We weren't sure if we were even going to be able to go to puppy school with all of the storms in the area, and we kept a close watch on the radar all morning. We decided to take a test run before loading the puppies into the car to make sure the conditions weren't too bad- the car needed gas anyway. It was raining lightly, but the roads weren't flooded, so we decided to try. We got the harnesses on and the puppies into the car. On the way, we stopped by Buddy Bites to pick up a graduation cake. The puppies knew right away that it was for them. Notice the puppy nose checking out the cake in the picture below.
Today the puppies graduated from the Advanced Level of puppy school. They had a good time showing off on relay work in the store, met people, got to finally visit with some kids and even got to eat puppy cake. The day started off dark and stormy. We took the puppies out early for a potty break and were glad we did because shortly after we came back in, the sky opened up. The lightening was so close, that not even a second passed between the lightning strikes and the thunder several times. The puppies don't really care about storms. They just stayed asleep. We had put them in their crates when they came back in because their feet were muddy, but Dad let them come back into our room after the storms started getting bad. They were super happy. Miss M came running in, jumped up on the bed and then realized the others weren't all there yet. So she jumped back down, ran and got her ball and then jumped back up on the bed with her ball. She happily chewed on it until Mr. M took it from her. We weren't sure if we were even going to be able to go to puppy school with all of the storms in the area, and we kept a close watch on the radar all morning. We decided to take a test run before loading the puppies into the car to make sure the conditions weren't too bad- the car needed gas anyway. It was raining lightly, but the roads weren't flooded, so we decided to try. We got the harnesses on and the puppies into the car. On the way, we stopped by Buddy Bites to pick up a graduation cake. The puppies knew right away that it was for them. Notice the puppy nose checking out the cake in the picture below. Of course, you can't have a graduation without pictures... This time, Mr. C was very cooperative. He didn't want a repeat of last time. He wanted to make sure his graduation pictures were professional. Our puppies really love puppy school. We love it because it gives us a productive outing every week in a climate controlled area- important when it is raining or over 100 outside. Grandpa made an excellent point though when we were at their house, that the puppies still hadn't learned how to use a vacuum and clean up after themselves in puppy school. We decided that we might need to send the puppies to grad school in hopes of learning how to use the vacuum cleaner instead of just chasing it around the living room.
It's hard to believe, but the puppies are almost finished with their advanced level of puppy school. Where did the time go?!! We really enjoy puppy school, and I am kind of sad that it is almost over. The puppies are very popular at Petsmart. They get attention from all of the employees when we go, and they love their trainer. I think we are all going to have puppy school withdrawal when they are finished. We may have to visit from time to time just for fun. The puppies don't really seem to know that they are about to graduate. It's just been business as usual at our house. Summer is rough, but luckily, there are cats to torment and slobber on, boxes to tear up, teddy bears to de-stuff. Today at puppy school, there were boxes in the store that had been flattened. Mr. M found the boxes immediately and was convinced that he needed to tear them up for Petsmart. At home, he is in charge of initial box destruction. Once he decides the box is sufficiently mangled, he lets the others have a turn chewing up the box. He got to practice the "This way" and "Leave it" commands as we hurried past the tempting boxes in the store. Miss M discovered the toy aisle today. We have been walking down that aisle almost every week since like March, but usually she is looking around. Today, she happened to glance down and notice the bright yellow Kong squeaky balls like she plays with at home. She got super excited and figured those must be for her. She was a little disappointed that we had to leave those in the store. It started raining outside just before time to leave, which was wonderful because it cooled things down to the low 90's instead. You know it's hot when the low 90's is an improvement. The picture below was a couple of days ago. Most of the playtime in the yard has been a little tamer than normal. The puppies burst into zoomies from time to time, but mostly they just chill for a while until we take them back inside. They have developed a new zoomie skill. They run around the yard at top speed and then zoom into the house as soon as we open the door.
The puppies were hoping that we were leaving to go up north when we loaded them into the car on Saturday morning. They were slightly disappointed though, when they realized we were just taking Dad's car to have the A/C serviced. Saturday afternoon was just too warm to do anything. This is what it looked like: Summer can get really boring when it is even too hot to go to the beach safely. We stayed home most of the day, but as it got a little later and started cooling off, we decided to head toward the beach but just hang out in town instead. We have a favorite coffee shop that has outdoor seating, so we parked a few blocks away and then walked to the coffee shop. It was already 9 by the time we got there. The restaurants and bars were jumping, and there were people everywhere. As we were driving, the puppies would bark at people and motorcycles, but as soon as we got out of the car, it was like their manners came back. They were superstars walking down the street. We had to walk past several crowds of people to get where we were going, and they didn't bark at a single person. We had several people stop and ask to pet our puppies. The puppies were glad for all of the attention.
One group who had apparently just come from a play at the Grand Opera House, actually chased us down and asked to pet the puppies. They couldn't get over how nice they looked and how well behaved they were. The puppies of course were on their best behavior. Mr. M said hi to them and then he just stood by Mom looking around- on guard, watching out while everyone else was getting petted. He really is turning into the big boy of the bunch. We had never taken the puppies out that late before. So walking around at night with people every where was a new experience for them. They handled it all really well. They sat politely outside with Dad while Mom went in to get the coffees and a cup of ice for them. They enjoyed all of it, and seemed really happy just to be able to go somewhere fun. On the way back to the car, we walked past a little dog who was barking at us from the safety of his mom's lap. Our puppies didn't even pay any attention to him. They just walked right by him and kept on going. Miss B noticed a roach running across the sidewalk but left it alone when we told her to. We didn't get home until 11 pm, which is way past the puppies' bedtime, but they were so happy about having gone somewhere that they still wanted to play laser pointer in the yard when we took them out. We were really proud of how well they behaved and how calm they were. They are turning into quite the social butterflies. Puppy school really has made a difference. I don't have any pictures because it was just too dark. Next time we go, we'll have to try to take some pictures to post. One thing about summers in the south is that it's so hot you end up being lazy. I see blogs written by people up north with pretty parks full of people and summer evening strolls outside with their dogs, and I feel slightly guilty about not enjoying our area parks more. Then I step outside and remember instantly why we don't go outside more- especially not in the middle of the day. In the middle of the day when the thermometer reads 96, it actually feels like 105. The concrete is too hot to walk on barefoot, so there is no way I would want to take the puppies with their tender inside-dog feet for a walk on that. Plus, after about 5 minutes, all you want to do is drink something cold and stand in the shade. Getting the dogs to come back inside after playing in the yard was difficult in the winter and spring. We would sometimes end up spending 5 or 10 minutes just trying to convince them to go inside. In the summer, you just have to say, "Okay, everybody in," one time, and they are already waiting by the door. It is just plain hot outside right now. Besides that, even if you don't mind dealing with the heat, the minute you step outside most days, you are greeted by a flying welcoming committee of mosquitoes. The closer to the coast you go, the bigger and fuzzier they get. Sometimes you worry about them beating you up and taking your wallet. They are practically the size of the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz. Needless to say, once I've been outside in the yard for about half a minute, all of the guilt I once felt about not going to the park just melts away. So what do we do instead, you ask? Inside stuff. Lots of inside stuff. Where there is air conditioning. We went to Grandma and Grandpa's after a trip to the vet last week. It was already time for Mr. C and Miss B to get their 3 year rabies shot that they get a year after their first shot. Mr. C weighed in at a whopping 80 pounds! Miss B was right at 55. Miss S, Miss M and Mr. M weighed 74, 54.7 and 69 respectively. They are all so big already! I'm not quite sure where the time went and how it could possibly be time for the one year booster shot. When we got to Grandma and Grandpa's the puppies went to work on the plastic bottles that Grandma and Grandpa needed crushing. Grandma outsmarted them this time and moved the cat food before they got there. We took them outside several times, but with the heat, the potty breaks didn't take very long. The puppies love visiting Grandma and Grandpa, but they always get so excited that they don't nap as much as they should. They were so worn out that after the early morning potty break the next morning, Miss B and Mr. C slept in until I made them get up at 10! The little ones won't sty still for very long after the first potty break of the day, so if we want to get any more sleep after that, they have to nap in their crates for a while. Miss B and Mr. C gladly sleep very still on the bed most mornings so that they don't get sent to their crates too. The day after the vet visit was a school day, so we let them sleep a while and then got them fed and took them out before getting them ready for class. We learned all kinds of fun things in school. This class we learned physical skills as well as mentally challenging ones that actually tire them out quite well- a very good thing when it is so hot outside. For the past couple of days, we have been practicing their new skills and then playing some outside with the pool in the evenings. We are very proud of Miss M- she seems to have gotten the idea that she should pee before getting into the pool (unlike a certain 80 pound someone). Of course, every time they cool off in the pool, they find a new spurt of energy and someone always starts a new game of chase. Miss M gets impatient with the bigger dogs if they aren't out of the water fast enough and will bark at Mr. M until he gets out and chases her. Then they stop and she chases him. Miss S doesn't like it when the play gets too rough and is constantly trying to make sure that Miss B doesn't get out of hand with the little one. Miss S is so funny. She takes Miss M's toys all day long and would take her food if we let her, but if anyone messes with Miss M, Miss S is quick to step in and handle the situation. She's big enough now that once she grabs Miss B by the collar to pull her away from Miss M, Miss B can't get loose. Miss B has a ton of energy and is very vocal about it. So even though she never actually bites down on Miss M (or any of the little puppies), she sounds like she is getting wild. Miss S doesn't appreciate her cussing like that at all. When any of the other puppies gets a little too rambunctious, Miss S gets right in between the two offending puppies and breaks it up. We used to think she was bullying them, but the more we watched, the more we realized she just doesn't like them to play too rough. Today our puppies had their graduation from the intermediate level of puppy school. We were very proud of them. They showed off in the aisle doing obstacle course work off leash (or really on leash but dragging the leash behind them) and got lots and lots of treats. After they demonstrated their skills and got their diplomas, they had graduation pictures taken. Mr. C played hard to get with the instructor. Every time she would get him looking at the camera, he would look and then turn away just as she took the picture. While the puppies were hanging out after class getting their pictures taken, Ms. A gave them some plastic bottles to chew on so they wouldn't get bored. There were also plenty of treats on hand. Miss M was quick to volunteer for pictures , pointing out that Mr. C was just being a drama queen. Mr. M got tired of waiting for his close-up and decided that he needed some attention. Miss S got fed up with all of the others' picture avoiding antics and decided to show them how picture posing was done. It was a full day. The puppies tried to tell the cats about their graduation, but the cats really didn't seem to care very much.
Soooo. Apparently cats hate the cones of shame even more than the dogs do. We put the cones on the night of their surgery thinking we should put them on in case they decided to groom to aggressively. By the next morning, the cones were nowhere to be found. We managed to find them a while later, but after looking at the kitties, we decided to leave the cones off. Their incision sites didn't look irritated and their tummies looked normal. Their appetites have been really strong. We normally only give them wet food once a day, but we've made an exception the last couple of days just to make sure that they are eating enough to get well quickly. The puppies seem to know that they are supposed to be a little gentle with the cats. Mr. M chased them a little, but he didn't stay interested in them very long. Miss B and Mr. C were napping on our bed this morning, and the kitties both jumped up on the bed. The puppies were so excited to see them. They smelled them and gave them kisses. Kitty P decided the puppies should be awake and started swatting Miss B in the face to get her to play. Of course Miss B is always willing to oblige when it comes to playtime. She was the main reason we got more puppies in the first place. She has a ton of energy and used to bother Mr. C when he was ready to take a nap. We decided she needed another puppy to play with to use up some of her energy without wearing out Mr. C.
On another topic, it's hard to believe it, but the puppies graduate from the intermediate level of puppy school next week. It seems like just last week that they were starting their first lesson. - sigh- They grow up so fast. Today at puppy school, there were people everywhere. We saw a really cute little blue nose pit bull puppy. The puppies really wanted to meet him or her, but his/her parents were a little nervous about our big puppies. I always think it's funny when people are scared of our puppies around their dogs. Our puppies love other dogs. They are convinced that anything small is their puppy and needs to be licked. I didn't take any pictures in class, but here is one that we took on their first day of puppy school. We were just getting used to the tandem leashes and hadn't quite mastered the art of keeping them from getting tangled up together. Notice how small Miss M is standing behind Mr. C. She has even gone up a harness size since this was taken. After what seems like ages, we finally went back to puppy school today. The puppies were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. They knew just where to go. If we had been on roller blades, they would have pulled us straight through the automatic door. It was so steamy outside, they led us straight to the water fountain, after stopping to say hi to the trainer on the way. The puppies absolutely love puppy school! We really like puppy school too. It is more than just a place to go to learn how to sit and stay. You really learn a lot about your dogs when you go through training with them. You get a chance to see their personalities come out, and they get a chance to show you how good they can be and how much they can learn. Training with them really does seem to bring you and your dogs even closer. Notice in the picture above how Miss B is learning the skill they are working on, but checks back in with us. She is full of energy and can be quite the rascal, but in reality, she is really smart and just gets bored quickly. Despite her rascal-ness, she wants nothing more than to please us and is happy to do things without treats as long as we tell her she's a good girl and she knows we are happy. The girls remembered just where Ms. A keeps her treats. After school, we let the puppies play in the water hose to cool off before taking a nap.
After a short puppy spring break, the puppies went back to school today. It was their first day of the intermediate classes, and they were ready. They were already excited just to go somewhere. They always love going places- Grandma and Grandpa's, the beach, the vet, puppy school, etc. As an aside here, I've never actually met any dogs who like going to the vet, but ours love the vet's office. Anyway, when we pulled into the parking lot, they already knew where they were going. We got them out of the car without any tangled leashes and took them for a potty trip before going in. They know right where to go now, and headed straight for the classroom. We saw the instructor on the way in, and they were super happy to see her. Today's class had a lot of walking and they got to meet several new people. They also got to play with an Instructor in training who is working with our class. They like her a lot too- she gives them lots of attention. Toward the end of class, we were doing a lap around the store practicing skills, and when we paused for one of the skills, Miss M just plopped right down in the middle of the aisle, on the cool tile floor to take a nap. When we got back to the classroom, all of them had a good lounge, while taking turns cuddling with the instructor and Mom who were both sitting on the floor. By the time we left, they were totally worn out. They slept pretty much all the way home and didn't even wake up at the stop lights. We also made a discovery a few weeks ago that I thought deserved mention here. Usually when we go for a walk on the beach or when we leave puppy school, the puppies are thirsty. We carry collapsible water bowls and a bottle of water with us, but sometimes, they are still thirsty when we get in the car. It would be a total mess trying to give them water in the car. Then we figured out a solution. Ice! Why didn't we think of it before? Usually we stop to get something cold to drink on the way home, so we started ordering a cup or two of ice to give to the puppies. The puppies love it. It's hydrating and cools them off at the same time! I'm so glad we discovered this before summer.
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AuthorFirst time pitbull owners who found two pitbull puppies abandoned on the side of the road and decided to adopt them...And then loved them so much, they decided to get two wonderful mastiffs. Archives
February 2025
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