Dogs Day at the Lake

Buzz spent the day lounging at the lake yesterday after a another parade in the morning. He also loved the fact that a house full of girls was next to where we were at and continued to come over all day and tell him how cute he is. He was in heaven. It was kind of funny as we bought him a lifejacket in case he went a little further out on the lake which had a handle on it to be able to quickly pull him out of the water. As he put it on, while it was not that heavy, he couldn't figure out how to walk with it on and looked like he was drunk as he staggered around until he got used to wearing it. He also took his first swimming lessons without the jacket. He also loved all the rest of the folks who were there, especially the kids, who continued to come by to play with him. He also had a little bit of an identity crisis at times as one of our friends was caught several times holding, "racer", as she joking refers to him.

Good Day To Be A Dog Outside

Buzz decided he wanted to play outside almost all day and the best part was he wanted to play ALONE. Since he has come home someone has either been holding him or watching him almost around the clock. Today (now that he is big enough not to be able to get under the fence) he took his toys and went to the opposite side of the yard of where we were at and if he saw us he made sure he picked up his toys and moved to where we couldn't see him. Sounds almost like a teenager!

Finally Some Success in the Crate

Well we have been working hard to get Buzz to not think the crate was a form of punishment but rather a place to sleep, play with toys when no one is around, and as a home inside the house. He really hasn't been happy in the crate to this point. everything we put in the crate, he pulls out. But now he is starting to be more comfortable and has even slept in there a couple of times. He continue to love to tear up paper and still has a shoe fetish but in general, if you just remember he is a puppy, he doesn't seem to be doing too bad.

Out and About

Well, Buzz is definitely getting a personality which is shining through clearly. Today was his second parade and he really seems to be soaking up all the attention. In fact when one person walked by him without saying how cute he was, he started pouting. This parade was different than the last in that the parade was at the Ohio Masonic Home and the folks attending the parade are advanced in years.  He also loved the fact that he was "borrowed" by a friend for a little while who had recently lost her beagle. He also had several others who stopped by to tell their stories about when they had their beagles years ago. It was definitely nice to see several folks face "light up" when they saw him and indicated that he made them remember a time long ago.

He also continues to remind us that he is a puppy as he wants to "mark" his territory and as we try to get him crate trained he continues to protest. One nice thing is he is already grown enough that he can no longer get through most of the areas of the fence which I mentioned he could find a way to squeeze through last week. And Buzz has also taught my 16 year old a good lesson...having young ones is a lot of work and at times cuts into your social life fun. Since Buzz is her dog, we have made her stay with him several times when we needed to go out for a short period of time. As she is still working to get her drivers license, her and Buzz where "home alone". But the good part will hopefully be that soon Buzz will get crate trained and I'm sure when my daughter gets her license, Buzz (in his doggie seat belt of course) and her will be driving around with his ears flowing in the wind.

Next weekend Buzz is going to the lake so he is off to the pet store to get a life jacket. Life is good when you are a dog.

Buzz Continues to Grow Quickly

While he is still a playful puppy and full of energy, he is really getting the hang of understanding  (for the most part) how to channel his energy at the appropriate times (it also helps that his owners are also learning how to wear him out!) He rides in the car now like he owns it. He understands how to behave to be allowed to stay in the house but he loves to play outside for extended periods of time (either by himself or with others). He, fairly well, is understanding what a time out is and how to avoid it. And the best part is that even when he finds a small enough hole in the fence to squeak through (which is why we can't leave him completely alone in the back yard), he comes to the fence and whines to get back into the yard. (It was really funny to watch him trying to squeeze back into the yard which wasn't quite as easy as getting out). And unfortunately, he really appears to be cleaver and resourceful right now so until he gets a little bigger, I think he is going to find ways around any method we put forth to keep him from squeezing through a few very tight spaces.

Rock Star

Well after a weekend on the road, Buzz is acting like a Rock Star and I guess he should since everyone who met him fell in love with him and wanted to take him home. In addition, I think he talked a family he met into getting a puppy for their little boy as the little boy went crazy over Buzz and then Mom said "maybe we should get him a puppy" and Dad then said "I think it might be a good idea". Buzz then walked off as to say my work here is done. While he liked to sniff all the good "human" food he saw, he has continued to just stay with his puppy food, something I really hope continues forever.He has also decided he likes the movie Underdog and decided he could fly off the end of the bed!

On The Road

Well, this weekend Buzz made his first road trip and first time to stay in a hotel. He really traveled well for the four hours in the car to get here (hopefully he will do as well going home!) He is still doing well going to the door when he needs to go do his business. Once he got here, he learned how to walk up and down the steps and was really in a mood to rough house. You can also tell he is teething as he wants to chew of every toy he has and people too. For the chewing on people, he got a time out and needless to say didn't like that well at all. But all being said and done, he still is a pretty good dog...and awfully cute too!