Routine trip to the vet

I had a much better day with Harley today. Not because of him but because of me. I realized that yesterday I was being hypervigilant like I use to be with Skooter and Moped. That almost drove me crazy so I decided that I didn't need to do that with Harley. So today he was out of his kennel most of the day and he slept and played and went outside. And I didn't whip myself into a frenzy. Training the human is way more complicated than training the puppy. lol He did have some accidents in the house today. Most were because I didn't notice or didn't keep him out long enough. I think one time it was because he realized that the big dogs were out in back of us. He didn't want to go out there. Later in the afternoon when David came home I asked David to bring him out. While they were out there the big dogs came to the fence. Harley was scared and stuck close to us. He did pretty good though.

Tonight we brought him to his first vet visit. I thought for sure he'd be running all over the place but he was his usual mellow self. The receptionist really liked him and gave him some treats. He loved that. Harley was excellent with the vet, Dr. McKenney. She gave him a clean bill of health and gave him his first of three series of shots. He didn't even notice she was giving him the shot because he was too busy eating the treats the doctor had given him. She said that he would be tired tonight. He didn't have a reaction to the shot which was a blessing. He's been in his kennel since we got home, sleeping the whole time. He's such a good boy.



I need to bring him back in September for his next shots and then in October for the last of the puppy shots (which includes his rabies shot). We don't get him neutered until he's about 5 or 6 months old. I'll have him microchipped at the same time. We might also get his dew claws removed. I don't really want to do that but David wants to. Of course I'll be the one taking care of Harley so I'm going to make the final decision. I brought in a poop sample to make sure he doesn't have any parasites. We'll be giving him a monthly heartworm medicine through October as a preventative measure. We'll also get him the dog flu shot since it's going around in Colorado.

Harley will probably sleep through the night tonight because of his shots but I'll get him out there before we go to bed so he can do his business. I'm hoping to have a better day tomorrow as far as housebreaking goes. I can't ask for more as far as his temperament and personality. He's great. Gabe will be here tomorrow so I'm hoping that doesn't throw off his housebreaking.

The only negative thing today is that my back is really hurting. I think it's from bending over so much. I'll have to be mindful of that from now on.

I made an order with Furry Friends last night and they delivered it today along with the dog treats that they leave. I'm going to have to wean him off of the Beneful. I gave him just the FF food today and he ate most of it. The vet said that I should be feeding him about a cup and a half of food each day. So that will be half a cup three times a day. I've fed him that much already today so no dinner for him tonight. Tomorrow I'll start the weaning process. He probably isn't very hungry tonight any way because he got his shot.