Outside Fun

Eventually I'd like to train Kilo to pull a cart, because really, what's cooler than having a big dog that can lug stuff around for you? If he's gonna eat me out of house and home it's only fair he should pull some of his own weight right? Even if it is a bit literal. He's too young to do any actual pulling yet (he'll have to finish growing first), but this week I started getting him used to wearing a harness and tugging some empty jugs behind him. Surprisingly, he really could have cared less - probably because he's so used to dragging his leash along. It was impossible to snap a moving picture of him - he stays too close to get anything other than his back end in the picture - so a sitting picture was the best I could do. But he's got his gear on anyway. ;)

We've also been working on the normal everyday training, which is progressing, if a little bit slowly. Right now he's certifiably ADD, everything is a distraction and much more interesting than that boring person he spends all his time with. Butterfly's, grasshoppers, a plane, a wrapper . . . a stick. Lots of sticks. I'm dreading fall. If he's still this grabby by then I won't need to feed him because he'll have a stomach full of leaves. I guess at the very least I'll save some money. Dogs should come with a warning label: Patience Required - Sold separately. Or in Kilo's case: Extreme Patience Required - Good Luck Finding It.

Here he is 'coming' and yes, he did put on the brakes at the very last minute:
And just because I find it funny:He's still not convinced he's too big.

Water!

Kilo is 23 weeks now and at 58lbs has exceeded my ability to pick him up so the only weight updates will occur when he goes to the vet.

This week we made it out to the dog park! They had a gorgeous walk-in lake, so I didn't have to worry about Kilo getting in over his head before he was ready. Luckily all the dogs were about his size so he had great fun chasing and romping around with everyone.At first he wasn't sure about the lake, he'd go into just his stomach and then watch all the other dogs swim in deeper, but finally he just couldn't stand it anymore and went in after them. He's still such a klutz that anything he does is always hilariously awkward and swimming was no exception. Sometimes I'm surprised he can even manage to run, his legs get tangled up so badly.

This is after he'd finally decided that immersing himself completely wasn't going to kill him:Poor puppy only made it about an hour before he was wiped out. Even then he would have continued if I hadn't decided he'd had enough. But no sooner do I close the car door behind him, get in and turn to check on him only to find him like this:

Poor tired puppy :)

The Sniffles

Whoever picked out the cushions for the benches in the vets office should receive a very nice bonus. Because really, what other reason could there be for going to the vet other than to sit on those benches? I can't think of a single one. Oh, except Kilo did have the gall to develop a cold as soon as he left his rabies watch. He likes the benches too. ;)

So, Thursday & Friday he's lethargic, which I assume is the drugs talking. Sunday he starts coughing and by today, Wednesday, he has *GROSS DISCLAIMER* yellow snot pouring out of his rather large nose. Off we go to the vet! We really need to have some adventures that don't involve the vets office, but again, it's those stupid benches! Antibiotics and cough medicine were the drugs of choice making Kilo the most medicated puppy I have ever had. Eventually, I tell myself, he'll be healthy and then the only thing I'll need to worry about are his personality flaws.

I wish I could tell you about some other fun adventure we've had this week, but, that's it. The vets office. Again. Well, he did freak out over seeing a lawn mower, but that's about as exciting as it got.

By request, Kilos paw size: large.

Kilo week 20 - 53lbs.

Oh yes, and during his one solitary moment this week he managed to snag the bouquet from my cousins wedding off of the dresser, and because lets face it, the floor is just too hard a place to fully enjoy a good treat, he proceeded to jump up onto my bed and thoroughly redesign the floral arrangement. I came back into the room a minute later to find him lounging on the bed as he gleefully tore the flowers apart. Seriously, if he could cackle he would have been.

Bad Luck Puppy

Kilo must have walked under a ladder during his first few weeks of life. Not that I believe in bad luck, but really, nothing explains the four ring circus that follows him around 24/7.

Let me preface this by explaining that half way through Kilo’s stay, my mother and I realized that due to the rabies watch his neuter would be pushed back three days. Not a big deal normally, except he has to be boarded in a few weeks and the delay would mean he wouldn’t have enough time to heal before being boarded. Upon realizing this, we called and cancelled the surgery and received a “Sure. No problem.” Thursday morning, the day we’re supposed to pick Kilo up, my mother (the early bird) calls to find out when we can come get him. The receptionist is slightly puzzled by our query because, “He’s back in surgery.” Why would we want to pick him up in the morning when he’s on the operating table? Such silly owners.

My mom quickly informed her that, no, the surgery was canceled . . . . Hold please. . . Insert running and frantic communication here. A couple minutes later a vet tech gets on the phone and informs my mom that he’s already been anesthetized, shaved, and catheterized. All that’s missing is the scalpel. Do we really want to postpone the surgery? My mom explains our situation once more and the vet tech takes Kilo off the table. Safe! But just barely. I wake up and hear the whole story and really, can only sigh, because at this point I’m almost used to the chaos that circles around Kilo’s head.

We hurry over to pick the monster up before any more accidents can fall his way. All I can say upon seeing him is that they’re lucky I work with animals and their owners and therefore try not to be an overzealous pet owner myself, because if I were so inclined they’d have one very unhappy customer. Not only was he drugged up and stumbling around, he’d lost weight and reeked. . . Sigh. . . let’s not try that again shall we?

When Kilo stumbled into the house he made a beeline for the water bowl and then his air vent. Ah, home sweet home. I think everyone’s relieved to have him thudding around the house once more, and I’m relieved to know I’ll at least have more control over any more accidents that come his way.