Home alone and other firsts

We've had some pretty big firsts around here this week.

First, Sonny was left home alone... out of his kennel... by himself...! Sure, we've left him out of his kennel in the house alone before, but only for a few minutes while we ran to get the mail or take something to the garage. This time though, he was truly home alone.  We left the house, got in the car and drove away for at least an hour. Of course we baby gated the stairs to the upper floor and closed doors, limiting his floor space). Also, he was pretty calm when we left so I wasn't too worried. HE DID GREAT! There was no evidence of any wrong doing on his part. Since then, Big D has left him home alone for more periods of time. 

Second, Sonny survived his second 4th of July and wasn't affected by the fireworks at all.  Our former JRT Yodee would get so incredibly anxious at the first hint of noise and would pace the floor looking for a somewhere to hide. We would, for her sake, put her in the basement where she could find a quiet-ish spot to get away from it. Fortunately, Sonny doesn't have any anxiety whatsoever, TG. 

Another first, but on a smaller scale, he wore a t-shirt. A 4th of July t-shirt I picked up several months ago. He was somewhat indifferent but good nature about it. Because it was so hot and he got a small chew, he didn't wear it long. I think he'll appreciate it more come this winter. Next time I'll take a picture. 

Third, Sonny got to spend the whole night sleeping in our bed last night.  It went well, unless one considers (a) how much he tosses and turns, (b) gets hot under the blankets and crawls out to cool down - several times a night, (c) how crowded out Big D was and had to sleep on the edge of the bed, and (d) he wanted to get up before the second morning alarm went off (the one that says it is really time to get up now). I'm still in the habit of setting an early alarm to get him out of his kennel and bring him to bed.   

I told me friend at work about Sonny's all nighter. I mentioned that this may not be a nightly occurrence. Her response was simple, "it won't be up to you now"  hahaha!

Tonight, Sonny is back in his kennel though. He went in with treats and without complaint. 

I have to say again, Sonny is truly a good dog. He has a sweet, gentle, playful, curious nature. Oh, and he loves sleep on laps.

Food for Thought

Who is the person your dog thinks you are?

He's so tired (UPDATE)

This is what a walk, a trip to the dog park and a couple hour car ride followed by a small lunch of carrots, apples and blueberries looks like. He hasn't moved in over an hour.

Watching Sonny sleep like this reminds me of what it was like to watch my son sleep when he was a baby; just stare and drink in the moment.

A well run tired dog, is a happy dog

He'll be full of P&V when he wakes up though which means I have to make good use of my time while he's out.


UPDATE: And this is what is looks like after some more time outside.  I love the funny little poses Sonny makes. This is one I haven't seen before.

Dog tired

One Year Ago

We've now had Sonny in our home for one year! Here he is with one of his first toys, sans collar. When I look back at old photos it makes me miss those early days and how small and cute he was then. If I could turn back time, there are a few things I would do differently - hindsight being 20-20 and all - but I wouldn't want to do it all over again. Raising a puppy, especially a Jack Russell puppy, is A LOT of work.

This guy is worth it!

Saturday Funday at the Park!

Cool as a cucumber

There is something about this picture that screams "cool" to me as in "he's just one cool little dude."

Sonny's pack and play

I was looking at old photos of Sonny to send to a friend and came across the one below. It's one of my favorites from his early days with us.

The pen shown in the picture (sans cardboard bottom) became an important part of his first year of life and was invaluable to us. It gave him a lot more freedom in a confined space in the house and gave us piece of mind as wasn't able to get into places he shouldn't. We took it everywhere with us (like many parents would a pack and play). And then, as he grew, it became a permanent outside pen only larger as we purchased a second one, giving him more play area. It was a very diverse piece of equipment too. Sometimes we attached them together and sometimes we set it up in two different outside locations.

The whole thing eventually became a fence around an area we laid grass seed and has now been put away altogether.

Sonny's little play pen

Don't Make Eye Contact

Every night it's the same. Sonny gets put in his kennel for the night. And every night when I glance in his direction I think, "don't make eye contact." Sometimes it becomes almost like a mantra because, as he's looking out with his stern looking little face questioning why he can't sleep the night in our bed, it's all I can do NOT to let him out. We're not quite ready to open that can of worms. Once opened, it'll be hard to close and go back to his nightly kennel up time. We used to think that when he turns two he'll be mature and trustworthy enough, but now we're thinking one and a half; so just a few short months.

Sonny has two in-door kennels (and a small car/traveling kennel) which are comfortable and spacious enough to give him room to stand, turn around and do almost anything else he needs to do in them. The kennel is our bedroom is placed in such a way that allows him to see only a portion of our bed. He has to angle head just so to get some kind of a line of sight.

Several months ago a ritual was started wherein he gets to come to bed first thing in the morning. This practice started one morning after I "made the mistake" of falling for his little cry. In his mind making that noise got him what he wanted and so he proceeded to cry, scratch and shake his collar every morning after that one and at an hour that was long before the alarm clock was set to go off.
We continued this pattern for several days before I decided to try something new. I was annoyed and frustrated by being woken up way too early and losing sleep because of it. This, I decided, wasn't going to fly. I wasn't going to allow him to dictate our wake up time.

I'll show him, right... My idea was to make him wait for the alarm to go off, no matter how much time was left on the clock, before he would be let out of his kennel. I started setting the alarm clock one hour earlier than necessary for me get up. No matter how much noise he made, I was determined to make him wait. It took a few irritating days, but it worked.

Mornings are now much better and we get our rest as he patiently and quietly waits for the alarm to sound. The moment it does, I jump out of bed so he can climb in. I guess I showed him, right!

A Night Without Sonn

At first it seemed like a great idea to send Sonny to the kennel for some much needed R&R (ours, not his); and then we watched "The Secret Life of Pets" and Max, a/k/a tiny dog, reminded me so much of Sonny I started feeling really bad that he's not home with us. It's too tonight to go get him and so I'm going to try and put him out of my mind and not worry about him. He'll be fine. He always comes home happy, albeit a little indifferent. He's alway seems a bit more mature too.

I've already decided that I'm going to skip a standing meeting tomorrow evening in order to get home right away and scoop him. Then, after he's bathed, we'll cuddle up in our favorite chair and bond.

It's so strange how quiet the house is when he's gone and yet his energy is still here. His presence is so strong.

Enjoying some sunshine before his play date at the Kennel

Throwback Thursday

Sonny at 2 months old in his very first collar. Those eyes.

Funday Monday

For me, Mondays are just another day of the week that just so happen to fall the first day after the weekend. Fortunately, I have never been one to hate them. Getting up on a Monday morning has never made me feel resentful that the weekend is over. Don't get me wrong, I am not a super cheerful Monday morning person, just a resolved let's get it done kind of gal.

It's the Monday evenings that kick my butt. It's the one day of the week when I come home from work and don't want to do anything, but sack out on the couch and watch some TV. Sonny, however, doesn't see it that way. He wants to play and he doesn't care what kind of day I've had or what day of the week it is. I try to amp up my energy to give him the time he deserves.

Sonny School Sunday - Who's teaching Who

Today was a challenging day with Sonny.  He's been kind of bored lately and I have been kind of tired and a bit lazy when it comes to continued training. He tries my patience on many different levels and I fear he's wearing me out. At the dog park today there were no other dogs for him to play with. I pulled out the ball to play our first game of catch outside, ever, and it turned into a game of catch, run back toward me, run past and drop the ball beyond, ignoring it completely.

There are really only a handful of things that cause me stress when it comes to Sonny and his training. Things he knows, but doesn't obey: 1. come, 2. no bite, 3. no jump, and 4. drop. Drop and come are generally used simultaneously after he grabs an object and runs completely ignoring "come" and "drop." It's frustrating beyond comprehension sometimes and it's all I can do not to lose my temper. It makes me question what the hell I have done and/or are doing wrong.

I have to remind myself that you can't reason with a dog, especially a Jack Russell Terrier who is strong willed and determined to try and go his way. In his way, he reminds me that with patience and tolerance we will get past these challenging times. Because there are times when he does pause long enough to let me know he's thinking about doing the right thing and there are times when he actually does, sort of.

I also keep reminding myself that we are closer to the end of the puppy months and maturity will set in. Until then, patience and tolerance. Patience and tolerance. Patience and tolerance.