I’ve started playing hide-and-seek with Zeeke. The first time I tried it he just kept nudging my hands wanting the cookie, I couldn’t get him to do anything else. So then I sat him down and put the cookie under the couch while he was watching. He still didn’t get it, so I kind of guided him around until he found it, then he was like, “WOW, there’s a COOKIE under here!!” lol I started hiding them under all his toys, and now I’m putting him in a sit-stay down the hall while I hide it so he has to search more. He’s really using his nose.

I have SO many bruises all over my body. None intentional, either. He keeps sliding into me on the slippery floor (claws on my feet, OW!), bumping me with his teeth, smacking me with his paws… agh. I’m a human beanbag!

He’s really starting to build a connection with me. When he looks at me I actually see something - still sometimes a thoughtful look, but respect, too. Maybe some love? Maybe. Every night when I crawl into bed he jumps up beside me to be pet and snuggled. He jumps down when I stop, but at least he’s up there for a bit.

We’re really working on “off” and “out”. Off when he won’t get off the damn bed or couch, and out because he likes to see what I’m doing when I’m on the potty. It’s really hard to enforce it when I’m sitting there, though. Today he came in, grabbed my maxi pad wrapper, and took off as I’m sitting there going “argh!!” *rolls eyes* Also, every time I go into the bathroom the [new] bathmat is pushed to one side. I thought it was me, but every time I go in there… it’s wrinkled up. And then yesterday I walked in there to find the toilet paper stretched across the floor. *rolls eyes* Now I know THAT wasn’t me. The little bugger. I don’t know what he’s doing in there, probably just “checking it out” after mom leaves. Freak.

He’s also starting to get “enough!” Which makes me happy, because incessant barking is truly annoying. I decided to not make him stop barking entirely, as sometimes I want him to bark (like the other night when there was a strange sound outside - was very happy to have him bark!). Instead I thank him for warning me, and then issue the command “enough.” Like, “Okay, you’ve done your job, you can stop now.” Recently he’s actually been ceasing when I tell him to. Yay! He starts up sometimes when I leave the room, but he’s really making progress.

It is SO NICE to hear the sound of tennis balls being played with in the living room. It was a rather odd sound, so of course I went running out there to see what he’d gotten into. But he was playing with his toys! Much much MUCH praise ensued. We played fetch for a little while, with proud momma telling him what a GOOD BOY he is for actually getting the tennis ball.

Maybe it was the storm building that had him so crazy. I don’t know, but after his little nap he’s been acting much better.

Zeeke was naughty today. I took him to Petco to get his harness replaced - I just didn’t like how it was fitting. It was bothering him when he ran. Unfortunately soon as I parked the car he started going bonkers. It’s just something about Petco… he can’t contain himself. He attempted to drag me all the way to the door - but I wasn’t standing for it. I just kept stopping and/or walking the other direction until he didn’t pull quite so much. He’s still really bad though.

Inside he was a little monster. Pulling doesn’t even begin to describe what he was doing. Jumping, barking, scrabbling on the floor… good lord. People must have thought I was nuts, bringing this crazy dog in there. I tried on the other model of harness (which was a freaking job and a half - it requires his leg go through a loop, and he hates his paw being touched, so he kept biting me, and then he’d try running off, meanwhile my papers and purse are going everywhere… agghhh). I ran him back and forth to see how it worked. It just fits snugger, I really liked it better. Also, if he decides to go swimming it won’t get waterlogged like the other one would with the fleece lining.

I WAS going to do more shopping, but after exchanging the harnesses I high-tailed it out of there. He didn’t deserve to stick around.

Went straight to the park on the long lead. The new harness keeps sliding over sideways. hmm. I tightened it up, which helped, but with the rope trailing behind him it’s just not ideal. But what can you do, I can’t let him off-leash. The bugs were horrible, and then he took a big poo. I had baggies, but little sandwich baggies… and his poop is HUGE. Ugh. Note to self: get bigger baggies.

In the car he started twisting and whining… but a sharp “Zeeke, SIT!” got him to settle immediately. Thank god.

So. I need to unwind, possibly eat something (yum), maybe have a shower (since controlling Zeeke made me sweat like a pig, what exercise), then I might pop back out. Walmart, perhaps. But then again, tomorrow I”m going out again - back to Petco without the dog, because I have a bunch of coupons now. Plus I might wander around the mall for clothes this time, and stop at Walmart. Sounds like a better idea, since I’m exhausted.

Zeeke has found my soft spot: cuddles in the morning. I coaxed him up on the bed this morning - I took over Den’s side of the bed while he’s gone, so Zeeke took my spot. He fell asleep there! He’s so adorable while he’s asleep - and not in trouble, lol! He did smack me in the face a few times with his humongous paws, but that’s more clutzy than anything. It’s so sweet to give a good snuggle to your pupper.

I keep buying him new toys. Bad mommy! But he really seems to enjoy them. He has them scattered all over the house now. His new favorite is the kibble-dispensing ball. He quickly caught on to it, and now pushes it all over the house to get his food. He does take breaks, though, which is more than Oreo would do.

I took him to the park again yesterday. He was really good, and seems to enjoy running around. I’m still not sure about his harness, it doesn’t seem to fit properly. I might take it back to petco today and try to exchange it for a different one. He’s still not too interested in fetching more than a few throws, but he loves to run. I’m glad I get to let him run around a little bit, even if it is on-leash.

He’s doing really good in the car, too. He’s still really antsy to get out of the car when I unhook him, but we’re working on patience. But once I hook him up he just lays down and stays there for the whole trip. I’m really proud of him. No more chewing on the seatbelt, either.

I’m just really proud of him. It’s great to see him starting to settle down.

- Zeeke is finally calming down in the car. I strap him in and he lays down for the whole ride.

- … but nearly clobbered me when I unhooked him. I had to throw myself onto his body (not much choice there, I was kind of IN the car at that point, and he was trying to shove past me) to restrain him.

- Running on the long rope was great for him, he really seemed to enjoy it… and it helped tire him out a bit.

- … but standing in the middle of the field, as I was, I was human bait for every little bug in the vicinity. I had a cloud of little bugs hovering around me.

- Unfortunately, when outside I cease to exist, in Zeeke’s mind. For the time being I’m just calling out “Zeeke, this way!” when he gets to the end of the leash, and walking the other direction. No formal “Come!”s yet, I didn’t have treats with me and I think it’d be too much for him at this point in time.

- Put him on the short leash after he’d run around for a bit, so we could walk the trails. He dragged me down the stairs, up the stairs, wouldn’t pay attention to me.

- … and then took a big dump on the side of the trail. Me, mouth agape, saying, “No, Zeeke, noooo!” No baggie. A couple with a dog walked past. Me, feeling extremely embarrassed, asked if they had a baggie with them. No, they used theirs. So I attempted to pick up the poop with leaves. Big, mushy, stinky poop. Meanwhile, Zeeke is pulling thisway and that on the leash, chafing my hands and pulling my leaf-holding hands right into the doggie poop. I got halfway through, then fled.

- Zeeke took a nap after that. I washed my hands thoroughly, then sulked a bit. That dog just challenges my patience so much.

I felt really bad for Zeeke, being cooped up in the house all yesterday. I can’t really take him out to run, being that he has no recall yet, but I could at least get him some things to occupy his time while I’m out of the house. So I bought him a few toys. I gave one of them to him just now. He’s happily rolling on the floor with it, lol! Laying on the floor, feet in the air, toy crunched in his mouth. So cute. Makes me feel good to see him enjoy something. =)

I wonder if I can find a park or field for him to run in, on his leash. Too bad I don’t know the area very well at all. -.- Maybe I’ll wait a while, I know the schools have fields (whether or not they allow people on them is another matter), but school just got out so there are kids everywhere.

Tessa loves to crawl on your lap while playing. It’s a safe place to be. She’ll grab a toy and shake it around, then scooch back until she can sit her bum on you, then continues happily munching on the toy.

The girl has jaws of steel, already. I remember when we got Oreo we had to search for an extra-soft toy just so she could squeak it. Her favorite became a little rubber dinosaur, because it was the only one she could squeak (until she killed it). Tessa, however, delights in finding the “sweet spot” in Oreo’s toys and then just squeaking the hell out of it. All you’ll hear is SQUEE-ka, SQUEE-ka, SQUEE-ka, SQUEE-ka, SQUEE-ka. Jaws of steel, I tell ya.

I’m utterly amazed at how well Oreo and her get along. Oreo growls and snarls when Tessa gets close… and Tessa barks and barks back. But when Tessa backs off, Oreo steps closer and nudges the toy she’s holding closer to Tess, as if to say, “Come on! Come get it!” It’s very cute. Also, they switch toys indiscriminately. Oreo will step away from her toy to go see the cat, and Tess will swipe it. So Oreo will just snag another toy and walk away happily. Oreo has chased Tessa around a few times, some playfully, some not. But even when she’s snapping and snarling, she could easily pin Tess down and bite her - but doesn’t. Yesterday Oreo was just laying on the couch and Tess was barking at her and bugging her. Oreo leaned down and SNAP, jaws close well away from Tess in an almost pantomimed motion. I get the feeling most of her growls are just for show.

Angel, however, is really not thrilled. It’s funny, because Oreo can walk right up to him, and Angel just cranes his head to try to see around her at the evil little puppy. I find it amusing. I mean, how can anyone be afraid of something that bites its own tail and trips over its own feet? Angel sometimes lays down in the hallway, preventing Tessa from getting through. Angel will smack Tess if she gets too close, and she knows it. Whether or not he uses his claws is unknown, though she’s never gotten actually hurt from any of his smacks. Most of the time I’ve seen it, his paws don’t have that lightning-fast attack speed that cats use to deal out damage. It’s more like a warning swat. Oh good grief, right now Tessa is under my desk and Angel is on top of it, hanging over the edge to keep an eye on her.

Tuffy is the one who seems least affected by the whole upheaval. He doesn’t give two shits about the new dog, any more than he does the other two. All he wants is to be left alone, and he’ll just walk around anything that gets in his way. Apparently he learned long ago it’s the only way that really works. Too bad he can’t teach Angel.

I think it’s Angel who seems the most perterbed by this new addition. Oreo growls every time Tessa walks by, but most of the time it’s just a reactionary growl and Oreo will basically just ignore her or leave the room. Angel, however… Angel seems very affronted by this new little black thing. He has taken to going after the dog. Yes. Angel was sitting on my floor, I was petting him, when Tessa tried getting in the room. Well before Tessa knew what happened, Angel lunged at the doorway and gave a big swat. I think he connected more with the doorway than the dog, but Tess gave a yipe nonetheless and took of down stairs to hide. Tuffy is the least concerned, he just lays in the corner and ignores all the stuff going on. It’s old hat for him, now - another little thing running around, good grief, just leave me alone, says he. I just hope Angel and Tess learn to get along, considering they’re the two that are Cory’s!

Very funny occurrence tonight: Late evening mom stepped out to put some cat food in the cat dish on the deck. Tessa didn’t see her go out there. But a few moments later she heard her, and went running over to the door. She obviously saw mom’s shadow, because she started barking - in her little puppy-voice bark. It was so funny and cute! Our little 8lb guard dog. =)

9 years of clipping toenails, I go and show Cory how to do it for Tessa, and this morning I cut Oreo’s quick. First time ever. Bah. But the funny thing is that I didn’t even notice until I saw the little bit of blood on her paw! She didn’t even twitch, really… she got up, but that was because Tessa walked over to her.