We've been fostering puppies a fair amount this past year. Not because we wanted to find one to adopt, but because we find Lacey is much more comfortable accepting them and because I find them so much fun. :)
Well we finally decided to adopt one ourselves. Marlin really became attached to these two latest boys and when one of them got adopted we decided to keep the other one. So may I introduce Summit.
When he first arrived he was very skinny and underweight. Within a few weeks we had him all fattened up. We are still struggling to get him to eat enough and not have diarrhea at the same time but fingers crossed it all gets straightened out any day now. :)
He is a pretty confident little dude. So far new people and places don't phase him and when he does get taken by surprise, he is very quick to recover. I'm determined to have a "bomb" proof dog that is comfortable around new people and new places. I want a dog we can take places - to people's homes, on group camping trips and hikes, etc. I think he has the temperament to do all this, I just need to not screw it up. So every day we are doing something to expose him to new things.
- Friday - he went off to the family that ended up adopting his brother and spent the afternoon there.
- Saturday - we brought out the cat tunnel (which he instantly loved) and explored the upstairs for the first time. (On Monday he learned how to do the indoor stairs and promptly went exploring up there over and over again.)
- Sunday - we went to the pet store, a drive through and the daycare. He met Chewy and got exposed to studio photography lighting equipment - no fear at all of the flash or the umbrella - even when I put it on the ground or spun it around in the air.
- Monday - we went out to Amanda's to meet her dogs, and explore her yard. He had a great time with her new pup Siren.
- Tuesday - we spent time in the front yard watching the world go by. We saw cars, a bus and a lady with a dog on the far side of the road. The cars were no problem but the bus made him startle. The dog was hilarious. He just sat and watched in awe. I was feeding him kibble and he absentmindedly would open his mouth to take it but was often forgetting to chew.
- Tomorrow we are going to hang out at the grocery store parking lot and then the recycling depot.
- Thursday if the weather is nice we'll go to the playground by our house and watch the children.
- Friday we are going to hang out at the front of the house again and try and catch the school kids walking home.
- Saturday we are going to a puppy class.
- Sunday we'll probably try and find more people to meet or do whatever Amanda suggests at the puppy class. :)
He is already learning to be a polite puppy. He is learning to come when called and he charges over at full speed and promptly puts his butt to the ground for a cookie. The only issue at the moment is that he is using me for a break instead of slowing down to a stop himself. LOL.
He's been wearing an activity monitor since we decided to keep him and is logging about 130 minutes of "action" a day. He is by no means a crazy pup, but he definitely has his busy moments - he's definitely a morning dog! Lacey enjoys playing with him - on her terms only of course. Poor dude struggles some times to figure out why one moment she's playful and the next she isn't. Not surprisingly Coulee is taking longer to adjust. She took about 9 months to enjoy Lacey's company so we aren't expecting her to come around any time soon. She generally just ignores him and grumbles when he is playing and she isn't.
We still need to get a decent family photo - this one isn't going to cut it. :)
