12 Weeks Old (Oct 12-18, 2025)

Ember continues to thrive and display her curious, happy, cuddly, and playful nature.

She had her vaccine booster appointment on Thursday, and she is right on track. She is now 4.4kg (9.7 pounds).

9 Weeks: 2.7kg —-11 weeks: 3.8kg ——12 weeks: 4.4kg

At the vet, she received plenty of affection and was distracted by a lick mat, which helped her not notice the two injections she got. To protect her joints, we've been following the 5-minute walk rule per month. She was not happy about being carried after 15 minutes while her brother continued to walk, but the vet has cleared her to walk until she is tired, which she will surely enjoy. She can also start navigating stairs, so we will begin with a short flight of just three steps, making sure to avoid running down them.

She has learned the commands Sit, Down, Spin, Leave it, Follow and Touch. We are currently working on Name, Stay, Paw and Recall.

She was exposed to Thanksgiving fireworks (not sure when that became a thing) and wasn’t bothered by them. I’m sure it helped that big brother is also unfazed by fireworks. She doesn’t mind the workshop noise unless the door is open and a large tool or dust collector is on. She isn’t bothered at all by any of the sewing machines, and when resting, will tuck herself in beside my sewing machine’s foot pedal.

She is really loving the flirt pole, tugs with toys or hooked fingers. She remains gentle, and if she gets overly excited, causing her to forget to be gentle, a small squeak from us is all it takes for her to immediately release. She looks quite shocked when it happens.

She has learned from her brother that Nicky requires a lifeguard while bathing, and Ember is just tall enough to peek over the edge of the tub to monitor her safety.

When she is awake, she is busy and often looking for things to put in her mouth, though she allows us to take some of them away easily if needed. However, she already shows signs that she is aware of the mood/energy level of her people and will adjust her behaviour to that. She likes small sticks and the golf balls that appear in our yard. Ember sleeps in a variety of funny positions and is adorable when she is resting. She especially loves to cuddle when she is tired.

Phoenix has adjusted to having Ember in our home. They play wrestle often, and he is more tolerant of her hanging out beside him. She does try to use him as a springboard to get a treat first when she forgets about four on the floor, which he just patiently ignores. He has become slightly more food-driven as he has stepped up his game since she is always ready for any opportunity. He will still passively step out of her way to allow her to get to his food.

So far, her nicknames are Monkey and Emby, but we do try to call her Ember most to get her familiar with her name.

She is our first dog to actually use the dog bed properly, as usually they have only used it as a pillow. I don’t think she’ll be able to fit into her mini bed dog too much longer, so we are looking out for a larger one for her.