Teething & Toys

I am beginning to feel like Tom and I got a baby, not a puppy.

The past few days, Murdock has begun teething (losing his puppy teeth). Just as with a baby, this had made for a very cranky puppy who has decided to chew on pretty much anything he can sink his missing teeth into. Well, almost everything. Given the circumstances, he's been pretty good. We haven't lost any shoes to the cause yet, though he did get my umbrella. (In my defense, he hopped up on a chair and grabbed it off the table when I was cooking dinner and didn't see him --- I didn't just leave it lying around).

He's (thankfully) turned to his toys to help soothe his gums. But, in true kid-style, every time I put a toy away, I turn around and four more are on the floor. It's never-ending! I walk into the other room to throw away the stringy remnants of his rope toy, and by the time I come back, there's twice as much string on the floor.

He's scheduled for a neuter tomorrow, which should just take the edge off of his dominant personality. Well, not the personality per say, but his more "aggressive" behaviors. Once he's fully recovered, we hope to start him in some basic puppy training classes, for both behavioral and social reasons.

He's a pretty good dog, he just needs some help in the barking area. If we can get that under control, and brush up on some basic commands (stay and come), we should be in the homestretch in no time...