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 News in September

So, it’s over time for an update on our little-getting-bigger (sort of) Bonaparte puppy, who is cuter than real life expects to be. Boney is now four months old and at last weigh-in had reached 4.2 pounds! That means he’s gained half a pound since I picked him up on July 31. He has a clean bill of health from Dr. McCall so we are happy.

 

News is: 

Louis

We went to NC for Labor Day and Boney traveled like a pro. No problems whatsoever, and once we arrived, he met a new friend and found a bevvy of admirers! 

He played well with Louis (our other family dog, a Shih tzu) and not only adapted well but enjoyed living at the Buie-Jennings household. 

                                                 

He loved meeting his "brother and sister" Tristan and Marjorie, and making them fall head over for him...

 

 

I finally braved up and clipped his nails by myself for the first time, and didn’t hurt him!

 We have found a food he LOVES and he’s now eating like he actually likes to instead of because he must. Cleans his bowl every time. This magical food is Blue Buffalo “Wilderness” puppy food. http://www.bluebuffalo.com/dog-food/wilderness-puppy

I wonder how much he’ll weigh next time since he's decided to really partake of food!

We are taking Puppy Training classes at PetsMart! http://pets.petsmart.com/services/training/

This is exciting for me because Boney is starting to respond (especially when treats are involved!) and it’s making life so much easier for all of us. Plus it’s so fun to see his little self in there with the monster (big but gorgeous and gentle) long-haired German Sheppard and the sweet natured Bloodhound. Boney looks like a toy dog next to them! We’ve learned “Watch me”, “Leave it (or ‘Laisse le’, which is the same thing in French, yes he’s a bilingual dog!)”, “Sit”, and “With me (which is how I tell him to walk with me)”. He had already learned to go to his crate when I say “In the Crate” to him since I started that almost right away. Our next class is this coming Monday. We’ve been practicing every day, so our trainer will be happy with us.

Boney likes to look out the window of my office while I work. I put a little box down reversed so he can use it as a step up to the windowsill and he loves it. I keep his crate in the office as well while I work and when he gets sleepy he abandons me for it and takes a nap. We have a little routine going now.

So, that is the newest news on the little tyke and his adventures.

Images from:

http://www.bluebuffalo.com/

http://stores.petsmart.com/Store/Details/1442

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

Benji Look Alike or Not?

I’ve had two people come up to me in the last week and say Boney looks like Benji. I remembered Benji was cute and scruffy so I went home and looked him up on the internet. To a point I can see the resemblance, cute and scruffy. Time will tell if Bonaparte will really get that hairy, but the sweet face and the “look” are there. I hope Boney keeps his cuteness because he is, to me, absolutely adorable, especially when he comes running when I call him and wants hugs!

We’ve been using the halter for a week. I tried using it only when we went out to do “business” and that was a flop. He got to the point where he didn’t want to go out to do anything like business and fought me each time we did. So, three days ago I started him wearing it all the time except at night, and voila, we are having more success! He still hates it, but is tolerating it better now and is even enjoying our little outings to get business done. I’ve also found that since he’s holding longer, I don’t have to take him out so much. It seems to defeat the purpose to take him out all the time when half the time he won’t go, just wants to explore and chew on anything he can find. So we’re going out less and that also has equaled more success. The only accidents he’s had in the last two days were my fault for not taking him out in time. My only excuse, and it is just that, is I’m still adjusting to the schedule! The other thing I’m happy about when it comes to the harness is that after three days of him wearing it all day and looking at me with a heart wrenching (yes dramatic I know) pitiful expression, he once again cuddles up to me, licks me and loves all over me like he did before. Guess he’s realizing the harness isn’t a punishment…

Crate training continues to progress amazingly well. He now loves his crate (I wouldn’t have believed that he could two weeks ago) and even goes in without me saying a word. Like right this minute, he went in while I’m here working and is passed out, even with the halter on! I thank the powers that be, and discipline, for actually working.

Boney is sleeping through the night now (hope I haven’t just jinxed myself!) and doesn’t start making sounds until after 6:30 am. I aim for at least 15 minutes to a few hours a day apart from him because I want to avoid him having separation anxiety (which I’m told he might have since we’ve bonded so completely). We have our play time after dinner. He follows me or Geoffrey almost everywhere we go. Three weeks into this, I am a very happy puppy lover! He's growing on G.

Benji image from:

 luckymojo.com

Boney Update!

 Bonaparte turned 3 months old on the 15^th!!!! (of course it was the day my internet was completely down, grr) We’ve had an eventful week and this coming week is already, I hope, looking promising. Little Bit, or Boney as we call him, went with us to a Puppy Orientation class this weekend. At first I didn’t think we were going to learn anything new, but as the session progressed we did. We’ve put some of the practices the trainer talked to us about into motion this weekend, tailored to our pup. Boney seems to be responding well, most of the time. Like not putting down water all day long but only when he eats. That will change once he’s housebroken. And using the crate as a place for him to stay if he hasn’t gone poo or pee after he eats, in intervals. We take him out, wait 3 (I wait five) minutes. If he doesn’t go take him back in and put him in the crate for (five) minutes, then take him back out until he gets the message that when he goes he gets to roam. Here is where his stubbornness shows. He’s decided he’ll stay in the crate until he’s ready to go pee or poo. So, that’s what he does and we’re learning his voiding schedule and when I should take him out according to that. That way he doesn’t have to stay in the crate if he doesn’t want to. We’re working together, but I’m still bigger than he is!

Had our second visit to the vet. Boney hasn’t gained any weight, still 3.6, but the vet said he’s in really good condition and getting enough nutrition. She isn’t worried about his weight. In three weeks she’ll be able to see what his pattern will be and give a guess on what size he could eventually reach. He took his shots like a trooper and made everyone who saw him fall in love with him, duh! The vet also counseled me on staying consistent with him.

As he has become more bold and wanting to wander when it’s time to go out for a pit stop, we decided it was time to get a halter. We tried the collar a few weeks ago and he had a hissy fit and fell in it. The harness isn’t liked any better but I’m holding firm and after two days he is starting to respond instead of just sitting there with ears and tail down with a “why are you doing this to me?” look on his sweet little expressive face. He is as hard-headed as I’ve heard Dachshunds can be, but hey, I’m a mom. I can do this, right? I am hard-headed too, so we make a pair.

I am really concentrating on schedules and consistency and that seems to help a lot both for him and me. We’ve started serious crate training and he is REALLY responding well to that, of course, because he likes the treats! He is also starting to respond to “Boney, come” and “Calm down.” He needs the “calm down” one because he gets so excited when we’ve been apart for awhile and I want him to settle down before I pick him up or open the gate to his room.

The best part though, is how he is sleeping through the night in his crate!!!! My good boy! Five days now and he’s doing great. I wouldn’t have believed it in the beginning, but the consistency is really paying off. He can hold everything all night now and some mornings he sleeps until 6:45 or so! Yea! I’m a happy puppy owner right now!

Hope you enjoy the new photos!

What If...?

Dad look-alike

Okay, time for a puppy update, mainly because I found some photos online that show what our little bit might end up looking like. So this is a “What If?” scenario.

Mom look-alike

I found some photos of what his parents look like or resemble.
These are the ones that looked the closest to "Zeno" and “Bella."

In this photo the hair length is a possibility but not the color…

Maybe this one might come closer? I’m placing my bet that our little one might look similar to this, because the coloring is more like Boney's.

Yes, Boney seems to be the name that has stuck. Here is a look at our boy from this weekend at friends Rubin and Frank's house... That's Rubin distracting Boney while the photo is taken. I've known these Schnauzers for years and never thought of them as "big" but Boney puts a twist on that!

So, I'm excited and can’t wait to see if he actually ends up resembling any of these photos. I guess in a few months we’ll know because the puppy here is 8 months old and Boney will be 3 months old next week! I'll keep you posted. Ha ha, pun intended!

We're still working on the house breaking, and today was a good day! I hope tonight goes better than the last few....

Photos from:

 napervillehumanesociety.org

 animalku.com

 dogbehavioronline.com

maltesemaniac.com