The Story of Macy May<3 A Blue Merle Mini - My Darling and My Heart! :)

by Kassondre Marie
(USA)

Macy May at 9 months. :)

Macy May is a blue merle female with two ice blue eyes with a brown edge near both the tops of her eyes. She has quite a few nicknames I call her, Mace, The Macinater, and I seem to call her Babe alot too. She is full of energy and is always on the go. She is happy-go-lucky all of the time. She loves kids, and other animals though she is aloof around strangers and other dogs approaching but as soon as I give the okay she's ready to play with them! She doesn't have any chewing habits, soiling habits, or barking etc. The only quirky thing she does which I actually find amusing is she will steal my slippers and put them in my lap for me to throw like it's totally acceptable to steal my slippers. I laugh, tell her no, and put them back... but in the next ten minutes she's got my dad's slippers! What a goofball!

She is 9 months as of now and is a miniature, so she's about 17 and a half inches at the withers. She loves the outdoors and swimming. She gets a bath once every week because she is always getting into the mud and she really enjoys them. Playing fetch is one her utmost favorite activities I'd have to say, by far.

She has very unique markings and every where we go she seems to be flattered with compliments, it makes her smile, let alone me, but she is always smiling!

I purchased her from a breeder in Iowa and instead of shipping her to traumatize the poor pup I insisted that we drive and pick her up. She was a large puppy and very laid back and sweet. You'd melt just looking at her. I am 15 and I had convinced my parents for my own puppy and I raised over $500.00 to get her. I had done over a years worth of research and had worked with many breeds and I am experienced in training as I have successfully trained many dogs, including a shepherd mix. I had to make sure the breeder had her breeding stock dogs tested, OFAD and CERFD etc. There were SOO many things I had to be cautious of and make sure before purchasing, or being put on the waiting list. Note- I had NO help from anyone finding her and the breeder etc.

The first couple weeks she would cry all night and I would sleep on the floor next to her crate sticking my fingers through the bars speaking softly to her. I put a t-shirt that I wore with my scent on it into her kennel so she'd become familiar with me and to comfort her. She also had a blanket that smelled of her mom to help comfort her. I would read Chicken Soup for the dog lover's soul stories to her every night so she would become familiar with the sound of my voice though she was never allowed on my bed. I'd awake every hour to 2 hours to take her out and praise her when she went but many times I had her pee in my lap as I took her out of the crate. :P Note- I only use positive training techniques.

The second day she was with me I started training right away. The first 4 most important things to teach when they arrive are; Submission, Boundaries, Trust, and Patience. It took her a few hours to understand it all but I kept with the training everyday. Then I started basic obedience with sit, down and wait. She now knows, dance, sit, stay, down, wait, come, go get it-bring it back, mine-leave it, and yours-(as in okay you can have that) drop the ball/toy, heel, let's go, jump up, etc. She's too smart for her own good!

We are now working on the names of certain objects so she can retrieve them for me and I'm teaching her how to count! Awmazing right! :D When her growth plates and bones are all fully developed at around 18 months of age I plan to go into agility and rally with her!

We attend obedience classes and she is excelling! In fact, our instructor loves to use her for examples in front of the class because she learns so fast!
I love that I can trust her around other dogs, babies, and other animals so I don't have to worry about anything happening. When we go for walks in the woods or down the street I trust her enough to be off leash because she responds VERY well to her name when called, no matter what is distracting her and she's always right by my side! :)

Before I had started my search for an Aussie I wanted to ensure the best for my new puppy so I began to research food. I would be the one you'd see reading every label and ingredients in the dog food isle! XD I am a nutritionist nut for my dog and her health. :P

I had her on nutri source puppy food but as I did more research I found mini Aussies aren't supposed to have high protein foods because they grow at a fast rate. So I switched her to Canidae but I felt I could still do better! Canidae's bits were too small and since my dad has a male standard black tri aussie as well Macy /my puppy had learned to eat super fast or he would steal her food so she basically inhales her food and gags on it later. So I switched her to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul and since the pieces are huge, she actually takes time to chew them and can get it down. I became so worried about her getting bloat. As family kids once fed her way too many treats when I wasn't at home and she became sick. She ate grass like a typical dog but she got into mushrooms which made her stomach huge and it was very scary as she was throwing up white liquid and I swear I had the vet on the phone all night just worrying about my baby!

I have her on a tight schedule with feeding time and she waits in front of her food dish Until I give her the "OK".

I also feed three salmon treats mixed with her food to keep her coat shiny and soft. And every month she gets one raw egg. :) Even with bones and treats they have to be "OK'd" by me before I let her have them.

I was also keen to make sure she got all the medical attention she needed and protection against fleas, worms etc. I purchased the kennel cough vac before I had her go to obedience school classes since I knew she'd be around alot of other dogs. She was on Frontline flea protection. I had her on deworming flavor tabs making sure there was NO ivermectin in it due to the fact some Aussies are allergic and can die from Ivermectin. She also stayed up to date on all her shot's, distempers, rabies etc, but at the same time I was careful not to overdose her with vaccinations.

One story I will never forget about her and I is when I first brought her home my dad's black tri standard Aussie attacked my puppy for NO visible reason, it was unpredictable! I stepped in the way as he lunged at my puppy and he bit down on my arm and amazingly he had half my puppies head still in his mouth. He was vigorously shaking his head tearing into my arm and banging my puppy hanging in the air against my bedroom closet door. I yanked on his collar screaming at him while my puppy was yelping in pain and fear. I was screaming for help when my uncle came in and my dad's standard Aussie let go of my arm and let my puppy drop to the floor in a heap.

There was blood everywhere but luckily it was all from me and not my puppy. Amazingly my puppy had NO puncture wounds besides a little mark on her ear where it was barely bleeding. She was traumatized and we were on the verge of getting rid of the standard Aussie. I am emotionally scarred and physically scarred from him where I can't stand to be around him any more. Luckily we are re-homing him because of his aggression towards other dogs. But the thing is, I saved my puppy, my baby, my darling and I'm soo glad I stepped in to sacrifice myself for her. She is innocent.

Her birthday is May 27th and I'm planning on having a birthday party for her either at our house or the dog park and create party hats and fun games with a pool involved and doggie cake! I can not wait! XD

She regularly has play dates set up with my personal trainer's dog, and my friend's dogs, to help with her socialization!

She is an amazing girl and I love her with all my heart. I plan to be with her for the rest of my life, and never would I give her up! She's my baby, my darling, my first priority and my heart. :)

I love you Macy May.

- Kassondre

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