Update #2 on my life with Auggie

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Auggie turned 4 months old last Saturday and I found myself smiling while watching his antics and feeling all cozy, happy, and warm inside. Just two months ago I thought I would go insane and I secretly  cursed people who encouraged me to get a second dog, with my DH being at the top of the list. So what changed?

First of all, 2 months make a huge difference in the life of a puppy. Puppies mature and learn fast. That's really good news.

Auggie is doing well ringing the bells when he needs to go potty. We are not 100% solid, he gets distracted when playing with Monty too far away from the backyard door. But I've seen him run from the front door, through the dining room, all the way through the kitchen to the backyard door to ring the bell. So we are getting there. Thanks to Karen's advice he had his first firm poop in weeks. He is allowed in all the rooms of the house when supervised and I just love how he brings his bully stick from his kitchen area into the living room in the evening and plops down right next to us.

I'm also happy to report that as of last Sunday, Auggie feels more comfortable during car rides and I don't have to clean the car (and the dog) after each ride. Perhaps he stopped being nauseous in the car after he stole his homeopathic drops bottle off the kitchen table and chewed it all up. He was supposed to get 10 drops before each car ride, but that did not really work. I guess he's decided he needed to empty the whole little bottle to get rid of his car sickness.

Auggie's first obedience class started last Saturday. The trainer forgot to mention to me that the first session is for humans only. So Auggie got a private lesson from a second trainer while I was being educated on responsibilities of owning a puppy. When I went to pick up Auggie from the back training room, the trainer announced "I'm in love with your puppy. He is so mellow." She obviously has not seen him in the house with Monty. But it made me feel good. I have myself noticed that when away from house, or even separated from his older brother, Auggie is very calm and attentive. A totally different puppy. Our homework this week to tether the puppy to us for an hour a day. Well, it's kind of hard when the pup follows you around the house anyways. Another homework was to make the puppy sit if he wants anything. Well, he already does that. Also, we were supposed to work on the "leave it" command, which I found really challenging since once I have a treat in my hand, Auggie sits down as he is supposed to. I then toss another treat on the floor and I'm supposed to block him from getting to it. He never gets up from the sit and just keeps looking at me without any attempts to get to the treat on the floor. 

And finally, what really prompted me to write this was what happened this morning. My DH gets up at 5:45 and before he leaves for work, he takes Auggie out to go potty, plays with him, feeds him and puts him back in the crate at 6:30 as he leaves. I'm always upstairs sleeping with Monty on our bed. I heard my DH leaving this morning as usual and it was quiet downstairs in the kitchen where Auggie's crate is. 10 minutes later Monty jumps off the bed and whines by the bedroom door asking to go out. He needed to go potty. So I walked him downstairs and let him out, which of course, woke Auggie up. I tried to ignore that and Monty and I went back to bed. The little guy was not happy and kept barking in his crate downstairs. Since I'm a sleepy-head and was not ready to get up at 6:45, I got up and went downstairs to get Auggie out of his crate. He was happy as a clam to see me. I picked him up and carried him upstairs into the bedroom and got under the covers. He settled between my legs and fell asleep. So I had Monty sleeping on my DH's side of the bed and a little bugger sleeping peacefully between my legs for another hour, placing his chin on my leg few times. I only dozed off a little bit, trying to stay awake to keep an eye on him and also absorb all the love. It felt great.

Monty was 5 months old when he decided he no longer wants to sleep in his crate downstairs. I'm wondering when Auggie realizes that everyone else is upstairs at night and will want to ditch the crate. I don't think he is nowhere near as ready as Monty was at that age, but who knows. A month in puppy's life can make such a huge difference.

Auggie, I'm sorry I was so negative about you at the beginning. You are a sweet boy and I love you, my Itty-Bitty-Buddy-Boo.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Great point, Cheryl!  When we arrive home, Fudge tries to greet us, and Vern tries to stop her.  It is always something with two :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Vern Ned does the same thing to Fudge Clancy.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

LOL I'm just picturing you sneaking in so Vern can't hear but Fudge can!

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

I agree with you, Cheryl. I had Monty's undivided attention when he was a puppy. Auggie tends to tune me out when Monty is around, although he is getting better. It's just hard to do any kind of training for the little guy since Monty wants to be in the middle of everything and then Auggie just wants to play with his big brother. We have not had that moment yet when they would just nicely lay down next to each other on the floor and just hang out.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Nice update.  I will soon be going into the two dog stage and I hope I can learn from some of your experiences.

[Sue & Lily Grace]

Jarka, sounds like love. It is amazing how fast they turn from a peeing biting machine to a puppy with loads of personality and love. You are doing a great job. All bad things will be forgotten by the time he is one.

[Jen Fischer]

He is adorable! Just adorable.

[Pam & Trixie]

Awe, Im Smiling.  How nice to hear that he is fitting in very good now.

[Rachel and Ollie]

Auggie is so stinkin cute. He is giving you a look in that photo like "what? I like the dirt on my nose, so what."