...a conversation with Meggie.

     Meggie and Leroy have really amped up their playtime.  Leroy has been renamed "fuzzy missile" as he runs full speed around the table and couch with his ears flapping in the wind.  Or he hangs on to Meggie's tail while Meggie tries to run away.  This lasts for about an hour or so and then he crashes...hard.

    During one of his naps, I had a chance to talk to Meggie.  She asked me why Leroy was still here and when he was leaving.  I had to tell her that he was staying.  She thought she did something wrong and Leroy was punishment.  I explained to her that we thought Leroy would make a nice friend for her.


Disclaimer:  I don't really think my dogs actually talk to me.  I can, however, create entertaining stories from the expression in their eyes. 


     Leroy had a playdate with his brother Flash, recently.  When they reunited for the first time their tails were wagging so much.  It was evident in the nose bumps that they were happy to see each other.  Then they played, and played, and played some more.  This went on for 3 hours!  I don't think Leroy or Flash have been awake for such a long stretch.  When it came time to crash did they ever! 

    
     Leroy has a pretty busy schedule this month.  He is going camping with his family along with Flash's family and he has a vet appointment.    It should make for interesting blog posts. ;)
    

...puppy play.

     The past few days have been a challenge, to say the least.  Meggie and Leroy have amped up their play and it leaves me wondering if it is still a good thing.  Neither one gets hurt but if it gets any more rough I fear one of them might feel it.  Leroy goes right for the hind legs while Meggie has learned that she can grab any paw and pull Leroy's feet right out from under him.  I know it is all part of the process but I don't want either of them to get hurt or acquire any bad habits.

     Leroy can sit on command.....most of the time.  He can also walk well on a leash......when he wants to.  He understands "enough" means he and Meggie need to tone down their playing.....somewhat.  Are you seeing a theme?  The flip side to this is instead of sitting he will completely ignore me.  Instead of walking well on the leash he will sit with his back to me or lie flat and I have to drag him.  The command "enough" somehow means "keep playing".  His stubborn side really shows through his personality sometimes.  It is a good thing he is so cute.

    

     May 17th Leroy had his vet appointment.  At that time he weighed in at 15.38 lbs.  It will be interesting to see how much he has grown at his next appointment as I am sure with a couple of days after that appointment he went through a growth spurt.  He went from eating 1.5 cups of food a day to over 4!

     So, it seems that Mike and Leroy have bonded.  I guess Mike is more willing to play with him when he comes home from work.  Emma is more willing than any other child to take care of Leroy's needs, like poop scooping and taking him out to pee, but she is more of the nurturing kind anyway.  Mathieu and Nikolas will make sure the food and water dishes are taken care of.  Mya has taken on walking Meggie since she is out walking almost everyday anyway.  Leroy doesn't go for walks so we take that time to do some puppy training.  I am working on "shake a paw" and "roll over".  I love that this has become a family thing and everyone has assumed a roll.

(I must be hungry.  That should read role, not roll.  I could have just edited it but then we would not have had this humorous encounter and frankly, I love to laugh.  I also love to write run on sentences, apparently.)

     Other dogs are not a problem for Leroy.  He is very calm around other dogs.  Throw a cat in the mix and we have a problem.

Huston!  We have a problem!

     I think he is trying to play but they don't want to.  Ever.  They have not confronted him yet, or even tried to put him in his place and I really wish they would get right to that.  At least before he gets too big and thinks they are like a real live chew toy.  For now they just growl and hiss at him while he gets his ghetto on and barks like a boss.

     Yeah, 'cause that is how he rolls.  Everything he does is like a boss.

He sleeps like a boss.
He eats like a boss.
He poops and pees like a boss.


(crickets)

I think that is about it...

....He Is Here!!!!

     It has been a few days but Leroy is home!  It was a spur of the moment decision to go get him and start the introduction process.  Really, since when do Mike and I NOT do anything spur of the moment?  HA! 

Life is meant to be lived so live it!

Vivre  La France!

ummmm, yeah.

     May 11 we surprised the kids by bringing Leroy home to stay.  It was just a good thing.  I was a little overwhelmed once we got him home as I thought he would be a little more timid.  He is very confident and loves exploring.  My house suddenly felt very small.  He even discovered the balls of cat fur that accumulated under the couch and immediately proceeded to choke...but only a little.  It just meant I had to actually clean under there.

     The meeting between Meggie and Leroy was uneventful which is what I was hoping for.  Meggie was a little anxious but she always is.  Ok, so "A little" might be an understatement but she was consistent. 

     The overnight was a different story.  We crated Leroy and with the serparation anxiety, new crate and frequent potty runs there was no sleep to be had.  He seemed to calm down every time Mike spoke so I had him read training instructions ...........................for about 3 hours. 

I can tell you Leroy was NOT saying "mama" at this point.  It was more like "GET ME OUTTA THIS THANG!!!"

     The next day Leroy took his first long drive to visit the Grandparents.  He had to ride in the cab of the truck with us because he is too little to crate in the back.  We put him at the kids feet on a blanket and for the first part of the drive he snuggled right in.  About half way into the drive I checked on him and he had squirmed his way up in between Emma and Nik.

     We had a great visit at the Grandparents.  Another sure sign Leroy is fitting right in to the dynamics of this family.

     The second night Leroy only woke once to go on a bathroom run.  He is now understanding the crate and isn't afraid of it.  He is so smart!

     When he is awake he requires full attention so he doesn't eat something he isn't supposed to or can be corrected immediately when he does something he shouldn't. 

For example: chewing.

Oh, he is a chewer.

     So far he has chewed his pillow, a blanket, the shoes, the coats hanging on the hook, the straps to school bags, my legs, my back fat, the chair legs, the bunny stuffie, Mike's pant leg, the wall, the neighbors shoes, Grammie's shoe, fingers, toes, dandelions, Meggie's tail, Meggie's legs, Nikolas, etc....

     It is now the end of day 4 with Leroy.  He went to bed early tonight because he has been actually playing with Meggie for the past couple of days.  I think it tired him out this evening after their playtime.  

     We are correcting the chewing and now that he has found a playmate in Meggie it is not as bad.  Well, it is still bad but better than it was. 

Not really.

It is still pretty bad.

But it will get better.

......won't it?

...reality.

     This week my friend sat me down and said "I don't think you realize just how big your dog may end up being."


(insert chirping of crickets here).......


     I get it like I get how much a million dollars is.  I know what it means but I can honestly say I have no idea how it feels.  I have never had a 200+ pound dog before.  It is starting to sink in that in 8 - 10 days I will have the equivalent of a baby in the house.  The feedings, the middle of the night potty runs, the feedings, the play time, the feedings, the naps, the feedings, etc...  I get that.  I think what is causing me the tiniest bit of anxiety is the fact that when I look into items such as collars, leashes and kennels, I have to look for giant size items.

Giant.

G.I.A.N.T.

Not large, extra large or even GI. Ant.

    

      This was taken during our visit tonight.  This is the GIANT puppy that is giving me all the anxiety?  This fluffy ball of fur? 

"Mama"

    

     Um...ok. These pictures were taken April 23, April 28 and May 9.  This is documenting 17 days of growth. 

(Those crickets are back)

    

a continuation of the last post (aren't they all)

  I am just jumping back on here to post a reference picture.  Prepare to be amazed!!!

This was taken April 27.  7 days ago.

...and this is from today.

...puppy therapy.

     The punks were restless today.  Too much time on the computer will do that to you.  We had them all outside cleaning the vehicles and tidying up the gardens but that just made them even more cranky.  I wasn't sure if we would get in a visit to see Leroy as all our punks are ill with some kind of nasty flu bug.  It worked out that we were able to go for some outside time.  Wouldn't you know that was the perfect remedy for the bad moods. 

     Since we hadn't seen Leroy for a week I was expecting him to have grown significantly.  I was not expecting the puppy to have morphed into the ball of fur that greeted us today.

 He was playful.  He wanted his belly rubbed.  He tried to get in my lap.  The punks were happy.  The punks were playful.  The punks wanted their bellies rubbed.

Wait a minute...

 

     I think we really need to stop carrying the puppy around.  You see, this puppy has the potential to grow to be 250+ lbs.!  That's right, folks.  Just imagine a 250+ lb. dog trying to get some cuddles.  He will squish the children!  He will squish me! 

     Just like that, after 20 minutes in the fresh air and bright sunshine he was out.  He just flopped to the ground, rubbed his massive head into a comfortable position and proceeded to fall into such a deep sleep that he was twitching.  It was pathetic, really.

Leroy, don't you know you are a puppy? 

To which he responds "Um, it takes an enormous amount of energy to grow as fast as I am growing so I need a great deal of nourishment and sleep."

He is smart and his diction is way better than mine.