Adventures in Puppyhood

Kramer has been in our home for 3.5 months and is now over 1-year-old. He is now 60 lbs. of pure energy and is becoming more vocal and better behaved. He is both a light in my day and a total terror - in other words, a puppy. Here are some highlights: 

- GOOD He is only kenneled when necessary for safety or discipline. He now runs the house during the day, letting him release a little energy while we're gone rather than unleashing it all when we arrive home. He has not chewed a single thing since we made the change. 

- NOT SO GOOD He is still jumping up on people. To the point that my arms and legs (and even a gash on my lip the other the day) are regular occurrences. I've tried a few different tactics and cannot get him to obey. 

- WONDERFUL He is fully bell trained. He hits a bell on the door handle when he needs to go out. Only occasionally does he hit it to chase squirrel. :)

- LESS THAN WONDERFUL He still gets so excited at the prospect of going outside that he can't sit still long enough to put on his leash. It takes at least 5 minutes to get him to "sit" so I can chain him. BUT - He does not leave the house until I say "ok" and we walk together. His leash training has gone well and usually only small children and squirrel can detract from that (see a pattern?)

- CUTE When you talk to him, he tilts his head to the side as if to say: "you talkin' to me?" 

- QUITE THE OPPOSITE OF CUTE He will walk right up to you and unapologetically burp in your face. I guess men are men in every species. 

- MY FAVORITE THING When we have our daily 'cuddle time' he will nudge me with his snout if he's not ready to be done. Just like a cat, he just pushes his head on my hand or lap and will even give licks in case I haven't gotten the point

("Mommy, work time is over. Come play.")

I need to do better at giving him time to run and play. I try to put play dates together with my friend and her two dogs, because he always comes home tuckered out. I need to go on a daily walk, if only for 20 minutes, though I know he needs much more right now. And he really does better when he gets exercise. He's a better listener and really sweet dog when he's fully active - and quite the opposite when he's pent up. He's still a puppy and a breed that needs stimulation and activity - so it's on me to make sure he gets that.

Even though I feel like the bad guy who enforces all the rules and I'm the only one cleaning up doggie messes, I'm also the first one he goes to when he's scared, sick, or just needs little lovin'. And just when I got tears in my eyes as the gash on my lip swelled up on Saturday, he came over, licked my cheek, and nudged my arm. 'Cause even puppies know when being good outweighs that damn squirrel.

A little of this and that

I stumbled upon this smoothie recipe the other day (on my daily Pinterest peruse) and yesterday morning, I made it. If you know anything about me, I love bananas and oatmeal and I hate mornings. So anything that combines food I love and gives me an energy boost to start my day is a winner in my life. 

{chiquita} I followed the recipe other than the ice. I threw in a small handful, but I used frozen bananas, so the consistency was delivered through that. And I went a little light on the almonds simply because I used my remaining stash and didn't quite have enough. It was delicious!

As for the protein-energy-inducing part, I don't know for sure. I still felt a little laggy, but since I woke up this morning with a pretty wicked head cold, it's possible the low-energy was a result of the impending ick. I do know that it was filling. I did not need any additional food until lunch and was satisfied with the substantial-ness of the smoothie.

Once we hit Sam's Club this weekend and pick up more almonds and bananas, I will be making this again. Perhaps on mornings where I have a workout planned and need an easy but delicious energy-infused breakfast. I'll report back if I start to see more results in that area.

In other news, I am completely bored by this season of Army Wives. I intended on recapping episodes 3 and 4 and I could not come up with enough stuff I remembered or cared about to make a worthwhile post. I can't stand Ashanti's "acting" and most of the story line feels contrived. It remains that my favorite moments involve the original characters and I am not forging the same bond with the new ones.

I will still see it through at least a few more episodes to see if it gets better. And now that Walking Dead is over until the fall, I have a little more TV time on my Sunday nights. We'll see if my feelings change going forward. 

Finally, Kramer is settling in to our family just fine. We have finally gotten past many of our original hang-ups developed a bit of a routine. He's now bell and leash-trained as well as many other commands. He now handles bedtime with ease and can play by himself if necessary. Now that he has the basics down we need to move on to the more complicated issues - like his random fears and his stranger anxiety. We need to socialize him with people and dogs more and we need to get him more comfortable in the car. 

We are making progress and know that he has come so far in such a short time, but it is still frustrating to have him backtrack or demonstrate a whole new fear. But, really, can you stay mad at this face?

Kramer

On Valentine's Day, I received a text from Al asking if I "wanted to come check out a dog." Now, this wasn't totally crazy - we had been talking about getting one for a while. We had not, however, decided on a breed or size or anything like that. Well, apparently earlier that day, Al became aware of a dog that needed a good home - the family was struggling to deal with a hyper 10-month-old puppy as well as two other dogs and their three kids. (Yikes!) In fact, the father was going to deploy this summer and the puppy was going to be too much when they were down to one parent. They told Al they wouldn't even charge us so long as we promised to give him a good home. 

He came home with us that night. 

He isn't at all what I expected to get. He's part lab, part Pitt (and full of all the piss and vinegar that implies) and is a full-grown, very active dog. On the flip side, he is already kenneled trained, housebroken, and responds to commands. Obviously, that will take some adjustment while he learns we are boss and gets used to his new home.

We are still deciding what his boundaries are: kennel at night or sleep in our room, couch or no couch, people food or dog food. I'm a pretty strict dog-momma (and Al is a total sucker.) It is surprisingly a pretty good indicator of the type of parents we are going to me. Which brings me to my next point: we have started calling each other momma and daddy. It was not a conscious decision but it happened. I will look at the dog and say, "Kramer, did dad feed you yet?" Of course, Al is the one who responds, but still... 

Let's be brutally honest here - this is totally a no-baby-band-aid - so it makes sense that we've taken on the role of puppy-parents in total stride. I have never seen Al so happy.

Kramer took to his side instantly and still won't let him leave the room. Al takes him for a run every morning and other walks throughout the week. He has only been in our life for three days, but Al has become dog-dad-of-the-year. 

My transition has been harder. I'm used to less-energetic dogs. I wanted a dog that was happy but calm and would get along with everyone. I wanted a medium-sized dog that couldn't overpower me. Kramer is a little crazier and much bigger than I wanted. But this dog is Al's side-kick (and my protector, I've already seen that response) and he's well-trained. I am working on patience and staying calm during the training process and he is responding with handshakes and wet kisses.

At the end of the day, he is a great dog. He is good for Al and great for our home. He stays out of trouble and wants nothing more than a piece of ham and to lay at our feet. Ultimately, Kramer is our family and he's certainly not going anywhere!