Back from the blog-dead

I can't believe it's been 2 months since my last post! I'm sure anyone reading before has long since lost hope and deserted me. Couldn't blame them, really, as I've also not read a blog in that time either.

The new puppy has owned me.

We continued to try to get him to the dog park on saturday afternoons, even after our training classes ended. I always thought our biggest mistake with our last dog was that we never socialized her with other dogs. She didn't have a problem with them, she just didn't really care one way or another about playing with other dogs.
Orbit LOVES the dog park...he loves being chased. We love that we can get together with my sister and her new puppy, as well. And the best part is that the two of them became fast friends and love playing at the park!

Doggy cousin not in this picture...didn't have one handy for this post

I can hear Orbit outside now, barking. It's annoying to me because Moxie never really barked. He's a dog...he's going to bark, but I'd like him to be able to just bark once and be done. In the summer, our neighborhood does get kind of loud with outside chatter and music. We have new neighbors behind us this year, and they have a dog. It's nice having a fence, but he wants to know what's behind it. We're working on it now, while they're just here for weekends.

My last posts about raising this new problem child are nice to have for reference and posterity. The progression from 'I can't handle this dog' to 'wow! he's really settling in!' is amazing.

He's no where near the chill dog Moxie was, but this breed will be an adjustment for us. Now that the weather is nicer and he's not stuck inside as much, we can play and he can nap. It's cool to see him now...comfortable falling asleep in the middle of the day. The first few months he was too anxious to sleep during the day, which led to exhaustion, which lead to all the biting.

He still bites on occasion but it is minor and more easily corrected. As I said, the barking is our main issue now and what we are switching our focus to. He will be a year old this May (well, I have to check...I thought his records said May, but his new vet records have his birthday in June so I have to check...make sure he gets his cake on the right day!)

He's great on walks, he sleeps in bed with us, he plays nicely. He needs to work on sitting nicely and calmly while we eat, but we'll get there.

Photo courtesy of my friend after she gave him his first bath

I'm no longer pulling my hair out and back to finding time for myself. We've really turning a corner!
Happy Spring!!