They grow up so fast

Our little dog is growing up...*tear*. Since the day we got our dog, Maggie, she has slept in our kitchen at night. Every night we put her bed by the sink and put up the doggie gate (actually, a baby gate). She knows then it is bedtime and every night she jumps onto the couch and puts her ears back like saying, "Please let me sleep here tonight Mommy!" The reasons for doing this ritual every single night is because early on Maggie liked to chew and we found out the hard way many times. Coming home to an eaten box of Kleenex, or a destroyed doggie bed strewn all over the floor was not uncommon. We simply couldn't trust her to go all night without tearing something up.

*Maggie's puppy dog look when she wants something*

Zak and I started talking one day and realized Maggie hadn't torn anything up in awhile. Now take it, our box of Kleenex is high up out of reach and she did tear up some tissue paper from a gift under our tree at Christmas but I look at it as that was our fault for leaving it so available and tasty for her to get. On a normal basis Maggie does really well.

*Maggie and her bff Ella trying to get to the toy first*

After several attempts to do this and then backing out of it last minute (always me who backed out), we decided to try it for real, leaving her out all night to sleep wherever she would like and roam around as she pleased. I was a nervous wreck. I checked on her at least six times before actually going to bed myself. Zak was dreaming that night I checked on her and told him she was tearing up a pillow (which didn't happen) so, he was worrying too. The funny thing is, when we got up the next morning Maggie was curled up on the couch in the exact spot we left her. I don't believe she moved the entire night.

We've always joked that we have a teenager on our hands because she will sleep all day and is ready to play at night but this made me realize that just maybe our dog is growing up.

Tonight is Day 4 and so far so good. Let's just hope one night she doesn't decide to rebel and eat everything in sight...but you'll be the first to know.