breeze for her. She's VERY smart and extremely well behaved at class. She knows sit, down, leave it, get your leash, come, get it, bring it. Pretty good. I am enjoying her much more and love that she is showing signs of being a protective shepherd. Faith is happy go lucky, but will watch for things she may not want near her house. Love it!

18 Weeks
HUGE EARS!

17 Weeks

She's getting so big and she is such a good puppy. I really enjoy having her around. She is rarely peeing in her crate (a problem she acquired due to her urinary tract infection, etc.) and she slept all night last night. Honestly, I don't think she's ready to be sleeping all night without being let out, but I didn't wake up in the middle of the night on my own like I usually do. What can I say, she's been great. Not chasing Alex around to bite him, not biting us as much, but still chasing and biting Lola. She and Sam get along very well and like to play alot during the day. She likes her neighbor dog, Sampson, a boxer who is 8 months old. They play well together.

She starts her first training class in 2 days. She'll learn basic commands and socialization, but she really has the commands down now even before her class. It'll be easy for her!

Took Faith took the pet store yesterday and didn't get out of there for more than an hour or so. She was so good and so popular! You meet so many people at the pet store and it's good socialization for her. She's very happy-go-lucky and friendly. She enjoys meeting other dogs and other people. I hope it stays that way as she gets older, but she is still a puppy.

We have a nighttime/morning schedule for the most part. She goes to bed in her crate about 10pm. I get up about 2:30-3:00am and take her out to go potty and then she'll sleep till about 6:30-7am. I'd say that's pretty good considering her age. She wakes up, eats, goes outside, and then we play for an hour or so. She brings me whatever toy she wants me to throw, usually a ball.

She starts puppy classes on Wednesday. I am so excited to get going with that. I'd like to even start agility in the spring. I've never done that so it would be a new experience. Today is Easter and family is coming over for dinner. She'll have lots of people to play with today! My dad and Dave's dad LOVE her! Should hopefully be a busy day to get her super tired!

Faith and Sam

Faith at 15 weeks

She's doing well, bladder issues are better, but she seems to forget about going outside a little more often now. I have to watch her better. I feel so guilty about her being in her crate, I'll let her hang out with me, but she always escapes to somewhere. I still have a love-hate relationship with her! Of course I care about her, but when I am cleaning up overturned plants, and urine in the crate, etc. I get angry and she then goes to the bottom of my list of favorite things! Her ears are hilarious though. They are huge! I know she'll grow into them.

Dave has been taking her (and Sam on occasion) for long walks at night. She walks very well on a leash thankfully. She starts puppy training classes next week and I hope they are well worth it because we've been waiting so long for this class to start. Soon, the campgrounds will open up for the season and it will be interesting to see how we handle two big dogs in our camper - one of which is kind of in the tearing up things stage! Ugh....

Faith spent 5 days with my mom and dad due to the fact that Dave was out of town and she was a handful! Hard for me to take care of her, Sam, Alex, Lola, and my house. I needed a little break and thankfully my parents were nice enough to help me out. Here she is at 13 weeks. She weighs just about 30 lbs and is growing fast. She has her moments, but overall is okay. She is still having bladder issues even on her antibiotics. Dr. Randall said the biopsy came back showing signs of E-Coli in the bladder and some scarring. She still has crystals in her bladder but no stones. I just hope the medication clears her up because if she were better, she'd be almost completely potty trained.

Recent picture of Sam - 9 years old