Home!!! (and Idaho ps's)

It's so nice to be home.  It was a great vacation, but it's so wonderful to be back.   Pippin was fantastic on the drive back to Oregon and then had an outburst of energy when we got home.  I gave in to his whining in the kennel last night and let him sleep in the bed with me.  He is a sweet cuddler.

This morning he proved that we need to get back into our training routines by nipping at Paul.  Pip is also starting  to run away when we call him to come.  That needs to stop... um, NOW!  That's priority #1 this week.

Today he came with me while I took the pea plants out of the garden, played with me out back while I started figuring out my new birthday camera, and was a fantastic puppy when I gave him a bath.  Now he's fluffy and napping on the floor.  I love my little pup.

Oh, before I leave our Idaho trip completely, I have to include some awesome photos.  The first ones are of Pip attacking my brother Ben.  Pippin is very much an ear man.

Then these are of Pippin with Isaac- our nephew's three year old son after Tate's mission farewell.  

Adventures of Pippin and Rin

Today was a great birthday.  Ben, Dugan, & Adam came over and Adam brought my niece Ashley's dog Rin.  Once again, Pip had a dog companion who was head and shoulders above him.  However, Rin was extremely patient and let Pip tag along everywhere she went.  The only time Rin got sharp with Pippin is when he surprised her when she was asleep.  Other than that, they had a great time together, and I got to break in my new birthday camera on them.

New people and places

Monday was a tough one for us.  We had a family day scheduled at Lava Hot Springs and weren't sure what to do with Pippin.  Paul's sister Denise was a sweetheart and called Deonne Ulrich, an awesome lady in her ward, to see if she would puppy sit.  Deonne has a little house dog herself and was so sweet about taking Pip for the day.  He went on a road trip with she, her husband, and their dog Roscoe up to my high school girls' camp site to see the new improvements up there.  Roscoe got carsick, but Pip did great.  That afternoon, Deonne's grandkids came over and played with him.  It was so nice of her to do.

Tuesday, Paul's niece Noelle drove up with her kids to spend the day with the family.  The kids had a blast with Pippin.  The boys would take off running and Pip thought it was just the most fun ever to chase them around the yard.  The 4 year old daughter wanted to see the pup, but was a bit nervous about him just running up to her, so I would hold him and she would pet him from behind.  When he'd turn his head and look at her, she would squeal a little and jump back.  By mid-afternoon, though, she got brave enough to hold his chew toy for him.

Wednesday, we went back up to Idaho Falls to my parents' home.  My awesome sister Alicia was visiting from Boise. Pippin had a new instant best friend.  I think if she could have taken Pip back home with her, she would have.  They played and had a ton of fun.  She was great at getting him to roll over. I wish we lived closer so she could come over for puppy play dates. :O)

Pippin peaking around Mom's sandals while he was up on the recliner with her. 

Meet Mom & Dad Clegg

 

Pippin got some serious play time with my Mom and Dad today.  It was awesome.  Dad and Pip went out back and chilled in the grass.  Mom had the audacity to set a pop can on the floor.  The results of that dastardly act are posted below.   It was just so nice to have them play with him, cuddle him, and even take him out when he needed it.

Idaho!

Kudos to Pip!  Yesterday we made the long drive home to Idaho.  Other than a little whining when he first got in his kennel and a few reproving looks in our direction, he settled down and slept most of the way.  We got to Mom Elison's and he was beyond ready to GET OUT of the car.  Naturally, he had a ton of energy and was not a calm puppy for meeting people nicely.  He was a bit nippy and Paul had to do some muzzle holding so Pip would calm down.  I was on puppy duty last night and unfortunately, Pippin was back to waking me up every 2-3 hours.  At home, he was up to about five hours at a time during nighttime.

This morning he seems more himself and did some exploring out in the yard.  Then we got back inside, I went to take a shower, and passed him to Paul.  Pippin is a bit of a "momma's boy," but has always been good and loving to Paul, too.  However, Pip was a stinker to him while I was back cleaning up.  He was whining and when Paul took him outside, all he did was chew at his leash.  When they got back in, it was obedience training time.  By the end of that, he was behaving much better for Paul.

3 week anniversary

One of the puppy books that I've been reading in my spare time now suggested that new puppies should meet 100 different people before they're 3 months old to help socialize them to people.  We've got half a week to go, and I think we'll almost get there; with Paul and I being major homebodies- that's a big deal.  To continue with our goal and just to have some fun, Paul invited friends over yesterday night for a MST3K party.  For those unfamiliar with that abbreviation, it's a Mystery Science Theater 3000 party.  It's a show from the 90's where a guy and two robots watch really dumb/poorly made videos and make fun of them.  Pippin got to meet Adam, his two kids and their weimarainer, and Ben of the awesome laugh.  Stacey, Melinda & Corinna came, too, and we had a great evening.  

This morning was not nearly as fun as last night for little Pip.  This morning he got his second set of puppy shots.  Now I can relate to moms who take their children in for immunizations.  It was so hard to hold him while he got the shot and yelped & whimpered.  I felt so bad.  We went back to the car and I cuddled him until he quieted down.  The whole day he's been more subdued, but now he's back to his happy puppy self.  I just love to see him playing with Paul and the stuffed hedgehog.  Then Paul sweeps him up into his arms and cuddles him and Pippin gives him little puppy kisses.  It makes my heart smile.  Pip's such a great little addition to our family.

Successful car trip

Today was a lazy day for our Pippin.  At one point he even was napping upside down on his back.

Tonight to get him used to the car so that Monday's trip to Idaho is more comfortable, we took him for another ride.  This time, however, we bought a small travel-size kennel for him.  He whimpered a bit, but when we got onto the freeway, he calmed right down in his bed.  We stopped out at Paul's school to pick up a few things and he snapped these great ones of Pippin on the steps and on the lawn.

First Visit to the Vet

This morning we took Pip to the Vista Pet Hospital, per Amber's recommendation. Dr. Davis wasn't there this week, so we got to see Dr. Cook.  While in the waiting room, we met a yorkie poo, a terrier russell/chihuahua mix, and a cat that was bigger than those two dogs and Pippin combined.  When we got to see the vet, we found out that Pippin is a healthy little puppy (whew!) and weighs a whopping five pounds.  The only thing that was a bummer is his puppy dandruff problem in some places on his back.  In a few weeks, we can start a specialized shampoo with him and get that taken care of, too.  Puppy Head and Shoulders- here we come!

On the way to and from the vet, Pip reiterated to us how much he dislikes riding in the car.  No amount of cuddling, petting, or soothing words worked to calm his troubled little heart.  He just does not like car rides.  We need to take daily rides in the car and give him lots of positive reinforcement over the next few days, or our trip to Idaho on Monday is going to make him pretty miserable.

This evening was pretty fun.  We're trying to teach Pippin that "come" means "come"- not come close to me, but then run away because you think we're playing a game.  Armed with bits of chicken, Paul and I stood on opposite sides of the yard.  One of us would call Pip and reward him when he came.  Then after he started to get the idea, we'd add on "sit" and "down."  He did really well, and it was a blast to see him zipping across the grass to get to us.  I probably should have brought more chicken with me when I took him out later to do his business, because he was back to his instinctual habits and wanted to play rather than come in.  We'll get there, though.  He's a smart little guy. :O)

Saturday, Sunday, Monday

Saturday- A fun evening at the Murdocks' home- bbq, Superman movie, and great company.  Pippin and Daphne did much better with each other tonight.  Everywhere that Daphne went, she had a teeny little shadow tromping along after her.  It was fun to watch Pippin's reluctance to step from carpeting to linoleum to go say hi to Stacey.  Linoleum is scary and slippery!  Eventually, he braved up and got used to it.  Corinna played a lot with him and is doing better and better at re-directing his jumping and puppy nipping.  We still teaching her how to carry him so he's more supported- not with one arm under his neck and another under his belly.  However, Pip is very patient and they're both teaching each other.

Later that night, when he and Stacey got together, he got to playing  and gave him a mo hawk with his fluffy upper layer of fur.  If you look at Pippin's head from the back with the light shining in front of him, sometimes that upper layer looks like feathers.

Sunday was hot, hot, hot.  Pip pretty much followed our lead and just tried to stay cool.  He'd wake up just enough to blink a few times, sigh, yawn, and go back to sleep. He seemed to save all his energy up for the evening when he let loose with some rambunctious playing.  Early morning and mid evening seem to be his peak times right now.   He's doing really well at letting us know when he needs to go out and rarely has an accident.  The only times there's an "oops" is if we don't pick up on his signals.

Monday night was great!  I'm kicking myself for forgetting to take pictures.  I asked an awesome family in our ward- the Petersons- to come over with their kids- a 3 year old boy and a 2 year old girl, to help us get Pip used to young children.  Luckily, they're "dog people" and were excited to come over.  When they got here, I gave them treats to help with the puppy's training.  It was fun to give a treat to the sweet little girl and watch her hold it out to Pippin, say "sit" and let him eat it just standing there.  Their son got him to sit and lay down.  (I haven't gotten Pip to roll over yet.)

Since I didn't know how long the puppy would be interesting to the kids, I made a "Growing Up" game- 40 pictures of various animals when they're young, and others of when they were grown up.  We played it up to the table and tried to find matches.  I'd made one match "baby boy" and "man."  Paul suggested we do pictures of them, so he went onto Jennie's Facebook page and downloaded pictures of the son and daughter when they were babies, and Jennie and Paul (the dad) as adults. (He said he felt like a stalker doing it, but it was for a good cause:O) It was really  fun when Paul (our guest) turned over his first card, and it was his very own face.  After the game, the kids colored while we talked, then we went to the garden and picked a carrot from the garden for everyone, and then finished up the night watching a couple episodes of Kid History.  It was a fun night.

Pip did really well, though he did like to jump up on their daughter a little.  On his hind legs, he was almost as tall as she was.  At one point when she sat down on the floor and he came over to play with her, she looked at him and said, "My shoes."  Apparently, Pippin needed reminding that just because they were touching the floor, they were not his to chew on.

Treats

Boy, I think we wore out our sweet little guy on the Fourth of July.  Most of the day yesterday he slept, adjusted his position, and went back to sleep.  Today, he's back to his old self: leaping along behind us when we're walking around with him on the lawn. playing with us and his toys, and in all just being awesome.  Last night we found out that Pip loves chicken, so now I'm able to use them in his training.  We tried a piece of chicken with him the first week, and he wouldn't touch it.  Now he has a new favorite treat.  I'm starting to teach him to roll over, but I'm not doing it right yet.  He goes "down" very quickly, and I try to hold the treat above his nose and then move it to the side so he'll roll with it, but so far, he just scoots along on his belly towards the treat.  Lol.  We'll get it.

Post-Fourth

I have to say my puppy is the best puppy ever.  He was a trooper on the Fourth.  A solid morning of meeting strangers and being so polite, and then an evening of strange sights and loud noises and he did so well.  When Murdocks came over for the evening, Pippin once again jumped all over Corinna and she took refuge on the couch under the cushions.  The way we got past that is by having her take him through his four training exercises.  The one where he touches your hand gently to get a treat was particularly great for her.  He calmed down and was gentle, and she got to reward him for behaving appropriately.  Pip eventually curled up on her lap and napped a little.  A bit later, Rachel and Sasha came over and he was a good boy with them, too.

Then is was time to see how our little guy would handle fireworks.  We went out to the front lawn and started setting off our own in the driveway.  He was just fine with the brightness and even the noise for a long time.   Eventually, though, he started whining a little and when the big ones started going off across the highway at the nearby park, he just wouldn't settle.  We weren't close enough for the noise to be an issue.  I think he was just tired and had had enough of strange things happening.  I took him in to his kennel and he curled right up and laid down.  All in all- way to go, Pip!

Grrrrooming

This afternoon, Pip got his little coat combed down and is all silky and smelling great now.  I also clipped his nails while Paul cuddled him.  He did pretty well, but on one of them I accidentally got the quick.  He whimpered and I teared up.  Poor little guy.  We cuddled him and let him know we didn't do it on purpose.  Unfortunately, he still had two more paws to get clipped.  However, he let me finish them and then get pampered a little more.  Sweet little thing.  Now to see how he does with fireworks tonight.

Fourth of July Breakfast

This morning Pippin was Super Puppy!  Paul and I brought him to our ward Fourth of July breakfast.  It was a perfect sunny morning and there were tons of people for him to meet.  Everyone was so friendly and welcoming to him.  The kids just flocked to him.  There was one particular 5 year old boy that sat down near   the puppy and Pip walked right over to him and cuddled up to his leg.  He did it several times.  It was so cute.  The kids were so gentle with Pippin and even though he got passed from child to child, he never barked, and only once or twice tried to bite the little girls' long hair. However, two hours later he was exhausted and started falling asleep in whoever's lap he was in.  On the way home, he re-affirmed to us what he showed us on the ride over to the church- he does NOT like riding in the car.  He whimpered and whined the whole way there.  As we drove home, I was cuddling him, and he wasn't calming down.  He leaned towards Paul and rested his head on his upper arm and my upper arm.  Only when he was resting on both of us did he calm down and rest.  It was such a sweet moment.  I loved it.

Snuggle bud

Today has been fantastic.  I'm not sure why,  but Pip was pretty snuggle-y and we spent lots of time with him on my lap or cuddled up on my chest.  We both took a little nap together this afternoon and just had a great day.  So far his training is doing pretty well.  He has "sit" down pat.  "Down" is coming along pretty well.  Another game I saw was "touch," where you hold open your hand and he touches it with his nose.  We're playing that one, too.  We're also working on "up!up!"  It's hard to reward for sit or down if he's already in those positions.  The only time he wasn't in a cuddle-y mood was this evening, when I really wish he had been.  I got word that my Grandpa Thompson passed away this evening and Paul was at rehearsal.  However, Pippin's energy kicked in and he was racing around the living room.  I did my best to give him the attention he needed, though my heart wasn't really in it.

Bliss

Last night Paul had puppy duty and Pippin did something he's never done before- slept for 7 hours straight! Well done, little Pip!  Now I just hope he does it on my watch.  This morning I got up and both my guys were chilling in the living room.  Pippin came immediately over to me, I picked him up and we just cuddled for fifteen minutes before I left for my gym date with  Amber.  Sheer bliss is a puppy snuggled up to your neck and being able to stroke his oh-so-soft fur.  When I got back, he was still in a snuggley place, so here I am after 25 minutes of cuddle time, after which he fell asleep on me.  Now Pip is snoozing on my left arm while I type this one-handed-ly.  What a great morning so far.

Success!

I spent a long time reading last night about different puppy training techniques and the one that made a lot of sense was using a kong (a hollow red rubber cylinder that can be stuffed with food).  That way the puppy has to work for his food to get it out and has something to occupy his time.  The idea is to teach the puppy what to chew on and what not to and to help him become a chew toy-aholic.  We picked one up this afternoon and it's awesome!  A tip from the book was to dribble a little honey in it so the kibble will stick to it and fall out in little bits.  When we put it down on the floor, it was so funny to watch Pippin's reaction.  He would approach it a tiny bit and then leap backwards.  He kept circling it, sniffing it and finally dug in.  He's been playing with it all day and is having a great time.  So are we.  It was interesting that online there are "kong recipes."  That way as he gets progressively adept at getting his food out, you can give him harder challenges.  How fun.  I guess we didn't need to get that dog food bowl. Below is a (kind of darkly lit) video of Pip zipping around the living room.

Week two day two

Hmmmm.....  Well, Pippin has been more of a playful puppy these last 24 hours.  He loves playing with us, but nips at hands and ears and such.  When wanting us to engage and we're sitting on the couch, he will yip and bark to let us know he's ready to go.  We're trying to redirect his behavior, make an "ouch" sound when he bites and then socially isolate him, but he still persists in the behavior.  I know it's puppy stuff and maybe I'm worried about nothing, but he's been such an ideal puppy for the past week that I want him to continue behaving well.  Right now, he's relaxing in his open-door kennel next to me, but it took him a while to get calm.  Suggestions???

Week 2 Day 2

You know that feeling when you look and look for a gift for someone and have a fun time personalizing it, and their reaction to it is "meh"?  Well, that's how we felt when we brought back Pippin's collar for him yesterday.  Did he care that we spent time picking out the most comfortable collar and then were so excited to use the dog tag engraving machine at the pet shop so he finally has his name on something?  Noooooo.  In fact, when I put it on him, it was like I had punished him.  He hung his little head down and flopped down on the floor.  We are so mean.

Yesterday, Paul and I hit the book store to find a couple great sources on puppy training.  Good grief!!!!  It's like child-rearing: a million different opinions on how to do it the right way and if you do it the wrong way, you've doomed your child/puppy to a life of unhappiness.  Man alive!  I bought a couple and got halfway through one of them last night.  It says before our puppy reaches 12 weeks, he needs to have met and interacted with 100 different people.  100 people?!?  Paul and I are big time home-bodies.  I'm impressed that he met 9 people and 2 dogs last week.  I apparently need to start throwing parties every night.

The up-side to all this is working out these decisions with Paul.  Just like child raising, we're deciding which of the methods work best for us and are then trying to be consistent with our decisions.