11 week old puppy updates

Rumor has been getting along really well with Dylan -- it is very cute. They play tug sometimes and he is very good at checking in with me even if he is playing with Dylan... I like that! I have been dremmeling his nails and I was actually able to do all 4 paws last night. It was a fight for a little bit, then he just gave up and let mom give him a pedicure :)

At 11 weeks, Rumor now weighs about 12 lbs. I tried to measure his height the other day.... didn't work... I was guessing he was about 12", but who knows... his little body wanted no part of standing still for me. It is amazing to me that Rumor has pretty much doubled in weight since I got him... He came home and was about 6 or 6 1/2 lbs... now he is 12!

Rumor is a bit awkward looking, at the moment. His legs have grown quite a bit and his tail is super long. Yesterday, it looks like his snout/muzzle got much longer.... more like an adult face vs. a puppy face. He has 1 ear that is totally pricked now... the other ear is still a hound ear... I'm going to have to fix that. I would be very pleased with 2 pricked ears... but we might have to manually help him with that one.

He is *very* proud of his "down" and "roll over"... Rumor is also getting the hang of "sit", "heel", "crate", "come", "here", "get it" and we are working on our heeling a bit and starting to learn "stay". He has very nice eye contact when we're working with food :) Overall, his attention is good and I'm pleased with his progress. I feel no need to rush into training with him... last night someone was asking me about it and why I wasn't doing more agility with him -- I looked at her like she had 3 heads... the pup is *only* 11 weeks old... we will have plenty of time to play on the equipment.

Thus far, Rumor has been an awesome puppy and I couldn't be happier with him. He is a very funny boy with a great personality and he makes me laugh all the time -- I love having him around.

McCook trial & Rumor's new hobby

Dylan & Rumor had a wonderful weekend at the Blitzen trial in McCook, IL. It's a brand new facility and absolutely fabulous! Dylan was a pretty good boy... had 2 great JWW runs, but his Std runs had something to be desired. I was very pleased with his JWW runs... so I will focus on those :)

Rumor got a chance to play with his half sister, Shock! She loved to smother him :) Actually, it was fantastic... she would play nicely with him and then if she had too much, she would let him know... or at any time he was inappropriate... she told him. He *needs* that. Rumor also got a chance to be with Ransom... she was also very good with him... told him not to overstep any boundaries -- that was very good for him. Rumor played with his buddy Ryder and another golden pup, Ernie. He was being good with them until he got a bit aggressive -- once I heard the big growls... he had to take a little time out.

Rumor's new enjoyment is sitting at 1 of the windows at my condo and watching the cars go by... it really is very funny. I have a number of floor to ceiling windows so he has a variety of spots where he can watch his cars in motion.

almost 10 weeks old

I can't believe that Rumor will be 10 weeks old tomorrow! He has been so much fun so far and I'm quite impressed with how well he and Dylan are getting along... that is sorta an added bonus :)

I have been doing very basic stuff with Rumor, in terms of training. We have worked on learning his name, sit, down, come and lots of attention games. I swear to god, on Monday he didn't even look like my puppy -- it looked like his legs grew about 1/2 an inch in 1 day! Very odd.... he also looked like a much fatter puppy than the day before.... my, how they change. I have been playing tug quite a bit with him and working on recalls.... mostly, just basic obedience stuff. Rumor has been introduced to the tunnel, a VERY low a-frame and teeter.... he could have cared less about all of them.... he was just happy it was his turn to play! He is also very good about sitting/waiting for his food while I'm making breakfast/dinner... and when he wants to come out of the crate... it takes him a second, but then he remembers he has to sit nicely before he can come out to play.

His right ear is starting to stick up a bit now.... looking like it will be tipped, at the moment, but still too early to tell for sure. I haven't seen his left one up yet, but his right one will stick up a fair amount now -- very cute.

Right now, I couldn't be enjoying "puppyhood" anymore... Rumor has been fantastic! Most of all, I'm very excited that he's a good sleeper :) It seems that my alarm clock is what wakes him up every morning... which is much better than him choosing when we get up

Air & Water Show

The Air & Water show was a huge success.... when it wasn't pouring.

Both Dylan and Rumor did *very* well with the guests that I had over as well as the noises from the plane. Both of them could have cared less, which was fantastic. They got to meet Fergus' little brother, Ryder! He is such a cutie and so much bigger than Rumor (only 2 weeks older)... Ryder's legs and eye lashes go on forever Rumor thought it was fun to play with Ryder for a chunk of the day... then, when more people came over for the party -- they both got crated.

Dylan really likes his new little brother. He brings toys to Rumor periodically and he will even go lay by Rumor from time to time... it's really cute. The good thing is that Rumor will continue to keep checking in with me... and mommy still comes first. If they play, I make sure we play and have more fun :)

Unfortunately, it rained most of the weekend and the poor dogs *think* we are living in a rain forest.... poor Rumor looks like a drowned rat most of the time when we're outside. At least Dylan looks normal when he's wet... doesn't have the puffy puppy fur :)

weekend in the burbs

Dylan, Rumor & I were up in Lake Forest this weekend at my parents' house because we were throwing an engagement party for a family friend. Dylan loves going up there.... they have a fantastic backyard and he gets to go to Open Lands, which is a forest preserve that backs up to their property... Rumor was thrilled to be introduced to all of this.

Rumor attended his first USDAA trial... I figured it was the perfect opportunity to get a taste of the atmosphere, noise, energy, etc. It was an indoor trial and way fewer dogs than the AKC trials around here... so it wouldn't be quite so overwhelming. He was such a good boy the entire day! He was a bit taken aback when we first walked in the building with all the noise, etc... but it didn't take him long to get into the swing of things. Every time he was in his crate he was quiet as a mouse and napping most of the time. He got lots of rewards for being so good in there We walked around a lot and played tug, worked on focus and slowly kept moving closer and closer to the rings. He would continue tugging with me even when we were about 20 ft away from the rings! He was a very good boy. Nothing seemed to overwhelm him at all and he didn't seem stressed, which I was happy about.

Unfortunately, my mom's dog, Duffy, is not really a big fan of the new puppy. Duffy is 8 yrs old and I think he is over all the energy of new pups. When I first got Dylan, they were friends until Dylan was larger than Duffs.... now they just do their own thing. I hope Duffy gets over this b/c he's living with me until Friday... so, as of now, he has been hiding/sleeping in my closet away from Rumor... pathetic.

Dylan always loves weekends up north. We get to play lots of ball and he's happy to just hang around the house. My dad was very impressed with how well Dylan and Rumor got along. Dylan lays down to play with Rumor a lot of the time so they are on a similar level... it's quite cute.

8 week old puppies

I can't believe the Stellar/Neat pups are all 8 weeks old today! Happy Birthday!

Summer in Chi-town

It is so hot and humid out... both Dylan and Rumor have a tough time dealing with the heat/humidity. Poor kids don't want to be out long. At class last night, I was jumping D at 16" just to help him get around the course b/c it was *so* humid at the barn. Rumor made his first appearance at the barn (with many more to come) and, of course, everyone thought he was adorable :) He was a *very* good puppy and didn't make a peep while he was in his crate. So far, Rumor has been fantastic to have around and he is getting into the swing of things nicely. He cracks me up when we come into the lobby of my building (that is just pumping with a/c) he always starts to go crazy and run around - it's hilarious. I think he's showing his preference for the cold air vs. the awful heat.

Rumor and Dylan are getting along quite nicely. Dylan has had his "get away from me" moments, but he is being very appropriate with the puppy... which I'm very happy about. Abby & Lucy both came to see both the pups yesterday and they loved Rumor, of course :) Overall, I think Dylan is handling the new little brother very well.

Out of all the comfy places in my condo... Rumor has decided *this* is where he likes to nap most:

Welcome Home, Rumor!

Dylan and I made the trip to Mt. Gilead, OH yesterday to go get our new family member, Rumor! It was so fun to see 6 of the 8 pups at Linda's playing together... they are SO adorable! Field's new owner took him home while I was there - Linda gave me the opportunity to choose which pup I wanted between Forest, Stone and Meadow. They are all so fantastic and so great... a *very* tough decision.... but, in the end, I had to bring Forest home as my new baby boy. He has been my favorite since day one and he is such a love bug! I knew I would have been happy with any pup I took home, but I have a feeling Forest (now "Rumor") and I will become a good team.

Rumor was in a crate in my car next to Dylan for the whole ride.... I think Dylan was wondering who the little midget was... he's a bit confused about the whole situation. Rumor whined for about 20 or 30 min. after we left Linda's and then he passed out! What a fantastic traveler. I stopped periodically to let the boys potty and then he would whine for another 5 min before going back to sleep. I was quite pleased with our trip home... it went much better than I expected.

On the way home we stopped at Kelly's house so she could see my new kid -- she loves him! Rumor met Kelly along with 2 others... and we introduced him to 3 of her 5 dogs in a 1-on-1 basis... he was adjusting very well. We were there for about 5 hrs... Rumor would play, nap, potty, play, potty, nap and potty :) I figured that was quite a day for the little guy... so we went home and went directly to bed. Rumor cried for a bit, but then seemed to settle in... we got about 5 1/2 hrs of sleep before he started whining again -- so we went out, he pottied and we went back to bed after a little play session... it was fantastic!

Rumor has done well in the elevators as well as meeting 5 new 4-legged friends this morning... plus a little kid... so, he seems tuckered out right now and is taking a nap... Dylan and I had our time together outside without the new little creature :)

I could not be more pleased with my new little boy - I'm very excited for our future together!

Dylan cracks me up

Last night in class I think Dylan drank some serious energizer drinks - he was hilarious. Jumping around like a crazy man, barking, running... he was a very happy boy who just couldn't get enough agility or playtime. The past 2 weeks he is like a totally new dog (in class) where he has really cranked up his speed a lot and is flying (for him) around the courses.... I even have to run fast in order to keep up :) Now, I just need him to carry that speed into the ring... for some reason, he's still a bit slow at trials - in time, I know we will get it all together...