...Sunday morning.

   
I know I still have to blog about our camping trip to Fundy with Flash but I wanted to tell you this story while it is still fresh in my memory.  

     On Sunday mornings I go to the gym from 9 to 10.  Church starts at 11 and for us to get there on time we have to be organized and flawless.  This particular morning Mya is working so we had to get her there by 10:30 which means Mike and the kids had to  leave before me. 

      I got home and as per instructions Leroy was safe in the bathroom.  I let him out, got ready for church and decided that it might be a good idea to let him out to do his 'business' before I left.  

     My first indication as to the kind of mood Leroy was in had already come and gone but I wasn't really focused.  He had managed to get a pull-up, bring it over to his pillow and was gently mouthing it when I caught him.  Don't be alarmed; it wasn't dirty.  I took care of it, he was properly scolded and away we went  Since I was pressed for time I decided to let him out without his leash.  We have done this before and he has been wonderful.  Today, however, is a different story.  At first he made his way to the front yard area where we always take him.  

That is when I knew something was up.

That lowered head...the slow walk....the look of curiosity....and the direction towards to backyard.

He walked slow at first and when I protested he lifted his head in confidence, wagged his tail a little harder and trotted away out of sight.  All I could do was go after him to see what was on his mind.  He is still young yet and I cannot always make an educated guess as to what he is thinking.  It will come in time but for now we have to just roll with it.  He WAS named Leroy Jenkins, after all. ;)

     My neighbors, who in the past few years have had extensive landscaping done, were sitting in their gazebo.  Leroy proceeded to climb up the little hill on their property and arch his back to get into position.  Now, those of you who are experienced with giant breed dogs understand what I'm saying when I tell you a dog of this caliber has EPIC poops.  They are not your run-of-the-mill puppy poops and are scooped with one poopy baggie.  Oh no.  We are talking epic.  

     Realizing what is about to take place, I throw off my flip-flops and run to him in my white maxi-dress and proceed to throw him onto our side of the backyard.  Thankfully, he is able to do his business there but just when I think the drama has ended....

He lowers his head and looks at me with a sparkle in his eye....

Then bolts!

My lumbering, giant puppy is running around like Forrest Gump all up through my neighbors hostas and lillies, stomping on anything he can and blazing a trail.  The neighbors were trying to talk to me asking questions about how big he was going to be and what breed.  My maxi dress, bare feet and I are trying to tackle this puppy before he does anymore damage while I try to gracefully and politely answer their questions.  I have him by the collar at this point and am semi-classy (for a second) when the unthinkable happened.

One lone bloomed lilly was apparently taunting enough and just like that it was...yoink!

IN. HIS. BELLY.

     The only thing in their entire garden with any color other than green was now in my puppy's belly.  I am pretty sure it was in tact for the most part as he didn't even chew.   I was mortified.  Thankfully, my neighbor was ok with it. 

     Moral of the story is don't bother with the lillies in your garden.  The dog will just eat them. ;)

...puppy orientation.

     We took Leroy to puppy orientation at Petsmart as it was included in the Puppy package we bought.  It was an hour long introduction of what you should and shouldn't do with your puppy.  There were dried beef liver treats.  Lots of it.  So much that almost two weeks later Leroy is STILL feeling the effects of it. lol

     Leroy was there with Flash, his brother.  When these two are together it is always a puppy pile.  They rolled around for a bit before going to class.  At one point they met up with a very large Great Dane and were mildly terrified.  Leroy did his best to make himself invisible by trying to hide in his skin by pulling back on his collar.  He managed to cover everything except the end of his nose.  Flash tried to become part of his owner's lap.  In their defense that Great Dane was huge and intimidating.

     The puppies did very well in class; it was probably because of the liver treats the teacher had.  We didn't test the theory but I think Leroy would have rolled over and played dead for more treats.  As well as they both did, they still need more guidance.  They are going to be very large dogs (Giants, remember?) so a sense of control needs to be established now.  Stay tuned for more adventures of Leroy and Flash as they embark on their training...

  When Leroy wakes up each morning you never know what his temperament is going to be.  Yesterday he was so full of energy...

...he was like a bat out of hell...

...he was full of spit and vinegar...

...he was bat-(poop) crazy...

...he was t.r.o.u.b.l.e....

...I think you get the idea but I might have one more...

...nope.  that's it...

     He started off head low and walked out of the room like a dart.  He went for a few sips of water and just kept moving from there.  It was like he just wanted to get into anything he could find.  He went from pulling socks out of the laundry to hanging on to Meggie's tail to stealing Meggie's toys to asking to go outside but just sitting there staring at the trees.  

It was frustrating.  So very frustrating.  

Then it happened.

   He was so very quiet.  My motherly instinct tells me that when the house is quiet there is someone somewhere doing something they shouldn't be doing.  So I was on the hunt for this someone.  Then I heard it.  The tearing sound that I will never forget.  It came from the bathroom.  It took me a moment to rev up my engine to get moving because it was the morning and all.  As I rounded the corner I realized the sound I was hearing was Leroy with a mouth full of the bathmat.

The NEW bathmat.

The one I just bought after looking for years for the perfect bathmat.

 LEROY JENKINS!  NO!!!

     Realizing he was caught, his turbo boosters kicked into high gear and off he went.  Like the fuzzy missile he is, with a mouth full of yarn and rubber, (in my best Forrest Gump impression) he   was   running!!!

   He flew out of the bathroom and dove right into the freshly topped up water bowls.  I would say, after seeing it all spread out on the kitchen floor, there is about 2L of water in those bowls.  He managed to try to bank off the wall because his momentum was so great at that point running from the bathroom that he couldn't stop on his own.  In doing so he ended up swiping the water bowls as he went by knocking them all over the kitchen.

     It is a good thing he is cute.  It was his only redeeming factor yesterday.