What would OSHA think?

We are still at zero days without an accident, what would OSHA think?? Even though we haven't gone a whole day or even a whole half a day without an accident, it does appear to be improving. Actually, I think I may be getting better at seeing the subtle signs and am also no longer in denial about the 43 minute rule.

The good news - he isn't peeing every 5-10 minutes anymore. It's a little less than 45 minutes - because right when we are nearing 45 minutes, I think I need to finish whatever I'm doing and .... then he pees as I'm thinking this. I need to be a LITTLE bit quicker. It's really hard to get motivated to bundle-up and go outside every 43 minutes. Especially when it's 3 degrees or there's almost a foot of snow on the ground.

I'm trying to remember to be the enthusiastic cheerleader every time a bodily function is executed outside, but it's hard to be fake cheery when it's so doggone cold! I'm continuing to work on controlling my attitude, while Brock is working on controlling his bladder. I hear another snowstorm is on the way for Monday...

Meeting the vet

Yesterday was Brock's first meeting with Dr Stratman, our vet at College Hill Pet Clinic. The ride down was a little frazzled, since Brock hadn't been in the car and his travel crate since I brought him home two weeks ago. Needless to say, he is MUCH bigger now and I'm concerned that he may not fit into that same travel crate when we return in three weeks.

I'm not sure exactly how much he weighed when I brought him home two weeks ago, but I'm guessing about 8 pounds. He is now 12.5 pounds and I'm not surprised to find out his weight has increased by about 50%. I know his legs sure look a lot longer! Everything checked out fine and he is very healthy. I'm hoping after the puppy vaccines, we will be a once-a-year to the vet kind of family. Wouldn't that be great??

I gave them a Nylabone this morning. Typically, Berdy is not into bones, but since Brock had been playing with it for a while, it became MUCH more interesting. She then grabbed it and jumped onto the couch, so she could chew in peace. Meanwhile, he spent time trying to grab it from her or figure out how to jump onto the couch himself. So far, no go.

I can definitely tell, he has more energy and is spending more time playing wildly between naps. The good news is that he is sleeping in - last two days he didn't wake-up until 8:30 - woo, hoo!! Even Berdy wasn't that good. I'm blessed to have a happy, healthy puppy that likes to sleep in on the weekends!

My how your puppy grows!

Tomorrow, it will be two weeks since Brock came home. It will also be the first trip in the car (my bad!) and it will be 45 minutes to CHCP. Hope it goes well. My strategy is to wear him out from 9-9:45, then put him in the car to hopefully nap.

He certainly has gotten noticeably bigger in the past two weeks, as Lab puppies are apt to do. I imagine he is probably about 12-15 pounds now. I don't have a scale, so I haven't a clue. I did note today that there will be very few days left, when I can carry him around with one arm. It's funny - I hook my left arm under his arms and his little legs just hang there like a rag-doll. It's quite funny looking as they swing back and forth as we walk outside.

Will report tomorrow on the trip to the vet and his official weight.

He flies through the air with the greatest of ease...

I didn't get this on video, but I'm sure I'll have another chance. Berdy and Brock like to tug on the fleece braided rope. The other night, Berdy decided she'd had enough of "sharing" and jumped onto the couch with it. She was holding onto one end while standing on the couch, then the baby had the other end in his mouth, while he was on the floor. (Now get this mental picture in your mind or the next part won't be as funny.)

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a swinging movement. I look over and Berdy is swinging the baby through the air like a pendulum. He's just flying back and forth, all the while both are growling and grunting but he is NOT going to be letting go of that rope. Even if it means, he flies through the air.

The going outside when it's -6 degrees stinks, but the entertainment value is premium!

Hurry up, hurry up!

No, I'm not wishing my life away, but have spent a lot of time the last 24 hours saying that. Mostly directed at Brock who is doing pretty well with going potty right away, but when it's -6 outside, nothing is fast enough. He really has been great about sleeping most of the night (didn't wake up until 7:30 this morning) and about going potty right away THEN playing outside. He loves the leaves that collected on the carport - particularly shaking them. I swear I don't remember Berdy ever shaking her head like that - it looks so funny. (All I remember is Berdy biting me all the time, not sure if I've mentioned that lately.)

He has been a very good puppy so far, although he has periods of wildness - it's like he's possessed for 15-30 minutes. (Berdy was like that 24x7.) Connie said it's because Berdy wears him out - chasing her, playing with her and generally trying to just be her, but I'm not ready for him to be that big yet. I know it will happen - probably in the next few weeks, but I'm in no hurry. He is so small and cuddly - just like I imagine a baby polar bear would be. Yesterday, I caught them snuggled on the couch together.

I swear Brock already knows his name. That's not just a proud momma bragging about her exceptionally smart son, but my friend Lisa was over last night and she noticed he seems to know his name also. He also is really good (right now) at coming to me when I call him. He seems to know the difference between Berdy, come and Brock, come. He has also figured out what he can go behind and under the couch, but Berdy cannot. I don't blame him, Berdy can be a little demanding and insists on being the center of attention when she wants to be. It drives her batty that he hides from her and she can't get to him. Unfortunately, her high pitched barking at him is driving me batty!

Overall, they are getting along better than I thought and seem to be enjoying each other. I'm so glad!

The Grouchy Yellow Dog

The "grouchy yellow dog" (as Berdy is referred to) has finally seen fit to actually play with the new puppy. After yelling a few times (my default reaction to growling), I started to pet and praise her as the baby began his assault. (While also keeping her in the same spot, since she's not going anywhere while she gets pets!) He seems to like her dog tag a lot - probably because it swings and is somewhat shiny. His favorite thing though is when Berdy wags her tail - JACKPOT! It's moving and fun to chase - who wouldn't want to pounce on it and try to ingest it?!? Berdy, however, seems dismayed by this and then takes off. Brock has gotten smart enough to not just follow her around the couch, but now has started to head her off at the pass. Poor Berd. He also likes to bite on/hang upon her lips and scruff. (Better her than me!)

He is doing better with the potty thing, although as I started writing his sentence, he peed on the floor. I guess the good news would be that it was a larger puddle, which means he's storing it up for fewer times. I can handle that - it is definitely step one in the house-training.

He and Berdy were playing together late yesterday for the first time. Berdy was kind of pushing him around with the side of her head and he kept coming back at her. At one point, they were chasing each other around the dining room table, with Brock taking some shortcuts directly underneath it. It was very cute, however, I fear that she is teaching him to be vocal also. She talks a lot while she's playing, which is "a Stock thing" from her great, great granddaddy, Stock. Brock is related to him to, so it's probably unavoidable anyhow.

I also caught Brock doing "a Kenny thing" last night. I put him in the crate and as I was changing into my PJ's, he had his mouth resting on the rung of the crate and his little teeth exposed - just like Kenny does. It was so cute, but I wasn't quick enough with the camera. I'm sure I'll have more opportunities though. It's amazing what you think is an individual dog's quirk, when it is really hardwired in their genes.

I just put the baby down for a nap. Ahhhh....quiet.

The Last 48 Hours

Brock came home on Saturday! We've been waiting patiently (not) for weeks and the day finally arrived. He did much better on the car ride home that I'd expected. The first few minutes were spent hurling his little body against all sides of the crate intermittent with baby howling. However, he actually fell asleep by the time we got onto 75 and slept the whole rest of the way home.

His introduction to his new big sister went better than I expected. She did not put his head in her mouth at any point...yet. She was very curious about him on day one and kept barking at him to play. He kept barking at her to play along with the bow and butt wiggle. I can't even describe how cute that is, I could never do it justice! We only had one visitor on Saturday, my friend Sara. He did pretty well, not too many accidents in the house. I think he had a few more outside, than he did inside, which I thought was pretty good.

Now for the good part - everyone warned me that he would scream all night long the first few nights. He woke up at 1, 3:30 and 6:45, which I thought was not bad at ALL. Had I been a morning person and not gone back to bed after the 3rd time, I could say he only woke up twice. Sunday night, he slept from 12 until 5AM. I actually woke up about 4:30 and thought I'd slept through some fussing/mess, but I didn't.

Yesterday, we had a LOT of visitors. My mom and Terry stopped by with breakfast. He slept through the first hour, but then woke up to entertain his new fans. Then Kim and her girls stopped by, I was a little worried he might be stuffed under her coat and taken home, but she resisted the urge. My sister, Jack and her boyfriend stopped by later and then finally Trish and two of her boys. What a big day of visitors!

By Sunday morning, Berdy had decided someone should take him home and she was SO over him. Unfortunately, that was about the same time that Brock realized that Berdy might have something he wanted - food (aka Milk Wagon). He spent most of yesterday trying to nurse her, which just horrified Berdy.

Today, we are back to barking at each other. Mostly Berdy barking at him and then he wiggles and barks right back at her. I have no idea why she is barking at him, but he seems entertained by the whole thing, which is fine with me. He has absolutely no fear of her whatsoever. He will just walk right up to her and start barking - it's hysterical.

I look forward to the two of them figuring out how to play together. I hear something going on in the other room that I'm sure isn't supposed to be. TTFN!

The Moose is Loose!

Whew! The Screamer is not coming to Dayton. Dodged THAT bullet. However, "Moosie" is now officially Berdy's little brother. He's the biggest of the four, which is saying a lot since they are all porkers. He's not significantly bigger, but one of them had to be and it's him. Connie says he "has a butt like a Mack truck". I think she means that as a compliment. Hope she never says that about me because I can guarantee I will not consider it a compliment under any circumstances. Moosie doesn't care what you call him, as long as it's not late for dinner (or any of his other four meals).

Had a little last minute snafu with the crate. I had loaned Berdy's small (36") crate to a co-worker a few years ago and had asked him if he still had it. In true Jill-style, I wait until almost the last minute to get it from him, only to discover that he has some little toy-dog's crate and not my Labby Jr size crate. (I also have two sizes larger, which I refer to as "small circus animal size". That is WAY too big, even for Moosie.

After several phone calls to the local pet stores to find one in stock and a price I found acceptable, I ended up buying it from Complete Petmart up the street. It's already set-up and I've tricked Berdy once already this evening into getting into it. She's a little freaked by the large box and wasn't sure what to make of a crate in her room. Oops, I mean my room. She was relieved when she was able to retrieve her biscuit from the crate and the door didn't go crashing shut.

I also bought Brock a stuffed Dragon that is supposed to be some kind of tough chew lined toy that cost twice as much and I'm sure will last half as long. Berdy had a KEEN interest in it when I brought it home and especially when I put it into the dirty clothes hamper. (I wanted it to smell like new mommy.)

Two more nights of sleeping without waking up to wait for someone to pee. Outside. Two more nights without waking up to someone crying. Two more nights of silence and a warm bed. I'd better enjoy it now - it will all be a dream in a few days.

Who was I kidding?

Seriously, who was I kidding. Connie TOLD me a week or so ago that the puppies could go home as early as Sunday. For some insane reason, I thought I'd wait until Tuesday after work to pick-up Brock. Once she told me two of the brothers were going home Sunday, that's all I needed to hear. My appointment is at 10:30AM. Should be interesting since I've not known Connie to typically get up that early, especially when it involves missing out on Meet the Press.

I am now in search of a few things that I HAVE TO HAVE before the big arrival. One is a Cracklin' Catfish. Even though we have every toy known to dog (and I'm seriously not exaggerating - that's what happens when you combine single woman, disposable income and spoiled Lab), I'm SURE that Brock cannot live without a Cracklin' Catfish. Berdy LOVED hers when she was a baby. Unfortunately, she ate it's tail after a while and I had to flush him down the toilet (wink, wink), like all fish that have lead a full life then get their tail eaten off by a Labrador.

The other is a decent camera. The one I have has not been charged in about 3 years, if not more and I bought it right before I got Berdy. The technology has increased 10-fold, so I decided that instead of a printer, I'd spend that money on a new camera. I don't know about cameras, other than mine is just SO slow that it misses a lot. Hopefully my new purple Nikon 10 megapixel, 5x zoom will be fast enough to catch Brock. I should be ready to go now - new camera, new memory, new case, new MacBook to download pictures to. I have high hopes for the MacBook/digital camera combo - they are supposed to be a good couple... We will find out at 10:31AM on Sunday!

I'd better get cracking on my new book - How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With. I was reading aloud to Berdy last night, but I need to turbo-charge through it so I can start reading the camera manual when it arrives. HAHAHAHA

Is the screamer coming to Dayton??

Every once in a while, at about 5 weeks, a screamer will emerge from the litter. I was hoping with only four puppies in Brock's litter that the odds might be that no one would feel the need to just stand in the middle of the X-pen screaming morning, noon and night while everyone else is sleeping or playing. Sorry for Connie who has to listen to it all the time!

Apparently, the yellow screamer has gotten shot in the face with the water bottle a few times, but that doesn't seem to deter him much at this point. Labs love water, so what can you expect?! She keeps threatening to send him to Dayton, but I'm hoping she is either A) only joking or B) breaks him of that habit before next Tuesday.

As much as I complain about Berdy being a spoiled brat, she was really good about sleeping and not screaming when she was in her crate at night. Is it too much to hope that this one will follow in the path of Sissy? She also only woke up twice during the night a few times, went outside and pottied and we were back in the house in under 5 minutes. PLEASE let the new puppy be the same in this respect.

I have been looking for my book - Puppy Owner's Survival Manual, but have not been able to find it anywhere. I've come to the conclusion that Berdy probably ate it. So, after ordering a used copy online, I went to B&N to find another book to help. I am determined that I will NOT make the same mistakes with this dog. (That is, assuming, Berdy lets me be in charge of training the new puppy.) I bought Raising a Puppy You Can Live With... we'll see how that turns out.