Rowdy's (fka Limey)pupdate

And now for an update on the adventures of Rowdy:
Rowdy (formerly known as Limey) came home to Cincinnati on the 4th of July and did very well on the 3 hour ride home. The first couple of nights he needed a trip or 2 outside to potty in the middle of the night, but has been sleeping through for the last several nights. I usually do the last potty call between 10:30 and 10:45. After singing a lullaby or 2 I settle him in his crate for nighty, nighty, nighty. He's awake between 5:30 and 6:00 which is OK because we are early risers. The next hour and a half is raucous play time....much chasing Blackjack, wrestling with toys and zoom, zoom, zoom all around the house. Poor Blackjack isn't sure what to make of him. Blackjack is an 11 year old neutered male PWD who has always thought that every human and other dog is his friend. Even when confronted with an aggressive dog, his tail still wags madly and he has no idea he's in danger. I believe he was born without the instinct to defend himself. He has been letting Rowdy chase and bite him without correction. I started rewarding Blackjack for barking at Rowdy, but he still hasn't been able to get the puppy to back off. I have to intervene and give the old guy a break.

Rowdy settles back down for a rest by about 7:30. I have set up an ex-pen attached to his crate in the kitchen. This gives him plenty of space to play quietly, and keeps him out of trouble!!! He is pretty quiet all day and is content to nap and play in the ex-pen unless he needs to go out to potty. Thanks to Cristi and Jill he knows that outside is for potty. We've had several accidents in the house, but they occur when he's playing and suddenly HAS TO GO. That's OK - he's a smart little guy and it won't last forever. For the most part, the weather in the Cincinnati area has been hot and sunny since bringing Rowdy home. We've been swimming in the pool with both dogs. Rowdy has been doing some short swims toward the steps and has gotten better at both swimming and getting out of the pool. His swimming has gotten more relaxed. Sunday we put him on a surf board type float and pushed him gently around the pool for a few minutes. I want him to get used to the sensation of floating so he's ready to ride on a boat for water work.

By late afternoon/early evening he's ready for another session of zoom, zoom and play. We have discovered that a paper shopping bag with handles is a great toy and he can stay busy attacking and shredding it for a long time. This was discovered when he grabbed the handle of a bag I had set on the floor for a moment. He dragged the bag and its contents around the family room while I chased him. Thankfully, I have a shelf full of various sized shopping bags (you never know when you're going to need a good shopping bag). The ones from Pottery Barn Kids are the best so far, but any store's paper bag will do as long as it has those twisted paper handles....good for dragging and chewing. Speaking of chewing, the biggest challenge has been keeping things out of his mouth while he's outside. True to PWD form, he wants to eat everything....plants, rocks, bits of branches and tree bark. I spend most of our time outside fishing things out of his mouth. The first day home I went online and looked up all of my indoor and outdoor plants for poison potential. Who knew that geraniums and philodendron could be toxic to dogs?? I don't have much of a green thumb and only grow plants that are almost impossible to kill. Thus, the philodendron inside and geraniums in my patio pots outside. All of them had to be moved.

Anyway, I hope I haven't bored anyone too much. "Allyn all" he is a sweet and beautiful little boy. I am looking forward to years of companionship, water work, agility........... Here’s hoping he and all of his little siblings grow into wonderful big PWDs.