365+ days of puppy love: 2/7/10

Why this blog?

I've wanted to begin a blog for quite some time now! Well for 2 1/2 years to be exact! It was supposed to be a blog about bringing our angel #3 into the world. Well...things didn't exactly go as planned with her birth and well.....here it is 30 months later!
So what better time than a resolution in 2010...no more procrastinating.
But what to blog about? In asking myself several questions; what interests or challenges me?, what is new in our lives?, what can I write about daily for an entire year?, what will also include my whole family?, I was able to come up with an idea.
At the end of January we will be bringing home our newest addition to the Schreyer Family....a 8 week old husky puppy.
This blog will cover our trials & tribulations, tears, and joys, and individual experiences while raising a puppy as a family.
As John Grogan said, : "A person can learn a lot from a dog..."

Friday, February 12, 2010

SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!!!!!

YAHOOOOOOOO!!!!! I am ecstatic!!! Joyful!!!! So relieved!!!!! So elated!!!!!!!!!

Meeko just spent an entire HOUR in his crate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEP! You read it right!!! An entire HOUR!! QUIETLY!!!! NO WINING! NO SCRATCHING! NO CHEWING AT THE DOOR!!!!!

Just utter compliance and relaxation! He chewed on a KONG stuffed with cream cheese and sausage, ate a few nibbles of his kibbles, (HA!) , and then circled his bed a few times and went to sleep.

I switched out the small crate for the larger one, now that he is a proficient outdoor potty-er, so I figured there might be less chance of him using it as a bathroom, and it seemed to be the right timing for everything!! I set the crate in the middle of our family room, while we all still mingled about, TV on, kids playing and talking.......and he just relented and offered acceptance!!!! I am so happy!!

I KNOW!!I know! It's a SMALL thing in the grand scheme of life and every day living. BUT really....it's HUGE! It's been a GINORMOUS (my own word?) project of mine the last two weeks,..... every single day...to get him to like his crate. It has been pure torture! But I cannot have a 80 pound juvenile Siberian Husky roaming free in my house in 7 months. I also can't continue to keep him tethered to my furniture. And seeing as he can already scale the 26" SuperYard in our kitchen at 9 weeks(actually he did it at 8 1/2 weeks), I do not have high hopes for that containment idea for long!!
So it is a big deal! A Huge deal! Quite an accomplishment!
And one that lends a huge sigh of relief! (~sigh~) (hear that.....? aaahhhhhhh)

Thank you Meeko! You have reminded me that nothing worth it's while is ever quick or easy.
What a great application for life. See.....our dogs never cease to teach me lessons or offer me reminders. And THAT is why I love them so!

"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." ~Frank A. Clark