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| Sam (formerly Colby) |
Programs and Information |
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| Age: 5 months |
Breed: Boxer mix |
I'm VERY overdue for an update! My apologies...I keep meaning to bring Sammy's doggie daycare "1st day" report to work so I can scan it in and email it to you. So far, Sammy's gone to daycare 5 times with his "big sis" and he's had a blast! Yesterday was one of the other dog's birthdays, so the owner brought in a peanut butter "doggie cake" for all the dogs. When I picked the pups up, they each got a small slice to enjoy! So cute! Also, he lost a tooth yesterday at daycare and when I picked him up, the owner had saved it for me and taped it to a sheet of paper. HA! Ed said I should put a treat under his bed from the tooth fairy!
The exciting news is that this Monday after work, I drove to the DuPage Forest Preserve office in Naperville and purchased permits for the dogs so they are now "official card-carrying members" of the off-leash dog parks in DuPage! We went to Mayslake park Monday afternoon, which is in Oakbrook and is completely fenced in. There were about 8 other dogs there at the time, big and small, and both pups ran themselves silly making friends and sniffing out the new territory. Sammy kept coming over to the picnic table we were sitting at to "rest" and recharge his batteries. All the other owners who were there said what good-looking dogs we have! Heehee!!
Also on Monday, we decided to experiment and let Penelope and Sam have "free reign" of the first floor of the house for about 2.5 hours in the morning until my mom came to walk them. She said there was NO peepee or poops anywhere to be found! And both dogs went to the bathroom as soon as she took them out. When I got home that afternoon, there were still no accidents! Yippee!! Yesterday, like I mentioned before, they were at daycare. This morning I crated them, and Ed is only working a half-day so he'll be home around 11. (We're not ready to let them be crate-free every day yet! But Monday was an awesome first step!) When I get home this afternoon, I'm planning to take them straight to the Mayslake dog park again to enjoy this GORGEOUS weather while Ed goes to track practice!
Re. Sammy's appetite...he's finally eating all of his food in one sitting. Before, he'd eat 3/4 of it and then walk away and come back to finish it later. Now he'll finish his portion AND lick the bowl clean!
The best part is Penelope and Sam's interaction and "devotion" toward each other. A few times recently, Sam has been napping on the couch and Penny will paw at the bell by the front door, indicating she has to go out. When I take her out, Sam will sprint to the front door and whimper. Even if we're halfway down the driveway, Penny can hear him (even when I can't!) and she will turn around and DRAG me back to the door, kind of like, "Hey, we can't go anywhere without my brother!" It's so funny because they seem to be really protective of each other in that way! They are THE BEST of friends and Ed can't get over how well they get along. He keeps commenting, "Wow, you couldn't have picked a better match!"
I talk about the pups ALL THE TIME to my students like they are human beings. They are seriously like my "kids"!!! I love them both to pieces. I love when Ed comes home and both dogs go nuts when he walks in the door. He'll always give kisses to Sam and go, "How's my little guy today?" So adorable!
That's about all for now. Thank you Charlene!
Cristin and Ed
NEW 06-01-2012
Time for some new doggie pics!!! The pups are having a BLAST rolling into summer! I bought a plastic kiddie pool for them over the weekend, and Sam, Penelope & cousin Sarge all were able to cool off from the heat! Penelope was the only one who actually lay down in the pool; the other 2 were curious and stepped in, then got right out. I think they'll learn to enjoy it more and more over the summer! Cousin Sarge celebrated his 1-yr birthday on Saturday, so my sister-in-law bought a doggie cupcake that the 3 pooches got to share! Fun times! Pool party and bday treats...what more could you ask for?! ;)
Ed and I take the dogs almost daily to the dog park, and Pen & Sam are treated like VIP over there!! One dog-owner named Felicia does freelance pet photography on the side, and she gave me her card and said she'd like to photograph the pups one time so she can update her online portfolio!!! (I can't remember if I emailed you about that already!) If we set up a "photo shoot", I'll definitely give you her website so you can check out the pics. Felicia LOVESSSSSS Sammy! I mean really, how could you not? He just melted her heart the first time she met him at the park, and she loves giving him kisses when we're there at the same time.
Ed has such a soft spot for Sam. Pen is a little more feisty and doesn't like to sit still for too long. (Except at night when she's so wiped out and is too tired to move!) But Sam will crawl right onto Ed's belly and just stare at him. The two have such a connection and enjoy watching TV together! Ha!
Both Pen and Sam LOVE to sniff. They constantly have their noses on the ground and are sniffing out God knows what! Makes me wonder what other breed Sam has mixed into him. Re. food, I mix a little bit of Taste of the Wild lamb and rice wet food and microwave it a little with the same brand dry kibble. Sam originally liked the dry food by itself, but after awhile he seemed disinterested. Once I added a spoonful of the wet stuff, (which actually has lamb chunks in it) and heated it, the smell was too much to resist. Even though Penny would eat anything, I put a little bit of the wet food in her bowl as well just so she doesn't get jealous or too curious about Sam's meals!
I've also found that they both LOVE Dentley's rawhide peanut-butter flavored bones. They are so content to chew on their bones and relax. It's awesome! Another funny thing about Sam...he's gotten into the habit of chewing his toys and pulling the white stuffing out! He's such a character...I have to take his toys away before they all get ruined! He doesn't eat the stuffing; he's just fascinated with pulling it out and covering the house in "snow"!!!
Right now Sam weighs 26 lbs, and I don't think he'll get too much bigger. My guess is he'll max out at 30 lbs. He's filled out nicely, but still has that sweet, young-looking puppy face. He is such a nice brother to his sister, and I know she loves his company (as you can see by the pics!)
Both pups have been healthy as can be. No other tick incidents other than the one a couple mos. ago. They just got bathed on Sunday...but Miss Penelope decided to roll in fresh POOP at the dog park and got all stinky and dirty yesterday! She went RIGHT BACK in the bath the minute we got home! I don't know what it is with her, but she LOVES to roll in poop! It certainly wasn't the first time this has happened. Luckily Sam's a little more "vain" about keeping his fur clean!
That's about all for now...hope you and the fam are well. We are a happy family of four, and now that school is about out for both Ed and me, we are excited to spend even more time with our little ones!!!
Take care and hope you enjoy the new pics!
Cristin & Ed
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