Day #6 with Harley

Yesterday got away from me and I didn't think to write in the blog until I was in bed last night. So here's a recap of yesterday.

Harely and I got up early and he went out to go to the bathroom. We came back in and he went back in his kennel so I could get a little bit more sleep. David and Gabe were up early to go golfing. Harley and I spent the morning together. He played. He peed outside. He pooped outside. He laid down at my feet and slept. Later in the morning I got tired and I took a nap in my chair while he was napping on the floor. He never went anywhere, just stayed on the floor and we both napped.

David and Gabe got home sometime in the early afternoon. Harley wasn't all that excited to see them which I thought was kind of interesting since he gets really exicited to see me when I get home. I guess he really is getting attached to me. And that's exactly what I had planned. David watched him for a little bit while I took a shower but put him in his kennel when he got to be too much for David. It felt good to take a shower and relax completely for the time it took to take a shower. Then I left around 2pm for my appointment with Marianne. I left early so I could stop and drop off a movie ("Taken", excellent flick) and go to the store to get some paper towels (Harley's accident clean up). Then I went to my appointment with Marianne.

I spent the whole time there talking about Harely and what a difference he is making in my life. I brought the picture of him sitting on the porch step so Marianne could see what a handsome boy he is. She thinks he is adorable. It is amazing how he has changed things for me. I feel like I have a reason to get up every morning now and a reason to stay awake all day instead of spending the day in bed. Harley gives me something to do ALL DAY LONG!! lol Although I have to admit that at this point mostly what I'm doing is watching him sleep. That's not too taxing, just makes me jealous. lol I feel like I am very attached to him already. When I'm away from him I wonder about him and hope that he is okay. I wouldn't wnt anything to happen to him.

Marianne and I talked about how the training was going with Harley. I told her that David really wants to pick him up (to hold him in his chair, to put him on our bed, etc.) and I'm against doing that so it's been an interesting dynamic with me telling David what to do and not do with Harley. But he is my dog and I want him to be trained well. He's sitting whenever he comes in the back door, when he gets his water and food and most times on command. He's so smart that most times I don't have to ask him to sit at the back door. He just plops his butt down and does it.

I talked to Marianne about how I trust Harley, how it makes me feel so good that he's happy to see me come home (he doesn't care where I've been or if I'm late. He is just glad to see me. That's a really nice feeling. I feel like we both know what it is we want and we're working together as a team to make it happen. He had brought a lot of joy to my life. I can count on Harley and he can count on me.

While I was at Marianne's David had Harley out in the house, the yard and in his kennel when he was too much for him. Gabe paid a lot of attention to Harley and he really seemed to enjoy the attention. When I got home Harley was so happy to see me. What a good feeling that is. What wasn't good was my fear, while I was out, of something happening to Harley. I need to work on letting that go and knowing that God has a plan for me and Harley. I'm discovering a lot of things about myself from having Harley. For instance, I am capable of loving and being loved. I can be a good dog owner (with the right breed). I can trust "someone" else. For the most part Harley is predictable and I like that.

Harley hasn't been chewing on things too much. His favorite things are my flip flops, my sneakers and the wood on the furniture. I can usually get him to stop within seconds just by tellin him 'no' and redirecting him to his toy. He loves, loves, loves his toy. I'll definitely have to replace it when it's too chewed up. He's getting better about not biting and not jumping up on me. I don't want a dog that does that. I want a well behaved dog and Harley will be that dog.

David seems to be offended that Harley isn't as attached to him as he is to me. He makes comments about how Harley is my dog, that Harley doesn't care about him. I'm going to have to deal with this attitude. David just needs to understand his relationship with Harley. David will definitely be someone in the background for the most part in Harley's life. He's not spending as much time with Harley as I am. Like it or not, Harely is my dog.

I like that Harley is so comfortable with me and loves to sleep on the floor near me, during the day and during the night. He is so much easier to take care of than the GSP's. He's such a laid back dog. He's perfect for me. I know that things will change as he gets older and rowdier but I know that I'll figure out how to deal with him at each different stage of his developement. It won't always be easy but it will be an adventure.

David, Gabe and I went out to dinner at Estela's. I was a bit nervous leaving Harely for 2+ hours especially since he had just had dinner and I couldn't get him to poop outside. So he was on my mind a lot while we were out. We took time to go through Garden of the Gods after dinner. I thought for sure that Harley would have an accident but he didn't. He was anxious to get out when we got home but he had no accidents in his cage. Man, I was proud of him for not having an accident for that long. He played around for quite a while with his toy and I took him out a few times. I have a hard time seeing him at night because he's so black. But I'm not too worried about him bolting away. He seems to want to stay close to me especially when the dogs are out next door.

Harley went to bed with no problems last night. He's not thrilled about going into his kennel but he doesn't put up a fuss at all. He slept through the night too. I had to get up to go to the bathroom around 2:30am and I just left him in his kennel. He didn't make any noise. I got up again at 4:30am when Gabe was going to be getting up to leave. I took Harley outside and he did his business. He's so smart. After Gabe left I put Harley back in his kennel and I went back to bed until 7:30am. Then we got up. He went out again and did his business. We've been up for about an hour and a half. He's been playing and of course sleeping. He's playing right now with his favorite toy, the Kong with tails. He loves that thing. I'm glad that I changed my mind and got it for him.

He's doing well with his eating. I'm trying to wean him off of the Beneful and onto the Show Coat Puppy food from Furry Friends, Inc. (www.furryfriendsinc.com). His coat isn't quite as shiny as I would like it to be so hopefully the Show Coat will do that. I'm going to check with the vet to make sure that it's an okay food for him. He's not going to the bathroom right after he eats now. He's waiting a couple of hours. I think that means he's growing up. He is 10 weeks old today - two and a half months old.

I'm hoping my Cesar Millan DVD's will get here today. His "Dog Whisperer" show is on tonight and I'm going to try to watch them to see if I can pick up any hints or tips. Harley just went out and is back in again. He's being playful so I'm going to tend to him.