A Big Day for A Bigger Puppy

Today was a rather big day for our little girl. First, she was in puppy training class where she learned absolutely nothing new that my Mom and I have been working on her on. However, I think my Dad might have learned a thing or two while in class.

Our Puppy and her new Red Snake Toy

Then she got to play with a brand new snake toy that my Mom bought for her while at the store. The reason we got this snake toy for her was because my friend Jodi had showed us a toy that had several squeakers in it and so we thought our dog would enjoy that one as well. At first she was scared to really bite down on her toy, her jaw gently and firmly holding her red snake as she carried it around the house. We had to start rough housing with her just to get her to start biting at the different squeakers. After a while, she was so into attacking the snake that we could almost get her flipping (literally, jumping into the air and flipping) to get at the toy. Still, the squeakers are sort of hard for her to bite down on and she loves that toy. Every now and then we can see her licking it like she cares about the snake, weird.

And then the real fun started as my Father started chopping down the final parts of our cherry tree. I took a video of him taking down that final part in his special outfit that reminds my Mom and me of "Bob the Builder" from one of the kid cartoon networks. 

Chopping down the Cherry Tree

Afterwards, we let the dog outside to inspect that yard work that had been performed. She was not pleased at all with what my Dad had done, and verbally told us that the changes were unasked for and not part of her landscaping idea. So of course I took a video of that as well, our whole family laughing as we watched her inspect and reinspect the now fallen tree. My Dad pointed out during this that it was interesting that if she remodeled the backyard then what happened was fine, but if any of us remodeled her play area we were overstepping our bounds. Later, my Mother and I would discuss how she did seem quite upset when we last moved around stones and cut branches off of some of the other bushes in the yard, simple procedures and what not. Still, she's a funny puppy!

Puppy Reaction to Chopped Down Cherry Tree

Thankful for Vinegar

I think I can explain this post in under twelve seconds by starting out with puppies are like atomic bombs, by which I mean that they are packed with copious amounts of destructive energy. In order to contain and control all of these energy you have to either play with them until they tucker out, give them toys to chew on and play with themselves, or figure out some other way. Scientifically speaking, we would classify all of these options as the dissipation of the energy to lead to a less violent force.

Well in our house we have three grown adults that have almost every day available to take care of our new puppy, and all three of us are exhausted now. Literally, this dog has more energy than we can handle and we all need about a week vacation from trying to raise her. Now do not take that the wrong way, we all love this puppy and we want her to be a part of our family, but it is just a level of work that would kill anyone if they tried it on their own.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, something that we all have started to say we are thankful for that you would never expect, the empty vinegar bottle! Basically, what we have learned about our dog is that she hates plastic with a vengeance and will stop at nothing to attack and kill plastic items. So one day, my Dad placed a clearned-out and empty vinegar bottle on the floor to be taken out to the recycling bin later. Our little puppy-girl suddenly came out of no where and looked it over, sniffing it before jumping back and barking. I am not going to say our dog never barks, but she has to be upset with something to bark at it. So as he watched (and my Mom and I tried to sleep), she suddenly sprang up and attacked the vinegar bottle, trying desperately to kill it.

I say thank you, because this is a great way to keep her entertained that we never knew about before and start dissipating some of that energy I spoke of. And in all honesty, we all find it very entertaining that she attacks the bottle as such and we are not exactly sure why she hates empty plastic containers. Either way, it has been a great way to get rid of some of that puppy dog crazy and we have since continued to place the bottle down and watch her attack it at random.

The Puppy Takes on the Vinegar Bottle's Ally, the Milk Jug!

But that is not all she attacks. As shown in the video I took above, she will also attack empty plastic milk bottles in an effort to dominate them. Another item she has no problem attacking in the same manner are the tomato plastic holders that you get when you buy a tomato plant for your garden. Now I am sure that this is not teaching her things she should learn, but she does not attack anyone in the family like this, she does not bark at other dogs or at us, and she does not seem to be learning any bad habit from this exercise. So we have actually sort of been enforcing it since we would never put a vinegar bottle or a milk jug down that was still filled with their respective contents. I just hope she keeps staying as intently interested in it as she has been.

Another Day of Play

I'm not going to add a whole lot of text today, but after a night full of sleeping and a morning full of sleeping as well, the puppy finally woke-up and started playing. I took a few short videos of the cute pup bite, running, chasing, and even sliding! Hope you enjoy!

Barking at the Bone:

Playing Outside

Last, this one is my personal favorite! We've been taking her to a blue, kiddy slide that has been in our backyard for as long as I remember. Picking her up, we drop her on the slide and she slides down. Today, she seemed to really enjoy it. So here's Puppy Plays on the Slide.

Puppies First Full Day

So I was finally relieved of my position, puppy night watch, yesterday at approximately 6:30AM. I was up a bit longer, working on things I needed to do for myself before I went to sleep, and my Dad was enjoying the sleeping puppy.

A bit before noon hit, I woke from a cold-sweat sleep and went downstairs to find my Mom watching the dog and my Dad out fixing the deck so she could not get under there. The puppy, who had worn herself out again, fell back asleep and my Mom came up and reheated the breakfast burritos I had made a few days ago. And of course, while heating those up she woke from her slumber. So it was back outside to run around and do anything we could to tire her out. I think that is just about the easiest way to deal with a new puppy, just work them out until they are tired and fall asleep again. Luckily, we've been learning some tricks of the trade to getting this pup tired. Our secrets are the following, though they may not work for you.

The Pup is an Explorer!

• Explore - We let the girl run around the yard, sniffing and smelling (and sometimes even eating, though I do not recommend that) everything and anything in the yard. This works really well during the day, but it was not really an option last night since we have foxes and owls in our neighborhood.
• Explore Some More - If my family and I sit down, she might come over to us and give lots of doggie kisses. Yet what is about twenty times more likely to happen is she'll start jumping around the grass, attacking leaves and just plain being a cute little puppy!
• Play Soccer - She's really started attacking that blue soccer ball some more today, running after it so that she can chew the outside up. Sometimes this really interests her, sometimes she'll ignore it, but we still try because it is less energy to kick a soccer ball then to actually jump and play with her.
• Jump and Play - This is a cattle dog, bred and raised to chase and herd animals. So one of her favorite past times is to try to herd us! She actually loves chasing us back and forth across the yard, working to keep us from passing her as she goes left and right.

Sleeping by the Water Bowl

Now, after getting her back inside, the little pup was tuckered out and passed out like she usually does next to the door. I let her sleep there for a little bit, to which she slowly crawled around the water bowl, but finally I picked her up and moved her over near the couch. Our goal is to train her to come near our feet when she wants to lay down or sleep, though I'm personally just trying to steal her for myself.

Anyway, she plays inside, she plays outside, she sleeps, and then we repeat the process all over again. It is a lot of fun, a little tiring, but that is pretty much what she wanted to do all day!

With that said, here's some videos from the day, hope you enjoy them!