Farm life

August 21 – 26, we house-sat for friends. They have two dogs -- Mac, a Golden Retriever, and Mickey, a Duck Trolling Retriever. They both know us plus Mac played with Hershey three years ago, yet there seemed to be no remembrance between them. Mac and Mickey were not happy to have strange dogs invade their territory. While we were unlocking the house and turning off the alarm, their dogs began snarling and growling at us and our dogs. To avoid problems, we began a dog juggling routine of:
*Early evening arrival – close Mac and Mickey in the garage. Take our dogs on a walk/run around the property. Put our dogs in the mud room. Open the garage for Mac and Mickey to have free reign of the property.
*Bedtime – call Mac and Mickey and close them in the garage for the night. Allow our boys to have their potty time. Bedtime for them in the mud room.
*Morning – release our dogs for their morning run. Take them inside. Release Mac and Mickey.
*Departure in the morning – Close Mac and Mickey in the garage. Settle Hershey and Guinness into our car. Open the garage door for Mac and Mickey, and leave.

Upon arrival the second day, Mac and Mickey were smiling to see us. Still we did not want to chance a mug to mug encounter. They were visibly sad when we left the next morning.



Hershey and Guinness were ecstatic to have a huge farm property for endless running. We had a daily routine of making a large circle around the house before going to the mud room.


Tuesday night, after their bedtime potty run, Hershey exhibited behavior we had never witnessed before: he absolutely refused to come when called! He stood staring at us with a stone-faced expression. We had to drag him into the house! I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I considered that he loved the farm so much that he wanted more running time. Thursday evening there was no doubt what was causing Hershey’s resistance. He was very unhappy being confined in the mud room! The beautiful ceramic tile floor, Oriental carpet at the door, and blooming hibiscus plants on the counter did not impress him. He escaped from me, ran to the kitchen, and lay down between the table and windows. Wouldn’t you love to lie on the floor between this table and windows?


As we were preparing to move out Friday morning, we tried one more dog encounter. Mac and Mickey were much friendlier this time. Mickey and Guinness became instant buddies, running and rolling all over. Mac and Hershey were benign about the whole thing. Guinness found a dead bird. My husband exclaimed, and I saw feathers hanging out of Guinness's mouth. It had to be a small bird, such as a sparrow, as it was totally encased in his mouth. Without a leash trailing him, it is impossible to catch this little villian. He ran into the garage and started eating out of Mac and Mickey's food bucket, so he had swallowed the bird with one big gulp yet was still hungry. Typical lab! I wonder if we will see the bird again…



He loves stealing this bird out of my geranium. Maybe that is what gave him the idea that a bird is edible.

Big Brother, the Defender

This afternoon, our neighbor Christine invited us to play with Sasha, her toy poodle, and a visiting English springer spaniel, Balzac. Guinness was happy, happy, happy to meet a new person and canine friend. Sasha is no longer afraid of Guinness, but he definitely is not fond of him. Hershey and Balzac did not have a good first impression of each other. After some unruffled play and sniffing around, Hershey wandered away to lie on the driveway watching from a distance. Meanwhile, Guinness was trying to encourage Sasha or Balzac to chase him. Balzac joined in on the game. We were enjoying their crazy antics when Hershey suddenly ran up to them and stopped the play. It was as if he was telling Balzac to leave his little brother alone. We all giggled at the amazing encounter.

First day at the beach

We visited Uncle Gary at his lake house on Lake Michigan. The wind was whipping the water into large breaking waves causing Guinness to be a bit intimidated at first. Since Hershey was enjoying it, he became brave and dove in. Guinness followed Hershey wherever he went. After romping on the beach, they placidly followed Uncle Gary home.

You win some, you lose some

Last night was a good night! Guinness was moving around at 3 AM, so we let him out. Then he whined a bit when we put him back to bed. Hershey slept with us all night. He has not been on our bed in days, maybe weeks. He always sleeps downstairs. We think he does that because it is cooler. Our trick of a treat at our bedside when he awakens us at 5 is working! He didn’t get up until 6:30 today. Guinness insisted on his breakfast at 6:30 also. Grant tried to take him outside while Hershey had his breakfast in the kitchen, but Guinness escaped, ran back in, scooted under Hershey and started sharing his breakfast. That was scary, because Hershey had his thyroid medication and his antibiotic in his food. Since he was bouncing off the walls this morning, after some playtime in the yard, I took him for a prom. He refused to go up the stairs to go inside; he wanted more playtime. I had to carry him.

This afternoon, I drove to Niagara Falls to call an 800 number not accessible from Canada and to pick up our US mail. The trip exposed problems as well as solved some.

A routine for loading two dogs into the car is beginning to become smoother. I hold a very excited Guinness on leash while unfolding Hershey’s ramp, positioning it, assisting Hersh with his approach into the car, yet keeping Guinness out of the way. The easy part is picking up Guinness, placing him in his crate, pushing it into position, then closing the ramp, and sliding it into place. After making sure we have towels, water, toys, snacks, we are off.

I stopped at a Tim Hortons drive thru in Grimsby for lunch. As I pulled out my wallet, I was glad that I had picked up $40 cash at the grocery store self checkout yesterday. There was only a $10 bill inside! I had never taken my cash from the machine!

Just beyond customs, a ding sounded on my dash indicating that the tail lights had a problem. I had already planned to stop at the dealership on my way home, as the rubber weather stripping is hanging out of the driver’s door.

We picked up the mail, had a potty break with successful exit and entrance to the car. Since it had been raining, I had to cover Hershey’s wounded paw with the plastic boot. Guinness found the gauze tie to be fascinating adding another challenge to the day. Once they were settled in the car, I used my cellphone to contact SBC. The call extended to more than thirty minutes, involving being passed to five people before reaching the person who could remove a $200 surcharge the phone bill. I wonder how much my roaming charge will be.

We stopped at the car dealership where the canine exit from the car was less than perfect: Guinness jumped nearly three feet to the ground! He must have thought, “If Hershey can jump, I can too.” He is too young for that high a jump as it could stunt his growth. I wandered around the property with the dogs. Hershey was off leash, and absolutely perfect! He was setting an example. Meanwhile, Guinness was picking up every piece of litter he could find. It was good exercise for me to bend over repeatedly to remove the trash from his mouth. I think he might be catching on to what “Drop it” means. It took less than thirty minutes to fix the door and the tail light.

Before going home, I drove directly to the grocery store, hoping that someone would have found my money and turned it in. There was no record of it in their notebook, so security looked up the video. The supervisor told me that she and her husband had left $100 in the machine a month ago. Since both heists happened at the same time of day, she wondered if someone could be watching for money to be left. The video showed me checking out, leaving my money, two people using that self checkout after me and two employees opening the bags for the next customer without any of them noticing the money. The third customer took the money, scanned her groceries, and used my cash for her purchase. She was not the same person who took the supervisor’s money. It was a couple who took her money, which she found particularly annoying. She was very apologetic that they could do nothing about it. I told her, “I am grateful it was only $40 instead of $100. Hopefully the person who took it needed the money more than I did.”

Today is freedom day for Guinness and Hershey is grounded

Guinness is 16 weeks old today and due for his third set of shots which would free him to play with other dogs and walk where other dogs have been. Hershey came along to have his broken nail and exposed quick examined. I was determined that this would not be the 3-ring circus the last vet visit was (see Journal -- July 28, 2005), but the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go awry. I removed everything from the back of my vehicle except Hershey’s ramp and their leashes. I lifted Guinness in wearing his leash, then helped Hershey navigate his ramp. When we arrived at the office, Hershey jumped out; I set Guinness on the ground, and put Hershey’s leash over his neck. Not that his invisible leash is not sufficient, but, for protocol, he is required to wear a visible leash. I held Guinness’s leash while he ran to grab Hershey’s leash. Guinness then pulled Hershey on leash into the office. Fortunately, no other patients were in the waiting room, but Guinness was far too energized for me to have a seat. Hershey and I stood still while Guinness danced around us weaving his leash and Hershey’s around all of us.

I assumed that the vet’s office was puppy proof. Once inside an exam room, I release my pets to wander. Guinness leaped at the trash can, caught his paw in the swinging lid, howled in pain, pulled the can over, and continued his dreadful yelping until the vet freed his paw. He held his poor portly puppy paw in the air, prompting the vet to examine his leg. Everyone in the building heard the fracas. This was the first such incident in many years of practice. Guinness was non-stop in a vivacious buoyant, cavorting routine the entire visit. Meanwhile, Hershey was unusually calm, obviously trying to set an example for his little brother. Initially, the doctor stunned me when he stated that Guinness, born April 21, was not old enough for his third set of shots. I numbered the weeks on the calendar waiting for this day! I knew today was his freedom day. He double checked his calendar and concurred. I held brave Guin while he received his shots with aplomb. When Hershey left the room to have his nail and quick examined, trimmed, medicated, and bandaged, Guinness cried at the door. The elder vet peeked in, affording Guinness the opportunity to escape into their inner sanctum. The doctor bellowed in his booming voice, “We have a terrorist on the loose!” The receptionist came in to give Guinness a cookie while Hershey was not present, since Hersh cannot have one. Guinness demonstrated that he does know how to sit – at least for two seconds.

Hershey returned with an impressive green bandage covering his paw, and the warning that his paw must stay dry and clean. Now that Guinness’s quarantine is ended, Hershey is grounded until his nail regrows. Next we moved to the scale room. As our vet bent over to set Guinness on the scale, a syringe fell out of his pocket. He grabbed it before Guinness stole it. With Guinness still in bouncing mode, the vet guessed his weight at over 28 pounds. He tried again for a more accurate reading. He crouched forward, attempting to hold Guinness steady, and three syringes fell out. This time, while he collected his needles, I grabbed Guinness and commanded him to sit, which he did momentarily. He weighs 27 pounds. Gentleman Hershey sauntered onto the scale and sat patiently for his reading. He only weighs 75 pounds! Guinness has raised Hershey’s level of activity accounting for the weight loss. My activity has increased also, so why haven’t I lost?

The waiting room was now full of patients – a wildly barking bishon, a cat cradled in the owner’s arms, a stunned mutt, a cat cowering in its crate, and an elderly pit bull who seemed keen on devouring the entire herd. His aged owner was having difficulty dealing with him and paying her bill simultaneously. Once the pit bull had departed, it was our turn to settle our account and receive multiple medications – heartworm and Metronidazole for Guinness and an antibiotic for Hershey. The paperwork and bottles were not prepared yet, so I opted to take the boys to the car rather than deal with Guinness needing to wait with an audience watching his antics. I dropped Guinness in the back, managed to lead Hershey up his ramp while preventing Guinness from escaping, interested Guinness in a frisbee in the car, turned on the car to cool it down, partially rolled down windows, and opened the sunroof before leaving them. After paying, the waterproof protection to encase Hershey’s paw was still not ready. I stated that I would check on the dogs and return in a few minutes. Meanwhile, our vet came out to the car with his innovative boot made from an intravenous drip bag threaded with a gauze ribbon.

By the time we arrived home, all three of us were exhausted. We had our lunch then a good long nap.

What a night! What a night! + 5 minutes with Guinness

Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Guinness toweling off after his shower.
Between his paws, as he lies in the astilbe, is a bleeding heart stem from the demolished plants on the right.

It was totally our fault. You would think that two people with masters degrees, various certificates, plus experienced dog owners, would know enough to not allow a puppy to digest an entire cornstarch bone. We had treated him with one yesterday afternoon and he thoroughly enjoyed it. By bedtime, it had evaporated. While watching Law and Order from bed, I asked, “Do you smell something?” When I shone the flashlight on Guinness, he was eating diarrhea. Daddy held him while I cleaned up the little bit left which included shards of the bone. Only a few minutes after settling back into bed, Grant heard him eating something again. He was devouring his excretion again. This time Daddy took him outside, where he pooped some more. Once the crate was clean, I suggested that Grant to go to bed, and I took the boy for a prolonged prom. He did not go potty on our walk, but he did drink plenty of water. I gave him some Pepto Bismol, and we went to bed. About 1, I heard him moving around, flashed the light on him to discover the crate painted with BM. Grant did not arouse. I carried the boy outside, dunked him in his pool for a third time, then tethered him to a tree. While disinfecting the crate, Grant awakened shocked that he had not heard us. He went out to be with the boy who, by that time, had torn off three of the pipes from the harp wind chime. On the way back into the house, Guinness had another drink of water. Being wide awake, I decided to continue the organization project of my scrapbook space downstairs. I detected Grant desperately hollering an hour later. We met on his way to the back door with Guinness flailing in his arms spraying me with liquid. He had flooded his crate! Fortunately, his nighttime crate is totally enclosed instead of the open wire crate where he spends his days. This was the fourth time to disinfect the crate and send Guinness swimming tonight!

This morning we had a proper bath. Since he is too big to fit into the laundry tub, we had our first shower using the garden hose. He was not thrilled but tolerated it well. Following the shower (I know you want to know this!), he left a normal pile in the grass. To give him time to thoroughly dry in the sun, I repaired the wind chime. Guinness spent his time playing, destroying more of my bleeding hearts plants, and pulling the floppy hummingbird out of a flower pot for the umpteenth time.


5 Minutes with Incorrigible Guinness

At 6 PM, it was time for a potty break before we left for dinner. On the way out the door, he grabbed a towel left on the floor at the door which we had used earlier in the day. His little sharp teeth make it difficult to remove terrycloth from his mouth. I set it on the back of the sofa which I thought was out of his reach. He jumped and grabbed it. I carefully unhooked it from his teeth again and set it back on the sofa. He jumped and grabbed it. We had not even made it out the door yet! This time, I removed it and threw it out of his reach. He ran down the deck steps, to the lawn, and found a potty spot. Then he headed for the daylilies. The spent blooms are forming seed pods which he finds interesting, but, in the process of pulling off the seed pods, he tramples the foliage sometimes sitting on it and totally flattening it. When I tried to remove him from the lilies, he backed away and focused on the French Lilac behind them. He tugged on a lower branch, as he loves pruning my bushes. I physically removed him from the garden, trying to interest him in a ball. He ignored the ball and ran directly to the bright hummingbird in a flower pot. I explained for a second time today, “That is Mommy’s toy; not Guinness’s toy. Auntie Esther gave it to Mommy, and you cannot have it.” By this time, he had circled the large pot and had his trailing leash wound around the pot. Once my attention was diverted from keeping him from the hummingbird, his attention went back to the pretty, flopping hummingbird. I encouraged him to follow me to the front yard. There he found the carpet rose. He wanted to pull a branch from the bush, and, of course, he chose one with a tip full of buds. I advised, “You don’t want to play with that bush! It has thorns. It will prick your little mouth.” He didn’t seem to care, so I had to pull him away from it. Our five minutes were now up. Thank heavens! Grant met us at the door. I commented, “He didn’t pick up the towel again!” He informed me, “Yes, he did.”

The Dog Days of Summer Album

Going for a "prom" with Dad
Brothers hangin' out Guinness with a Guinness





Playing ball


Junglegym!

Pool party
Daddy with his boys

Kevin meeting Guinness



Hershey checking into Holly's Pride in his own private villa.

More photos - 9.5 to 10 weeks

I love having my tummy rubbed!






Guinness, the flower dog


Hershey being used as a junglegym and loving it






Guinness the harpist

Aren't sticks fun?

Coming home photos - 8 to 9 weeks

The party and Guinness stealing someone's beer!
Helping Mom prepare for the Guinness and Wine Reception, June 26















Me and my big brother

My bowl!
Guinness comes home June 21

Journal - June 21 to August 8, 2005

Monday, August 8, 2005

For the past year, Hershey has not had the ambition to play fetch for more than two or three throws. Now that a super energetic puppy is his brother, he seems much more eager to play. However, Guinness causes a problem: as Hershey is trying to return the Kong-on-a-rope to me, Guinness tries to take it away from him. If I tell Hershey to drop it, Guinness steals the Kong, then I have to chase him for it. So I tell Hershey, “Drop it,” while Guinness is tugging at it. Then I throw a second Kong for Hershey. This is how the game goes: I throw the Kong, Hershey runs to retrieve it, Guinness chases him and grabs an end beginning a tug-of-war, Hershey drops on command leaving the Kong with Guinness, I throw a second Kong, Hershey races to retrieve, etc. It works quite well and keeps both dogs happy.

Yesterday, after a fetching retrieval game, we noted that Hershey’s back right paw was bleeding. Closer examination showed that he had split his nail in three or four places totally exposing the quick. Today we called the vet. It was suggested that we put Polysporin on it and cover it with a sock. After a BM, Hershey scratched his paws on the ground pulling his sock off. I told him, “Sit,” so that I could pull the sock back on. Hearing the command, “Sit,” Guinness also sat beside him! What a fast learner!

After I finished watering my potted plants, I turned around to find Guinness. He was no where in sight, and he did not respond to his song. I had neglected to open the garage door allowing him to assuage his naughtiness thinking that he was getting away with something. I feared he had totally escaped, panicked, and ran to the door for Grant to help look for him. By the time he came out, Guinness sauntered out from behind the bushes, having no idea that his mother’s heart was in her throat!

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Guinness ran to the stone steps several times. Only twice did he not stop when I told him, “No!” Those two times, he paused long enough for me to grab his leash.

Guinness has not been very impressed with his pool when it is filled with water, though he has enjoyed it while it is empty. Today, I started refilling it. While the water was very shallow, he jumped in and was having a lot of fun playing with toys that Daddy was throwing in the water. He also likes picking up the running hose. I turned the water off before it was more than two inches deep. He seems to like the pool much better with a small amount of water in it!

Saturday, August 6, 2005

Today we began Guinness’s training. We used treats with Hershey demonstrating “Sit,” then Guinness copying. We did it about a dozen times with some success!

Thursday, August 4, 2005 -- 15 weeks

Since containing him in the yard is impossible, we are letting him drag his leash around, making him easier to catch, plus I opened our garage when I went outside. It worked! When he ran down the stairs, he went directly into our garage!

This afternoon we tried playing with our neighborhood friends again. They are not impressed. Sasha sat on his mother’s lap with the saddest face. Guinness is ruining their playtime.

Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Did I say that now he can escape from our yeard? Understatement! This morning, he ran down the stairs to the neighbor’s open garage three times! Fortunately, their garage was open and diverted him from going elsewhere. We rigged a plastic chicken wire fence across the bottom of the stairs. With his first investigation of it, he nosed right under it and was on his way. I am so sad to keep him chained to a tree, but I have no choice until we are able to teach him the command, “Come.”

Today I wore shorts with an elastic waist. While playing in the yard, Guinness was jumping at me and biting my shorts. He pulled them down! Thank heavens our landscaping has created a private yard!

This afternoon David Black came to our yard to enjoy a cigar with Grant. His assessment is that Guinness has brought new pleasure to Hershey. He said that Hershey is smiling. He is right!

Monday, August 1, 2005

Guinness is becoming too heavy for me to carry down stairs, so we decided that it is time for him to learn to descend stairs. Grant tried training him on the stone steps with little success. He went down two steps, but wanted to jump from the third. I took him to the deck staircase where we made progress. With a little effort, the new skill was mastered. It is a double entendre as now he will be able to easily escape from the backyard.

Friday, July 29, 2005

We decided that, since we broke our quarantine going to NC, we may as well let Guinness play with the neighbors' dogs. Today was their first encounter. Guinness was so excited; he ran and jumped tackling the other dogs – Sasha, a toy poodle, and Sheldon and Poppy, Yorkshire Terriers. None of them were impressed with this overly energetic monster who is bigger, stronger, and crazier than they are.

Daddy started including Guinness along with Hershey in our daily “proms” (aka promenades) around the condo property.

Thursday, July 28, 2005 -- 14 weeks

I arrived home at 2 AM after spending one and a half weeks in NC. When I turned on my computer this morning, my Microsoft Outlook appointments popped up including that Guinness was due for his heartworm medication on July 24. I could not find his heartworm tablets; I thought I was losing my mind, so called the vet. Puppies have to be weighed for each monthly dose to have the proper amount for their weight. They said that we could drop in anytime between noon and 2, as there were no appointments then.

After driving to Mississauga for my hair appointment, my gas tank was empty plus the car needed a wash after its return from NC on Saturday with Daddy and Guinness. I threw Guinness into the back with Hershey and gave a brief thought to removing Hershey’s rug, but decided we would not be in the car long enough for a problem. I placed their leashes under Hershey’s ramp. A jug of water and water dish were the only other objects accessible.

At the gas station, they were so cute! I rolled down the windows and Guinness stuck his head and paws out the window. Since Guinness was getting attention, Hershey put his head out the window too. Photo op lost!

Leaving the gas station, I saw that he was chewing on the rug and had unraveled a corner. I told him to stop, and he DID! Then he started playing with the water jug while we were on the highway. I figured he couldn’t do anything. Then I noted that water was dripping and he was licking it coming out of the lid. Seconds later, the lid was off and a gallon of water was pouring into my vehicle. Now that he had removed the lid, it made a good chew toy. I had to pull off at Home Depot to remove it from his mouth.

Taking two dogs into the vet’s office was a 2-ring circus. Hershey is used to being on his own and wandering behind Sally’s desk. But Sally was not there, and Debbie did not want him nosing around under the desk. Trying to command him out of the office while containing Guinness required more finesse than I could muster. When we entered the exam room and tried to place Guinness on the scale, Hershey pre-empted him by occupying the scale.

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Guinness likes the Mandibila plant Esther Caldwell sent. He grabbed a leaf as I carried him past it to his crate this morning.

His legs have stretched out unbelievably this week! I wish I had measurements as I am sure he has doubled his height.

Grant and Guinness are gone now -- on their way home. :( Kevie LOVES his Grandpa!!! He showed some interest in this creature in the crate, but not a lot. I had expected him to be much more interested in the puppy. He has not given the cats much notice either, except James who is the bravest and often in the middle of things. He is enjoying pulling James' hair, ears, whiskers, etc. while James tolerates it very well! He even climbed on and over James today with minimal reaction from James.

Monday, July 18, 2005

When we arrived at Karin’s house, James met us at the front door. While standing in the kitchen, I called for Fuzzy, heard a noise behind me, turned to see her jump down, from being on top of the cupboards, to the refrigerator to let me pet her. We brought Guinness into the house after setting up his crate in the mini-hallway to the dining room from the kitchen. He barked for about an hour, frightening the cats. It took twenty-four hours before we found Spunky! He settled down after that, and was a perfect angel.

While in NC, Grant and I took the boy out once or twice every night when one of us awakened. We put his blinking heartworm heart on him and carried a flashlight until the backyard motion light was activated.

We allowed him to roam their yard wearing his leash so that we could capture him more easily should he try to run. Only once did he run to the neighbor’s yard when their health worker was cleaning up the children’s toys in the front yard. Since it was so very hot there, we did not stay outside with him very long, thus he had limited large muscle exercise this week, but he did not complain.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Guinness woke us up at 4 AM. I didn’t want Hershey reawakening us at 5 for his breakfast, so I gave him a “treat” hoping that he would sleep in. They both slept until 7 again! This brilliant new system is working! Grant took Guinness outside with his breakfast while I fixed Hersh his breakfast inside. Before Hersh had finished eating, the little scamp came tearing into the kitchen, scooted under Hershey, jumped up to his bowl which is a foot off the floor, and was gobbling Hershey’s food along with him. As was our custom, after finishing his breakfast, Grant took him to the lawn for potty time. Since I had not gone outside with them, Guinness ran back up the stairs, pushed the unlatched door open, and appeared in the kitchen. Grant took Guinness back outside. A few minutes later, Grant reported that Guinness had tinkled, but he kept running back up the deck stairs. He had retrieved him from the deck at least six times! He wanted Mommy outside too.

Hershey went to Holly’s Pride this morning for his vacation in a villa. Guinness is too young for a kennel and too much work to ask someone to doggie-sit. By noon, we were on the road to North Carolina. Until now, Guinness has had only two long car rides – a two hour ride coming home from his birthplace and a two hour trip to Niagara Falls for the mail. Both times, he was a great little traveler. Today proved that he is a trooper in the car.

He had three toys in his crate, and, after playing with them, he would place them in one corner of his crate. Very neat puppy!

We had been warned to not allow him to be around other dogs or to be where other dogs have been. Today it was impossible to find a virgin dog area for him to go potty. Twice we stopped at an area which we though would not be a usual place for relieve your dog, but both times, poop was already there. We stopped in West Virginia after 9 hours of travel. The first hotel we could find that allowed dogs was a Comfort Inn. It was not a particularly nice place. We could hear and see that many dogs were current guests, thus we were breaking our cardinal rule. Surely, even our room itself was not safe according to our breeder’s and vet’s standards.

Friday, July 15, 2005

The dogs were up around 4 AM – too early for either one’s breakfast since Hersh has his at 5 AM and Guinness at 7 AM. I gave Hersh a “treat” hoping that that would delay his breakfast until 7, giving us a bit more uninterrupted sleep. It worked! After letting Guinness out of his crate, I decided that Hersh should have a picnic with Guinness on the deck. When I removed Hershey’s bowl, which is the lid to his food container, Guinness climbed into the container and was eating Hershey’s food! It was a frantic struggle to get the two dogs and two bowls of food outside. Once on the deck, Guinness attacked Hershey’s food, so Hershey went to Guinness’s bowl and began devouring his food! Until this instance, Hershey had never tried to usurp Guinness’s food. Hershey reasoned, if Guinness was going to steal his food, he would have to eat Guinness’s.

Thursday, July 14, 2005 -- 12 weeks

This afternoon a group of five young teens walked past on the sidewalk. Guinness went crazy trying to find a way through the fence to see them! They noticed him and stopped to peek through the bushes. I invited them to jump over my barricade and meet my puppy. He adored them, and they enjoyed playing with both Guinness and Hershey. They were amused at Hershey’s fetching abilities! It is amazing how dogs love kids, especially little kids.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

He slept from 11 PM to 4:30 when Grant awakened and got him up too. No accidents! Before turning off the light last night, I pulled out our puppy training books and read that you cannot expect a puppy to sleep through the night or to not have accidents until at least 3 months old or more.

Grant cuddles him when we are outside and rubs him. He loves having his tummy rubbed. This morning, he flipped over for me to rub him. When I stopped, he put his mouth around my ankle, though did not bite. He was saying, “Don’t stop!” Later I was rubbing his tummy again and sang “How Much is that Doggie in the Window” to him for the first time. Every time I said, “arf, arf,” he startled and looked at me.

This puppy loves having his tummy rubbed more than any dog we have had. He sits down, then plops himself straight backwards onto his back. We are learning to catch him and ease him down onto his back.

Vanessa came today with her boys to take me shopping with them so that I could experience what a 15 mo. old is like. Both Rory and Alex loved Guinness, and Guinness went crazy for them. His little sharp teeth or claws caused Rory some discomfort, so Rory chose to play with Hershey. When we returned, it was Guinness that Rory asked to see.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

He awoke at 1 AM with a wet crate.

This morning, he was a wildman outside! He climbed on the table again and retrieved things which are there to be out of his grasp. He “picked” many flowers; he loves tearing up sod by the roots; he ran at top speed around the yard; and he experimented with learning to go down stairs (just one step) a couple of times.

Monday, July 11, 2005

Do you know how many acorns fall from a mature oak tree? Thousands!!! Fortunately, only a third of the branches of two oak trees hang over our side yard. The acorns have fallen every summer, and Hershey has never paid attention to them. This year, he is eating them, plus Guinness is copying him. They made Hershey vomit, so I am spending time everyday picking up acorns and tossing them over the fence.

We have noted that Guinness collects his toys into one place. Not in a particular spot, but he takes a toy and leaves it beside another toy, then drags another toy to the same place.

Today he climbed into a chair at the patio table, then onto the table, and took a clay flowerpot saucer sitting there.

Sunday, July 10, 2005

Hershey awakened me at 5 AM, and Guinness had already gone potty. I wonder if he tried to wake me and I didn’t hear him.

This morning, I did at least ten throws of a tennis ball which Guinness fetched and promptly returned to me! I tried to prove it to Grant, but Guin would not do it again more than once or twice.

Grant usually gets in bed before I do, as it takes me longer to prepare for my beauty rest. He called to me and asked why I thought Guinness was crying. On a lark, I said, “Maybe because I’m not in bed.” Sure enough! When I got in bed, Guinness stopped whining!

Saturday, July 9, 2005

He was up at 2:30. At 5:30, he pooped immediately outside, so we know that his bowel is not obstructed with mulch.

He LOVES his Daddy! When Grant came outside on the deck, he perked up eager for Daddy to come down, then ran up the stairs to meet him. When Daddy went inside, he ran up the steps after him again before having gone pee.

This morning, Grant pointed out that Guinness, in his crate, and Hershey, lying several feet away from the crate, were facing each other. I don’t think that Hershey is enamored with Guinness, but he tolerates him.

I gave him crushed ice for breakfast, which he loved. After talking to the vet, I cooked rice for him and mixed it with a bit of his food for lunch and dinner. He seemed fine the rest of the day, though, after pooping twice in the morning, he never pooped again.

I drove to Niagara Falls for the mail, and took both dogs. Tonight, I joined Grant for a special Directors’ College dinner at Peller Estates Winery. Guinness was in his crate from 5:15 to 10:50 with no messes! He was crazy to see us!

Friday, July 8, 2005

Guinness was up at 3 and again when Hersh got up at 5.

This morning he ran around the yard at HIGH speed – the kind of run where the front legs and the back legs are slanted towards each other under the dog’s body and the hind end is humped!

I was sanding the hammock stand in the yard today, so couldn’t keep my eyes on the little guy. Once, when I looked up and couldn’t see him, I started singing his song –
Guinness, Guinness, where’s my little puppy?
And he came running!!!! So the next time I couldn’t find him, I sang again, and he came running again – this time from the upper front yard!

You would think that he is a girl from his attraction to flowers! He loves picking flowers. Today he picked begonias, the one bloom on the hostas, a geranium bud, and a day lily. I could make a bouquet of his pickings if he didn’t eat them.

Hershey is beginning to play with Guinness! They played tug with the kong-on-a-rope and wrestle. Hershey is quite gentle and lets Guinness win in the tug game. Hershey flipped Guinness over a couple of times while wrestling and let Guinness tip him over. It is very cute. I should be taking movies!

Shortly after we put Guinness to bed at 10, he vomited a huge amount of food. It contained mulch, which we assume was the cause.

Thursday, July 7, 2005 -- 11 weeks

We were in bed before 10, and Guinness slept until 3:30 -- 5.5 hours! Then he was up at 5.

Today was the usual – trying to keep up with Guinness. It is a wonder that I am not losing weight!

Tonight while I was feeding the plants, he was hanging around the garden next to the stone stairs and fell off the wall to the driveway. He immediately started running away, and, fortunately, was intrigued by Marianne’s flower urn where I nabbed him. He has contemplated jumping, but has not. Now that he has had that experience, I am afraid that he will not hesitate to jump.

Wednesday, July 6, 2005

He was laying next to the vulnerable area of the chickenwire fence chewing on a leaf. Very sneakily, he stuck his nose under the fence. This prompted new lines to his song:

New lines to Guinness song:
Guinness, Guinness, Cutie Pa-a-too-tie.
Guinness, Guinness, precious little puppy.
He is a veritable rapscallion.
He wins the scamp medallion.
…

He loves Hershey, but Hershey wants nothing to do with him. We are no longer protecting Hershey thus allowing Hersh to reprimand Guin for his bites.

Guinness has not “smiled” yet.

Tuesday, July 5, 2005

This little turkey is trying to become an escape artist! The plastic chicken wire fencing slides into notches on metal fence posts. He can pull them out more quickly than I can! The fence is useless! It is amazing how cunning he is! He pretends to be playing near the fence – chewing on a stick, pulling up some grass, just rolling around. Then he bolts to the fence and attempts to escape by dismantling it, jumping on it, or going under it.

Today I needed to spread mulch in my garden, yet I wanted Guinness to be outside with me too. Since he is trying to find ways out of the yard (and there are plenty), I cannot turn my back to him. Yesterday I bought a corkscrew with cable to use at Karin’s house. I wound the cable around the base of a tree in the yard and attached him to it. He was not pleased with this arrangement. He tried to bite at the cable, whined, yelped. After a half hour of cacophony, assuming that our neighbor must be going crazy, I took him inside.

Guinness has reached a new plateau today: he can run faster than his mommy! He grabbed my garden glove, and I could not catch him! He ran full speed, jumped making a 180 degree turn in mid-air and ran in the other direction! After I gave up, I nabbed him while he was lying chewing my glove. I still had great difficulty prying it out of his mouth. Stubborn little bugger!

Hershey is still unimpressed. We no longer try to protect Hershey from Guinness’s sharp teeth and let Hersh defend himself. This evening, Guinness found a large piece of mulch to chew on and lay down beside Hersh to chew it. Eventually, Hersh took it from Guin, split it, then they both had a piece. I am waiting for Hershey to lick Guinness, signifying, to me, that he accepts him.

Monday, July 4, 2005

Our little firecracker was up at 1:30, then slept until Hershey got up at 5:30.

This morning, he tried to jump up where the front planter meets the house. Then he ran to the “gate” and, in a flash, pushed out two bottom clothespins and was through the fence. He turned around and looked at what he had done as if to say, “See, Mom, you can’t contain me!” He didn’t try to run away, I grabbed his collar and retrieved him. Then he immediately ran to the back of the yard and into the garden between the deck and the stairs. He really enjoys chewing on the bleeding hearts. They are looking a little sick.

It took three attempts, but he jumped up to the seat of a lawn chair.

His body is becoming streamlined; no longer a pudgy puppy. He weighs 20 pounds today, so he has gained 3 pounds in less than a week. He only gained one pound his first week home. He is supposed to gain 2 pounds per week.

About an hour after having been outside, I took him upstairs to bed and then I returned downstairs to watch the fireworks on TV. I heard noise upstairs, so went to check. He was out of the crate and chewing on one of my slippers while his Daddy was snoring in bed! Plus he had peed in the crate. Bad mommy! Didn’t take him out to go potty and didn’t secure the crate door.

Sunday, July 3, 2005

Altered lines to Guinness song:
Guinness, Guinness, Cutie Pa-too-tie.
Guinness, Guinness, precious little puppy.
….

Toycens came over this afternoon to go see War of the Worlds, have dinner, then play cards. Guinness was his cute little self, and Hershey put on a show too. He licked both of them on the face while sitting outside, he wanted to play fetch, plus he demanded attention from them.

Saturday, July 2, 2005

Guinness loves playing with Hershey, and Hershey is becoming more tolerant of him. Guinness uses him as a jungle gym – climbing and tumbling over him. Grant used his unique whistle to call our children and dogs. Guinness already recognizes it and comes running when he whistles.

He enjoys chasing his tail.

Friday, July 1, 2005

Guinness is sporting his new gold collar, but he does not wear pants because he is too smart for his britches! He not only is smart, but cunning. Today he lay down in the grass chewing on a stick, cuddled up to the fence I made to keep him away from the currant bushes with access to the street. Then he started pressing his nose under the fence to see how far he could get. Not far, since I grabbed him and moved him to the side yard!

He enjoyed rolling over and over in the grass.

Thursday, June 30, 2005 -- 10 weeks

Guinness was up at 1 AM, then I was wide awake and stayed up scrapbooking until 5 AM when Hersh got up and Guinness went out again.

I made up a song just for Guinness – to the tune of “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera:
Guinness, Guinness, you make me so happy.
Guinness, Guinness, you are my puppy.
Guinness is my baby boy.
Guinness is my pride and joy.
Guinness is the challenge of my might.
Guinness is the music of the night.

Today, Grant sat on the wall in the yard talking on the phone. Guinness kept jumping up to the upper level, so Grant kept throwing him back down. Then he jumped up and went to the water faucet towards the deck. The sneaky puppy then walked behind the bushes, ran to the front, and straight off the wall to the street level! This afternoon, I put up a plastic chicken wire fence in front of those currant bushes to prevent him from leaving the yard.

Tonight, he was investigating the fence, and trying to bite at the clothespins holding two sections together creating a “gate” for humans to go through the fence. I carried him back to the lower level. He immediately ran back directly to where the stone planter meets the house. The little scalawag looked at up it pondering whether he could jump that high!

We left him for three hours tonight, which was too long for his little bladder.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

The humans are a bit sleep deprived today. He was up at 1, made noises in his crate (probably because he had pooped in there) periodically throughout the night, but we didn’t let him out again until 5.

When he came home last week, he had not figured out how to use his back legs efficiently. He is catching on now. I noted yesterday that he could move fairly quickly, and today he ran very fast behind all the garden bushes next to the fence to reach the mulberries at the wall next to the driveway.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

He slept from 9:30 to 4 AM – 6.5 hours. When we went out again at 7 AM, he and Hershey peed in unison side by side, but his bladder is smaller. When he was done, he scooted under Hershey to investigate and got a shower. When we went out at 9, he did the same thing and got soaked, so we had to have a bath again!

I brought out the pieces of the hammock stand from under the deck. Since Guinness cannot go down stairs yet, he followed me to the stone stairs, then, when I disappeared, ran up to the deck. I had to bring him back down a zillion times. I hosed off the stand parts, then began watering plant pots. He was under my feet constantly. As I approached the front urns, he ran under the currant bushes, hesitated only a second, then leaped the 2.5 feet to the street level!!! Fortunately, I was able to apprehend him easily. I think he was dazed, looking around at the new world beyond the bushes. Since he cannot go down stairs, I thought it would be a long time before he would be brave enough to jump that height. He doesn’t even jump the wall in that yard that is not that high. My fencing to prevent him from getting to the front steps is not enough to protect him.

While wandering the garden, he discovered that there are mulberries at the wall next to the driveway. Several times, I thought he was pondering jumping the short distance to the driveway, so ran to pick him up and bring him back to the grass. He would turn around and run back to the mulberries.

Monday, June 27, 2005

The big news of the day is that Guinness slept from about 10:30 PM to 5 AM, 6.5 hours, when Hersh got up!!!! YAY!

Now that Guinness can reach to top level of our yard, I had to jerry-rig an easily removable fence where our side yard becomes the front yard. There is a stone wall separating our yard from street level with current bushes along the top of the wall. I placed a wooden babygate between the bushes perpendicular to the edge of the wall and wired plastic chicken wire fencing to it, anchoring the chicken wire to a post beside at a stone planter flanking our front steps. The babygate can easily be pulled out and swung beside the stone planter.

Guinness is finding new things to chew in the yard: the plastic sprinkler and the plastic chair I am sitting on, so I pulled some of Hershey’s unwanted toys out of the garage. Guinness thought it was Christmas!

The second big turning point today is that Hershey is showing more interest in Guinness and actually played with him today!

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Guinness awoke at 2 AM. He tinkled outside, then sat looking up at me, so I brought him in. A few minutes later, he was squealing. We assumed that he needed to poop as he had last night. We both went outside with him, and played for 15 minutes or so, but nothing happened. We put him back to bed. At 5, Grant got up with him and told me that there seemed to be poop in his crate. It was dried; not fresh. He had squealed to tell us to clean his crate!

Today we had a Guinness and Wine Reception Garden Party for the neighbors. The purpose was to have a social time with the neighbors, but, since Guinness had just joined our family, we announced it as a Guinness welcoming party. He was into constant trouble as guests were arriving – he reached the grapes on the cheese platter, ran up the deck steps repeatedly so that we had to retrieve him, stuck his face into Kelly’s wine glass and lapped up some, tipped over Ingrid’s wine glass and broke it. I hosed off the concrete where the wine was spilled, and he ran into the stream of water. He demanded too much supervision, so I took him inside to his crate. Since he was wet, I was not holding him securely, and he escaped from me and ran to the kitchen where I grabbed him under a chair. Then I took him into the bathroom and closed the door to contain him as I dried him. When I opened the cupboard to pull out a towel, he tried to snag more towels. When additional guests arrived later, they wanted to see Guinness, so we brought him out again. As Grant carried him, he said, “I need your attention. You need to know that nothing is safe with him around.” He ran to Thaddeus who removed his sunglasses to pet Guinness with his other hand. Guinness immediately lunged at Thad’s sunglasses. Someone had their plastic cup of beer on the grass. Guinness stole it and ran around the yard with it. As Hershey was peacefully lying on the grass amidst the guests, Guinness enjoyed jumping all over him. As usual, Guinness seems to love Hershey, but Hershey gives no reaction to him at all. To me, Hershey is totally ignoring Guinness, but our guests all said that Hershey is being very good to Guinness and tolerating him very well.

Saturday, June 25, 2005

He can make it up to the top level of the lawn now. He bit Hershey's ear and made Hersh yelp. He was biting me incessantly too. He does not understand "no" yet. Then he was running around the yard biting at plants, as he has before, but he had not done any real damage yet. Today, he ripped off part of a hosta leaf (the big pretty ones), pulled the new growth out of a yucca plant, and was pulling up an annual by the ROOT! So I took him inside. Just imagine what he would do to the garden if he were left out there alone like Hershey was.

This evening, he was left for nearly four hours while we were out at dinner in St. Catharines. His crate was clean when we arrived home! He tinkled and played outside for a few minutes. After being inside for more than 15 minutes, he started squealing which is very unusual, so we took him outside. He pooped immediately! The first time he asked to go potty!

Friday, June 24, 2005

He is falling into a routine very nicely! He awoke around 2 and again at 4:30. Not bad. He does not whine in his crates, though he whined in the bedroom crate this afternoon, because he didn’t understand why he was there. I was upstairs, so brought him with me. He didn’t think it was a good idea.

Today he learned to climb the stairs! And he knows exactly where to go when I let him out of the crate -- directly to the deck door! He loves Hershey. Hershey is feeling a bit better today after his bout with mushrooms. He growled at Guinness twice today as Guinness was following him around the yard and jumping at him.

He found the cables on the BBQ. He is just as bad as Hershey was, but we don’t leave him alone. In the house, he is ONLY in his crate. He stays in the crate for about 2 hours, then we go out to play. We have not had an accident for 2 days! At night, he awakens between 1-2, then about 5, which is when Hersh gets up anyway.

Thursday, June 23, 2005 – 9 weeks old

He awoke at 3 AM, went potty and back to sleep until 5 AM. Then he transferred to the den crate. We went to the vet at 9:45 about his severe reaction to the deworming medicine. Dr. Coultes says he is fine, though with a whopping worm infestation – more than normal. Before asking, he said to keep him away from all other dogs, except Hershey, until after his shots are completed. He weighs 16.2 lbs. already!

He loves playing the harp wind chime and continues to play fetch a little bit. He ate some of my flowers. Today he learned to navigate the lowest section of wall. In fact, going from the grass to the patio, he jumped and landed on four feet. He also “dropped” himself over the higher section of wall to the patio.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

He cried at 12:29, 2:18, 4:33, because he had a soupy BM in his crate with long spaghetti worms. Each time, we went outside, and he usually tinkled. The first diarrhea episode required a bath. After the second one, I stayed up the rest of the night. The third time, I transferred him to the crate in the den while I cleaned up. When I returned to him, he had tinkled in that crate and was sitting in it, so we needed another bath. In retrospect, I don’t think that giving him two de-worming pills at once was a good idea.

Yesterday, he found a begonia bloom which had fallen from a hanging basket, a leaf, a winged maple seed, and discovered that he could make the harp wind chime play. Today, he did the same as yesterday plus he realized that he could bite on a peony and pull the petals off, chew on the angel statue who is pretending to play the harp chime, plus he found both an inground sprinkler head and the hose to the BBQ to gnaw on. His biggest achievement of the day is that he is faster than I am! He can scramble out of the crate faster than I can close the door! I am huffing and puffing by the time I am able to close the door with him inside after having pinched him a few times during the many attempts.

Guinness likes Hershey and tries to get him to play, but Hershey is not feeling well. I think he has eaten too many mushrooms. Yesterday I attempted to capture a photo of Guinness jumping and nipping at Hershey, but the best one caught Hershey in the act of vomiting. Not good! Guinness sometimes looks like he is trying to find a place to nurse, but actually, I think, he is amazed at the appendage on Hershey’s underside! Hershey stays on a yard level which Guinness is unable to traverse such as the patio (a step below the yard) or on the highest level of the terraced yard. Guinness is so cute with his front paws on the wall looking up wistfully at Hersh.

Today, he began to get the idea of fetching. He spent much of the afternoon chewing on Hershey’s old kong-on-a-rope and dragging it around the yard. He didn’t catch on when I threw it a few feet away, but, when Daddy came home and threw it, he retrieved it three times! There is no doubt that he recognizes his name. He comes when Grant calls him or whistles.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

The breeder told me a couple of weeks ago that he is a “BRAT!” Maybe not a brat, but definitely an incorrigible PISTOL!!!! Just like Puppy Hershey, he is constantly into trouble!

Within ten minutes of leaving the breeder, Guinness pulled a towel that was in the car into his crate and was chewing on it. On the way home (2 ½ hour trip), I eventually fell asleep and so did Guinness (in his crate, actually, our first dog, Blackberry’s crate). When I awoke, he did too, and peed in his crate. At home, I wrapped him in a towel, took him out of the crate. I put him in the laundry sink and set the towel on the washing machine. He immediately climbed out onto the washing machine and grabbed the towel!!! When we were outside in the lawn, I was cleaning up Hershey’s poos from the past few days while I was away. He tipped the bucket over and started to crawl in. When I turned my back to him, he pulled the plastic bag out of the poo bucket!

He is frightened/shocked by the traffic noises on North Shore.

We were to give him two de-worming pills today – I think one was to have been given with each meal. We forgot about it with the first meal we fed him after arriving home. So we gave him both pills with his evening meal. We kept him outside for an hour after his meal waiting for him to have a BM, but he never did. He was exhausted and slept all evening until bedtime. One more potty time, then we transferred him upstairs to the bedroom crate. He was unfamiliar with that room and that crate, causing him to whine. We fell asleep while he whined.