First Weekend with Buddy - Updated!
So,
Before I get into how our first weekend with the dog went, I want to say that I'm really damn tired today. Yesterday, after getting all the things done that needed doing (karate, cleaning, grocery shopping, change oil, fix mailbox), there was enough time to get 9 holes of golf in, so Maverick and I went and had a nice little time. We both did fairly well for our first outing of the season. However, hitting all that grass really aggrevated my allergies. This time of year is when it really bothers me. From now until about 4th of July. Because of that, I had trouble breathing last night and slept like shit. So I've been dragging all day. Just so you all know.
So anyway, the Wife brought Buddy home of Friday and then prompty went out to Petsmart and began stocking up on doggie supplies, most important of which was a crate. We thought we'd have some work to do with him, but to make a long story short, it appears his previous owner had crate trained and house trained him. The entire weekend, he's had one accident in his crate, and that was only today when the Wife came to 5 pm mass followed by dinner. She'd fed him and taken him out before coming to Mass, but I guess he wasn't ready then. He's been going to sleep in his crate around 9 pm and holding it until around 8 in the morning when the Wife took him out both days.
When you walk him, he's pretty good on the lease. Inside, we've mostly kept him leashed to the table in the kitchen or to the handle of the chest in our family room. Today we've been letting around the downstairs off the leash (supervised of course). So far our biggest problem has been he likes to get up on things: climb up on you with his paws, or get on the couch. We're pretty sure his previous owner let him sleep off the furniture. We won't let him on the leather sofa (though he's snuck up there a few times), but we'll let him on the old sofa in the living room. It's pretty beat anyway so there's no problem. Overall he's a fairly well behaved dog. He really likes to go on walks and be outside.
The cat is getting used to having competition in the house. When the Wife first introduced them, the cat hissed at the dog. She's spent most of the time upstairs either under the couch or sleeping on the Wife's clothes. She probably hates losing her lap at night. We keep bringing her down and holding her while we're near the dog. I think we're making progress as the cat came down on her own to go in the basement to use the litter box, though she kept close watch on the dog. Buddy seems to want to play with the cat and whines when she's around, but we don't think that would be a good idea.
Grasshopper asked me how I like the dog. Contrary to some of the predictions, I haven't fallen in love with the dog and we're not best buds. I will admit we got very lucky (meaning the Lord really answered the Wife's and Grasshopper's prayers) and got a dog that seems to be just right for the family. I like the dog well enough, so that's probably about as good as can be expected. The Wife has been good about mostly caring for the dog, though I've taken him on walks with the boys and just brought him outside. When the weather's good, it's a nice excuse just to get out. So we'll see how things go. He's still kind of scrawny so we need to fatten him up a little.
Grasshopper took some nice pictures of Buddy so I'll get them posted one of these days when I can be bothered to get them off his digital camera.
Update: I've uploaded some pictures to Flickr for the Wife. Go here to see them.
Before I get into how our first weekend with the dog went, I want to say that I'm really damn tired today. Yesterday, after getting all the things done that needed doing (karate, cleaning, grocery shopping, change oil, fix mailbox), there was enough time to get 9 holes of golf in, so Maverick and I went and had a nice little time. We both did fairly well for our first outing of the season. However, hitting all that grass really aggrevated my allergies. This time of year is when it really bothers me. From now until about 4th of July. Because of that, I had trouble breathing last night and slept like shit. So I've been dragging all day. Just so you all know.
So anyway, the Wife brought Buddy home of Friday and then prompty went out to Petsmart and began stocking up on doggie supplies, most important of which was a crate. We thought we'd have some work to do with him, but to make a long story short, it appears his previous owner had crate trained and house trained him. The entire weekend, he's had one accident in his crate, and that was only today when the Wife came to 5 pm mass followed by dinner. She'd fed him and taken him out before coming to Mass, but I guess he wasn't ready then. He's been going to sleep in his crate around 9 pm and holding it until around 8 in the morning when the Wife took him out both days.
When you walk him, he's pretty good on the lease. Inside, we've mostly kept him leashed to the table in the kitchen or to the handle of the chest in our family room. Today we've been letting around the downstairs off the leash (supervised of course). So far our biggest problem has been he likes to get up on things: climb up on you with his paws, or get on the couch. We're pretty sure his previous owner let him sleep off the furniture. We won't let him on the leather sofa (though he's snuck up there a few times), but we'll let him on the old sofa in the living room. It's pretty beat anyway so there's no problem. Overall he's a fairly well behaved dog. He really likes to go on walks and be outside.
The cat is getting used to having competition in the house. When the Wife first introduced them, the cat hissed at the dog. She's spent most of the time upstairs either under the couch or sleeping on the Wife's clothes. She probably hates losing her lap at night. We keep bringing her down and holding her while we're near the dog. I think we're making progress as the cat came down on her own to go in the basement to use the litter box, though she kept close watch on the dog. Buddy seems to want to play with the cat and whines when she's around, but we don't think that would be a good idea.
Grasshopper asked me how I like the dog. Contrary to some of the predictions, I haven't fallen in love with the dog and we're not best buds. I will admit we got very lucky (meaning the Lord really answered the Wife's and Grasshopper's prayers) and got a dog that seems to be just right for the family. I like the dog well enough, so that's probably about as good as can be expected. The Wife has been good about mostly caring for the dog, though I've taken him on walks with the boys and just brought him outside. When the weather's good, it's a nice excuse just to get out. So we'll see how things go. He's still kind of scrawny so we need to fatten him up a little.
Grasshopper took some nice pictures of Buddy so I'll get them posted one of these days when I can be bothered to get them off his digital camera.
Update: I've uploaded some pictures to Flickr for the Wife. Go here to see them.
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