Bragging rights

Here's the thing about Labs: they're goofy, fun, and playful...and they're smart. 

Gus already knows two important commands: sit and come. The "sit" command has come in handy at feeding time. We are now working on the commands: leave it and release. These are two important commands for Labs who put everything in their mouths. 

Over the past years, there has been a plethora of "my kid is smart" bumper stickers.  I have found it a bit wearisome to see these ubiquitous bumper stickers on cars around town touting the intellectual prowess of their little dears. One has to question the veracity of these statements when one reads job applications spelled in texting short-hand and listen to dialogue composed of you knows, likes, and whatevers.

And so it was with special glee that I took to displaying the above bumper sticker on my Ford Escape. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit on my Jeep. 

But that's OK.  It's enough for me to know that my chocolate Labs are smart. I just hope I can continue to outwit them!

Everybody poops

"Start house training the first day you bring your new puppy home. He'll need to go almost hourly the first week. By 12 weeks he should be able to last an hour and a half." 
                                      ~Your Labrador Retriever Puppy Month by Month

Gus is 12 weeks old and making progress in his potty training. About 90 percent of the time he makes it outside to go potty. And contrary to the book, he can go almost three hours before he needs to go outside. This is especially helpful at nighttime. Yay! Good boy! 

Because of Gus' initial aversion to his crate, I move it into the garage next to Gracie's kennel. He loves his big sister and so far this seems to be a good set-up. [Lest any dear readers scold me for leaving the dogs in the garage on hot days, please know the garage has AC.]

Potty training has also been helped along by Gus's nannies - dog walkers who come by two to three times a day to let him out while I'm at work. And speaking of work, my employer has been gracious in allowing me to skip home periodically during the day to let Gus out when the dog walkers are not available. 

The training manual reminds owners to go outside every time with their puppy so that they can be on hand to praise and reward puppy for a successful pee and poop. Happily the dry, sunny weather has made this a pleasure for me. 

And I suppose turnabout is fair play. I now have not one, but two Labs watching me when I'm in the bathroom!

Sleeping arrangements, part 2

In Sleeping Arrangements, I boasted about crate training Gus. But Gus had other ideas. 

Suffice it to say, Gus does not like his crate. Our first night together, he didn't just whine, he screamed. And he yelped. And he barked. I lasted only 20 minutes. Then Gus got what he wanted: a plum spot on the bed in between me and Gracie. 

On the plus side, all three of us slept well. On the downside...well, I suspect that will come when I'm competing with two 80+ pound dogs for space on the bed. 




Dog bed update:
So far the expensive Orvis brand Tough Chew dog bed has remained in one piece. But it has yet to be used for sleeping. Gracie simply paws at it and occasionally humps it. Gus has managed to both pee and poop on it (so I guess it's his now). 

This is the closest I've seen either dog to using it for it's intended purpose:

Two weeks later

After much anticipation, I brought Gus home on June 28. He was not terribly excited about the car ride home, but has adapted well to his new home. 

His first encounter at home was with his "big sister" Gracie. She was a bit stand-offish to start.

But they have since warmed up to each other.

Sleep for me has been somewhat elusive with twice nightly bathroom breaks for Gus. Turns out Gus is also a morning dog. An early, "hey it's 4:30 a.m. everyone!" morning dog. And a fact which Gracie, who is most definitely not a morning dog, reminds me of with a glare each day.  

I'm already collecting stories for this blog. Now I just need to find the time to write them down.

The proof is in the puppy

Anything that can hurt a human baby can hurt your puppy, too. Puppies don’t have hands, so yours is going to explore his new world with his mouth. Anything he can sink his teeth into is fair game, and it’s your job to be sure he stays safe. That means puppy-proofing your home.
                                                                   -Your Labrador Retriever Puppy, Month by Month

As soon as she was able, Gracie went for the books on the bookcase. I lost more than a handful of paperbacks, before it dawned on me to box up the surviving books and store them until this phase of puppyhood passed.

Gracie found a better use for the bookcase after that.

Instead of fighting the losing battle against my Lab’s need to explore her world with her mouth, I adapted. I closed bedroom and bathroom doors. I crated trained for the times when I couldn’t watch her. I put away favorite knick-knacks. I cleared off my kitchen counters. I taught Gracie important commands like “leave it” and “spit it.” And I kept an endless supply of toys on hand, rotating them every few weeks so it appeared they were new.

Sure, my house looked pretty bare for about a year, but as a result, I lost only one TV remote and suffered only minor damage to the corner of the coffee table. Eventually, I was able to have nice things again.

I’m a proponent of puppy-proofing. I want to spend my time with my puppy playing and having fun. Plus, life goes on in spite of the puppy and I don’t have time to be constantly chaperoning his escapades.

When Gus arrives in 10 days, the house and yard will be ready for his puppy explorations. I’m sure he’ll throw some new tricks at me. So I’ll need to stay sharp.

 

Father's Day

Just as we were reaching the car, we heard a commotion coming from the woods. Something was crashing through the brush – and breathing very heavily. Then in a flash the thing burst into the clearing and came charging in our direction, a yellow blur. As it galloped past, not stopping, we could see it was a large Labrador retriever. But it was nothing like the sweet Lily we had just cuddled with inside. This one was soaking wet and covered up to its belly in mud and burrs. Its tongue hung out wildly to one side, and froth flew off its jowls as it barreled past. In the split second glimpse I got, I detected an odd, slightly crazed, yet somehow joyous gaze in its eye.  “I think,” I said, a slight queasiness rising in my gut, “we just met Dad.”

                                                          -Except from Marley & Me by John Grogan

I remember reading that paragraph in the Marley & Me and thinking it described perfectly Gracie’s sire, except he was a black Lab with a little Rottweiler mixed in. His name was Chopper. His owner said they were big fans of the popular Discovery Channel show Orange County Choppers about a father and son who spent more time yelling at each other than building custom motorcycles.

It should have warned me off, but sweet little Gracie, just four weeks old, had fallen asleep on my lap with her mom’s head resting serenely nearby. “Maybe she’ll take after her mother,” I remember thinking.

In reality Gracie must have been more like her dad with some of Marley’s dad mixed in because I’ve definitely seen that “odd, slightly crazed, yet somehow joyous gaze” in her eyes.

I didn’t get a chance to meet Gus’s dad, Odie. I was so excited to meet Gus it never crossed my mind to ask to see his parents. But the breeder told me that Odie couldn't be a sweeter boy and that he is very gentle and loves affection. I also hear he loves water and chasing balls.

Today is Father’s Day and I’ve been thinking about my dad. Most people think I take after my mom, but I think that’s only because I spend a lot of time with her. My mom is the family planner, organizer, and realist. People see those qualities in me, but it’s only because I’ve always had jobs that require me to use those skills. At home, I’m anything but. No, I’ve always thought I took after my dad. We shared a similar sense of humor and even now some of my best jokes were his jokes. My dad was a visionary – able to see the possibilities in life and people, but he had a harder time executing on those dreams. Yep, that’s me too.

Sometimes children rebel or resist the things of their parents. “I’ll never be like that,” they say. But I’ve learned many lessons from Gracie over the years. One of the biggest lessons is to embrace life and be content with who you are. She may have been a difficult puppy and a challenging adolescent, but Gracie has become a faithful companion who makes me laugh every day.

Gus won’t have his father around to show him the joys of swimming and getting petted by the neighbors, but I know Gracie will happily step into that role and will lead Gus and me on our next joyous adventure.

Sleeping arrangements

One question I've been getting lately is "where will Gus sleep?"  My friends and family know that Gracie sleeps in bed with me. Or rather, I sleep in bed with her. Most nights I have a narrow strip of the queen size bed and she stretches  out on the rest. Over the years we've made it work, but this isn't how it always was.

I believe in crate training. For the first year of Gracie's life with me, she stayed in her crate at night. Her crate was her sanctuary, a place she could rest completely without feeling compelled to watch for errant neighbor cats violating the Smith property line or to follow me each step as I puttered around the house. Her crate was also her time-out zone when she pushed me too far. 

We expanded the crate concept to include a luxurious 9 by 12 foot kennel in the garage. As Gracie got older, this would be where she would spend her days while I was at work. Initially, the kennel sat on the the concrete garage floor. 

And I felt bad about that, so I bought Gracie a dog bed.

But not just any dog bed. I bought a bed from Orvis called a Tough Chew durable bed.  The description promised the beds were chew-resistant with a double-layer construction that would stand up to the most persistent chewers (e.g., Gracie). What sold me was the final sentence: If your dog can chew through one of these durable dog beds, we’ll refund your money. No questions asked.

When I ordered the bed, this was my expectation:

In reality, this is what happened. 

But true to their word, Orvis did refund my money after I stuffed the sad remains of the tough chew bed in a box and sent it back to the company. 

So back to the question at hand: where will Gus sleep?

Gus will also be crated trained. I will have his crate in my bedroom at the foot of the bed. It will be his sanctuary and, when needed, his time-out zone. 

But expectations are hard things to release, so I recently ordered a new Tough Chew bed from Orvis for Gus to use. 

Although, I'm saving my receipt and the box it came in, especially after reading this warning on the box: