Will you forgive me for not posting if I give you puppy photos? Maybe?

So. Yeah. Clearly, I'm not doing too great with the whole blogging consistently concept. And I could blame a lot of things - work, tutoring, gym, puppy research, family stuff... but really? The biggest problem is actually something Mama Kat blogged about recently. She said something like how she doesn't understand bloggers who cry writer's block, and whenever one of the bloggers she reads has a dry spell, it makes her think that maybe the problem is really that there's something they want to write about but can't, and in the face of that they can't focus on anything else because everytime they sit down to write, the Forbidden Subject explodes onto the keyboard.

So not to leave you all with a giant teaser or anything, but I think I have a case of the Forbidden Subjects. And I promise, when I feel ok about posting it I will, and in the meantime i'll try to channel some of THAT energy HERE, because man, is this place getting cobwebby.

In other news, 6 DAYS LEFT TIL PUPPY!!! To say that I'm excited about this would be the understatement of the century. This weekend Nick and I went to Pet Smart and bought puppy supplies and picked up a flier about puppy kindergarten classes. On the drive home, we discussed Duncan's future education opportunities and just what sort of extracurricular activities might best secure his chances of being accepted to the Ivy League school of his choice. Something about taking obedience classes at Pet Smart feels sort of corny and part of me wants to research other options, but the next puppy class starts a week from this Saturday and well... it fits into our schedul and it's only $109, so I think we're gonna go for it. I can always research other options for his next class if I'm not happy with this one. The biggest reason I even want him to go to puppy kindergarten is to get used to being around other people and dogs, and I don't think Pet Smart or anyone else can really mess that up too much.

To remind you guys of the unbearable cuteness, this is where we left young Duncan, when he was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Try to wrap your brain around that for a second.

In case you can't quite wrap your head around it:

Fast forward 4 short weeks and he became THIS handsome little devil:

Seriously, I know I'm probably biased here but could this guy be any more adorable?! Tell he's not posing for that picture. What a little ham. I sense many future blog posts from you my dear.

Lastly, here he is at 8 weeks, cuter than ever and ALMOST READY TO COME HOME!

This Saturday is D-day... stay tuned for many overly excited Twitter updates! If I can figure out what the heck Twitpic is in the meantime, I'm sure there will be plenty of those too. It's a 5 hour drive each way to get the little guy, so I'll be turning to Twitter to keep me from utter boredom.

P.S. Nick and I are having potential cold feet on the name, so any last minute suggestions are welcome!!

Comments

[Michele]

oh my gosh he is adorable!!

[LiLu]

Wow.

I sure am glad you picked TODAY to delurk.

Because I really felt like having my head EXPLODE from CUTENESS today!

I keed, I keed. He is freaking adorable.

And FYI? One of the cutest layouts I've seen in a while. A+, mah lady.

[bex]

Fine, fine, I forgive you.

You be careful though, or that cutie is going to get doggie-jacked! Gasp!

[hautepocket]

Good God. I forgive you! I FORGIVE YOU!

[joshlos]

That dog's a pimp. He'll get all the bitches.

Seriously, he appears quite awesome. You should just go ahead and name him Awesome.

[Jenners]

Oh My Goodness! He is beyond adorable! I want him!!! I could not resist that face! And those little poses! And I love the concept of considering his education possiblities to get him into an Ivy League school ... haha!

And good luck with whatever your "Forbidden Subject" is ...

[spleeness]

omgomg he's so cuute!

Ok a coupla things we learned after getting a puppy.

1. We agonized over the name. And then weeks after deciding, thought of a better one. We stuck with the original choice because we had to call him *some*thing but it's true when people say animals name themselves once you get to know their personality.

2. Dogtraining is awesome. If you decide to go to another class, search on keywords "positive dog training" and your town. Petsmart will be fine, they do this kind of training too. Really it will depend on your trainer, not the org. But they probably pick good people.

The reason I say "positive" is because it's much healthier to train the dog by not beating it up and thus this philosphy has turned into the term. If you call around and any trainer wants to use choke collars or advocates hitting for housetraining, steer clear.

3. They told us in puppy training that a dog's attention span is pretty small. Training sessions thus are about 5 minutes long, but the more you do them a day, the better the dog gets.

4. This one surprised me: they said when you're teaching the dog to come, call its name and give it a treat and say "come!" or "come here!" but not both. Dogs are basically learning a new language and don't understand that "come here" and "come" are the same thing. (Well, eventually they will get it, but it's less confusing for them in the beginning if you're consistent.)

I started talking to my dog whenever I'd do things. I'd head up the stairs and say "let's go upstairs!" It was me just talking out loud to myself at first. But eventually he caught on and now has a huge vocabulary and even knows different toys by name.

5. Also in training, they told us to get the dog used to us handling food so they don't get aggressive if a toddler sneaks over and puts her hand in the bowl while they're eating (one of the number one ways kids get bitten). So they said, as a pup, to feed the dog and frequently insert our hands into the bowl to drop off really tasty treats or more food. Then they begin to associate your hand with culinary awesomeness.

6. That also works when you're removing stuff the dog shouldn't have, like your shoes. Have a treat or bone handy to replace Forbidden Item and he'll quickly forget.

7. Have a can with some pennies in every room on every surface. If the dog is doing something they shouldn't, like chewing, shake the can and say "no!". It will immediately get their attention. Now that they're distracted, you can remove Forbidden Item and replace it. Eventually they will learn that the can means "no" - after a week or two, I only had to pick up the can and the dog would immediately behave.

8. All puppies bite in play - if you go "ow!" in a high-pitched voice, that sounds like other puppies yelping, which is how they know they bit too hard. They need, and get (from other puppies) this feedback to learn how to modulate their jaws. Also, all play stops until they learn not to bite so hard. Dogs have amazing control over this and can be so gentle once they learn that human skin is very sensitive.

9. All puppies also jump - they're trying to get at your face (specifically lips) because that's how they show the dominant alpha dog that he's #1 and they bow to his majesty. To teach a dog not to jump, immediately swivel around so your back is to them and count a few seconds before turning back. Eventually they'll learn "wow, I want to see her but she'll only let me when I don't jump."

This was a lot to write! I hope it's not overwhelming. Your dog already looks bright and curious and I just know he will be so soo happy. Congrats on the new addition to your family! :)

BTW that's a great quote from Mamakat. I too have had some stuff preventing me from writing much. So what you said really hit home, thx for sharing that example.

And whatever it is that's on your mind, may you have the time to process it however needed, no matter what it is!

ps. this may just be the longest comment in existence?? hoo boy.