Gosh there's been way way way too much stuff to tell you all about Derby. Let me do my best... and I'm going to cheat and do it in list form since that's the fastest and easiest:
-he got neutered
-he's losing most of his grey and is now mostly white/beige-ish
-he got A LOT bigger (maybe around 15lbs now? guessing)
-he still has a bad "i'm going to bite you so you'll play with me" complex
-we take him to dog parks often
-we take him to visit our friends' dogs often
-he's pretty much potty trained completely now
-he comes to work everyday for at least part of the day
-he loves loves loves to stick his whole upper body out of the window during car rides
-we get frustrated with his stubborness and his bad habits on a daily basis
-but we love him to death!
If I were to write a short blurb about Derby for a Personals page I'd probably say:
Super energetic dog looking for playmates at all times of the day. If you're not into leashed walks but enjoy long trips to the dog park I'm your pup! Easy to train if you have treats, don't bother me if you don't. I'll eat just about anything and I love just about everybody... just be careful, I bite if you ignore me! I'm a sweet dog with a loooot of energy just looking for fun fun FUN!
Friday, August 1, 2008
7 Weeks Later...
I refuse to let this blog die. Some days I've wanted to write about Derby and I've loaded up the page and the first thing on top was the post about my Dad. It would just bring back the flood of emotions from that first day that it happened... so fresh, so raw still... and I couldn't do anything but close the window and leave the writing for another day.
So 7 weeks have passed since my Dad passed away. I can't believe it... 7 weeks. It feels like it just happened a few days ago. Hell it feels like it didn't even happen and that I'll walk into work one morning and he'll be sitting there, sipping his coffee, reading his newspaper as he would so often be doing by the time I got there. But what more can be said? I miss him, my mom misses him... everybody misses him. I think about him every few minutes. Sometimes coming in to work in the morning is agonizing because I expect to see him there. Sometimes I cry for almost no reason because something so small will remind me of him. Like the time I cried in Circuit City because they were showing Top Gun (one of his faves!). I have pictures of him that I got from my mom, but I can't even bring myself to put them up anywhere in my house yet.
There's a lot more that I can and want to say about it, and maybe as time passes I'll write more... if for no other reason than for me to get it off my chest, out of my head, and written down somewhere so that someday I can go back and read it all again... and remember. Remember how I felt, what I thought, what I went through. So I guess that's a warning to all of you... this blog is now 50% serious posts about my feelings and 50% posts about Derby (he's doing well! thanks for asking!).
So just know that I'll be updating the blog again... in fact I'm gonna write a separate blog entry right now to update you all on Derby. To anybody reading this... I hope you're doing well, I know I've been pretty MIA lately.
So 7 weeks have passed since my Dad passed away. I can't believe it... 7 weeks. It feels like it just happened a few days ago. Hell it feels like it didn't even happen and that I'll walk into work one morning and he'll be sitting there, sipping his coffee, reading his newspaper as he would so often be doing by the time I got there. But what more can be said? I miss him, my mom misses him... everybody misses him. I think about him every few minutes. Sometimes coming in to work in the morning is agonizing because I expect to see him there. Sometimes I cry for almost no reason because something so small will remind me of him. Like the time I cried in Circuit City because they were showing Top Gun (one of his faves!). I have pictures of him that I got from my mom, but I can't even bring myself to put them up anywhere in my house yet.
There's a lot more that I can and want to say about it, and maybe as time passes I'll write more... if for no other reason than for me to get it off my chest, out of my head, and written down somewhere so that someday I can go back and read it all again... and remember. Remember how I felt, what I thought, what I went through. So I guess that's a warning to all of you... this blog is now 50% serious posts about my feelings and 50% posts about Derby (he's doing well! thanks for asking!).
So just know that I'll be updating the blog again... in fact I'm gonna write a separate blog entry right now to update you all on Derby. To anybody reading this... I hope you're doing well, I know I've been pretty MIA lately.
Friday, June 13, 2008
4/24/47 - 6/13/08
I'm not sure this is a fitting place to post something like this, but most of my friends read this page so it seems like the best place to do it. It'll be easier than telling each and every one of you individually.
This morning at 2am my father passed away. His surgery had gone relatively well, and he had just spent all of Thursday at home for the first time in a couple weeks. However, at night he complained of a severe shortness of breath. By the time the ambulance got him to the ER, he had already bled too much. Something in or around his heart gave way and he bled into his chest. My mom was with him when he passed, and my brother and I made it to the ER shortly after.
When I gather some strength I will write more. But I thank you guys ahead of time for keeping me and my family in your thoughts and prayers.
This morning at 2am my father passed away. His surgery had gone relatively well, and he had just spent all of Thursday at home for the first time in a couple weeks. However, at night he complained of a severe shortness of breath. By the time the ambulance got him to the ER, he had already bled too much. Something in or around his heart gave way and he bled into his chest. My mom was with him when he passed, and my brother and I made it to the ER shortly after.
When I gather some strength I will write more. But I thank you guys ahead of time for keeping me and my family in your thoughts and prayers.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Life can be a mean bitch
I am exhausted.
... What a week. Some of you know what's going on, some of you don't. I'm not going to get into the details of it in a blog, but long story short, my dad had to have open heart surgery again. He already had a valve replaced once about 5 years ago, but it recently got infected and needed to be replaced again. The last few days have been excrutiating, knowing he needed the emergency surgery and not knowing if he would make it.
Do you tell him everything you want to tell him just in case it's the last time you talk to him? Or do you maintain the confidence and optimism to keep his spirits up?
I just got back from the hospital. He had his surgery early this morning and it was a long procedure. For now he's critical but stable, and the next 4 or 5 days are going to be crucial to see if he'll be ok or not... he better be ok...
Thank god for my wife and my mom or I wouldn't know what to do. Oh, and this being a puppy blog I better thank Derby too. It's nice coming home to him to take away some of the stress.
... What a week. Some of you know what's going on, some of you don't. I'm not going to get into the details of it in a blog, but long story short, my dad had to have open heart surgery again. He already had a valve replaced once about 5 years ago, but it recently got infected and needed to be replaced again. The last few days have been excrutiating, knowing he needed the emergency surgery and not knowing if he would make it.
Do you tell him everything you want to tell him just in case it's the last time you talk to him? Or do you maintain the confidence and optimism to keep his spirits up?
I just got back from the hospital. He had his surgery early this morning and it was a long procedure. For now he's critical but stable, and the next 4 or 5 days are going to be crucial to see if he'll be ok or not... he better be ok...
Thank god for my wife and my mom or I wouldn't know what to do. Oh, and this being a puppy blog I better thank Derby too. It's nice coming home to him to take away some of the stress.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Lazy I am
So did I ever mention I'm good at starting blogs, but terrible at keeping them updated? Basically I've been way too freakin' lazy to update this thing and that's why there's been no recap of the camping trip. It's way too far past now to recap in detail so I'll just say: we ate a ton of good food, we had way too many supplies as nobody trusted anybody else to bring their share, we had a really good time, and I didn't catch any fish despite being able to see some huge fish swimming 3 feet away from me. Overall, A+, will do it again for sure!
On to more recent activities... Derby had a crazy busy weekend (as did we). Let's have a recap!
It starts on thursday night when our good friends Brian and Elissa come by to drop their dog Bailey off before they head out to Vegas for the long weekend. Bailey is a cute Bichon-Poodle mix and is about the same size as Derby (~10lbs or so). The boys immediately start "playing" with each other... which is actually a strange mix of gay-loving and fighting. They basically alternate humping each other with some wrestling and play biting thrown in. Totally awesome homo-erotic stuff. This pretty much continues non stop until bedtime.
Friday morning the boys pick up where they left off with more playing and fighting. Tritia practically wants to shoot herself from the loud barking and whining, but she soldiers on (reluctantly, hehe). By the afternoon the boys are much better as they're starting to get bored with each other. By the time I get home from work at 4, they are chilled out and can handle just walking around and sitting near each other. I do some dog whisperer shit and have them sit together and do tricks together... it's good times! Unfortunately the truce is short lived and more play fighting happens intermittently. Overall though it looks like they're having a lot of fun together.
Saturday is basically more of the same with me confined to a 10'x10' section of our living room with both dogs all day. I could leave if I choose, but the ensuing whining and crying would have the neighbors up in arms... so, I choose to stay. All day the cycle continues... play fight for 30 minutes, go find something to chew on for 15 minutes, play fight for another 30 minutes, be happy with each other for 15 minutes and sniff around/do tricks, then chill out/nap for an hour, rinse, repeat. By the end of the day both pups are totally exhausted and pass out. So do I.
Sunday is more of the same until Brian and Elissa make it back from Vegas. They pick Bailey up and the world returns to normal. That all changes again on Monday, however. We decide to take Derby to visit Susan and her dog Siku. Siku is a gorgeous 65 pound Husky. Yeah, 65 pounds. I'm not sure why we thought it would be a good idea, but in retrospect... not so much. Derby was freaked out by the sheer size of Siku and decided he would spend the day under the patio chairs and tables and behind the bushes and trees. Siku, sweet as he is, just wanted to play with Derby and when he got the chance would try to chase Derby and swat him with his paw playfully. Too bad 65 pounds of playful sends 10 lbs of Derby flying. Long story short, not much playtime was had, and Derby was too scared to even pee in Siku's territory. Yeah... maybe we'll see you again when Derby is 20+lbs Siku!
So that's the weekend in a nutshell. I really think Derby is a new dog after the weekend... in a good way. Actually, he did pick up two new habits that are sort of bad. The first is that he now goes potty on the concrete because that's where Bailey went. Totally not Bailey's fault in any way... he was in a new place and going outside was the best we could settle for... but yeah, Derby used to jump into the dirt and potty up there ONLY. We'll see if this behavior continues. The second bad habit is he'll now jump up and chill on the couch. This isn't a huge problem and we're ok with it... he just didn't really do it before. Once again Derby's just copying Bailey who always hangs out on the couch.
As for positives... Derby is much more chilled out. Not sure why... maybe he realizes he's not the only dog in the world. Or maybe he realizes that if he's not a good puppy then we can replace him with another dog, haha. There was some jealousy in competing for attention over the weekend though, so maybe something clicked. Who knows? But yeah, he's been great the last couple of days and just seems much more mellow... actually, I hope he's not sick. Blech. He's also much more affectionate than before. Just another thing he picked up from Bailey I think. Bailey is much more of an "inside-the-house-lap-dog" type puppy, whereas Derby always has access to the outdoors and likes to run and get dirty in the plants and mud. So Bailey is much more clingy and all about cuddling up on the couch and stuff... Derby never did that kind of crap until this last weekend. Good stuff! It makes me feel wanted. *tear*
So I have some pictures to post when I'm not too lazy to upload them. Until then, I hope you enjoyed my picture-less block of text.
On to more recent activities... Derby had a crazy busy weekend (as did we). Let's have a recap!
It starts on thursday night when our good friends Brian and Elissa come by to drop their dog Bailey off before they head out to Vegas for the long weekend. Bailey is a cute Bichon-Poodle mix and is about the same size as Derby (~10lbs or so). The boys immediately start "playing" with each other... which is actually a strange mix of gay-loving and fighting. They basically alternate humping each other with some wrestling and play biting thrown in. Totally awesome homo-erotic stuff. This pretty much continues non stop until bedtime.
Friday morning the boys pick up where they left off with more playing and fighting. Tritia practically wants to shoot herself from the loud barking and whining, but she soldiers on (reluctantly, hehe). By the afternoon the boys are much better as they're starting to get bored with each other. By the time I get home from work at 4, they are chilled out and can handle just walking around and sitting near each other. I do some dog whisperer shit and have them sit together and do tricks together... it's good times! Unfortunately the truce is short lived and more play fighting happens intermittently. Overall though it looks like they're having a lot of fun together.
Saturday is basically more of the same with me confined to a 10'x10' section of our living room with both dogs all day. I could leave if I choose, but the ensuing whining and crying would have the neighbors up in arms... so, I choose to stay. All day the cycle continues... play fight for 30 minutes, go find something to chew on for 15 minutes, play fight for another 30 minutes, be happy with each other for 15 minutes and sniff around/do tricks, then chill out/nap for an hour, rinse, repeat. By the end of the day both pups are totally exhausted and pass out. So do I.
Sunday is more of the same until Brian and Elissa make it back from Vegas. They pick Bailey up and the world returns to normal. That all changes again on Monday, however. We decide to take Derby to visit Susan and her dog Siku. Siku is a gorgeous 65 pound Husky. Yeah, 65 pounds. I'm not sure why we thought it would be a good idea, but in retrospect... not so much. Derby was freaked out by the sheer size of Siku and decided he would spend the day under the patio chairs and tables and behind the bushes and trees. Siku, sweet as he is, just wanted to play with Derby and when he got the chance would try to chase Derby and swat him with his paw playfully. Too bad 65 pounds of playful sends 10 lbs of Derby flying. Long story short, not much playtime was had, and Derby was too scared to even pee in Siku's territory. Yeah... maybe we'll see you again when Derby is 20+lbs Siku!
So that's the weekend in a nutshell. I really think Derby is a new dog after the weekend... in a good way. Actually, he did pick up two new habits that are sort of bad. The first is that he now goes potty on the concrete because that's where Bailey went. Totally not Bailey's fault in any way... he was in a new place and going outside was the best we could settle for... but yeah, Derby used to jump into the dirt and potty up there ONLY. We'll see if this behavior continues. The second bad habit is he'll now jump up and chill on the couch. This isn't a huge problem and we're ok with it... he just didn't really do it before. Once again Derby's just copying Bailey who always hangs out on the couch.
As for positives... Derby is much more chilled out. Not sure why... maybe he realizes he's not the only dog in the world. Or maybe he realizes that if he's not a good puppy then we can replace him with another dog, haha. There was some jealousy in competing for attention over the weekend though, so maybe something clicked. Who knows? But yeah, he's been great the last couple of days and just seems much more mellow... actually, I hope he's not sick. Blech. He's also much more affectionate than before. Just another thing he picked up from Bailey I think. Bailey is much more of an "inside-the-house-lap-dog" type puppy, whereas Derby always has access to the outdoors and likes to run and get dirty in the plants and mud. So Bailey is much more clingy and all about cuddling up on the couch and stuff... Derby never did that kind of crap until this last weekend. Good stuff! It makes me feel wanted. *tear*
So I have some pictures to post when I'm not too lazy to upload them. Until then, I hope you enjoyed my picture-less block of text.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Friday Bullets
- Yay, it's friday!
- This week, that means camping for a group of 12 of us. Which also means lots of beer, sausages, bbq, snacks, and my personal favorite, fishing!
- Unfortunately, it also means Derby is at home, alone. :( My cousins/roommates have volunteered to take care of him, but I'm sure he won't be getting as much loving as normal. Poor Derby, I'm going to miss him!
- Lakers vs Jazz game 6 of their playoff matchup tonight. First Laker game this playoffs I won't be watching... better win it!
- I hated the first Chronicles of Narnia movie. I would've given it a D at best... yet here I am debating going to see the second one when it comes out. Apparently it's "more violent", has better effects/more cool scenes, and is general not really a children's movie anymore. I might give it a shot, though I'm not sure anything can live up to my desire for more Lord of the Rings. Damn you Peter Jackson! You've ruined me for life!
- Speaking of movies... I still need to freaking watch Iron Man. It got good reviews from both the critics and the viewers. Anybody seen it and want to comment?
- Watch Lost. No really, watch Lost. All of the episodes are online at abc.com. This season has been ridiculous good.
- Almost time to leave for camping and it's freaking hot. Have a good weekend everybody!
- This week, that means camping for a group of 12 of us. Which also means lots of beer, sausages, bbq, snacks, and my personal favorite, fishing!
- Unfortunately, it also means Derby is at home, alone. :( My cousins/roommates have volunteered to take care of him, but I'm sure he won't be getting as much loving as normal. Poor Derby, I'm going to miss him!
- Lakers vs Jazz game 6 of their playoff matchup tonight. First Laker game this playoffs I won't be watching... better win it!
- I hated the first Chronicles of Narnia movie. I would've given it a D at best... yet here I am debating going to see the second one when it comes out. Apparently it's "more violent", has better effects/more cool scenes, and is general not really a children's movie anymore. I might give it a shot, though I'm not sure anything can live up to my desire for more Lord of the Rings. Damn you Peter Jackson! You've ruined me for life!
- Speaking of movies... I still need to freaking watch Iron Man. It got good reviews from both the critics and the viewers. Anybody seen it and want to comment?
- Watch Lost. No really, watch Lost. All of the episodes are online at abc.com. This season has been ridiculous good.
- Almost time to leave for camping and it's freaking hot. Have a good weekend everybody!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Vet Trip #2
Saturday morning was vet trip #2 for the Derbster. He got his second set of shots and we got to ask a ton of questions. Derby was pretty good with the vet... no crying when he got his shot so all went well. Unfortunately Derby was diagnosed with Giardia. It's nothing too serious but it could lead to some diarrhea and stuff (basically it's what you can get drinking out of a stream or the tap in Mexico). Anyway, he's already on his treatment plan which is 5 days of some powdery medicine mixed with his food.
Oh, Derby also weighed in at a hefty 9lbs... a full 4lbs heavier than when we bought him. He gained 4 lbs in less than a month! Sounds like his owner. :(
Anyhow, I'm already counting down the days until he gets his third (and last) set of shots. After that we can take him out on walks, to dog parks, and to meet other dogs. I can't wait! Hopefully that'll help us burn off some of his crazy puppy energy.
Oh, Derby also weighed in at a hefty 9lbs... a full 4lbs heavier than when we bought him. He gained 4 lbs in less than a month! Sounds like his owner. :(
Anyhow, I'm already counting down the days until he gets his third (and last) set of shots. After that we can take him out on walks, to dog parks, and to meet other dogs. I can't wait! Hopefully that'll help us burn off some of his crazy puppy energy.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Super Awesome
Name Voyager
Check it out, it's super cooool. Basically it graphs baby names and their popularity over the years. It's really interesting. Some fun things to check out:
1. Look up "John"... crazy how popular it used to be and how it has steadily declined over the century. Ditto for "James".
2. Woot, Johan rising baby!!!
3. Look up some foreign names, like Juan or Miguel... immigration much?
4. I wonder what causes these naming trends. A famous celeb? Let me check... whoa Angelina with a sharp increase... sadly, no Beyonce in the top 1000.
5. I guess people are just generally going for different names. Almost all the old standbys, such as Johan, David, Robert, Jennifer, etc are decreasing (though still popular).
6. Anything else you notice? Post in the comments!
Check it out, it's super cooool. Basically it graphs baby names and their popularity over the years. It's really interesting. Some fun things to check out:
1. Look up "John"... crazy how popular it used to be and how it has steadily declined over the century. Ditto for "James".
2. Woot, Johan rising baby!!!
3. Look up some foreign names, like Juan or Miguel... immigration much?
4. I wonder what causes these naming trends. A famous celeb? Let me check... whoa Angelina with a sharp increase... sadly, no Beyonce in the top 1000.
5. I guess people are just generally going for different names. Almost all the old standbys, such as Johan, David, Robert, Jennifer, etc are decreasing (though still popular).
6. Anything else you notice? Post in the comments!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
What the...
Disclaimer: This is a pg-13 blog. No sex toy pictures have been or will be posted.
Top row:
1. Kong toy - hollow rubber thingy that you fill with food treats to keep your puppy busy.
2. Dil... errr, plastic bone - Derby really doesn't like this thing at all, junk.
Middle row:
3. Big pork bone - a $4 scam.
4. Big pork bone - after 2 days of Derby exposure.
Bottom row:
5. Smoked pig ear - supposed to last awhile, Derby goes through them in about an hour.
6. A stuffed puppy. Once cute and fluffy, now just defiled.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Tuesday Bullets 5/6/08
- Derby is big. I'm gonna try to weigh him later tonight but I'm pretty sure he has close to doubled his size since we got him... which was just 3 weeks or so ago.
- We saw a guy order a burrito at Chipotle yesterday with no rice or beans, but with double the meat (two different kinds). I heard him say he'd pay more... I wonder how much cuz I'm totally gonna order one of those next time I'm in there.
- So that burrito guy was white, the Chipotle server was Mexican but spoke average English at best... and he ordered from her in white-ized-broken-ass-stupid-sounding Spanish. What's the verdict? Better to order in Spanish or English at that point?
- Dog treats and toys are expensive. Seriously though... they sell little stuffed animals, that you can get for 50 cents in downtown LA, for $5.99 because they label them "chew toys for your teething puppy!" and freaking pig/cow bones for $4 to $10 because they're for dogs. I mean, what the hell, you can get the actual steak for that much. What a scam.
- I fall for scams.
- We're getting granite counter tops installed today. Yay! (not a scam)
- Is it wrong to only speak to God/Buddha/Allah/P Diddy/Jesus/Your Deity of Choice in times of need? Or do you need to pop in once in awhile just to say hi, ya know, to keep that line of communication open?
- We saw a guy order a burrito at Chipotle yesterday with no rice or beans, but with double the meat (two different kinds). I heard him say he'd pay more... I wonder how much cuz I'm totally gonna order one of those next time I'm in there.
- So that burrito guy was white, the Chipotle server was Mexican but spoke average English at best... and he ordered from her in white-ized-broken-ass-stupid-sounding Spanish. What's the verdict? Better to order in Spanish or English at that point?
- Dog treats and toys are expensive. Seriously though... they sell little stuffed animals, that you can get for 50 cents in downtown LA, for $5.99 because they label them "chew toys for your teething puppy!" and freaking pig/cow bones for $4 to $10 because they're for dogs. I mean, what the hell, you can get the actual steak for that much. What a scam.
- I fall for scams.
- We're getting granite counter tops installed today. Yay! (not a scam)
- Is it wrong to only speak to God/Buddha/Allah/P Diddy/Jesus/Your Deity of Choice in times of need? Or do you need to pop in once in awhile just to say hi, ya know, to keep that line of communication open?
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Updating the last week
Ok, I realize I totally suck at updating blogs. I'm all into it for the first few posts and then I just kind of get bored with it. Well, it's more like I just don't think there's that much interesting stuff to post about. I guess it would help with this particular blog if I didn't make it all about Derby... that way I could talk about things like the latest Dear Margo article that I read (hey man, I'm all about self improvement). So maybe I'll do just that. In short, if you don't want to read my crap, simply skip any post that doesn't start with "Derby blah blah blah".
Having said that, I'll update ya'll on Derby's progress this week. Last weekend we took Derby on a day long trip up to my parents' house in PV. There were a billion viet cong there for my nephew's birthday party so Derby was going nuts... at least he didn't get eaten. Highlights of the day: Derby getting loose and running out of the back yard into the front yard and back in through the front door with us running behind him screaming at him to not go into the street, me putting Derby into the swimming pool and making him swim a few feet to get out, and Derby not pooping all day so he could take a gigantastic deuce at home (can't blame him, I don't like to deuce in foreign locations either).
In more firsts, we gave him his first bath on Sunday... it was not his favorite part of the week. Frankly he looks like a rat when he's wet and his fur is all flat. Derby also has begun taking walks around the block with us. He hasn't finished his shots so we are very careful not to let him get into any dog poo, and overall things are going smoothly. He hates passing by the house with the barking dogs though, it freaks him out. I hope that doesn't mean I have a p*ssy of a dog... we shall see.
I totally need to start taking more pictures, but to be honest I'm just too lazy. There's no way I'm running upstairs to grab the camera to come back to have missed the Kodak moment. What's that you say? Keep the camera nearby? Meh, I'll think about it.
Having said that, I'll update ya'll on Derby's progress this week. Last weekend we took Derby on a day long trip up to my parents' house in PV. There were a billion viet cong there for my nephew's birthday party so Derby was going nuts... at least he didn't get eaten. Highlights of the day: Derby getting loose and running out of the back yard into the front yard and back in through the front door with us running behind him screaming at him to not go into the street, me putting Derby into the swimming pool and making him swim a few feet to get out, and Derby not pooping all day so he could take a gigantastic deuce at home (can't blame him, I don't like to deuce in foreign locations either).
In more firsts, we gave him his first bath on Sunday... it was not his favorite part of the week. Frankly he looks like a rat when he's wet and his fur is all flat. Derby also has begun taking walks around the block with us. He hasn't finished his shots so we are very careful not to let him get into any dog poo, and overall things are going smoothly. He hates passing by the house with the barking dogs though, it freaks him out. I hope that doesn't mean I have a p*ssy of a dog... we shall see.
I totally need to start taking more pictures, but to be honest I'm just too lazy. There's no way I'm running upstairs to grab the camera to come back to have missed the Kodak moment. What's that you say? Keep the camera nearby? Meh, I'll think about it.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Must... stay... strong...
I guess the novelty and the "unconditional omg you're so freakin cute you could never do anything wrong" is slowly starting to wear off. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sick of Derby and no way do I want to get rid of him, but maaaaaaaaaan this week has been rough. Here's a brief rundown of the two worst days:
Monday - Derby came to work with me as he did last week, but over the weekend he forgot everything we had established about where to go potty at work. Needless to say, we had several accidents in the office. Then monday night Tritia and I had to go to a concert we bought tickets for ages ago. (btw, we saw Lupe Fiasco, Pharrell, Rihanna, and Kanye West at the Nokia Theatre... amazing amazing show)
So Derby was left at home alone in the fort, or so we thought. Turns out he escaped the fort by jumping up on the couch, climbing onto the coffee table, and jumping down. So we came home to a tired roommate who had to stay up to watch the dog (since there was no longer a confined space to trap him in), a peepee on the stairs, and a poopie in the computer room. nice.
Tuesday - Worst day ever... Derby was still being horrible at work and had a few more accidents. Then when I took him outside to potty he bolted around the side of the building to explore. He wasn't trying to get away but he wanted to check out the unseen area. I had to chase him down and yell at him and grab him before something bad happened. This freaked me out enough that I decided I could no longer let him outside at work without a leash. In addition to all of this Derby was biting really hard... they are play bites, or possibly excitement bites, but he needs to learn that he can't bite that hard... just one more thing to work on. Tuesday was so tiring and stressful that I had to just give Derby to Tritia when I got home from work and took a long time out.
Anyhow, things are looking up the last couple of days... still having a few accidents but things are back on the improvement track. I don't want to focus completely on negatives so I will say that he's doing better. He has "sit" and "down" understood pretty well. He's also showing improvement on his "fetch" and "drop it" commands. He still hates his leash, but at least he'll walk with it on now, and he still bites too much but it seems that he's not biting as hard.
Overall, he's still super cute and I love him to death... but man is this tough. Must... stay... strong...
Monday - Derby came to work with me as he did last week, but over the weekend he forgot everything we had established about where to go potty at work. Needless to say, we had several accidents in the office. Then monday night Tritia and I had to go to a concert we bought tickets for ages ago. (btw, we saw Lupe Fiasco, Pharrell, Rihanna, and Kanye West at the Nokia Theatre... amazing amazing show)
So Derby was left at home alone in the fort, or so we thought. Turns out he escaped the fort by jumping up on the couch, climbing onto the coffee table, and jumping down. So we came home to a tired roommate who had to stay up to watch the dog (since there was no longer a confined space to trap him in), a peepee on the stairs, and a poopie in the computer room. nice.
Tuesday - Worst day ever... Derby was still being horrible at work and had a few more accidents. Then when I took him outside to potty he bolted around the side of the building to explore. He wasn't trying to get away but he wanted to check out the unseen area. I had to chase him down and yell at him and grab him before something bad happened. This freaked me out enough that I decided I could no longer let him outside at work without a leash. In addition to all of this Derby was biting really hard... they are play bites, or possibly excitement bites, but he needs to learn that he can't bite that hard... just one more thing to work on. Tuesday was so tiring and stressful that I had to just give Derby to Tritia when I got home from work and took a long time out.
Anyhow, things are looking up the last couple of days... still having a few accidents but things are back on the improvement track. I don't want to focus completely on negatives so I will say that he's doing better. He has "sit" and "down" understood pretty well. He's also showing improvement on his "fetch" and "drop it" commands. He still hates his leash, but at least he'll walk with it on now, and he still bites too much but it seems that he's not biting as hard.
Overall, he's still super cute and I love him to death... but man is this tough. Must... stay... strong...
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Busy day
Derby woke me up this morning at 3am. With my eyes practically closed I took him outside. Within seconds he dropped the most giant deuce I have seen yet from him. Seriously. Picture the chocolate soft serve at your local buffet... with the large bowl. Nice.
With the dirty deed done, we headed upstairs and got a few more hours of sleep. Woke back up at 7 and headed to the vet at 8. Derby's first trip to the vet (with us at least) went great. The vet saw him and gave him the necessary vaccination shot, and that was that. Simple stuff... my only complaint was that our vet talked to Derby with the most annoying baby voice ever. I would've smacked her on the head to get her to knock it off if I could've.
Now we're at home, and Tritia's parents are here to visit the new addition to the family. My mom is also here, with my grandma, my 2 nieces, and my nephew. We might have even more people over to visit later. Man... if it's like this with a new dog, what's it gonna be like if we have a kid? oy vey...
With the dirty deed done, we headed upstairs and got a few more hours of sleep. Woke back up at 7 and headed to the vet at 8. Derby's first trip to the vet (with us at least) went great. The vet saw him and gave him the necessary vaccination shot, and that was that. Simple stuff... my only complaint was that our vet talked to Derby with the most annoying baby voice ever. I would've smacked her on the head to get her to knock it off if I could've.
Now we're at home, and Tritia's parents are here to visit the new addition to the family. My mom is also here, with my grandma, my 2 nieces, and my nephew. We might have even more people over to visit later. Man... if it's like this with a new dog, what's it gonna be like if we have a kid? oy vey...
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Typical
Johan: Hey Derby! Come over here!
Derby: I think the guy-that-spends-every-second-with-me is talking to me... but who the heck is Derby? Oh well, I'm coming!
J: Good Derby, now go potty! Go potty!
D: Hmm, what's this? *sniff sniff* Hey nice, that's my poop.
J: Go potty! Go potty!
D: Hey check out that leaf, I'm gonna go grab it!
J: Derby, come here, go potty!
D: Gotcha leaf! Now I'm gonna eatcha! Ew, you're not very tasty.
J: Derby don't eat that! Come here!
D: I think he's calling me again.
J: Derby, come here!
D: Yeah, I'm sure he's calling me. What do you want?
J: Good Derby, go potty!
D: My poop again? Why does he want me to smell my own poop? I'm just gonna sit down right here.
J: You don't have to potty? Ok let's go in.
D: Finally, heading inside, time to play with my stuffed monkey!
J: Fetch your monkey Derby! Fetch!
D: Oh crap, I gotta poop.
Derby: I think the guy-that-spends-every-second-with-me is talking to me... but who the heck is Derby? Oh well, I'm coming!
J: Good Derby, now go potty! Go potty!
D: Hmm, what's this? *sniff sniff* Hey nice, that's my poop.
J: Go potty! Go potty!
D: Hey check out that leaf, I'm gonna go grab it!
J: Derby, come here, go potty!
D: Gotcha leaf! Now I'm gonna eatcha! Ew, you're not very tasty.
J: Derby don't eat that! Come here!
D: I think he's calling me again.
J: Derby, come here!
D: Yeah, I'm sure he's calling me. What do you want?
J: Good Derby, go potty!
D: My poop again? Why does he want me to smell my own poop? I'm just gonna sit down right here.
J: You don't have to potty? Ok let's go in.
D: Finally, heading inside, time to play with my stuffed monkey!
J: Fetch your monkey Derby! Fetch!
D: Oh crap, I gotta poop.
Derby day 5
Potty training keeps rolling along. I am happy to report that Derby had no accidents at home yesterday. Oh wait, he had one small peeing accident, but I'll chalk that one up to excitement from playing. It came with no warning! But it seems as though Derby has already figured out where he should pee while he's at home and in the "fort". He can run outside by himself if i leave the sliding glass door open for him.
At work it's another story. He peed inside 3 times yesterday, and has already pooped inside once this morning. I'm no dog whisperer, but if i had to guess, it's because he hasn't established a good potty area here. At home, when we take him out, there's only a small yard so all of his potties are generally within a small range of each other. At work there's a whole large parking lot for him, so I don't think he's found his spot yet.
Other than pottying, he's been a great dog. He no longer whines we put him in his crate at night, nor does he whine when I put him in his pen at work. He just quietly goes about his thing, napping or playing with his toys. Sigh... if only he never had to potty, he'd be the perfect dog!
At work it's another story. He peed inside 3 times yesterday, and has already pooped inside once this morning. I'm no dog whisperer, but if i had to guess, it's because he hasn't established a good potty area here. At home, when we take him out, there's only a small yard so all of his potties are generally within a small range of each other. At work there's a whole large parking lot for him, so I don't think he's found his spot yet.
Other than pottying, he's been a great dog. He no longer whines we put him in his crate at night, nor does he whine when I put him in his pen at work. He just quietly goes about his thing, napping or playing with his toys. Sigh... if only he never had to potty, he'd be the perfect dog!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pictures
As promised, some better pictures for ya'll. In the first you'll see our temporary furniture fort in the living room... so far so good. It allows us to sit with Derby and keep him company and watch tv, and also has access to the sliding glass door so he can go outside quickly for potty training. The second and third pictures are just better shots of him, you can see his coloration best in the second picture. And it's almost bedtime in the 4th pic. Speaking of bedtime, I'm exhausted... goodnight!
Derby goes to work
Day 3 of the adventure...
Yesterday Tritia stayed at home with Derby all day. She made a fort out of our couches, coffee table, cushions, and pillows to confine him to a portion of our living room. I'll have to take pictures of it later, it's pretty funny. (Think post apocalyptic Mel Gibson movie with a junk fort made out of cheap furniture and colorful pillows... awesome, no?) We've begun to try to train Derby to go potty outside. So far his record is:
Sunday - 3 indoor pees, 1 indoor poop (sorry Brian)
Monday - 3 outdoor pees, 1 indoor pee, 2 outdoor poops, 1 indoor poop
Today - 2 outdoor pees, 1 indoor pee, 2 indoor poops
... yeah, this could be a losing battle... but on we shall carry!
Today Derby is at work with me. He's in a 4'x4' pen with cardboard on the ground. He's been really whiney all day, but I can't really blame him since he's stuck in such a small area. I took him out a few times and I pet him when I can, but I can tell he is sad. Oh well, gotta establish myself as the pack leader and all that junk! (Bless you Cesar Milan) Oh, we've also begun "sit" training and "fetch" training... that's going better than the pottying... you know, no poop involved makes it a bit easier. That's the update... pictures to come.
Yesterday Tritia stayed at home with Derby all day. She made a fort out of our couches, coffee table, cushions, and pillows to confine him to a portion of our living room. I'll have to take pictures of it later, it's pretty funny. (Think post apocalyptic Mel Gibson movie with a junk fort made out of cheap furniture and colorful pillows... awesome, no?) We've begun to try to train Derby to go potty outside. So far his record is:
Sunday - 3 indoor pees, 1 indoor poop (sorry Brian)
Monday - 3 outdoor pees, 1 indoor pee, 2 outdoor poops, 1 indoor poop
Today - 2 outdoor pees, 1 indoor pee, 2 indoor poops
... yeah, this could be a losing battle... but on we shall carry!
Today Derby is at work with me. He's in a 4'x4' pen with cardboard on the ground. He's been really whiney all day, but I can't really blame him since he's stuck in such a small area. I took him out a few times and I pet him when I can, but I can tell he is sad. Oh well, gotta establish myself as the pack leader and all that junk! (Bless you Cesar Milan) Oh, we've also begun "sit" training and "fetch" training... that's going better than the pottying... you know, no poop involved makes it a bit easier. That's the update... pictures to come.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Derby Pup to the Rescue!
What did we get ourselves into? Ohhh man... we've been wanting to get a dog but I'm not sure we wanted one this soon. I guess I should've known better when we set off to the pet store to check out the dogs.
2 hours later, we had fallen in love with the cutest Eski-apso ever. That's a mix between an American Eskimo and a Lhasa Apso for those of you who didn't know... heck I'm not even totally sure what that means. He's awesome but we're in for a tough first few months. We've already had one accident in the house... just a little pee on the carpet. One of many I'm sure!
Here's one picture for now. It was tough to get any great ones because it's night time, and he's still really active. Anyway........ here's Derby! :)
Let the adventure begin!
2 hours later, we had fallen in love with the cutest Eski-apso ever. That's a mix between an American Eskimo and a Lhasa Apso for those of you who didn't know... heck I'm not even totally sure what that means. He's awesome but we're in for a tough first few months. We've already had one accident in the house... just a little pee on the carpet. One of many I'm sure!
Here's one picture for now. It was tough to get any great ones because it's night time, and he's still really active. Anyway........ here's Derby! :)
Let the adventure begin!
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