5 months old!

Hard to believe that Carter is already 5 months old! Time goes by SO fast! John and I can tell that not only does he look older, but he has started acting more mature too. He'll have his more mature moments and then be the silly puppy that I love, it's funny. He's so clumsy!

Well at 5 months he can:
-Sit
-Down
-Sit out of a down (and do "puppy push ups")
-Shake with both hands
-Come
-Recognizes his name well
-Stay (he has gotten SO much better at this! We can even put a treat down, tell him to leave it and stay, and walk out of the room!)
-"Leave it"- pretty well- I even got him to do with a squirrel!
-Roll Over
-Heel- he doesnt know that command, but he walks on the leash next to us really well now.

We stopped clicker training, but he does everything we ask now anyway. :D He has even gotten some what good with the above commands with distractions- except other dogs. I have a feeling that will take a lot of time because all he wants to do is play. I think that's still a lot of the puppy in him.

He has gotten MUCH better at being potty trained! He hasnt had an accident in a LONG time (well except when it rains and he doesnt like to get his feet wet). We also got a doggy door put in! It's in our bedroom door that leads to the patio. He has gotten much better at it! he still has a hard time coming back in for some reason. we still have to encourage him to come in. Today was HUGE though! He used the door all by himself AND went to pee! He usually just stands at the sliding glass doors in the living room and waits for one of us to take him to the doggy door and then tell him to go out. So I was VERY happy! YAY! I hope this keeps up!

He is also till teething, but has stopped chewing everything. I think most of his teeth are in now, just a few more to go. I am glad that the chewing stopped though! only the few victims on the list still!

We also got his fleas taken care of! I called the vet and they told us that the Frontline doesnt work anymore because the fleas here are immune to it. So, they offer a pill called Comfortis. It's more expensive and doesnt protect against ticks, but if it gets rid of the fleas for good, I dont care. lol He's started to grow high back in all the places he lost it from scratching so much and he doesnt scratch nearly as often! I am THRILLED! :D

This week we took Carter to the dog park! He was REALLY good! He was really friendly with everyone, but didnt harass any of the other dogs. LOL. He also listened to us pretty well even though there were so many other dogs! While we were there, one of the dogs caught a bird and killed it. haha. It was a nice dog park! We will def go back. One of the dogs Carter was playing with was all wet (they have a place where you can rinse the dogs off) and he wrestled with Carter in the dirt, so Carter was FILTHY! lol
Dog Park!


Dirty Puppy!


Finally, we went to the dog beach again! He did MUCH better and even walked in the water and swam out by himself. He didnt try to run back to the beach either! We were able to take him off his leash and let him swim around. He gets bored real easy, so we didnt stay long. I am glad to know that he likes the water better now though! :D YAY!

That's it for now! OH, we missed puppy class last week because a friend from high school came to visit and next week we dont have it, so no updates from that right now! BUT he is doing great :D

Carter hiding behind John's desk. No idea how he got back there. lol

P90x Week 2

DONE! haha :D one week closer to being the weight I want! :D And how did this week go:

DRUMROLL PLEASE!........

I lost 3lbs! I was THRILLED! :D haha I guess cutting out soda has helped as well as really stepping up my game. I plan to step it up even more this week and try to eat even better. It will help since this entire week (except today :( already) I will be cooking and making dinner. John and I went to the store last week and I got mostly healthy food to cook! Anyway, here's this weeks update:

Sunday: Chest and Back- I rocked this out! I was able to increase push ups in EVERY category! :D They have all been girl style- so I think after this next week I will start transitioning into regular push-ups.

Monday: Plyometrics- I only got through 40 minutes of the 60 minute work out again. It's really hard and it really hurts my knees. I'll tell you about the knees in a minute.

Tuesday: Shoulders and Arms- I did not do this on Tuesday. It just did not happen. I got a migraine and I am guessing it's from cutting out caffeine and the new contacts...

Wednesday: Cardio X & Shoulders and Arms- Since I HATE YOGA, I switched and started doing Cardio X on Wednesdays instead. After I lose some weight, I will try and go back to Yoga. The good news is Cardio X has a lot of yoga in it- just not as intense. I also did Tuesday's workout!!! I know I am crazy, but I am determined!

Thursday: Legs and Back- I only ended up doing 30 minutes of this work out this week.

Friday- John and I had to go back to the eye doctor for them to check how my new contacts were doing...we ended up shopping too. haha so nothing happened Friday...

Saturday: Kenpo X- (supposed to be Friday) finished it all like a rock star! :D

I really feel like posting this is actually holding me accountable. I knew that I would have to post if I didnt catch up from missing Tuesday, and I just couldnt do it- I HAD to do the work out! haha :D SO that's good :D

Now my knees have been making awful noises and hurting me after I do work outs with a lot of squats, lunges, jumps, etc. I finally asked a friend who is an athletic trainer and he told me to get a neoprene sleeve to help stabilize it. So next week, I will be able to do more when it comes to my legs, which is great! I'll let you know how it goes :D

Also, our pull up bar came!! I am not thrilled, but I am. haha so next week we will get to do all of the work outs fully! :D

Puppy Class 3!

When we went we got to show them all that we had learned! He did SUCH a good job and even surprised us with being able to follow commands that we had not practiced much. We told him to "sit" out of a "down" and he did it! He was too confused before! Now he can do it really well! He can also go "down" from standing! Again, he always sat first. He is such a smart puppy!

We also worked on walking on a leash. He has gotten really good at it at home, but dogs are a much harder distraction for him. I am glad we get to practice all of this there because hopefully it will help him listen to us when there are other dogs around, which he has a REALLY hard time doing right now. I have been practicing when Moxie is around and he only listens a few of the times I call him. So that is definitely something we need to keep practicing.

We also worked again on getting Carter really excited and focused and then calling him to us. I think we need to bring his toys, because he doesnt much care for this game. haha. Again, with the dog distractions it's too much.

Finally, Lorianne brought out some agility stuff for them to try. Carter was a wiz at it all. Did it all with no problem! All of the other dogs had a hard time with most of it. I am glad I have a smart puppy! :D

That was it for puppy class. At this point, I am glad we are going so we can train him around so many distractions.
Walking on a leash...

You can see some of the agility items that Carter rocked! :D

Carter update

I hate when I am not able to blog when I want to, because I then I forget everything I want to blog about. ugh. lol

Anyway, this post will be about Carter's progress! Carter has been doing SUCH a better job at things! We can tell that he is definitely maturing. Which makes me sad and makes me happy. He is getting so big! Our guess is that he is up to 43lbs now!!! Big boy. :D

After our 2nd puppy class we started working a lot on walking on a leash- luring him with treats. We also starting working harder on "leave it." He has done SO well with both! I mention them together because "leave it" is a huge part of us walking him. lol Anyway, last week he was getting so good with "leave it" and walking that John walked him past some ducks and he didnt run after them!!! John told him to leave it and he looked at John for a treat and was SO good! He ended up being that good on all his evening walks last week! I was so proud of him :D I walk him every morning before I go to work and I have been practicing leave it with him too, during the walk and then after also. I got to where I could put cheese (his favorite) on his paws and he wouldnt touch them! SUCCESS!! :D

I dont remember if I mentioned it last week or not, but Carter cut his face some how. Anyway, he keeps scratching it and opening it back up, so we had to put a cone on him :(. It hurts my heart! I was so happy when we were going to be able to finally take it off the next day, but when we took him for a walk (we take it off then) and got back he scratched it open again before we could get the cone back on. He's so miserable. :(. and it has to be uncomfortable to sleep in! My poor baby! A few more days :(

Last week our friends Leigh Ellen and Nate got one of their dogs back. They had to give them away because they were not too friendly with their new baby. Anyway, they got one of them back- Moxie. Carter and Moxie get to play A LOT now. We try to take them to the big field most every night. Moxie is a boxer and is older than Carter, so she can handle him and his puppiness. :D They run and play and it's nice :D It kind of does my job of excising him for me. haha. I am glad that Carter gets to play with a dog almost every day now. I know he loves it.
Best picture I could get so far

Playing

Waiting for treats!


Other updates about Carter-
-He still has fleas! I dont know where they are coming from and why Frontline is not working! I called the vet today and am waiting for a call back. We have got to do something! i feel like a bad parent, but I have really tried everything. It's very frustrating!!!

-We got Carter a Wolfpack Jersey! We got it because he's itchy still and the shirts in the store were as much as this jersey! So we got the jeresy. He doesnt like it much. haha


-We have been practicing "stay". He has gotten MUCH better at this! I can now put his food in his bowl, ask him to stay, and walk across the kitchen without him running to his food! I am going to try leaving the room this week and see how it goes.

-He can jump up on the couch now. lol. I saw him do it for the first time last night and was so SHOCKED! He struggled a bit, but John said he's done it a few times. I am pretty sure we have decided that he can be on the couch now. lol we put him up there all the time anyway.

-When it rains Carter still has accidents in the apartment. I think he is afraid of the ground being wet? He will walk out, run back in and then use the bathroom. SO ANNOYING! So that is something else we need to really work on.

-Oh and lastly, added to the hit list are my cowgirl boots. He got them. :(. He only scuffed them, but he scuffed them a lot. I dont know if I can fix them :( I cried. Sad day.

Overall, he's doing great. If I can just get rid of the fleas and the cone- I will be a VERY happy person!

Ps. He things he's human and sleeps with a pillow under his head. TOO CUTE!

My eyes!

So last week I went to the eye doctor because I have been in need of some contacts. I wore my last pair WAY longer than I should have! So I finally had time last week to go!

I went to Lenscrafters, which I am not usually a fan of their eye doctors, but I really liked the doctor I saw! She wasnt necessarily friendly, but she really seemed to know what she was doing.

Anyway, when I got to the eye doctor I expected to wait forever like all doctor's offices. I only had to wait 5 minutes after my scheduled appointment! They did all the preliminary tests and then I went into the room where they test your eyes, where once again I usually have to wait for what seems like forever. But again, only 5 minutes! I was definitely impressed!

Anyway, she asked me if I thought my eyes had changed at all and I told her I thought a little bit. That I have to strain to see some things. She said I shouldnt have to. So she took a look at my eyes and did the whole lens test. She said my glasses were pretty close to what she got, that there was only a slight change. She then asked me what my contacts were and I told her and she goes "no way, that doesnt even make sense!" I showed her the box and she goes "no wonder you have been straining! Not only are these way off, but you have very different prescriptions in each eye!" Oh geez. lol I knew I hated my old eye doctor. haha. So she gave me new contacts and a new brand that is supposed to be more breathable since I have dry eyes some times.

Boy has my head hurt this week! My head always hurts so bad when I get a new prescription. Today has been a week and I still have a headache, but I think that also has to do with no caffeine. haha. They are better! I go and get a supply today. Since it's at the mall, we are going to get Chick-fil-a!! YUM! :D

p90x update

So we have completed what we are calling our first full week (since we started over). and oh my goodness I am sore! I feel like I can do more this week to get even more out of the work out so I will be doing that this week.

I have decided that I want to do some sort of update each week. I feel like it will help keep me more accountable for both working out when I am supposed to and for eating healthy. Unfortunately, when I weighed in this week I gained a little weight :( I was so upset! only on 1 day did I go over calories and the rest I ate well under so it should have been okay. I am hoping that some of it is muscle gain? that and I know I have a bit more water weight right now, so I am blaming all of that! and hoping that next week when I weigh it will reflect that? We will see. Either way it was frustrating.

So I have decided to ensure I lose weight from now on, I am going to do a few things:
1) go extra hard during p90x like I talked about earlier
2) cut out sodas (unless it's a really special occasion)
3) no more fried foods (even the very small amount I eat right now)
4) cut WAY down on sweets

I also plan on posting each week how I have done with p90x. For example:
-Sunday is chest and back- I did the whole work out (improvising with pull ups- we used our weights instead. not perfect, but at least it's something)
-Monday is plyometrics- I only got through 40 minutes of 60 minute work out because I couldnt feel my legs anymore
-Tuesday- Shoulders and Arms- completed all of this! and it was pretty easy, so I need to up the weight I am lifting in more exercises.
-Wednesday- Yoga. I HATE YOGA. I only did 20 minutes of this. I am going to substitute CardioX from now on.
-Thursday- Legs and Back- I made myself work out even though it was SO late and I completed it all.
-Friday- I got my eyes dilated and it made me sick, so I didnt do anything (more about the eyes later). I made this my rest day instead of Saturday this week.
-Saturday- Kenpo X (supposed to be Friday) finished it all like a rock star! :D

On each of the days we lift weights, we are supposed to do ab ripper x too- I am going to do my best to do that this week with each of them, i didnt this past week.

So this is my first update, hopefully next week I will have lost weight and be even more sore! :D

p90x again...

Whelp, I kept saying I wasnt going to post this because I was afraid people would judge me, but I dont really care. haha. At least I am working out and trying!

John and I started over on p90x. With so many guests here and SO much going on in my building (students went CRAZY) we missed a few days. We also didnt have weights to start out with, so I felt like we were cheating the system. haha.

SO we went and got some weights this past Saturday and started the program over on Sunday. :D I have managed to lose 4lbs so far. YAY! but hopefully with me doing it every day and really watching what I am eating (the dining hall closes soon, so I will be cooking A LOT more) I will start to lose weight a bit faster than I was before. I would really like to meet my total goal of 150lbs by my birthday. I feel like if I really stick to it, I can do it! I sure am going to try hard! :D

Yoga is tonight and I am DREADING it. ugh. It's really the only work out I hate on p90x. I mean I dont love any of them, but I really dont like Yoga. So here's to trying it again and maybe liking it more? yea right. haha

Facebook

So a few days ago John went back through his Facebook, which inspired me to do the same. It was CRAZY seeing all that history all on a Facebook wall! I also learned a lot about myself:

1) I write that I love John A LOT- I do! I just didnt realize how much I shared that with everyone all the time! LOL
2) Football makes me more happy than any other time of the year- DUH! I just didnt realize how much of a better mood I am in during football season!
3) I am tired a lot- or at least complain about being tired a lot.
4) I hated school (at least the work)- I knew this too, I just couldnt believe how much I complained about it!
5) I have always been trying to lose weight- and I still am. ugh
6) The longer I have been married the less people assume I am pregnant when I dont feel well- and it's still not happening for a long time! Carter is my baby and enough of a handful:D
7)I love Disney quotes- I do, I really do :D
8)I went to a TON of American Aquarium concerts! (one of my favorite things to do!)
9) We partied A LOT! and we had SO MUCH FUN!
10) I miss college and all my friends A LOT

Going back through Facebook was one of those things that really made me reminisce about so much of my college experience. Granted I was only able to get to September 13, 2007, BUT that was still 3 1/2 years ago! I went back through:
-getting this job
-my father passing away
-leaving Raleigh
-graduating from my master's
-my graduate school experiences
-being an RD at State at both North and Syme
-getting married and my honeymoon
-graduating undergrad
-wedding planning
-student teaching
-getting engaged
-my father moving home after living in a nursing home for 7 1/2 years
-living with my best friend Krystal and all the craziness we dealt with!
-being an RA

Not to mention all the trips we took and football games we went to! (FSU game, Disney world, New York, Boston, the BC game, random beach trips for birthdays, the Duke game, the list is SO LONG!) The holidays, the summer, spring breaks, the list goes on and on. And it's amazing that Facebook, a simple social networking site that I had originally REFUSED to sign up for, could do that for me. Thank you Facebook for taking me back through part of my college years and all those great experiences! You also however, made me homesick. lol. But that's okay. I think it's important to be able to remember all of that.

It also made me realize how lucky of a girl I am. I have such amazing friends that have been there for me through everything. So thank you to all of you too! I dont think I would be the person I am today without all the love and support I received over the years :D

Puppy Class #2

I have come to realize that my life pretty much revolves around Carter now. LOL. I came to this realization by looking back at my last posts. haha. Oh well. I love him and he is my baby:D

This past Monday was our 2nd puppy class! Again, it was fun :D Here is a picture of Carter on the way to class. He has gotten to LOVE putting his head out the window! I still hold his leash because I still dont trust him not to jump out of the car. haha. He still doesnt like getting in the car initially though. Not sure why. Maybe because the car is so big?

Looking out the window- his nose going a mile a minute!
He doesnt like to sit at first, so he goes back and forth between the windows. haha


We were a few minutes late (of course) but Lorianne filled us in quickly. Since we had worked the most on walking on a leash we showed her what we had done with him. It's hard because he doesnt listen as well when other dogs are around. He's gotten better walking around campus, but dogs still make him not focus well. He did pretty well, but was still distracted. It's a good place to work on walking on a leash with distractions though!

We also worked on "leave it". We were to put a treat on the ground, let him see it, and then cover it up. When we said leave it and he looked at us, we were to treat him. We did it a few times and practiced throughout the class and he got better at it!

We also worked on playing games with him for him to learn to like John and I the most. This helps with when we call him, not matter what he is doing, he will come to us. Not so good at this. lol. He got bored really fast and even treats didnt work that well. He was also VERY distracted by the other dogs and just wanted to play with them. I think part of this is due to us not exercising him before we went- we wont do that again! Lorianne suggested that we bring a favorite toy or two next time and to practice with that at home.

We also worked on motivation. Lorianne told us to stick our hand out for Carter and whenever he touched his nose to it, he would get a treat. It's supposed to help motivate them to listen to us too. That's still a work in progress, but he's slowly getting it.

Other than that we just talked about tips for a lot of other things. I really enjoy going mostly because it provides us with an opportunity to socialize him, learn some of those tips, and really train him with some of his major distractions. Over class was good! We lost some of the dogs from last week and got 2 new puppies. I was able to snap a picture of Champ and Maximus, they are distant. I felt so creepy taking pictures of the puppies without their owners knowing. lol

Champ

Maximus

Carter passed out on our way home!! :D

Other things about Carter:
-For some reason he has gotten scared to potty on our mulch, so he does it on the concrete now :( no idea what scared him to stop!

-He has been losing more and more teeth! and his breath stinks. The best I can come up with is that it has something to do with him losing his teeth. We've even brushed his teeth and it still smells :(

-He got to play with Clifford again last night! It takes Clifford awhile to warm up to Carter and last night Clifford was kind of a bully! He growled and kept biting Carter at first. I think it may have been a territorial thing because Clifford came to our place, but I have no idea. When Clifford finally marked some territory, he was much nicer to Carter. they ran and ran and ran. Carter passed out hard last night after Clifford left. TOO CUTE!

-Carter is very good at sharing! Carter shared his toys with Clifford last night and didnt growl once when Clifford would take his toys and run away with them. Carter would just chase him. He also shared his water AND his Kong that had peanut butter in it! I was VERY proud of him!!!

-We found 2 fleas on him. :( UGH. We also learned there is a high alert for fleas in Coral Gables right now. great. Anyway, I got the fleas off him and killed them. then I washed EVERYTHING, vacuumed and Lysoled everything. lol we washed him in dawn and put Frontline on him. I am not playing with these fleas! What has also been great about this is, he has stopped itching so much! Today I faxed over his records to the vet we found and I saw on the paperwork that he got Frontline when he first got the rescue and I didnt see a time when he got it after that, so I wonder if this whole time when we thought he had flea protection, he actually didnt! Maybe that's why he's been so itchy? Anyway, they are gone now and every 30 days that stuff is getting applied! We have not seen anymore either, so that's a blessing.

-We pulled his elephant back out and it's definitely his favorite toy! Look how much he loves him! He's taking a nap with his elephant :D TOO FREAKING CUTE!

The Vet!

So we found a vet! SUCH a relief! Leigh Ellen set up the appointment and everything. Our goal was to go and interview the vet and get to know him and see if we liked him or not. Well we did! The place was very nice too. It didnt have that whole sterilized feeling to it. It felt more like a cabin to me, but that made it more comfortable.

The Vet's name is Ted and while we were waiting on him, one of his assistants came over and met Carter and we were able to ask her a lot of questions. We asked about insurance, how much yearly shots and a check up are, about Carter's itching, and just a bunch of other stuff.

As for insurance, her advice to us was to only get something that covered emergencies. She told us to not worry about getting an insurance that covers routine care because we would end up spending more on insurance than we would if we paid out of pocket. She said that shots, de-wormer, and routine check up once a year was about $220. I am still going to ask around and see if that's a fair price, but it didnt sound too unreasonable to me. Plus, since we know the price, it will be easier to budget for. She also recommended either Trupanion Pet Insurance or VPI. So we will be looking into that for emergencies. She also told us to see if they cover preexisting conditions. I'll let you know what I find!

When Ted came over, he ended up doing a check up of Carter. Since we really liked the place, we figured "why not". It's easier than scheduling another appointment soon, especially if we are just going to get in the car and say we both like him. Ted got down on the floor with Carter and played with him some and then checked everything out. He said his heart was good, his hips were good, and overall all he seemed like a really healthy puppy. Ted does think that Carter is a bit younger than we thought. He said that based off of how many adult teeth he has (5 total now) that he is probably about 2 weeks younger than we think. However, that amount of time doesnt really make much of a difference and we are going to keep his birthday the same. lol.

We also had Ted look at all the spots Carter has on him that are causing him to itch. Ted did a test for mites and we found out it wasnt that. Unfortunately, nobody really knows what it is and we have been told to wait it out. We are going to check the floor cleaner that is used on our floors as that may be what is irritating his skin. We are also going to start wiping down his underside when we come in from playing in the grass. Ted thinks something is biting him too, so we have to start watching where he is laying and see if there are any bugs. It was also suggested that we start bathing his underside 3-4 times a week with antibacterial shampoo as that may help get rid of whatever is causing the itching. Hopefully something works soon or he grows out of it quick. I HATE watching him itch all the time!

Anyway, towards the end of the visit the Vet told us his philosophy of feeding dogs. He feeds his dogs a strictly raw diet. It was very interesting listening to him explain it all and I think if we had more money and actually cooked, that John and I would seriously consider that type of diet. Ted did say that other dog foods are just fine too though, it's just more natural to feed them raw food. I think we will supplement what we feed him with some raw food when we are able. Especially this summer when the dining hall is closed and I cook a lot.

Lastly, we asked Ted about emergency care. I really liked his answer. We call the office if there is an emergency and it goes to his personal cell phone. We are supposed to leave a message and then Ted will call us back with what we should do. He said he may not come in at 4am, but he would direct us to the location we should take him OR tell us that it can wait or it's not a big deal at all. I like that Ted will be the one to give us his opinion, especially since he knows Carter.

John and I really liked Ted. He seems to be a bit hippy (doesnt like to give dogs medicine, raw diet, etc), but I really like his reasoning for things and once explained his ideas really make a lot of sense. He also took a lot of time to get to know us and Carter. I am relieved that we liked him! haha I dont like shopping for doctor's, etc. It's such a pain. So THANK YOU LEIGH ELLEN! :D

On the downside, since we went ahead and had a check up and the mite skin test, it cost us $72!!! GEEZ! Carter is expensive! At least we dont have to be back for another year. We will have to do some adjusting to our budget though. lol.

A teething puppy....

So before I said I would keep a list of everything that Carter ruins of ours. Well he's been pretty good about sticking to his own toys. He will test his limits, but stops when we tell him too and hasnt really done it if for some reason he has been left alone. Well that all stopped when he started teething. He started chewing on A LOT more things. :( Only few have fallen true victim and I should be very happy about that, but it's still SO frustrating!

The list now includes (aside from the shirt of John's from before) and in the order ruined:
-A pair of my American Eagle flip flops (luckily they were only a $1, but they were SO comfy!)
-John's Chaco's (these were a gift, but are some expensive flip flops and John's favorite pair of shoes he owned)
-My favorite pair of jeans (this happened last night so I am still bitter)

You may be asking yourself, how did Carter get to all these things if we are watching him so closely? Good question! Well we have learned that if we provide Carter with a way to our patio, he will not use the bathroom in the house. Since we dont have a doggy door yet, we leave our patio doors open. He has gotten SO good about this!!! However, this means he always has access to our livingroom, regardless of where we are in the apartment.

My flip flops did not fall victim because of having access to our livingroom, but because I left them out after the beach one day. Ugh. Silly me. However, John's Chaco's were in the livingroom. Again, a mistake on his part. We were watching That 70's Show and he took them off. They were on the floor behind the ottoman. Well we both got up to go look at something on his computer, in the computer room. Carter followed, but then went back to the livingroom. He usually only leaves us if he has to go. WELL he got REALLY quiet and was gone for awhile. I went to check on him not that long after he left and he was chewing up the strap on John's shoe. FAIL. My jeans were also my fault. He usually likes to cuddle up on our clothes (i dont get it) so I thought they were safe on the floor! I had them RIGHT next to me and he went to go lay on them. I look down last night and there he is chewing a hole right in them. I think the thing that makes me mad about that was I was RIGHT THERE. UGH.

John's Chaco's (I only got a picture of these)


Anyway, Carter ruining each of those things are all our fault. Still frustrating. Since we give him access to livingroom at all times now, we have to be SUPER careful about what we leave out. He has gotten so tall now that anything on the ottoman is free game and I almost dont trust to leave stuff on the couch anymore. I guess we just have to be even more careful.

Aside from losing some items, I hate that Carter is teething because he is in so much pain :( He whimpers and will even yelp :( Makes my heart hurt. We got one of those teething toys that you can freeze and he likes to chew on that when he hurts. We also give him ice. Poor puppy. I hope it ends soon.

Puppy Kindergarten!

So I mentioned in a previous post, it was very important to John and I to get Carter into an obedience class as quick as we could. Well, John happened to look up a place yesterday that had been recommended to us and we found the class started yesterday! We did say quick. lol

I called them during lunch to see if we could still sign up. If we didnt sign up for this class we wouldnt be able to get him in to one until after the summer and we didnt want to wait that long. We were told that they were not sure if the class was full because they could not get a hold of the trainer, but puppy classes never filled up and if we lived close, to just come out at 7 and register and find out then.

So that's what we did! Luckily, the park is pretty close. It only took us 15 minutes to get there and that was with pretty bad traffic. When we got to the park we had to drive all around it to find the equestrian part of the park, as that was where the lessons were. The park was HUGE. As we were driving around it we saw that the have a dog park. It's pretty nice too! good to know there is one so close to us!

Anyway, we finally found where we were supposed to go and were able to sign Carter up and join that day. YAY! The classes are 7 weeks long and every Monday night from 7:30-8:30. I was SO excited! :D Our instructor's name is Lorianne and there are 4 other puppies in our class. We got lucky and they are all 4 months old. On of the other puppies was actually born the same day Carter was and another one was born the day before!

In our class we have Maximus-I believe he is a boxer mix, Rocky- a bulldog, Jack- a mini dautson, and Champ- a golden retriever. They were all SO cute. I fell in love with the bulldog. But I think the prettiest one was Champ. Anyway, we didnt have a choice but to take the puppy class even though we already knew a lot of what the trainer was telling us. I dont like paying money for something I already know, BUT it's good reinforcement and she will be able to help us learn how to train him with distractions, how to walk on a leash, and how to play nice with other dogs, etc.

For our first puppy class we spent a lot of the time introducing ourselves and our puppies and showing what they can do. Jack cant sit yet, but the others had already learned that. I was glad about that because I dont want to spend a lot of time on things we already know. lol. It did seem like most of the dogs were at the same development stage as Carter, so that is good. We also practiced walking a leash, which most of the time went pretty well. He still pulled a lot. We learned that we pretty much have to entice him the entire time with treats until he learns to walk next to us. Previously, we had just been stopping and making him sit when he pulls and it's worked some, so we will have to try this too.

Then we got to pass the puppies around so we could all get to know the other puppies and make the puppies learn to like strangers. Maximus jumped on me and knocked me over (I was sitting already, but he still got me!) LOL! They are all very sweet and I look forward to getting to see them each week.

We also worked on name recognition with distractions. Carter was not good at this at all. It was getting towards the end of the hour and he wasnt even interested in the treats we had. It was frustrating. Lorianne came by while we were doing it and we told her and she said that was normal and we have to remember he's a baby still and gets tired and bored real easy. Times like that it's nice to rehear things because I feel like we have had him forever and I just want him to know it! Boy is he teaching me a lesson in patience!

Overall, I think we had a good first lesson. We have a lot of homework! I'll keep you posted as he improves (hopefully!). I wanted to take pictures, but was afraid people would get mad. However, next time I am just going to do it. haha. so pictures next week!