OMG, He Is Almost Four!

My oh my how time flies. I missed a year writing about Bonaparte, who will, in May be a whopping FOUR years old! I can't believe it. He has stabilized in weight now at 9 lbs. His hair/fur barely sheds, if at all and has lost all of the darkness of his puppy days. He has learned very well how to stay around us when we are outside, and to come when we call him. We noticed a huge leap in his "understanding/listening" right around three years old, when I no longer had to keep a lead on him whenever I was out working in the yard. He stays, usually, within our sight and if he happens to wonder just a bit too far, he comes back when we call him. He LOVES to go for rides in the car and jumps in whenever he gets the chance, whether or not we're going anywhere! He is loving my husband being home so much more, now that he has quit his job and is in school full time, for a degree in Math.
This year also marks a new adventure for us three, Boney, my husband and me. Our house is just about empty and we are readying it for the market. We HOPE to sell before the end of the year. We are realistic in the outlook not being great, but we will hope, we will send positive energy to that goal. So, now, on to more photos of our little love. He has been so brave with all the worker folks and auction folks and numerous others traipsing in and out of our house, his territory, guarding fiercely the front door each time the doorbell rings, and chasing off the stray cats invading our back yard...

December 2015

February 2016, checking out the new dock

February 2016, sunbathing Boney-style...

2-2016, new dock celebration

More celebrating 2-2016

Ahhhh, cute boy

Emptied son's room, one of the only one who had no need for wall repairs!

Eleven Months Old Today!

Boney in his bed in our room 4-13

Bonaparte turned 11 months old today! Almost a full year old. Wow. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. We found Bonaparte and invited him into our lives when he was ten weeks old, so we still have some time to go before he’s been with us for a full year. But even so it feels like we’ve had him for only a little while, not almost a full year!

With me

He’s grown, probably to his full size which is now 7.6 pounds. He might be a bit more than that, but not more than eight pounds. He is still scruffy looking, but soft and full of life. Appropriately named Bonaparte, a little body with a big ego, we’ve finished with our “intermediate” training classes and are debating if we’ll do anymore. Mostly my goal for us is for him to come EVERY time I call, and to stay beside me when we walk, oh, and to stop barking when it’s inappropriate. I don’t really care for him to do tricks. He sits, waits, leaves it, drops it, “go get it” meaning he fetches and brings whatever he fetches back to me. So he’s doing really well. Every day when we go to get the mail, he knows to stay with me, and where we are going. He doesn’t run off, and comes when I call him back to the house. Now if we can get that good while on walks around the neighborhood, I’ll be happy.

He loves to go and play at Frank and Ruben’s house and was so happy we house sat them this weekend. He and Ruben especially love to rollick and pounce on one another. We’re glad Boney likes other dogs.

With Geoffrey, his favorite man

Before Christmas 2012 in my father's room with his hat on

The rest of this will be photos of the little one. Hope you enjoy!

Sleeping in my Dad's car waiting for me

My scruffy men!!

Yes, I love you too, Bonaparte

Chez Giles and Susan, with Chantal, Giles and Papa

I know you're leaving so I'm hiding

On a boat ride! 4-13

On the porch with Papa

It's raining. I'm sleepy

Frank, Ruben and Boney played hard today 4-13

So Much Happening In The Life of a Puppy

Makes you wonder what they're planning...

Rubin pleading, enough already Bonaparte!

Bonaparte had his first sleep over and it lasted almost four days! I had a writer's conference to go to. My husband had work, school, and then he joined me in Florida for the last two days of the conference, so Boney spent those days with his friends Rubin and Frank, the schnauzers. He did quite well, and the human in charge, Brad, didn't lose any (more) hair over the extended duties of three instead of two dogs.
Not only did Boney do well and not send Brad over the edge, but he came home and went right back to our usual routine with little or no fuss. What a puppy! I do SO love this animal.

Graduation at PetsMart, how silly is that hat!

Bonaparte has graduated from Beginning Puppy Training. We start the Intermediate level at the end of November. I work with him every day to try and keep up the good habits we've started, could do a bit better, so will make an effort there.
I'm sure he's over five pounds now, but haven't been in to the vets to weigh. Bonaparte is longer, as is his hair/fur, and he's starting to have white hair/fur grow in places like his head and back. He's already a bit blond on his legs and feet, so we wonder what he's going to look like when he's a year old. That's the age we were told he will more or less look like he's going to look, without baby hair/fur.

Brad sure makes a good pillow/bed.

Frank keeps an eye on Bonaparte.

Life is full with this bundle of energy speeding around the house. He's well into being fully house broken, but still having an issue telling us WHEN he needs to go, before he goes! I take him out regularly and that's why he's doing so well. I'm also trying to train him to go out to his little fenced in area to do his business instead of me having to take him out front. We have a door we leave open that allows him to come and go as he pleases, and since he's been home from Rubin and Franks, he goes out alone a lot more. Luckily I can see him from the kitchen window so I can still, as my niece used to say "watch an eye" on him!
That's our update for this week. Until the next here's some more-than-cute photos to hold you over.

Looking all kingly on the porch in the sun.

Mom just loves to photograph me, ho hum.

I love to sleep. I have little beds all over the place.

Happy Fifth "Month-iversary" Bonaparte!

My day today!

Bonaparte is five months old today!!! And look how fuzzy he’s gotten. He always was fuzzy, but is even more so now without being a total fur ball. 

Last weight on the 8^th of this month was 4.8 pounds. He hasn’t yet hit the big 5, but will in the next month or so I’m sure. He is making great progress on house breaking. He’s responding well to the training we’re taking at PetsMart and we are considering signing up for the next level, intermediate. I think it would be beneficial for both/all of us if we continue. He likes it (well, really likes the treats!) and I feel it will make our life together much easier if he listens and obeys.

Day we brought him home at 10 weeks

 Bonaparte loves it when ‘Papa’ gets home and spends about 15 to 20 minutes playing with him. They have bonded quite well now. He loves cuddling, chewing on his ‘bones,’ and his new ramp and play area outside. He also likes eating dirt, so we have to watch his diet outside!

 

Today five months old!

Not three months old yet

I am trying to make sure we spend an hour or so apart every day to try and help with the separation anxiety he seems to have a bit of. He’ll really have to get over it at the end of this week when I head off for a writer’s conference in Florida. He’ll be staying with Rubin and Frank, his schnauzer pals down the way for the majority of four days. Good luck dear friends and thanks for taking him on!

Outside on the deck loving the sun, but not in my eyes.

 

Bonaparte’s Hat

A few days ago a friend mentioned that she thought Boney’s name fit him perfectly, as his ears were like Napoleon’s hat. I looked online to see if this might actually be true or just a funny, and, in some instances one can see, if one tries very hard, that Boney’s ears are doing the whole stick-out-on-the-side thing that Napoleon’s hat does. I included a few photos here so you can see what I mean.

 We have signed up for puppy training classes and will start in September! I’m looking forward to these as I want to do right by our pup and have both of us well trained. He is doing great on the housebreaking front, considering he is three months old and we’ve had him, tomorrow, for a whole month (4 weeks)! Celebration! Yea! He is still sleeping through the night and responding to his routine.

Boney continues to relish his visits to his friends’ Frank and Ruben’s house and their yard. They all get along better each time we go and Boney is starting to feel quite at home there. I’m glad, as their “mom and dad” have offered to “puppy sit” if we need them to. Frank and Ruben’s house is fast becoming his second home.

Boney will take his first LONG trip this weekend (eight hours) as we head north to North Carolina for Labor Day weekend. I hope he’ll travel well for that long of a distance. Wish us luck! I’m looking forward to him meeting the rest of the family and hopefully finding a new friend in my sister’s family dog, Louis, who is a Shih Tzu and adorable too.

Okay, I’m going to go steam some broccoli and see if Mr. Bonaparte wants something to eat. He’s been sleeping most of the day after a wild time with Frank and Ruben!

 

Images of Bonaparte from:

http://thesuperabridgedcountofmontecristo.blogspot.com/2012/03/chapter-1-ship-of-ghostly-dreams.html

mennonitedreams.blogspot.com

And They Called it Puppy Love…

Because I am in  LOVE with this puppy, who, by the way is on his fourth name. Well, it’s not really so much a name change as using a first name instead of a last. Napoleon is coming much easier to the lip than Bonaparte. And “Napi” or “Napo” are the two we’ve been using for shorts. So, maybe he has a real name now.

Took Napo to the vet a few days ago because he was itching so much and there were no fleas to be found, for which I am very thankful! In this heat fleas would be a total disaster. Little Bit got a clean bill of health and I got lots of information about what I can do and what I shouldn't do with him. Granted, my vet, who also has a dachshund, said that she was “one to talk” when she didn’t pay any attention to the advice she was given in taking care and training her own! But I am doing my best to pay attention not only to her advice, but also the advice my friends (from whom we got Napo) gave me as well. Nancy gave me two sheets of instructions about house breaking and crate training, both of which I am doing my best to implement. They seem very common sense-icle (There’s a Joss Whedon “Buffy-ism” for you!) and we're having varying degrees of success. He’s already well on in the house breaking category, and uses his ‘pads’ more often than not. But he still slips up, even though I’m getting better at getting him outside after he eats. So far his hardheadedness is showing when it comes to going outside. He’ll pee but the pooing not so much. I feel like I’m re-inventing the wheel!

On Laydi's bed, our previous lab/border collie. Napo is so tiny!

We’ve had a bit of a rough patch, but Napo finally slept most of the night in his crate last night! This was after two distressing nights of him howling, pooing and peeing in his crate. Yesterday he slept ALL morning long and didn’t eat anything to speak of. He was so stressed out! 

Of course we put the crate in our room last night and maybe that made a difference. We shall see if he does a repeat performance tonight. It was wonderful to have him sleep and not be miserable all night, us too!

Today he’s actually eaten well and played and slept and acted like a normal unstressed puppy. He follows me almost everywhere I go, except when he wants to play coquettish and won’t come when I want him to! We’ll be working on that as soon too. Okay, I’m off to take Napo out. Have a good one…