Busy Busy

Having gone so long without a dog, never less a puppy, things have been quick to change. For the better of course. Right now Dean and I are enjoying my early afternoon break. We're munching on some carrots and I have the Keurig heating up for a cup of coffee. Soon we'll head out for a walk, I'm hoping to run in to some of the few other Shepherds I know live around here.

Here's a quick run down of how the past week has been.

Training? It's going really well! Dean's sits are solid, and we're working on his downs. Well, his patience with downs really. Little guy is so eager about the food rewards that he gets ahead of himself sometimes, but I'm taking it slow with him and being very patient myself, so we'll get there. I've also started teaching him to touch when I ask for it. Surprisingly I feel like it's helping with his bite inhibition. Perhaps teaching to gently bump when I ask him to makes it easier to understand gentle touch gets rewarded and rough housing doesn't? Who knows!

Socialization is going well too. We take frequent walks, and although they take forever with such a stud muffin like him in tow, all the greetings and stops are very educational for him. Whenever people come up to us and ask to meet him Dean gets very excited. After only a week and a half of walking and greeting, he's down to one attempted jump before he calms himself and goes willingly in to a sit. Only then are people allowed to greet him, and I think it's really clicking.

 However, we're still working on greeting dogs, specifically the smaller ones that are all over my neighborhood. Most people don't seem willing to stop when they see my huge pup getting excited,, tail wagging all over the place and jumping to meet their tiny ones. It's a shame really, he's polite when he meets other dogs, especially little ones, he just gets over eager to sniff and automatically thinks other dogs = play time. It's okay, he's still a baby, so we have time to work on it, and work on it we will.

Tuesday we went to the vet! We walked since it was so close, and as soon as we walked through the door the entire office was in love! Baby was pretty good too, other than accidentally yanking the clip board out of my hand while I was filling out our new patient information. He's much better behaved at the vet than Mal though I'll say, even when he was a pup. He let the tech's take his weight without any fuss, and when we went back to the exam room he was great. Puttered about sniffing every nook and cranny, greeted the nurse happily, and the vet as well. I swear, Dean is happy with any attention he gets. The exam itself went well, he squirmed a bit but other than that, he lets himself be handled easily. Thank goodness! The doctor said he was extremely healthy, perfect weight even though he's a huge monster for 10 weeks, ears and eyes look good, and his teeth are perfect, great bite conformation for when his adult teeth come in. He even took his shot like a champ. Needless to say I was very happy and proud of my pup!

Overall it's been an eventful week, lots of places to go, people to see, and playing to be done. I have some posting around to do in my spare time between finals and Dean time though, I'm torn on his coat. I initially thought he would be short stock coat, but he's getting fluffier by the day and I'm starting to see some crimping behind his ears. No extreme fluff inside the ears though. Mom was a coatie when I went to pick him up, but I'm not sure about dad since I haven't met him and haven't had the chance to do some digging. Stinky needs a bath this weekend from all the rain we've been having too, so I'm going to pick up a rake and see just how fluffy he is after a good thorough brushing and bath.

Launch!

Hello all! Welcome to our blog, my name is Devon, and I've been in my wonderful pup Dean's life for almost a week now. It's been awfully busy for us both, especially since I'm juggling school/finals with full time puppy care, but we're both doing great if I do say so myself.

So what's been going on with us?

Well! We spent our first day and a half together at daddy's house! Daddy being my boyfriend, Nate, whom I currently live separate from. Dean got to play with his big brother Mal, our two year old black Lab we got when we lived in Arizona.The boys hit it off right away, and Mal got Dean out of his timid stage right away, bounding around the gigantic yard together as Nate lobbed one of those super over sized tennis balls around for them. For such a small guy Dean really has some spunk to him though, he sure as hell tried to carry that big thing back to us whenever Mal would let him get his mouth on it that big hog.

Mal wasn't the only one hitting it off with Dean though, boyfriend's niece really loved him too! There was lots of puppy kisses and petting going on, with tons and tons of butt wiggling of course. I was really happy that everyone fell in love with him right away, but more importantly, he fell in love with them. I feel so lucky to have such a great pup, he's calm, watchful, and extremely stable, but still filled with that great puppy energy and raring to learn.

The best part about Sunday had to be bringing him home to Philadelphia and my family though. Everyone had their reservations, even when they saw his puppy pictures. All of that flew right out the window though when I brought him in to my aunt's house, I could practically see them melt right then and there, they were completely gone and smitten by the time they laid their hands in to his fluffy, plush coat. Now they're all disappointed if we don't come by every other night to socialize Dean and my aunt's bichon, Sydney, together.

I don't want to make this post too long, so I'll wrap it up here. Basically I'm head over heels in love with this great little guy, he's just what I needed to keep me from missing my boyfriend terribly all the time. He's smart, super cuddly and loving, and trusts me enough to do anything I ask him if I just give him enough guidance. His first walk in the city was amazing, I expected some hesitancy in the least, but there was absolutely none! Dean took everything in exceptionally, and when something caught his interest, he merely sat down and observed it. I can't even describe how proud I am of him!

Sitting in my food bowl at Daddy's house.

Mommy really tires me out every day, I sleep so well each night!

We'll try to update daily with photos and updates on our training adventures, but things might be slow with my finals coming up and our family trip to Disney World in May. We'll try our best!