and then there were three snoots

life with Marcy

HELLO, my apologies for such a delay in updating! It is nearly impossible to sit down and complete a single task with a puppy running around. As most people do, I forgot how much actual time and work goes into raising puppies since it has been almost five years since Cleo herself was just a wee noodle. I will say, I think Cleo was easier 😅. I have always heard from Noodle Dad and other Borzoi owners that Borzoi puppies are quite a trip, and I have been finding that to be true. I blame growing pains for their crazy, gremlin-like behaviors. Silkens don’t have much growing to do, whereas Borzois have extra thick bones that you can literally see on their ankles and ribs that they must grow into. It is WILD! I’m sure growing multiple centimeters in height and length every day doesn’t feel great, so I guess I will give them a pass.

I have received a lot of questions about why we chose to get another Borzoi instead of a Silken. The answer is simple: because we wanted to! We know we always want a Borzoi and a Silken in our lives, and since we most recently got Cleo, the obvious next choice was to get a Borzoi. One breed isn’t necessarily better than the other, but I will say Borzois are more work. Puppies in general are A LOT of work, so just because they look cute on the internet, please remember how difficult potty training, crate training, general training, and overall constant supervision of a puppy can be. As always, please do your own research on the breeds and take time to consider your lifestyle and the amount of time you can actually dedicate to a dog before getting a Borzoi or a Silken. Don’t let my choices influence you!

How Cleo and Abby Are Faring:

Let’s start with Cleo. In the beginning, I cried. We have dog-sat a handful of times in the past, and Cleo has always been eager to tell visiting dogs which bed or toys are hers, so I expected her to do the same with Marcy. But I think Cleo realized Marcy was for keeps, and she took it really hard. She refused to play with us, would barely interact with Marcy, and started resource guarding me and the couch from her. I was distraught; we could work on the resource guarding, but the lack of interest in playing fetch or chasing her favorite toys was worrisome. When we had gotten Cleo back in 2019, Abby had taken it hard too; she stopped playing because she saw how much Cleo enjoyed it. It was as if she wanted to distance herself from anything that brought Cleo joy (lol). I was so worried this was happening with Cleo. Everyone had been joking that Cleo was bound to be forgotten as the middle child, but they forget that Cleo is technically my first dog. I put everything into training her; she is my baby. I was determined she wouldn’t get lost in the shuffle. I made sure to give Cleo extra attention, took her on solo hikes to show her that things don’t necessarily have to change, and tried to create fun experiences for both her and Marcy to foster kinship. I truly believe that helped. But I think the biggest factor was that Marcy wanted to be friends with Cleo so badly that she just kept trying every single day. It took a total of three days for Marcy to weasel her way into Cleo’s heart. She would not take no for an answer. When Cleo would tell her off, Marcy would try a different approach. Eventually, Cleo realized that having a little sister meant she finally had someone smaller than her to body slam 🥲 (no one tell her). And the rest is history. They play together constantly; Marcy has crawled into Cleo’s bed more than a few times, and they have NAPPED TOGETHER!!! It is so sweet watching Cleo open her heart and home to Marcy. I have always been proud of her ability to adapt to tough situations, but she really went above and beyond for Marcy, and I am so pleased.

Now for Abby. I know none of us will be surprised to hear that Abby is firmly rooted in the denial phase of having Marcy. She was excited to meet a puppy for maybe five minutes, and then, once she realized Marcy was moving in, she immediately started ignoring her. All Marcy wants in life is to cuddle with Abby, which is Abby’s nightmare. Every time Marcy tries to slow crawl toward Abby, Abby’s eyes go wide, and she runs out of the room as fast as she can. She has no interest in a puppy falling all over her. She has slowly started setting boundaries with Marcy, and that has helped their relationship a lot! With the combination of boundaries and extra attention from her favorite person on earth, her father, Abby has definitely started warming up to Marcy in her own way. She hangs out downstairs in the same room, plays with Cleo while Cleo chases Marcy, and seems to enjoy running with her on outings. The only thing is, Abby has yet to make an offering to her father since we got Marcy. I think that’s how we will know Abby has accepted Marcy. I am patiently awaiting the day.

Marcy is exactly what we needed in our home. She is the perfect amount of goofy, sweet, and clueless, which keeps her coming back every day to try and be best friends with both Cleo and Abby. I could not be more proud of her for that.

How Noodle Mom and Dad are Faring:

Marcy has two witching hours: one from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. and one from 6 to 7 p.m., during which she goes absolutely cuckoo bananas. Like I said, I am giving her grace for growing pains, but she is a crazy raptor tornado during those times. During regular hours, she plays nicely, has an attention span of maybe 15 minutes (which is great for training), isn’t biting, takes lots of naps, and wants to cuddle. During her witching hour, all that goes out the window. She is launching herself off furniture, biting EVERYTHING, trying to knock over plants, jumping on Abby, awooing like crazy, stealing shoes, and biting Cleo’s butt. It is especially bad in the evenings when she is overtired from a busy day. But otherwise, she is your standard puppy—always wandering where she shouldn’t, and when you tell her no, that just makes her want it more. We are so in love with her and the friendship and joy she is bringing to Cleo, and hopefully to Abby soon, but WOW are puppies A LOT OF WORK. The constant supervision is tiring, and we are so grateful she settles really nicely in her crate at night. Her sleeping through the night is a gift and truly the only thing that has kept us functioning.

In conclusion, puppies are cute, soft, smell great, etc., but they are space cadets on crack, and although I love Marcy being Cleo’s size, I am very much looking forward to her growing up and not biting my plants anymore.

Praise be 🙌

slowly but surely becoming best friends 😭