A Burst of Energy

Tonight we went out to dinner with Gabe and left Harley home. When we got back he (Harley, not Gabe) was so excited to see me that he was jumping and biting and just generally going nuts. He'd never showed that kind of exuberance before. I had to take him out into the yard and run around and play with him. He was so cute. I wish I had brought the camera out with me. He also peed and pooped without much direction. Later he peed in the house again. I caught him midstream and brought him out. He finished peeing outside. I'm not sure why he went in the house. I guess it's just because he's a puppy and he can't always hold it and he doesn't know that he's doing the wrong thing yet. I'm working on it though.

I like his new kennel a whole lot more than the other one. I can see him all the time which means that he can see me all the time without having to peek out tiny little holes in the sides of the kennel. He rearranged his bedding while we were gone. He, thankfully, has not gone to the bathroom in his kennel. He can stretch out in this kennel. He couldn't stretch out anymore in the one I bought just four days ago. I'm going to try to take it and the leashes and one of the toys back for a refund. I hope they'll let me bring the leashes and collar back without the tags. If not I'll just have to save them for when he gets bigger. And I don't think that will take long at all.

He's napping again (still). He has his nose sticking out the corner of the kennel. It looks so cute.


I may try to get the tray that fits in the kennel so that I don't have to keep a blanket in there and so that he doesn't have access to the carpet (the kennel sits right on the floor). I'd feel better about that and wouldn't worry so much about him getting caught or stuck or hung up. Even though this kennel is bigger it seems to take up less space because it is so open.

I have to give Harley his heart guard medicine. I hope it doesn't upset his stomach. It's chewable, a beef flavor it says (I didn't try it lol) so maybe he'll do okay with it. He'll have to get that next time we go to the vets too and then again in October. In November I can get him neutered and get his microchip implanted. He weighed 16 pounds and 8 ounces this visit. I can't wait to see how much he grows in just a month. I hope I can keep up with his energy as he grows.

David wanted to take him for a ride over to Garden of the Gods but I didn't think that was a good idea. He'd be too hard to hold in the car all that time (we wouldn't have room for his kennel with Gabe too), he might pee or poop in the car and he hasn't had all of his shots yet. It's more relaxing just being home with him. He's not really ready for long car rides just yet.

My Cesar Millan DVD's were shipped today. Hopefully they'll be here no later than Saturday. I'm really anxious to get them. I want the best chance of I can get of training him well. I want him to be a well behaved dog with everyone. I would love for him to be a therapy dog one day. I think he has the temperament for that. He's so mellow (when he's not going nuts when he sees me that is). Right now I feel like I'm floundering as the pack leader even though he is learning some things. I really want to learn how to keep him from jumping up on us and from biting us. He's already shredded my right forearm. Okay, maybe not shredded but I do have about 6 scabs already. I don't want him to get all excited every time I get home or he sees someone new.

We had an interesting situation yesterday at the vet that I didn't know how to handle. The receptionist got on the floor with him and he was jumping on her. She was obviously fine with it but I wasn't. I should have said that we don't want him jumping on people but I wasn't sure that was okay to say. Now I know it would have been okay to say that. I don't want strangers to encourage bad behavior in Harley. That's something that I can work on as we go along.

I sometimes call him Huxley. I get all their names confused. He's definitely my Harley though.