Ho-kay. So it's been a while (yet again) since my last post. I guess I was too ambitious when I thought I could keep a puppy log. But as I always say, if I can barely keep up with my laundry, how could I have thought that I could pull this off?
Finnegan is sitting in my hubby's den staring at me. 6 months old - time sure flies. He's grown to be a real cutie pup.
Before: After:
As I said - a cutie!!!
So far he's managed to let us know that he wants to go outside by going to the back door and sitting there. And - except for a couple of times - he does not poo in the house!! He's such a long dog, though. We used to put him in a medium-sized crate which was fine when he was smaller. Since we both worked and were gone 8 hours a day, we'd put paper in the back half of his crate and bedding in the front half. We didn't really feel comfortable having someone come in midday to let him out. But now, he's grown so long that - although he still fits very comfortably in the crate - there is no more room for his "pee papers" (as we liked to call the freebie papers we pick up now and then). Although he has proven time and again that he can hold it for 8 hours (he really didn't have much of a choice), 8 hours is just too long for him for a pup to hold it on a regular basis. Could lead to kidney problems and all that.
The solution? Well, at night we normally put him in an exercise pen in the master bedroom (he still hasn't learned to stay put in his bed for bedtime). In its full size, it's a 4' x 4' pen - virtually a doggie condo! And luckily enough, it comes with an optional top so that they can't jump out (this one's turning out to be quite the jumper). So, with top in place, we've started leaving him there - bed in one corner, pee papers in the other.
And did I mention we bought this really cool internet camera? We can now check up on the pup from anywhere via the internet. We noticed that he seemed to fuss a lot less than when he was in the crate. Plus, it looks like he can stretch out to his heart's content without his head in (potentially) wet paper. My colleague at work says that he fusses less because (a) we spend a lot of time in that room, and (b) he's already used to spending extended hours in that pen.
He's still bitey, though. Partly 'coz he's teething, and partly 'coz, well, God knows. We've started puppy class with Petsmart a few weeks ago, so he seems to have improved a lot since we got him. But, boy, there's still quite a way to go.
On another note: I *finally* finished my comic rebagging project - all 5,825 of them. It took a couple of months, but there you go! So now I have between 10-15 years before I have to replace them again. But on the good side I managed to clear some of the deadwood in my collection. But wouldn't you know it - now they're coming out with entire comic collections on DVD-ROM. For instance, I have the Amazing Spider-Man from #1 (1963) to June 2006.....that makes for a lot of catching up! Does this mean that I will eventually get rid of my paper copies? I don't know - I still derive a lot of pleasure from the tactile sensation of reading through a magazine. But then again, I only have so much square footage in my den.....
Speaking of square footage, we've got a few things happening in our backyard. Bought a BBQ, a patio set, having some guy hook up the gas next week, getting quotes for our deck/carport (So far it's going between $20,000 and $40,000.....ay caramba!).......I suppose we could build it ourselves someday, but as I said, laundry.
Ah well. Hubby and I just celebrated our 5th anniversary of being together last month. Wow - even got a dozen roses shipped while he was away on business. Imagine my surprise coming home with a wonderful arrangement of roses on the doorstep for me (and imagine his surprise when he found out that they were left there when no one was home!!!!). Such a sweet guy! I did try to get him roses soon after, but the ones I've managed to see where pretty crappy. Oh well.
It's getting late tonight - stay tuned for my next entry! Hopefully it won't be too long from now.
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