Not so good Paulie news...

We had our first one on one obedience training today, and the trainer grabbed the behaviorist who happened to be free because he had a concern. Paulie is deaf. He does not respond to vocal commands or cues, is not bothered by loud noises, or noises of any kind(whether it be a semi truck or other dogs). There were other things that the trainer and behaviorist pointed out too. It makes so much sense, and the idea crossed my mind several times this past week and I just pushed it aside. Todd and I are so relieved that we know now. The poor thing was probably so scared because we didn't know how to interact with him, give him commands, etc.

In the 7 hours since our session, he is already making changes because we have. We are both very optimistic about teaching Paulie new things and behaviors, and are so relieved. Even though having a deaf dog will not be easy, for us it seems easier than a dog who is dominant aggressive. He is still biting, but we are viewing and reacting to it differently, so Paulie is reacting to us differently too. Like I said, we're really optimistic and willing to put in a lot of work to help Paulie.

We still want to have him medically tested, but we are pretty sure he is completely deaf. He is getting neutered on Monday, so I will mention it to the vet then to see if there is anything he can do. If anyone has any advice on training and living with dogs who are deaf, please comment!

2nd post of the day

Of course I have to AW Paulie regularly. Here are some new pictures of our little monster.



On the floor with Todd

I think he is starting to hate my camera.
Too fast for a picture!
Paulie hates his new crate.
But loves his new bed.



We had to buy him a metal crate because he was destroying the plastic one with his teeth, and a new bed because he was tearing it up and there are wool fuzzies everywhere. Little creep.

Go Go...Rockies?

Yes, we went to a Rockies game last weekend. No one will ever replace the Sox, but I think Todd was craving some live sport action, and I will never turn down baseball park food. Coors field has tons of awesome food, and I indulged in a foot long brat and some ice cream, and Todd had peanuts and ultimate nachos. They had steak in them. Amazing. I'm on Weight Watchers now, boo to that.

Here are some pictures:

Scoreboard
You can see the mountains in the background!
Field from our seats in right field
Another view before the game started
Cool nature-y thing by the bullpen. None of that on the southside.
Scottie Pods in center field...yum.

Bored Mets pitchers. They were talking (ie: Hey honey, how old are you?) to girls above the bullpen earlier in the game. Muy professional.

Paulie snores

...loudly. Like an old man. Even when he's not really sleeping. It's hilarious.

Paulie the pouncer

Paulie has been pretty aggressive with his biting this week, and after talking to a behaviorist, we are thinking it is a dominance and lack of training issue. The behaviorist sounded great, but was really expensive, so we have decided to go the traditional obedience route while researching dominance and trying the techniques ourselves. Today was our first day establishing our dominance with him, and he seems to be making a little improvement. We know it'll be a slow process, but we're willing to try. The expensive "come to your home" behaviorist will be our last resort.



So here is Todd playing with Paulie, and making sure he only chews his toy, not Todd.

And here are some pictures of him being a little angel this past week, just so you know he's not all evil. =)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Paulie is crazy.

Last night after our walk.
The only clear shot of him from this mornings antics.
Midmorning nap.
Ah, peace.

Paulie's video debut!

Don't mind Todd in the background. He was reading information about the Rockies game we're going to next Saturday. And I apologize for the shakiness. I was playing with him while trying to film this.

The video was taken before our first trip to the park. Silly me forgot my camera, but he did so good on his leash! He must have been trained before, because he is a practically perfect walker. The little trail we went on was less than a mile, and we ended up carrying him some of the way. It was the first time I've seen him pant--it was about 80 today here. I snapped a few shots of him after the walk, all tired.

His first time not on furniture or in his bed by choice

Doing the Roxie stretch

Sleepy puppy

Fun night, beautiful morning

Todd and I went out for our belated anniversary dinner last night and did our favorite thing: drinks and appetizers. We went to MacKenzie's Chophouse in downtown CoSpgs, and everything was delicious right down to the bread. The Caprese salad that I had was awesome, and we had shrimp cocktail (with four of the biggest shrimp I've ever seen), crab cakes with dill cream sauce, and beef tenderloin tips with brie and garlic crostini. Now anyone who knows me knows that I adore crabcakes and could eat them everyday, but the beef and brie was phenomenal. It's 7:30 in the morning and I could eat it again right now.

The drinks were great too. The first martini I got was called an "Adult Kool-Aid". It was yummy, and they give you the shaker, so I really got two martinis out of that deal, then I had peach bellinis. Todd was uncharacteristic and ordered a Long Island, but then reverted back to beer.

We got to talk about our very not normal first year of marriage, me finally living here, his job, my job, etc. It was just a really nice night, and it is really starting to feel like we're married, and I really actually live here.





I woke up this morning to the warmest day we've had since the beginning of the week, so I took some pictures.
From the backyard
From the front porch

I'm not too sure if I like the vet...

He seems to be condescending, and is very old school. If he doesn't improve by the time Paulie has recovered from his neuter, we will be vet shopping.

Speaking of his neuter, we can't do it for awhile. He is underweight, has infections in both eyes (worse in the left), and may have kennel cough. He's not coughing or hacking up anything, but he is sniffling and sneezing, which are early symptoms. I'm hoping it's not kennel cough and is just a little cold. Good news though, he ate 2.5 meals today, which is fantastic. Hopefully he will gain more by the time our next visit comes up in two weeks.

Even though Paulie is under the weather, he is still a happy little pup. He loves on everyone he sees, and shakes his whole entire body until his little back legs come off the ground after a nap or going to the bathroom. It looks like his butt is going to propel him off the ground. He is also the biggest cuddler ever.


Did I mention he is also stylish?

I'm typing one handed...

because the puppy has claimed the other for his pillow.

We have decided to name him Paulie Bleeker, but basically just call him Paulie. I have also taken to calling him Little Bug and Pooper.

We have our first vet appointment later on this morning, so hopefully that will go well. We will also be making an appointment to get him neutered. The vet receptionist that I talked to yesterday was very nice and helpful, so I'm optimistic. And Paulie ate this morning! It's the first time he's eaten since we got him, except a few training treats, and little treat chunks stuffed in his kong.

I'm typing this before coffee, so it's time to go get some. And in non Paulie news, Todd and I are going out for our belated anniversary tonight. I think we decided on drinks and appetizers at a restaurant downtown. I have no idea what I'm wearing, especially considering half my clothes still aren't unpacked.

It's chilly today...

...maybe I should put my sweater on and snuggle (and snore) with mom while she plays on the computer. She should be unpacking her bedroom.




PS: They still can't decide on my name.

Love, Paulie/Bleeker/Quigley

Introducing...

...Paulie/Bleeker/Quigley!

We haven't decided on a name yet, obviously. And we didn't realize until Erin pointed it out that Paulie Bleeker is the kid from Juno. We like the name Paulie, which stems from our love of Paul Konerko. We like the names Bleeker and Quigley because they are bars/pubs we frequent a lot back in Chicago (Bleekers and Quigleys). He is a 9lb, 6 month old Boston Terrier.

We adopted him today from the Humane Society here in CoSpgs. When we went to look on Monday, he was unavailable for adoption because he was a stray, but his owners did not come and claim him, so he was available to the public starting today. Lucky for us! He is absolutely adorable. He spins around and chases his little stuffed hot dog we got him, but hasn't gotten the hang of tennis balls. He licks EVERYTHING, and loves to just chill on our laps. He is still definitely a baby, so we will be going to puppy classes and working on housetraining and crate training. He had two accidents today in the house, and thankfully the worst happened in the kitchen. He was able to potty (yes, I said potty) outside during our walk to the mailbox though, yay! He seems to love all people, but is a little wary of other dogs. Even ones his size. Hopefully we will remedy that through our puppy classes.

We think he may have a little eye infection in his left eye. It's a little red and has a whitish discharge, but I'm calling the vet tomorrow to set up our free visit and to make an appt. for his neuter. Poor guys has "one of his rocks still in the box" as the adoption facilitator so fondly put it. Scientifically speaking, he has an undescended testicle. Usually this results in a more expensive neuter, but the Humane Society gave us a specific vet to go to that will bill them for the extra costs. That works out well for us since we bought a whoooole bunch of stuff for him today, and still have to pick up a few things (baby gate, puppy sweater) tomorrow.

His accident in the kitchen was liquidy poop, which worries me. Even though he has no other symptoms, I'm already paranoid that he has Parvo or something. Hopefully we can get into the vet on Friday so I can stop worrying. I'm thinking it may be the food they had him on, and the fact that they didn't monitor what he ate while at the shelter. He had access to his food bowl all the time. We got a more natural lamb and rice puppy food to start mixing with the food they gave us. He should be on the good puppy food only by next week.

So without further rambling, here are pictures of Paulie/Bleeker/Quigley cuteness. And feel free to tell us which name is your favorite, as well as suggest new names for us to consider. =)

Hanging out in the kitchen while I made dinner

Todd went for a run, and he was glued to the window

Good puppy passed out while we ate

My boys watching the Sox game

Poor little guy had a long day

Crazy weather, and Garden of the Gods

Yesterday it got into the 80's here in CoSpgs, and then today it was only about 45, if that. I think it might be more effed up than Chicago here regarding weather. The top of my back is fried from standing in the yard for less than 30 minutes, and then today I was in a hoodie and my Northface fleece during our nature outing.

Here are some pictures from our relaxing day yesterday:

We went to the Garden of the Gods today so my parents could see some nature besides what's on the golf course. I forgot my camera, but here are some pictures that my mom took: