Carter Update!

It’s been a really long time since I have given a good update on Carter too. Well, my baby is 7 months old and about 60lbs now- WOW! Luckily, he is pretty lean and not chunky. He is just SO BIG! I have SUCH a hard time picking him up now! Haha. I am very happy that Carter is still soft and cuddly too! I was afraid that the older he got his coat would grow out and he wouldn’t be so soft- but that’s not true! YAY! :D

Carter has also been great with potty training still. I think we have finally gotten over being scared of the rain! He will go out in it to use the bathroom on his own now! YAY! He did have an accident a few weeks ago when it was raining and since John and I were in the back, we didn’t even notice it at first. We went to feed him and he wouldn’t eat. We thought something was wrong with him. We went to go find him and he was hiding behind one of our chairs in the living room. Then we saw it. It was SO much pee!! He knew he had done something wrong. He kept hiding and ran from us. We put him outside (yes in the rain) and then we forgave him and then he ate his food and was fine! Haha. I think he has finally realized that he will be out in the rain for a shorter amount of time if he just pees out in it, than if he pees in the house. Ever since then- no more accidents when it rains! YAY!

As far as training goes, after we got back from vacation Carter didn’t listen as well as he did before we left. I think it’s because so many people helped take care of him and it wasn’t consistent that he just did what he wanted. We have been working to get him back to listening well. He still has some issue with “come” when he is distracted and still has some issues pulling on his leash (both were worse when we got back home). Since then, I’ve been working with him on both and have gotten to the point where I can take him off his leash and let him play in a field near our apartment (not the one we used to go to, it’s closed now L). This field is where people walk by and there is a canal. I’ll throw the Frisbee and he’ll run and catch it. Then I have practiced walking all the way home off leash and he has don’t GREAT! He almost listens better off the leash than on it! Haha. When I walk him on the leash, he walks just a tad bit in front of me, but off the leash he walks behind me! Crazy puppy. I am really proud of him for listening so well off the leash.

Since he is so good off leash now, we’ll take him to the fields on campus and let him play. There are lots of dogs that come out there. I’ve gotten in the habit of trying to find him a friend when we go out to play. I’ve gotten good at it! He has gotten a lot better with other dogs. He still gets VERY excited when he sees them, but then calms down and they play. Most of them are not puppies so he tries SUPER hard to entice them to play with him. Some take the bait and others don’t. Its funny to watch him though! We found one dog recently that I really liked. He was a Belgian Malinois . The owner was telling me that the breed is extremely high energy and he has to take Gridley (the dogs name) out at least 3 times a day for a long walk and to play. And I thought Carter was high energy! Haha. This dog was about 4 years old and had more energy than Carter, so it was GREAT! They ran and played and Carter had such a good time. I really hope we run into Gridley more often! The owner said they only live 5 minutes away and come over all the time. SO YAY! :D

We did have an incident where he wasn’t listening off the leash when we first started and he ran up to someone and wouldn’t leave them alone. When he gets far from me now, I’ve started telling him “no” and “sit” and he listens! Now if he’s far from me chasing a ball and someone walks by or if he’s trying to get in the canal- I just tell him to sit and he listens so well!
Speaking of the canal- he’s started going to play in it! The water stinks, so I don’t let him often unless I know he is going to get bath. I am so glad he likes the water! I think he just get so hot that he will get in to cool off sometimes. He also knows that’s where the ducks swim, so he goes after them some times. :D He’s so cute :D

Other updates- I am no longer worried about any of our stuff. He doesn’t mess with any of it anymore :D We are still careful just in case, but there have been no victims or anything close in a really long time! We also got a new dog crate for him. He has gotten almost too big for the other one, so it was time and there was a good deal online. IT’s HUGE! We had to move all our bedroom furniture over. Haha. I think we will keep the other crate for when we get another dog.
John and I have had many conversations about getting another dog. John doesn’t want one until after we have kids and I want another one in like 2 years. However, I think we will end up caving and getting one sooner than we both thought. We just want Carter to have a friend. I think he would be happier with a buddy :D So we’ll see. We definitely will wait until Carter is a bit older and more mature. Who knows :D

Anyway, I think the last update for now will be about training/tricks :D We have been trying to focus on Carter listening to us. But we have also been working on “paws up,” this is the first step to teach him how to say his prayers. He’s became really good at it! BUT then he jumped on a stranger I a popped him and now I think he’s scared to. Lol He’ll still do it- but we have to convince him. We have also started working in “limp.” He’s so funny to watch. Lastly, we have been trying to get him to howl. I think I’ve mentioned before that John and I will howl and Carter will look at us like we are crazy. Now he will bark! He even sorta howled for the first time the other day. I got so excited I think I scared him. Haha. We have started treating him when he barks at “howl” so he knows we want him to make noise. You can tell he’s trying SO hard to howl! Just cant figure it out yet. Haha

Anyway, Carter is doing great :D He still LOVES under the bed, but doesn’t fit under as well. HAHA he still tries though. Now his butt and tail just hang out from under it. TOO FUNNY! I am so glad we have him. He makes us both so happy :D