Doggie Daycare

Yes, yes, we have broken down and are going to become one of those yuppie dog parents who send their dog to daycare.  But there is a little back story...  Remember in my last post when I said there have definitely been some bad days?  Well Tuesday was one of them.  I. Broke. Down.  I'm talking tears...twice.  Coincidentally, after each accident Kairo had in the house that evening.  Here's how things went down, get ready for the play by play: 

First some background, G$ is taking a class two days a week, so I'm on Kairo-duty every Tuesday and Thursday from when I get home from work until about 9pm.  Easy peasy, right?  Well, some days it is - when Kairo chooses to take a nap at some point during that three hour window.  However, that was not the case on Tuesday.  I had a demon dog on my hands.

I get home from work and immediately take Kairo out.  If you recall, Tuesday was the day they were calling for severe thunderstorms, so the sky the dark and it was getting pretty windy.  While we were outside, there was the sound of low rumbling thunder and a little bit of lightning.  Due to the ominous sky as and the fact that there were not a lot of other dogs outside, we went back inside after less than 20 minutes outside (which is a very short trip for us).  We get back upstairs and I try to get some energy out of Kairo by having him run back and forth in our living room.  He's having a grand ole time.  After about an hour or so of playing and chewing, I take him back outside thinking we could go for a long walk.  It still hasn't rained mind you and the sky still has dark clouds, so I opt not to go for a walk, but rather to have Kairo run in the grassy area of the park.  So back and forth we go a few times (again, me trying to get as much energy out of him as I can). 

On our walk back to the apartment, demon dog comes out - jumping up on my legs trying to nip on them while we walk down the hallway to the elevator.  Same thing down the hallway from the elevator to our apartment door.  He's gotten this way before, when he's really exhausted, but let's be honest, a few back and forths in the living room, and a little running in the park is not enough to tire little Kairo out that much.  Needless to say, I'm thinking, he just needs a nap.  We'll go inside, I'll sit on the floor with him and he'll chew a bone in my lap until he falls asleep.  Well, he chewed and chewed, no sign of sleep.  I move him up to the couch, thinking he just needs his normal spot.  More chewing (on both toys and my arm) and playing, no sleep.  At this point it's about 8pm and he's been up for at least three hours.  He goes to the other end of the couch and I'm thinking to myself, 'Halleluah! He's doing the thing he does right before he goes to sleep!' (Kairo often moves around to multiple different areas trying to find 'the best' spot to lay down and sleep).  WRONG!  Next thing I know, we've got tinkle all over the one couch cushions and a little on the throw pillow.   This is when Tears #1 start.  I'm cursing Kairo (he knows better! and he can get off the couch by himself now, so there's no excuse!) and I'm cursing G$ for leaving me by myself.  While the tears are a-streaming, I start to strip the cushion and pillows - luckily, both have removable covers, so I slip them off, soak them with Nature's Miracle to clean and remove the urine smell, and hang them over the kitchen chairs to dry overnight. 

Crisis averted. 

I'm able to calm him down.  We do some training exercises - some sit-stay-comes, some downs - and then I get him to chew a bone in my lap while I sip chug a glass of wine.  Then he starts back up with the trying to use my arm as a chew toy.  Ugh.  At this point it's close to 9:30 and I send a text to G$: Where are you!?!  Except in my hurry, I actually typed: Where ate you!?! Whoops.  A few minutes later I realize I missed a text from G$ saying that he just got off the metro, let's meet outside.  Phew, relief is here!  I get Kairo ready to go out and then go back to cut up treats, thinking it's a time when there wont be many dogs out, so we can try some more training outside.  While cutting up the treats, Kairo is whining - he wants a treat.  I keep saying hold on, hold on, we are going to go out, and then Kairo just decides to squat and tinkle right on the carpet.  UGH!  Tears #2.  I clean up the mess, then grab Kairo and head downstairs.  G$ is waiting for us right by the stairs.  Rescue has finally arrive and G$ was very sympathetic.  (Thanks for being so supportive!)

Due the debacle that was Tuesday evening, it got G$ and I thinking about Kairo's high energy (Vizslas are known to have a lot of energy and require a lot of exercise.  Our plan was to run him, but Kairo isn't quite old enough to do that yet - folks have said at least wait until he's 6-8 months old).  We also started thinking about some of the suggestions we've received from folks while out with Kairo.  Everyone has such great things to say about doggie daycare - the dogs come home exhausted, but can't wait to go back... Just saying the word 'daycare' get the dog all excited... It's a great way to socialize a new puppy... etc. etc.
So we pondered and pondered and finally decided it probably was worth spending a few bucks (I'm not including price on here because I know a few mothers reading this would find it absolutely appalling...) to send Kairo to daycare a couple days a week.  G$ started researching options and we think we have found "the place" - now we just need to fill out the paperwork and Kairo has the pass the evaluation to be accepted.  Yes, there is a complicated process and we will keep you posted! 

Demon Dog

Hope everyone has a great July 4th!  We don't have any major plans - we are having both of our parents over for brunch on Sunday for the "official" show them the new place meal.  Unfortunately, due to my old job, that wasn't something we were able to do within the first six month of our marriage, so there was no "official" viewing of the old apartment.  I'm ok with that though, the new apartment is so much nicer! 

<3
K$

Step by Step...Day by Day

I know I said I would try to post some additional updates over the weekend... I'm only three days late. Not too shabby.

Going with Kairo's skull and crossbones theme - including his collar and collapsible travel bowl - we also added his ID tag to the list of skull and crossbones items:

He's such a tough little guy, isn't he! When G$ first put it on him, he was going nuts trying to get it in his mouth - unsuccessfully, which led to him just scooting backwards or in circles with his nose/mouth towards his neck. Adorable.

As I've mentioned before, we are on the 5th floor of our apartment building, which makes quick trips out to potty a little more of a challenge. Luckily we live right next to one of the stairwells, so we at least have the option of taking the stairs versus having to go the elevator route. And on that note, within the last week, Kairo has learned to do steps! It started with the last half flight of stairs and let me tell you, it's about the cutest thing on the face of the planet. And since the lovely iPhone has video capabilities, I get to share the cuteness with all of you.

Kairo was getting so good at the stairs, over the weekend, we thought we'd let him try doing all five flights. He made it once, then on times 2 and 3, his need to tinkle/inability to hold it took over, and we had two accidents in the stairwell. Still a moral victory in our eyes, since it was NOT in our apartment! He's definitely starting to get it (it being: potty is supposed to happen outside). We certain have had some accidents, but most have been on the tile in the kitchen/entryway. He'll make some noise or indication that he needs to go, but G$ and I were unable to react quickly enough. He still hasn't figured out the bell. And frankly, is still scared of it, which doesn't bode well for him using the bell to indicate to us he needs to go out anytime soon. I keep telling myself: he is only 10 weeks old!

Kairo also has a new favorite toy - Mr. Monkey - thanks to Auntie Kate, Uncle Dan, and Cousin Jack (more Jack since I know he picked it out!).

This one was actually taken this morning while Kairo was being a very, very good boy while I was getting ready for work

It's the cutest little stuffed monkey toy. Unfortunately, his eyes are going to be ripped out in the next week or two. Kairo loves to go for the tags or other extrusions.

Not only is this blog post the same as the catchy jingle to that childhood television show Step By Step, which coincidentally was one of my favorite TGIF shows as a child, but it's also how G$ and I are taking everything Kairo-related.  Step by step, day by day.  We have good days and bad days (one of which was yesterday...more on that one in a future post).  We take drastic steps forward (Kairo staying in a sit, while I walk about twenty feet away, then coming when I say 'come'), then sometimes a few steps back (tinkles in the house without any notice or indication).  It's a challenge.  Absolutely.  But when he gets so excited when I come home that is whole back end is shaking back and forth with his tail or he curls up in my lap, I just forget choose not to think about all the times when he was bad.  

<3
K$

He's Growing!

It's been a few weeks now and Kairo has definitely grown a lot. He has at least doubled in weight since we got him (probably more) and has definitely gotten taller, which I tried to show with the below picture. I wanted to do a before and after, but all of our "early Kairo" pictures seem to be of him laying down.



I like the picture below because it shows off his super cute wrinkles:



Last night, G$ tried to poison Kairo. Why would he do that, you ask? Not on purpose of course! The obvious next question is how could he have possibly done that?!? See Exhibit A below:


BITTER APPLE!

<Disclaimer! The following category may be categorized as "not lady-like," so consider yourself warned!>

Yesterday evening, Kairo had a case of what G$ likes to call "butt pee." I, of course, started freaking out thinking he had some viral infection caused by him eating grass from the "potty area" - something we were warned about by one of our neighbors. Once we get back inside, I do some internet research on the subject and most sites say that it usually lasts a couple days (what?!? oh please no). They recommended not giving him food for 12 hours so his tummy could rest, so we did that and by this afternoon his little puppy system was back to normal. Since it was the shortest case of puppy grossness, it led us to a believe that Kairo's "problem" was likely caused by G$ spraying two sprays of Bitter Apple on his hand and letting Kairo lick it. As an FYI, Kairo thoroughly disliked the taste, so we just need to work on the dosage.

My favorite Kairoa feature: his ginormous ears!



We are very excited for a weekend with absolutely no plans! I have some things I'd like to update you folks on, so I'm hoping I'll have some time to get back on here.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

<3
K$

Test 1-2, Test 1-2-3

A few weeks back, G$ and I purchased iPad online and it was finally delivered last week. Some of the issues with two posts ago may have been attributed to trying to use the Blogger site from the iPad Safari. No dice. I recently bought an app, so we'll see how this goes.

Not too much else to say at this point. We got back from Charlottesville a few hours ago. Kairo had a great time with Auntie M and Uncle J. Thank you guys soooooo much for watching him!!

He's now snoozing again on the couch...


We are going to try to kick up the puppy training this upcoming week, so more on that later

<3
K$

Another Set of Puppy First

I'm not sure how the Puppy Firsts entry got posted twice, but the first was the formatted one with the picture.  Apologies. 

One of Kairo's favorite ways to sleep - propped up on or between pillows.  This was especially cute this morning because he almost has bunny ears! :)

Well yesterday was another day of firsts for Mr. Kairo. 

• First trip to the vet and he was a very, very brave boy.  Everything – ears, heart, lungs, boy bits – checked out and he is a healthy pup.  He had another round of shots, which they conveniently package into one shot, which he yelped during the needle prick, but then he got over it like a good little pup.  He now weights 10 pounds, so he's grown about 3 pounds since we picked him up!   
• We have now had Kairo for about a week and half, and let me tell you his nails were getting LONG.  So while at the vet, I got a lesson in how to clip dog claws and Kairo encountered his first of many future times of getting his nails clipped.  Unlike any of my parents’ dogs, his claws are clear, which makes cutting them easy – you cut the white part of the nail, anything pinkish in color indicates that there is blood flow.  Easy peasy, right?  Well we’ll see about that when it’s G$ and I doing it in a week or two.  :)
• Kairo had a little accident in his crate yesterday afternoon, so he was a stinky mess, so once we got back from the vet and G$ got home from work, we drove a few miles away and Kairo had his first experience at PetSmart, so we could buy some puppy shampoo.  Once we got home, we put him in the sink and gave him his first bath, which he was not the biggest fan of.  Oddly, the water in our kitchen sink wouldn’t get above lukewarm, so I think he was cold, and by the end of it a shivering mess.  So I wrapped him up in a towel, then later a blanket, and we snuggled until he warmed up. 

G$ bought Kairo a new toy – which is called a Skineez.  It’s a plus stuffed animal squirrel, minus the stuffing.  The point being so there is no stuffing for a puppy or dog to bite at and pull out.  So far Kairo loves it!  And we love it to, since it’s another toy we can encourage him to chew instead of our arms and hands. 

You can kind of see a little plush squirrel in his mouth

Today will be Kairo’s first night without us (well since we picked him up) but I know he’s going to be fine with Auntie M and Uncle J.  And as I mentioned before, G$ and I are so ecstatic about sleeping in! :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

<3

K$

Puppy Firsts

G$ and I both knew going into this, that getting a puppy wasn't going to be a cakewalk, but I don't think we knew just how much work it was really going to be.  Everyone said, it'll be a nice test run for having children and let me tell you, I have no desire to have a child any time in the near future! :) Kairo has certainly been a pretty good puppy.  He's had his accidents in the house, but of course, after they happen, we can usually look back and say, "Yup, we probably could have prevented this one.  He was playing, so we should have taken him out."  But the challenge if figuring out if he's done playing, or just taking a quick break to grab some water.  And I'll be honest, the fact that it's a five flight walk down the steps, and a block walk to the designated dog potty area, it's a slight deterrent.  But I think he's learning.  We are trying to train him to ring a bell on the door when he has to go out.  For the first week, he was TERRIFIED of the bell.  Whenever we would try to touch his nose or paw to it, he'd squirm and try to get away.  But...we had a breakthrough yesterday and today!  He now wants to eat the bell! :)  Improvement?  I'm going to go with Yes!

Kairo's fav toy - the booda bone!

 

This past weekend was a lot of firsts for Kairo:  

• First barbeque at G$'s parents' house - he had a blast running through all the grassy areas in their backyard and of course loved all the attention.  Later, we also found out that G$'s grandfather was slipping him steak (much to our chagrins).  
• First time being left in his crate.  We had brunch with G$'s family on Sunday morning, so he got his first crate experience.  He was whimpering and whining when we left, and also two hours later when we came home.  Not looking good for Monday, which will be his first day being crated for the day while G$ and I work.  We were afraid he was going to cry the whole time and bug the neighbors, so I went and knocked on the next door neighbors' door, introduced myself, and explained "the situation."  Luckily, they work and no one will be home during the day.  Phew!  
• First softball game!  Our Team Mom, Aunty M (who will also be watching Kairo this weekend while we are at a wedding), was exuberant about getting to watch him during the game.  He was a very, very good boy and actually fell asleep for most of the game.  His cuteness, as it always does, attracts so many people to come over to pet him, but he liked the attention.

Kairo spent the entire softball game snoozin'

• First work day being crated.  Monday morning, I had to go get an ID card at the Pentagon, so I swung home afterwards to check on him before heading into work since G$ would not be able to make it home until early afternoon, I wanted to make sure he had a chance to go potty again.  And to my surprise (and excitement), when I got back to the apartment, Kairo was quiet!!  And only after about an hour.  Apparently, he is a smart puppy and figured out his whining would not get him out of the crate.  G$ comes home for lunch every day to let Kairo out and play with him, which has turned into a little bit of play, with a lot of sleeping on G$'s lap.

Memorial Day Weekend and Puppy Pick Up Day!

G$ and I had a great, relaxing Memorial Day weekend in the Outer Banks with my family.  Like here in DC, it was unseasonable hot down there as well – in the 90s and steamy humid.  The unfortunate part was that the water was ICE COLD so there was no escaping the hotness that was the beach.  My parents rented an ocean front house (thanks Mom and Dad!), so we enjoyed cocktails and hors d'oeuvres on the deck listening to the ocean every evening and then grilled a delicious meal.  It was a very low-key, relaxing weekend.  Oh, and did I mention, ice cream every night!?  :)  Sadly, the only pictures I took were at the Wright Brother’s Memorial, and I wont bore you with them.  Now onto the good stuff…

On Tuesday morning, we woke up at 5:20am to head 5 hours west in NC to Roxanne’s Vizslas to pick up our little guy Kairo!  

Our "Going Home" picture

Shortly after getting into the car to head to Virginia!

While picking him up, the breeder mentioned that he slept with her daughter the night before and only woke up once in the middle of the night to tinkle AND that he hadn’t had any accidents in the house yet.  We were ecstatic to hear that!  Naïve…but ecstatic!

Then we got in the car to take him to his new home in Virginia.  Kairo cried/whimpered for the first 30 minutes in the car, sad that we were taking him from the only place he’s ever known as home.  The 30 minutes of noisemaking tired him out, and then he snoozed in G$’s lap for the next hour and half.  We pulled off to a rest stop, which coincidentally had a nice gazebo and a grassy area and he was a very good boy and went potty.  Then it was my turn to hold him, so he snoozed in my lap for the rest of the trip.  At once point, he started whimpering and watching to get outside through the window, so we pulled over to a rest stop and he did his business, then it was back to snoozing the rest of the trip home.

Remember how I said above that we were naïve?  We had our first accident later that evening.  He just squatted in the middle of the living room.  Since then, I think he’s started to figure it out.  However, I did just get back from a two-trip outlining.  Once to tinkle after playtime, to come back up, to have him tinkle again when he got back upstairs.  I think he’s playing games and knows that when he tinkles he gets to go outside.  Not sure if he’s actually that smart.  

He has been pretty good at night.  G$ offered to sleep on the couch with him the past few nights so I could get a good night sleep since I started my new job this week.  Isn't he sweet!?  :)  So G$ and Kairo slept on the couch and it was really the cutest thing - Kairo slept on his head.   

And he really is the most adorable thing. 

Yes, that is a skull and cross bone collar.  G$'s doing, but it's actually grown on me.  Super cute to see this little non-threatening puppy with skull and crossbones on his collar.  I think we call that irony?! :)

G$ took off this whole week to stay home with Kairo.  For the most part he sleeps, plays, goes outside, repeats.  Sometime more trips outside.  More in a later post on potty training a puppy in an apartment.  Phew - it's a challenge.  

I'll try to get more action shots over the weekend.  

<3

K$