13 weeks in action

A few photos of Gunyr at 13 weeks at the dog park. He is full of energy and can now keep up with Stephen sprinting. He is learning to stand his own ground when bigger dogs wrestle with him but he still runs to us when he gets nervous.
This morning I needed to go return some things at the store and Stephen decided he wanted to come with. We had just gotten home from the dog park so we thought it would be okay to leave him home since he was fast asleep. About an hour later we came home to his work issued shoes with a ripped out and ripped up sole.. well his second work shoe. The first sole in this other work shoe was ripped up last week. So, now he has a pair of sole-less work shoes. Wonderful. We couldn't yell because he probably did it when he first woke up and he wouldn't know what we were yelling about. I just really wish we had a crate to put him in for when we leave. Very dumb to decide not to implement crate training.

Trying to recapture his stolen Frisbee

The best icebreaker

Gunny, Gunyr's nickname that we just randomly started calling him, is the best icebreaker. I talk to people on the street that I would not even notice otherwise. We always get stopped to ask his breed, age, and to give him lots of rubs.
Gunyr has done for me what I have not been able to do in a year; meet our neighbors. I just realized it really has been a year since we first moved here from Germany. Doesn't even seem like its been 6 months. But anyways, I take him for two longer walks a day and then small outings to go potty every hour or so. All of which there is always someone else out walking their dog or whatever they do.. we run in to many people. There are a few that I have gotten to know well by them always, without fail, coming up to me every time we are out at the same time. One is a sweet older lady who has just fallen in love with Gunyr. She has two big dogs and feeds a stray cat that, on occasion, greets me as well when I come out in the mornings. Another is a younger couple, like Steve and I, who just got a nine week old Golden. She is sooo small. Gunyr was also nine weeks old when we got him and he was not that small. Maybe its the Bernese Mountain Dog in him that makes him a large puppy.
Gunyr does not seem like a 12 week old pup. Yep, he is 12 weeks old. He is now large enough to stand on his hind legs and reach the table. He can jump up on to the couch if he gets a running start but still to small to do that to get on to the bed.
He now knows how to Sit, Stay, and Come. Heel has been a real challenge and it doesn't help that we got a retractable leash.. but it is easier on my patience and nerves to just let him explore and do what he wants on our walks. Yelling "HEEL" every 5 seconds isn't working... so we'll just explore for now until his attention span is more then a bag of rocks.

A few photos of Gunyr at 12 weeks :D

Such a happy puppy.

The Kong!

One thing I would like to know.. how have we gotten through these last few weeks with this wild child without a Kong toy? We left Gunyr in our bedroom (since we don't have a crate or baby gate) to go grocery shopping. This is the second time he has been left alone since he has been ours. We left his toys and a bone thinking it will keep him occupied.. Wrong!
We came home to shredded puppy training pads. We were planning on taking him to Petco that evening anyways to some more Halo puppy food and we decided we need to get him the infamous Kong toy. You put Kong stuff'n (actual name of it), treats, whatever, in it. Takes him hours to try to lick inside it to get to the food. We got some Liver flavored stuff'n that comes in this cheese wiz bottle and comes out that way too.
We are really happy with it and he can't chew through the plasic of the Kong itself... and he is teething so he just loves to chew. I will be on the phone with a customer (since I work from home) and I will have to go offline after every call because he is chewing on something else, barking at his food or the cats, chewing the carpet, the cat tree, magazines, getting poo out of the litter box, or trying to dig in to his bed. Its so frustrating so I hope the Kong will occupy him while I am working and need silence and can't get up to correct his behavior. Sometimes I will be on a call and all I can do is watch him while he destroys the house or try to throw things at him to get him to look up but he usually goes right back to chewing on my shoes, cat toys or whatever he may have at the time.

So I wrote everything above earlier and woke up this morning to the dispenser top of the Kong Stuff'n can chewed off.. so much for using that to occupy him until we buy more. He won't pay attention to it unless there is a yummy treat to try and get at. AHHHH! [pulling my hair out] ... can I ever go back to work?

I really do keep things off the floor and out of reach! Bunker is also still a kitten and jumps up on everything knocking things down. That's how Gunyr get most of the things he chews on except for those items that stay on the floor... its like they are working together. Geesh!

Who tooted?

Crystal: [Talking to Bunker and Gunyr] Woah! I know one of you tooted, I can smell it.. whew!

Steve: [jokingly] Breath deep, babe. Figure out who did it.

Yep, that is a conversation that happened this morning. HA! Both Bunker and Gunyr toot when they get excited and sadly enough, we know who did it by the way it smells.. So thats why this conversation was so funny to us.

In three days, I started and finished the book Raising a dog named Scout.. I absolutely loved it and recommend it for all those who are starting this adventure of raising a pup because it makes all those happenings that make you want to rip your hair out and take him back to where you got him into something that is funny and its good to know that what your pup is doing and how he is acting is normal.
Another good book, that I have mentioned before, is A Dogs Purpose. Now that book is probably the best book I have read in years. It now has a second and last book called A Dogs Journey. Equally good.

At the very beginning of Raising a Dog Named Scout, it mentions how getting a new puppy makes you miss your old one. That is so true. Ever since Gunyr came in to our lives, I have been reminiscing with my husband about how Lucky would do this and Snobell used to do that.
Lucky and Snobell were my childhood dogs. They helped me learn patience and kindness towards animals. I learned how to train dogs with Lucky when I did 4H and got to work with a professional trainer. Such good memories. I missed them terribly when I left home at age 16 and got a little trailer with Steve. Steve can tell you how I cried myself to sleep with their picture in my hand. Thankfully, when my Dad and I got on better terms, I was able to see them often and was able to say goodbye to Lucky before my Dad had to put him down when he got sick and the vet said that was the only option. I don't have a digital photo of them and taking a photo of a photo would be tacky but hopefully soon I will remember to dig a photo of them out and scan it up on to here.



Puppy-hood

You know your a dog owner when you know the names of other dogs (and owners) that come to your dog park on a regular basis.

Today Gunyr is eleven weeks old! I have been trying to get my hands all things dog training and puppy-hood whether it be information online or books and magazines (Dog Fancy and Ceaser's Way are my favorites). I am so worried of not doing something right. I want him to be well rounded and sociable to both other animals and people as well as listen and obey. I am trying to get him to experience everything so he is not afraid of anything. I make it a point to take him to the dog park at least twice a week, walk him next to cars (on the sidewalk), doing multiple command training sessions a day, have him walk near water to start getting comfortable around it, bathing/grooming, etc. I still need to start brushing his teeth, clip his nails as well as a few other things I would like him to get used to while his mind is still open to new things.

I think he is teething because he loves to chew. We don't let our home be bone-less. He always has a bone in his bed, our bed and probably under our bed somewhere. I tried my best to puppy proof our home but I slacked last night and plugged my tablet in to the wall outlet to only find out 10 minutes later he chewed through the cord. Thank goodness we have extras... now its charging in the kitchen on the counter.. I learned my lesson.

When it comes to housebreaking, I take Gunyr out to potty every hour and if I don't watch the clock, he goes inside but happily on the puppy training pads then take him outside with the puppy pad to let him smell it out there as well as reward him when he goes potty outside. He is doing well with it.

Bunker has become pretty comfortable around Gunyr but Tubbles still wont come down from her cat tree unless its morning and she knows he is still asleep, then its prime time for play with Bunker. I have noticed she is less fearful with him but she still doesn't appreciate him coming near her.

I have no idea when he went from shelter pup to having horrible separation anxiety with us. We have to take him everywhere (which was great, he loves car rides) and if I need to go somewhere not dog friendly, I have to wait until Steve is home to stay with him. The first time (and currently only time) I had to leave him alone was when I let him stay in the car so I could run in to the library super fast. I gave him a bone to occupy him but I could hear him crying and screaming even at the entrance of the library.. and I parked a ways away to keep him in the shade. I tried my best to hurry and when I walked out, I could still hear him. He was so upset.This is something we are going to work on. I have done a lot of studying on the best way to overcome separation anxiety so its important to us for him to know we are coming back.

We were taking him to the Brandywine dog park until we learned about the Talley Day Bark Park. That is now our dog park. Its the only one in the state of Delaware that has a fenced in play area for both small and large dogs. We have been socializing him in the small dog park but since he is a growing boy, I can see he will soon be meeting friends in the large dog park. I met a woman with a large yellow lab and she said he was eight months old. My goodness. That is right around the corner for Gunyr. He is already bigger then when we adopted him up... such a good growing healthy boy.

Hope you enjoy a few photos of his first adventures at the Bark Park, lazy mornings at home, and a few from our walks together..

Gunyr and Pepper

Making new friends

A puppy just as old as him

silly Gunyr

taking up my side of the bed

Sleepy after a morning at the Bark Park