Happy Puppy!

Carter is feeling MUCH better!! thank goodness! it broke my heart to see him not feel well. Carter has already gotten so much bigger!! John took him to the vet two days ago and he weighed in at 27lbs!! The vet said he was a little over weight, so we have cut back on how much food we give him. Soon, I wont be able to pick him up anymore. His body has gotten so long and he is getting heavy! sad day :( I dont want him to grow up! haha. We also asked the vet about his scratching and the vet doesnt think it's a food allergy. It's pollen season and she is thinking it's just that, so we are giving him baby benadryl until his next appointment and if it's still bad she is going to run some tests.

Carter has gotten MUCH better about walks. I would say he has improved about 50%. He still wants to sniff everything, but also walks with us. We can get him all the way around the lake without it taking too long. And when he gets back he flops down on the kitchen tile. lol this is a picture of him right after a walk. He looks so pathetic. haha We also got him a new food bowl! We had not gotten one yet because we thought we were going to have to get him one of those slow feeder bowls since he ate his food so fast. However, after he got sick he stopped eating so fast! So we purchased him some bowls that have adjustable legs, so he doesnt have to bend over so much when he eats. Here he is trying out the new bowls :D I have also been super happy because he is finally sleeping all the way through the night! He doesnt get up until I get up now! I have made the mistake in the past of thinking I hear him get up and need to go out, when in reality he is just shifting. Since I have already gotten up it wakes him up and then he wants to go out. I learned my lesson fast and check before I get up. haha. I have also started to notice that when I shift around in the morning before I actually get up, he is already awake, but just laying in his crate. I watched him this morning and he will get up when I shift but if he notices I am still sleeping, he will lay back down! GOOD puppy!! Our morning routine is still about the same: I wake up, let him on the back patio, feed him, let him wander around with me as I get ready, and then put him back in his crate. Not sure how it goes after that because I leave for work. John is on his own at that point!

John and I have decided that we are going to start clicker training him. I think he will start listening better if we do. He has gotten better about listening, but when he gets focused on something he can be difficult. I started reading a blog about a lady who shows dogs, she tracked everything she went through with her lab and I believe John and I are going to start doing some of the things she does. Her blog is here: http://www.clickersolutions.com/blog/index.htm if you are interested! it's long, but really interesting and I have noticed Carter is very similar to Pax(her lab) in many ways. I'll let you know how the new training goes!

On a not so good note, he is still having accidents. John and I are going to start tracking when he goes- time and what he did right before had to go. Then hopefully we can start getting better about knowing his signals for having to go. Right now he just gets up to leave the area we are in and most of the time we can catch him, but every now and then we miss it!

Right now, I am off to walk my super hyper puppy (not sure why he is so hyper today!) and get some lunch! Have a great day!

Carter and one of his toys :D I called his name and he looked! getting much better at name recognition. :D