four months with trixie.

We have had Trixie for a little over four months now, which seems crazy! Some days feel like we have had her forever and some days I am reminded that she is still new to the pack and I shouldn't expect her to act otherwise. Either way, things are a lot different from when we brought her home. She has come out of her shell and learned to trust us, get more comfortable with the other two dogs, and really begun to flourish. Every day I love her even more than the last - she is such a sweet, gentle dog with a soulful personality who loves to play and snuggle.

Just after bringing her home, she would stay downstairs for small amounts of time and spend most of her day on the bed upstairs, sleeping or playing with her new toys or chew bones by herself. I'm sure that she was overwhelmed with the change of coming home with us and was trying to acclimate herself to our home. 

even washing the sheets doesn't stop her from snuggling in them.

She considered the bed her "safe place" and was visibly uncomfortable when we forced her to stay downstairs for any length of time. Now, she comes downstairs with me in the morning to go outside and use the bathroom and then spends most, if not all, of her day downstairs. 

sometimes i feel like i'm in the center of a zoo.

She sleeps in one of the reclining chairs or on the couch with me, plays with her toys, chases the ball when I throw it, plays outside or catches some rays on nice days, or simply hangs out. It's so encouraging to see the transformation that she has made - from a shy little dog who wasn't quite sure what to do with herself to one who has truly blossomed and is completely comfortable with her new home.

In the summer, after going out in the morning, she would literally flop down on the grass and dirt just off of our deck and sleep there for about an hour before coming inside. It was hilarious - like she was working on getting a tan! 

As the weather got cooler, we would find her sitting outside in the deck chairs in the evening, sunning herself or simply looking around at the wildlife. She is quite content to be by herself, playing or quietly observing what is going around her. 

She has gone out on many adventures with us to the local parks, stores, and festivals, and she does wonderfully each time. 

trying the macaroni and cheese at a local apple festival. she cracks me up!

exploring the gorges with her brother.

She loves exploring any new place we go, and she is a gem riding in the car. All she wants is the window open and she is happy! She is very well behaved, not showing any aggression to other dogs when meeting them and is always friendly (if a bit shy) to humans.

We haven't had any problems leaving her home when we have to leave for a few hours to  run errands, but she is always glad to see us return back - wagging her little stump tail so furiously back and forth until we pick her up for snuggles. It is such a reward to see her tail wagging, knowing what work went into earning her trust enough for it to wag that hard. She has learned to do what Hendrix does when he wants to be picked up - stretching on his back legs and putting his front paws on our thighs. She has been gaining more balance and is starting to do it more and more, begging for hugs, and it is the most adorable thing. She loves getting and giving kisses and in fact, kisses so much that sometimes it feels like she is going to suffocate you or lick your skin right off! But I never get sick of it because I am so thankful that she trusts us enough now to do it.

There was concern after bringing her home that she wouldn't bond well with the other dogs, but over the past months she has really warmed up to them. She lets Hendrix lick her ears and the nubbin on the top of her head a few times a week without flinching or trying to pull away anymore. She enjoys looking out the window with him to see what's going on outside, too.

She sleeps with them on the couch occasionally and sits with them every morning while she waits for me to make my breakfast. She loves exploring the backyard with Hendrix and will assist him in his chipmunk hunts when she feels the urge, or just keeping a look-out with him and Zoe on the deck. 

She still has some problems with them because she thinks they are going to steal her toys or treats when they really just want to see what she is up to, but even that has lessened a lot since the beginning, so I have no doubt it will continue to lessen as she sees that they are not a threat and she will always have toys and treats. Overall, it's heartwarming to see her growing closer to both of them as time goes by.

Her favorite toy is still a tennis ball (especially the squeaky ones!) but she is grateful for any toy she gets, really. She loves the little silicone balls that have spikes on them and truly enjoys ripping all the stuffing out of any plush toy! 

that look of desire for her favorite squeaky ball.

Hendrix and Zoe mostly hoard their toys and play with them sometimes without destroying them (Hendrix nibbles on them with his front teeth), so it's a big contrast against Trixie's toy habits. Thank god for the bargain bins at PetCo and PetSmart - getting cheap plush toys that she can destroy and that don't break the bank is a wonderful thing. 

this little lady knew exactly what she wanted at the toy store!

But she is also learning to play with toys without completely mutilating them, just squeaking them and enjoying them.

enjoying her BarkBox toy.

She also got to enjoy her first trip to the ice cream store this past summer, which was a huge hit! It was a magical food discovery for her, and she is working on liking other foods, too.

We do give our dogs table scraps, but mostly healthy food like fruits and vegetables. Hendrix and Zoe love green beans, snap peas, carrots, bananas, apples, cucumbers, and bell peppers the most and are always happy to get them. Trixie, however, wasn't too keen on any healthy foods. I'm assuming she didn't have much exposure to them in the past and that is why she typically only eats junk food or dinner scraps that are cooked. We have been trying to get her to like the fresh fruits and veggies, and to begin with she was sniffing them and not trying them at all. At the end of the summer, she began eating watermelon one night when Chris had it, and a few days ago she ate her first pieces of apple and banana. She is definitely making progress on that!

One of her silliest new habits is that she is what we call our "pre-wash cycle" for our dishwasher. Once we open it, within a minute or two, here she comes poking her head around the corner to see what she can lick up from the dishes or the bottom of the appliance. It's kind of gross but it makes us chuckle and she enjoys it so much that I don't have the heart to tell her to stop. 

Talking to some of my Jack Russell friends online, I guess it's a common things among Jacks to be the pre-wash cycle for their house! How cute.

She still loves finding any and all sorts of things to lay in, especially laundry baskets. Her foster mom, Pat, was told that she spent most of her time sleeping in laundry baskets when she was with her old mom, so it makes perfect sense that she continues to find them to get into. 

freshly washed laundry with a side of trixie.

When Pat had her, she filled a Tupperware container with blankets and Trixie spent a lot of time in it. We have a woven basket that has blankets in it that Trixie gets in sometimes, too. Mostly, she likes finding other boxes and blankets to get in, including a box full of my summer clothes when I was changing out those clothes for my winter wardrobe!

It was her way of helping, I suppose! (And she looked completely adorable.)

We call her Dobby or Yoda because of her ears and sweet expression, and it's funny to see how much she looks like them sometimes. 

She frequently sits and stares at you until you pay attention to her - whether it be snuggles or playtime that she wants  - and whenever she stares at you, it's like she is looking deep into your soul! 

i mean, really.. how can you resist that face?!

She is very intense with her gazes and it's hard to resist her with those beautiful brown eyes. And let's be honest - we never end up being able to resist her!

Having lived in Florida her whole life, Trixie has never experienced a Northeast fall or winter before. Our temperatures have been dipping down at night and our days are getting cooler and cooler, leaving Trixie shivering! Hendrix gets very cold in the winter, I think because of his ears, and Trixie is having the same problem. We went out and bought her a few sweaters and a fleece, and I located a few shirts that were too long for Zoe but too small/tight for Hen and luckily fit Trixie.

I'm sure she will acquire many more clothes like the other two, but for now she is getting adjusted to wearing something other than her bare fur! She doesn't mind wearing them at all - unlike Hendrix who despises wearing clothes - and looks ridiculously adorable in them.

all she needs are some uggs and a pumpkin spice latte.

Luckily, no snow has fallen yet, but I can't wait to see how she reacts when it does!

About a month ago, I noticed that Trixie was leaking urine when she was sleeping at night. I take her out several times before we go to bed and she doesn't have to wait a full eight hours until the next time she is let out to go, so it was kind of alarming. 

the cutest diapered baby in all the land.

I took her to the veterinarian's and he diagnosed her with incontinence. It is pretty common amongst altered females that are older to have incontinence issues and since Trixie is ten years old, it wasn't a surprise to him. He sent me home with a medication called Proin to give to her twice a day. Within about three days, she had stopped leaking completely! It was amazing. Under his guidance, we are trying to see if she can tolerate half a pill twice a day and if she begins leaking again, I will simply up the dose to a full pill again. Either way, I'm very happy to find a solution because it was bothering her when she was leaking - she would jump right up each time, lick herself vigorously, and have trouble getting comfortable again and falling back asleep. I simply slip the tablet into a Greenies Pill Pocket and she gobbles it right down.

We took a gamble getting Trixie sight unseen, not knowing whether or not if she would be a good fit for our family or not. But it's safe to say - she is one of the best things that have ever happened to us. One of the three best things, in fact. She is so sweet, thoughtful, playful, and full of love to give. Every day I learned something new about her, something that keeps me on my toes and makes me love her more, something that I look forward to learning each day. She doesn't act like she is a "senior" dog (or look like it, since people are always asking about my puppy) and has a zest for her newfound forever home. She still struggles to learn that we won't hit her, won't punish her for something she does that isn't right, that we won't abandon her and we will always be there for her. But I love having the opportunity to show her and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

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