A growing boy

Ben just weighed Charlie and said he weighs 30 pounds. That means he is up about 3.4 pounds since I weighed him a week or less ago. He is a growing boy.

Adoption Day

Charlie went to adoption day today. Today was the 3rd Saturday of the month and so we had Petco adoption day today. I had to work at the annual scout bbq, but Ben and Charlie went to adoption day. Charlie even got an application. I need to take him to the shelter in the morning so that he can spend the day there. 1 application is nice, but until the application is approved, he is still available and he needs to be shown to get applications.

The splendiferousness of the canine olfactory

Young Charlie has proven himself a credit to his dog kind. If you are a regular reader of the blog, then you know that Sandy made a large number of new rawhides disappear in the backyard in a minute or less each. Well, today, Charlie came trotting down the side of the house in the backyard with one of them in his mouth. I was walking around the yard and there were 2 more that I think he pulled out of places. They are soggy and muddy and need to be thrown out, but hey, he found like 1/2 of them in one day (or maybe a couple, not sure when the others showed up).

Charlie got a quick bath tonight. Ben came home from driving and took Charlie right back to the tub. Charlie didn't seem to care for it at all. He has a very short, somewhat rough coat and has been a bit musky. I didn't have any special shampoo, just some stuff I picked up in the pet part of the grocery store. It seems to have helped a little, but we could probably use to do a better job.

It's like riding a bike, well, kinda

Charlie is coming along fine. I have started to figure out his schedule and he didn't soil his crate the past 2 nights, he stayed home in the kitchen for 5 hours yesterday and didn't have an accident or any since I ignored him too long yesterday morning. He seems to need to poop twice for breakfast and again for dinner (yes, I know, TMI). He seems to be bonding with Ben and I. Ben is taking responsibility for feeding him and making sure he gets out to go in the evening and I take him out in the morning. Ben has started working on Sit and Down. Sit seems to be going well, down needs a lot of work.

Charlie is really a lap dog. At 5 months and about 26.5 pounds, that is okay, but I wonder when he grows a bit more how that will work. He likes to lay in his 2 beds and just hang out until he is offered to play fetch. He will come over and sit in your lap if you sit on the floor and he likes to have his belly rubbed. Typical dog behaviour. Ben and I need to work on getting him to walk on leash. I can put it on him, but he doesn't seem to want to go anywhere on leash. I have seen lots of puppies who follow along on leash, chewing on the leash all the way, but Charlie just goes a short way in the yard and then sits down. He wants to head back to home. Will have to encourage him with some treats.

It's like night and day

My, it has been a long time since I had a puppy. Mookie lived to 17.25, so it has been a long time. Sure, you see them at the animal shelter, you see them on TV, but it's a lot different when you bring one home. Charlie is a cute little guy, but he is a puppy. That means house breaking, it means leash training, and a whole lot more. I need to shoot an email to Dana to see how early Ben can start training. For a dog that has been living at the shelter and going outside and staying outside all day for about 2 months, he certainly likes to stay inside and lay on his dog bed.

Welcome Charlie

There is a new foster dog in the household. Little Charlie has been at the shelter for around 2 months now. He was abandoned with his brother Oscar near the property of one of our volunteers and came into the shelter in mid February. Oscar was adopted fairly quickly, but not Charlie. Charlie is close to 5 months old. He is a mix breed, current thinking is Pit Bull, Shepard and some other stuff. He came home with us this evening after working at the shelter. He is a cute little friendly guy and I am not sure why he hasn't been adopted yet, but Monica wanted him to get out of the shelter for a while since he is essentially stuck growing up there, so here he is. Ben is particularly happy to have a puppy and we agreed that Ben will train Charlie. I will write more as things progress.

Who's next

Well, with the first foster successfully placed, it is time to start looking at what dog at the shelter most needs to go to foster. I need to have a conversation with Monica and see who she thinks. Look for more foster tails coming in the near future.