The Lessons We Learn Having Two Puppies

This blog is going to be about the lessons we are learning from having two puppies in the house. Some were learned just this morning, so here we go.


Lesson One, one should not try to catch up on any sleep on the couch because Moose Mutt aka Torean will assume that you are simply laying there for his amusement and continually wake you up because he is using you as a springboard to launch his attack on the Baby Shark aka Simon.

Lesson Two, do not try to appease the Moose Mutt to have him calm down by calling him up the foot of the couch where you are sleeping because he will proceed to throw all of his weight up to you and sit on your stomach waiting to be petted.


Lesson Three, do not think that making Moose Mutt get down on the floor to play with the Baby Shark will give you any peace and quiet because they will keep coming over to you during their play session, and trap you in the middle.

Lesson Four, do not think that switching ends of the couch will give you any peace because Moose Mutt will again jump up sitting at your feet and sliding the cushions off so he can hang over Baby Shark and play bite him thus driving Baby Shark into a biting and growling frenzy before he climbs up on the couch to bite Moose Mutt.


Lesson Five, when both children have played to the point where they are collapsed on the floor sleeping together, do not expect the peace to last because being babies that they are, one will not be able to resist waking up the other one and starting the chaos all over again.

Lesson Six, do not expect to charge anything you value while both puppies are awake because they will either keep unplugging what you are trying to charge, or find the cords delicious and continually try to run off with them, especially laptop cords (ahem Simon)


Lesson Seven, do not assume that setting your shoes on the floor for any period of time is a good idea because they will either end up in a puppy mouth, or slid into some unreachable area because the nut brothers have blown through.

Lesson Eight, when the Baby Shark is ready for mischief do not dangle fingers or toes off the couch while trying to read because he will take this is an invitation to nibble thus attracting the attention of Moose Mutt and again you are caught in the middle of their battle and any hopes of quiet are hopelessly dashed and you give up.


Lesson Nine, do not assume that because the baby gate is up it will keep Baby Shark or Moose Mutt in the living room. No, Baby Shark will have to prove that he can climb over it by taking a mad leap over his dog food bag, crawl up the gate and shoot into the dining room. When this happens Moose Mutt becomes jealous and tries the same thing thus making things fall over and scaring both animals and anything in the vicinity.


Lesson Ten, when considering having two puppies in the house make sure you are fond of the names you have chosen for them because you will be saying those names constantly. Example, Simon I thought I told you to stay out of the cords, Torean, if you don't want Simon biting you don't go over to him and start something then act offended when Simon wants to play. Simon, don't bite Torean there, you wouldn't like it if he did it to you.Torean, don't slap Simon in the face with your paw, he isn't doing anything to you. I swear to god neither one of you is happy unless you are starting something with the other, fine, bite each other, I give up. Don't come hiding by me when you are sick of playing.


Lesson Eleven, while trying to take both boys out at the same time to potty seems like a good idea, it is really chaos waiting to happen and any hopes of the boys going potty are hopelessly dashed because it must be playtime again.


Lesson Twelve, putting a bandana around Moose Mutt's  neck to celebrate Daddy's Scottish heritage might seem like a good idea, and the Saltire flag might go beautifully with his fur but Baby Shark will see this as a never ending source of fascination and keep trying to go after the bandana until you are finally forced to remove it until Baby Shark gets a little bigger.

Lesson Thirteen, and this is a good one. DO NOT assume that when it is hot, and you have two rambunctious puppies, you have any chance in hell of getting the fan. If the nut brothers are not constantly unplugging or moving it, they are plopped in front of it fighting to see who can get the most air. And if that is not bad enough, in comes Blizzard to claim her fan rights, and then comes the glare down and inevitable cat/dog fight.


Lesson Fourteen, monkey see, monkey do. Enough said.


Lesson Fifteen, do not assume that because it is quiet both boys are sleeping. Quiet usually means that one of them has found something to get into and you are forced to open mouths and pick out whatever morsel they have decided to try and eat only to get the offended look before said puppy goes into the corner to sulk.


Lesson Sixteen, when taking a puppy to the vet always make sure you have a baby bag on hand filled with toys, pee pads, and antibacterial wipes. Heaven forbid a baby should get bored while waiting for the vet, or they decide it is time to potty and you clean it up so you don't get charged by the vet for a cleanup fee on top of every other charge.


Lesson Seventeen, do not think that putting Baby Shark in his crate for a cool down is going to put an end to the fighting that got him put in there in the first place. If you put Baby Shark in his crate make sure you put the baby gate in front of it otherwise Moose Mutt will insist on laying by the crate teasing and making Baby Shark cry louder. IT'S NOT FAIR MOM! HE STARTED IT AFTER ALL!


Lesson Eighteen, do not assume that because Moose Mutt barks at Baby Shark, Baby Shark will take the warning and back off. No, instead he rears up on his back paws and barks back until you have to separate them to cease the barking then  they both complain loudly that they got split up, and your sanity is questioned.

Lesson Nineteen, do not assume that putting Moose Mutt outside in his kennel so he can have some alone time will get you rewarded. Deprived of his baby shark chew toy, Moose Mutt will sit and bark his head off at an offending robin looking for worms until you go out and quiet him down, then he will expect you to sit there and play with him because he is bored.


Lesson Twenty, even though you try to keep treat time separated neither puppy will be happy unless they are fighting over the same treat, and around and around they go until one of them gives up and waits for the next go round.


That concludes this blog of lessons we have learned having two puppies. And if things keep going the way we are expecting, I will have a new round of lessons shortly. This blog is intended to be humorous, I am in no way complaining because we all love the chaos having Simon and Torean has brought into our life. We have never owned two dogs at the same time before, so everything is new and exciting. I do not think I would ever go back to having one dog again. Here is to lifelong puppy brothers, mischief, mayhem and adventures!

Simon and Torean

Today was Simon's first vet appointment and he handled it all like a champ deciding that the exam table was a very nice place to go to sleep. He weighs twelve pounds now, his heart and everything else is normal, and he tested negative for worms. He even got a nice nail trim from the intern, and rewarded her by trying to nibble her fingers, such a puppy I know. However, the news about Simon's eyesight is about what we were expecting. The vet has cautiously diagnosed Simon as being mostly blind, and we have an appointment for him to see the eye specialist next week. Simon failed all of the vision tests, but he did react to the light test so we are hoping that he can see a little bit. The vet was stumped as to why Simon can not see because in every other aspect he is healthy, but it does not matter to us. Simon is beloved to all of us, especially to big brother Torean, and our goal now is to give Simon the best quality of life that we can. He is incredibly smart, and such a puppy despite his vision issue, there is certainly nothing wrong with his puppiness as Torean would attest. When we got Simon home from the vet he had a power nap, then he went outside and Will brought Torean out. The boys spent the better part of two hours chasing each other around, growling and biting, rolling around, and tearing up the grass with their antics. Both boys are completely exhausted now, and it is a wonderful sight to us. Torean let himself go letting us see him roll around on the grass like a maniac, sticking his butt up in the air and hopping around Simon like a jack rabbit. Simon even threw a couple crow hops in for Torean's amusement. Moments like this afternoon are why Simon's diagnosis does not crush us, he is a content puppy and a happy one.

Puppy proofing

Simon is rapidly getting more adventurous and curious with every day. His play sessions with Torean are getting longer and more vocal, and you guessed it, Simon has picked up Toreans old loves including the dreaded gray hair inducing cord chewing. Simon is a smart little nut and so far our attempts at blocking areas off is being met with absolute failure. Yesterday I concocted a barricade to keep Simon out of the corner only to see him wiggle his expanding backside and crawl under the chair around the barricade to get my laptop cord, his favorite target. So today I am trying to figure out a new way to block him...and protect the living room from the nut brothers rampage. Torean has finally given up his love of cords only to gnaw lovingly on his time out chain when he is bored. Thankfully with Torean only two cords suffered his chewing and I hope we can be that lucky with Simon.  Puppies.
   Simon goes to the vet on Monday where we are hoping for good news. Simon is growing like a happy weed and putting weight on nicely but his vision still needs improvement even though it isn't stopping him from causing mischief, biting his brother and enjoying his puppyhood. He loves the grass, attacking and beheading those evil weeds, trying to bite feet, gee, he sounds like a certain Norwegian puppy....and overall being a nut. He is bringing us as much joy as Torean does and the two of them are quite skilled at making us laugh. As you can guess two puppies bring chaos, laughter and many phrases one says to a baby or a Norwegian elkhound puppy. The worst one for Torean being GET THOSE UNDIES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! I thought I told you to stay out of the bathroom! Thank god we didn't have guests that day. Ah memories. :)

Puppy brothers at play

Yesterday the boys were having so much fun that I could not resist taking a video of them. As you can see, the boys love each other dearly, and little baby shark Simon is growing like a weed. Torean is eleven months old today so we are trying to figure out what to do for him. We are in disbelief that next month he is going to be a year old, and trying to figure out where the time has gone.

 

Bare Floors for the Win!

Today we learned another valuable tool when it comes to having two puppies in the house. Bare floors, yes, I said it, bare floors.
 Example one, cleaning up puppy piddles on a bare floor is so much easier than trying to clean a carpet.
 Example two, cleaning the floors with a heavily shedding Elkhound requires only a broom and dustpan sparing the vacuum cleaner from death by fur (of which it thanks us greatly)
 Example three, bare floors echo the sounds of paddling little feet which instantly tells us where Simon is, and what he is doing, and if Torean is helping or hindering the situation before we get up and herd the monsters back into the living room. Simon's paddling becomes either heavier or lighter depending on whether or not he has a choice toy in his mouth dragging it, whether or not he is chasing Torean or an unsuspecting ankle, or whether or not he is looking for trouble. Being a puppy of course, looking for trouble is tops of his list at most times like his not so innocent big brother.
 Example four, bare floors also makes moving Simon's crate around and pulling out the dirty tray to clean when Simon has an accident.

  And we have Torean to thank for all of this as we had to take out the rugs we had in the living room and upstairs in our bedroom because he developed a taste for carpet threads, pillows and the stuffing in the mattress. So here is to you, Torean! Thank you for prepping us for Simon, and keeping us on our toes when it comes to new puppy antics. Simon adores you, as do we. Here is to more mischief, mayhem, and many more blogs about puppy adventures.

The Trouble Puppies!

Puppy brothers to the end. Having two puppies has to be the funniest and most gray hair raising experience of our lives. Simon has overcome his shyness at being in a new home, and loves the nice big backyard he gets to play in. He also loves the nice, big living room filled with magical electric cords that beg him to chew on them apparently. Simon also loves the gravel driveway and when he goes from grass to gravel he takes off like a yellow streak and we have to scramble to bring him back so he stays out of trouble. For a tiny puppy Simon has some incredible speed on him, thank goodness for leashes to keep tiny puppies out of trouble, or puppies like Torean, haha. Simon adores Torean to no end, and Torean adores him. Torean is being an exceptional big brother aside from playing a bit too rough at times. Torean has extreme patience with Simon's playing, biting and growling and has yet to growl at him, or show any signs of aggression towards him. In the mornings it is adorable because Torean can not wait to get downstairs to see Simon, and once they get the sniffs done, romping time begins until both boys are exhausted and sound asleep until the next round. Simon's earlier problems with balance seem to have improved, while we are still in debate about how well Simon can see. Our regular vet is booked solid, so Simon will get to see a new vet and we are hoping we can get some answers about Simon's vision hoping for good news. But no matter what the outcome Simon is part of the family, and we will adjust as needed for Simon. Torean on the other hand is as healthy as can be, and still manages to give us the gray hairs that come with having a baby in the house. But we would not change any of it for the world, we love our hectic family dearly.

    Simon and Torean had a whirlwind couple days meeting my sister and brother in law who are visiting for a few days from PA. Torean met them at six weeks old when we were taking him from OH to NY, but he had to remeet them, and he did wonderfully just about melting into a puddle from being petted and spoiled rotten by them. Simon did not seem to care too much about it all more concerned about running around on the grass and chasing unsuspecting feet of which he is the master like Torean was at that age. Simon also liked showing them his ability to behead the weeds and pounce on unsuspecting leaves. Gee, that sounds familiar (Torean) Simon also enjoyed trying to nibble fingers showing off those sharp little teeth of his. Such a puppy monster or baby shark as I call him. Simon proved us wrong on some aspects yesterday when he had to get his first bath because he decided to Poopy foot his way around his crate. We were heavily anticipating growling and escaping but Simon sat down in the water and took it all in stride loving the warm water and being patiently adorable. Now he is a happy fluffy terrorizing yellow bundle of trouble. Torean saw this and proceeded to hide expecting to get his own bath but he was spared this time around. And besides, a Torean bath will have to be done outside with full rain gear equipped. Yes, Torean is that good with his shaking and DELIBERATE SNEEZING! Torean is deadly with the deliberate sneezing and thanks to a warning from someone we are budding masters at shielding our food from his snotty ways when he wants something. I hope that is one trait Simon does not inherit. Two power deliberate sneezers...I shudder at that. On that note, have a great weekend everyone. Here's to many more blogs about puppy antics!

And then there were two

Well everyone, as you can see, we made the plunge to add a new member to our family, and give Torean his much needed playmate. This is Simon Winston Demetrius the Third, a mouthful for a mouthy little puppy. Torean did exceptionally well meeting his new doggie partner instantly fascinated by him and determined to sniff every inch of him. For the first day Simon did not seem to be too interested in him, but by the second day Simon realized he had a friend, and has been driving Torean nuts since then. Torean has to be reminded to play gently with Simon because of their size difference but he has been doing very well with him. Last night they were racing all around the living room together with Simon growling and barking at Torean, then surprising him by trying to lick him on the nose. Last night was their first official play time together on the floor and Torean spent the first few minutes spinning around in circles and jumping over Simon because Simon was chasing him and trying to step on his toes, then they were off until Simon fell asleep in the middle of the floor and had to be set in his corner to sleep. Simon's corner is next to Torean's so that while Simon is sleeping they can be near each other, and I think that helped Torean adjust to him more. We have been careful since Simon's arrival to make sure the boys have time together, and a little time separately. While Simon sleeps Will takes Torean for a run, or we spend some time playing with him, and so far, this is making Torean quite happy. Simon has been a delight and a challenge (sounds like Torean doesn't it?) and I know he and Torean are going to be the best of friends as Simon gets older.

To sum up, we had been looking for a companion for Torean for quite awhile now checking rescues, and going to the shelters where we had a bad experience hoping to find the right dog for him. We had just started thinking that maybe the time was not right when the possibility of getting Simon came up with Simon practically falling into our laps. Less than three days later, Simon came along and he was our baby. The first night we let Simon have a little time down here with us before Will brought Torean down and they got to meet. Simon was more interested in sleeping while Torean wanted to sniff the living daylights out him and sniff every inch of the living room and us. Then the sniffing obsession faded, and the two of them are living terrors. Thankfully we were still geared on puppy behavior because of Torean. Out came the pee pads, the cords went up out of reach from baby shark teeth (Simon's nickname is baby shark for good reason) and the baby gate went out to keep Simon in his corner at night and to keep him out of the dining room where the vengeful kitties are. Blizzard has dismissed Simon with a glare while Daisy has yet to come out of hiding. Simon does not seem to care about the cats, big brother Torean is much more fun to play with. Simon delights in startling Torean by chasing him, and bark growling at him, and the first day Simon barked back at him, Torean's mouth practically fell open. Simon loves bark growling at him now, while Torean just hops around sticking his fluffy butt in the air. Gotta love brothers. Welcome to the family, Simon, you baby shark you.