Puppy paranoia…

So, at a few days shy of 5 months old, Winston is at that pesky age where he’s gotten fairly consistent at not peeing on the floor in the kitchen, but not quite as reliable anywhere else in the house. One of the delicate balancing acts I’ve had to learn is that between trying to have quality time with the pup, but still actually getting things done when I can’t keep him in direct line of site. I still don’t feel like I’ve struck much of a balance on that note. So, I either feel guilty of keeping the little fuzzy bastard in his exercise pen in the kitchen or feel guilty because I’m not getting something done around the house… like keeping up with blogging or actually cleaning the bathrooms.

I guess I’m always a bit concerned that I’m just not doing it right… Of course I know I’m probably just suffering from a serious case of paranoia. At the end of the day he’s getting quality food and lots of attention, first class medical care, and doesn’t belong to Mike Vick… so I guess I’ll just have to count on the resilient ability of dogs to adapt to their circumstances.

Pee…

A full day at work and there was no pee on the floor when I got home this afternoon. I know it’s impossible to identify a trend with only one data point, but God, I hope this is the beginning of one. It’s amazing the things you get excited about when you’ve got a puppy in the house. The small victories feel like major milestones.

New stuff rocks…

So, between the new pup and the new truck, my free time has been cut back to almost non-existent… Just the way I like it. Winston is doing well and packing on the pounds. We’re back to the vet Monday for his 4th round of puppy shots and hopefully a continued clean bill of health.

I’m tapping away here at the Toyota dealership where they’re somewhere in the back installing my Sirus receiver since they didn’t have one in stock last week. The balance of the weekend will be installing step rails, having the windows tinted on Saturday, and making a run to BestBuy to get my iPod adapter installed. Once I get it to that point, I’ll be ready for a roadtrip… Which is coming up soon… More on that a little later.

Commands they don’t teach…

So, we’re doing pretty well with the basic commands like sit and down and even making a little progress on the all important stay. I’ve been doing my research and can’t come up with a way to teach the one command that I really need. With the puppy biting and chewing on anything that comes in proximity to his mouth the one command I really want to be use is “stop being an asshole.”

That’s right. I said it. I want the single all purpose command that stops everything cold. No luck in finding it yet, but you can damned well believe that I’ll keep working on it… Especially when my hand becomes a wonderfully human-flavored interactive chew toy.

Satisfaction is…

Apparently with a new puppy around, satisfaction is largely a moment of tranquility while your new best friend is laying on his bed next to your desk while you post comments on MySpace. If this becomes SOP, Winston is so totally going to rock at being my dog! As an added perk, he snores like an itty bitty chainsaw!

Yeah, I know his sleeping now probably means he’ll want to stay up half the night, but give me my moment, damnit.

Good Report…

I’m happy to say that Winston came home from the vet this evening with a fabulous report. Everything sounds and looks good, which is a relief, particularly as my good friend April points out, bulldogs are notoriously prone to a number of respiratory and joint problems. Hopefully his (and my) good luck will hold. The vet wore him out and midnight bathroom breaks are wearing me out! It’s soooo time for a nap!

It’s small and furry… and no, it’s not the damned Easter Bunny.

I’ll be doing a little reshuffling of my schedule for the next few months in order to accommodate the addition of a new fuzzball to my household. Everyone say hello to Winston (and WInstonPuppydon’t blame me for lack of creativity, his paperwork went in before I got him). I was leading more towards Wellington or William, personally. Don’t let the rotund little guy fool you, he’s a bundle of energy when he’s awake. He’s bully through and through. The timing wasn’t exactly how I had planned to make an addition, but when opportunity presents itself, I suppose we have to take advantage. More pics as I manage to take them.