As Tradition States

As tradition goes around here... all dogs must love the skate rink!

Taricha still refuses to share her squeeky kongs but Martok is getting much better at pursuit.

All the snow makes us cranky though. Short trips are fun but just aren't enough to satisfy Taricha's needs.

Thankfully everything just melted.

This morning we went to a different skate rink...

To play with a different, more share-able, squeeky kong.

Martok sure tries and tries and tries. 

While Taricha kinda just stands there, not budging no matter how Martok flails. 

Oh poor Martok is still so skinny! I've not been holding back from feeding him, lots of training treats, meats, cheeses, peanut butters. He is growing bigger n taller like woah, but where is the puppy fat!!!?

When we arrived home, Taricha discovered a package just for her! Our new stuff from Ruffwear!  A new backpack and a neat bungee hiking leash. We will post more on this later... we have some qualms with other backpacks to discuss but need to test this one out before saying anything! 

PS! No... I didnt get anything for puppy Martok. He is too young to ask him to carry weight and he's growing so fast that any collar or harness I buy him, wont fit in a month! 

Wordless Wednesday

Snow Day

End of March and we get this nonsense....

No snow shall stick to my ears, cause they're in constant motion!

A few hours later...

mmk, I'm shivering, I'm done please.

I Bark at Things

I want to give Martok a really big world but also need to take it slow. He is only 14 weeks old! Little Martok is quite the barker and has no qualms with barking at strange things, people, dogs. Every time we stop in the car and there is something on the corner (fire hydrant, trash can), he's all woof woof woof. During puppy class the other day, the trainer brings in his 100lb german shepard to show us all something, and little Martok goes WOOF woof woof. 

Our trainer says it could be a phase but to not let it become a habit. So every time Martok sees something new and scary, its click and treat. Everything, All the time. Clicks for looking at it and not barking.... clicks for looking at me... clicks for going through his sit, down, stand, wait routine. The little monster gets it too, amazingly fast.

So what I've been working on is taking Martok is low-key nearby places and just hanging out and relaxing. Oh and some play time. New places and new things need to be FUN fun fun. No bark bark bark.

Taricha gives up a lot of toys to Martok, but her squeaky Kong is not one of them.

mmmm nom nom nom

This is one of the few activities we all have been doing together, heavens knows Taricha could use the stranger refresher. Everything else is too difficult to handle with two dogs. the little one couldn't handle our 5 mile daily treks and Taricha wouldn't like boring leash-work, walking up and down the same street over n over.

Despite these photos being sunny and bright, it was balls ass cold. When is spring ganna get here already? We have lots of things in store! We will have Martok stop barking by the end of summer!

Wordless Wenesday

Shark Dog

Little Martok has started to feel at home, I guess, since he'started to harass Taricha endlessly. He'll grab her face, ears, belly or legs and nibble or pull in an attempt to get her off her fat ass to play too. When they do play, its quite hilarious to see a little wiggly thing run circles around a big fat thing. She gives up chasing Martok too easily and it usually ends up turning into a mouth-jousting battle. When Taricha has had enough, she'll put her paws over him (attempting to hold him down, only works 50% of the time) and nibble his neck until he quiets down. 

Yet, a moment later he will be back up, pushing at her buttons again. Taricha sleeps, a lot, and Martok takes great joy in pouncing on her when she's trying to do so. Sometimes Taricha really seems to enjoy it, other times not, yet she's amazingly tolerant and has yet to 'tell him off'. The day will come and that's okay, Martok needs to learn.

All in All, Martok is a super good little puppy and I am so happy he's here with us.

Now for some bitey video

Playdate!

Let's just say.... we had fun yesterday with our bestest doggie friend Diego. 

Finally, Sunshine

Seriously all I wanna do is sunbath, lemme alone!

Oh you haz cookies? Ok I'm up! 

A Sleepy Morning

Okay it's sleepy for only one of us.....

Little Martok is not a sleeper. I was under the impression puppies slept a lot but he just goes goes goes! He's needed two bathroom breaks every night while he's in his crate. I hear him start to pace and rustle so I know its time to take him out. Back to bed. Then he's up by the crack of dawn raring to go and doesn't stop until sunset. Martok likes to pounce on Taricha's face when she's sleeping..... so both Taricha and I are fairly exhausted after this first week. A good exhausted tho.

Life is so Hard!

Not.

Taricha's favorite part of having the puppy around so far is all the people visiting. 

My goal with this puppy is to meet 3 new people a day for the next month. When Taricha was young, she missed out on sooo much socialization and sometimes issue crops up (strangers who give her too much attention).... we are going to work very hard to make sure Martok gets the right start.

Who's coming up for a puppy party?

Day 1

Oh Im pretty sure this guy is going to turn out to be a little devil.

He's already put his mouth on all kinds of things but is easily distracted with noise or another object. Already he is beginning to get a few things, in less than a day he's stopped freaking out jumping towards food and understands to wait patiently and look at me. Yay!

Taricha doesnt know quite what to do with little Martok. He's so bouncy and wiggly! Its taken about 50 bad photos to get one photo of him not wiggling and there had to be treats involved.

What is this thing in my bed? 

It smells awful! Wash this thing!

Yes, Martok stinks. He stinks of urine and puppy mess. I cann't give him a bath for 10 days, he was just neutered yesterday, but something must be done about this stench asap. A towel bath is up next I think.

Meet Martok

I couldnt sleep. I was jittery allllll day and I think Taricha knew something was up.

Our puppy is here! 

Now named Martok.

More later! On the way to puppy class orientation. 

Preparing for Puppy!

It's only two long days away.... The cutest little black pit bull pup from Mid American Bully Breed Rescue, will be joining our little family. While Taricha is moping around the house, complaining about snow, I am dutifully preparing for the oncoming onslaught.

I have the luxury of having a big mostly empty house. This is the animal room which is now clean and puppy proofed. This room is where puppy will be spending most of his time until potty training is under control. The big thing on the left is an old mattress against the wall, which is awesome kitty playground, its their favorite place and if a puppy chews it a bit, thats okay. The litter box will be moving upstairs, which is gated off so that the cats have their sanctuary until they adjust. Usually takes the two cats about a week to come back downstairs whenever a new animal arrives.

Poor kitties dont know what's going to hit them.

The baby gates have come back out. Actually they came out a week ago! I've blocked off random parts of the house for no reason and changed them around  at times. We played games around them and generally made the gates a normal thing to deal with. Taricha could very easily jump over but she knows better, its a mental barrier and I hope we get puppy to understand this too.

Another thing I re-introduced, or worked on a little more to freshen it up, is kennel training. Taricha is great around the house, I trust her! She will go sleep in her kennel on her own but she's rarely actually locked up. When puppy is here, there may be times with new things going on in which I need Taricha out of the way completely. (ie. one on one training, cleaning messes, puppy play dates, time-outs). New puppy will go through the same kennel training. I feel Taricha will be able to set a good example now after the extra work!

Most of this old house is hardwood which is ideal for cleaning up puppy messes. Unfortunately due to the flow of the house, the animal room/puppy den only makes sense in this side carpeted room. So, I made sure the carpets where spic and span, that no previous smells would entice puppy to do his business there. Not that we have ever had accidents in the house! Just want to be sure! I invested in the  good quality puppy training pads too, the ones that claim to have a scent to attract them. I wonder if they really work. Potty training will be our #1 priority, as our new pup is only 10 weeks old and I am slightly OCD about a clean house!

The rest of the house got a thorough cleaning and puppy-proofing as well. Cords hidden. Bits picked up. Bottom shelves emptied. Surfaces cleared. Anything four feet and down must be boring and un-fun to chew and play with.

I signed the little black tornado up for puppy socialization classes weeks ago! Check!

There is a roommate human in this house, by the way. We don't mention him much but thats because he's not around much! Despite this, he'll be involved with the puppy at times so I took a moment to think about some simple rules for other people to abide by, to help with puppy's ongoing training, and wrote them down for my roommate. Simple stuff that anyone can do, even his friends that come and go constantly! The first is, 100% supervision unless in a kennel. Then it's, No mouthing/biting. No Face licking. No jumping on you. The solution for all three is turn around and ignore until he stops. The page I wrote up mostly stresses to ignore the bad and praise the good, easy. I thought about a few other things I wanted or didnt want and wrote it down. Now the whole house is clear on what's going on and my goals, to PREVENT issues in the future.

I wanted to work in the yard and fix some spots in the fence but well... two feet of snow denied me this pleasure. Taricha and I have enjoyed shopping over the last couple weeks instead, hitting a few different stores to find new beds, puppy shampoo, puppy food (Taricha is on weight control foods so this is ganna get complicated but I digress...) cleaning supplies, new leashes and a little harness. Oh and way too many chews and toys.... The dog isnt even here yet and it's completely spoiled.

So the house is ready. We are fully stocked up. I hope Taricha is ready for this too.

I have made sure and will always make sure that Taricha knows she is my special girl. Even through the house chaos and snow boredom, we've found ways to have our adventures together these last few weeks. Now a new big adventure begins......



I really dont know what to expect, when it comes down to it. And anything I prepare for wont happen and everything I dont, will. What are some things YOU have experienced when bringing a new puppy into the home?  Pros and cons? How hard is potty training, really? (from day one, Taricha never had an issue so potty training is a totally new thing to me.) IM ALLL PUPPY CRAZYYYYYYYY!

PS..... We still cannot come up with a name.... !