I'm a Bad Blogger

I'm a bad, bad blogger.  Sorry for the month of no updates.  I've been busy!

However, I wanted to make a quick post showing off Marty's new trick...ok, it's like 3 weeks old.  Still, here's a quick video.

I'll post some more updates soon, most likely this weekend!

K bye!

Smegma, General Update, Etc.

Well, it's been a while since I posted an update.  To be honest, not much has changed, Marty is still the happy little guy he's always been!

He's grown a bit and we haven't been working on too many new tricks.  Marty has reached a point where he knows a decent number of tricks, but has started just cycling through them constantly when he wants a treat. This is not acceptable.  It was cute at first, and encouraged (to help him learn the motions), but now, whenever he starts cycling through, I put the treat behind my back and don't say anything.  After a few seconds he will stop, sit and listen.

He's gotten much better about not cycling through tricks.  Before he gets food, I slowly go through his tricks, in a completely random order, sometimes repeating tricks.  Sometimes all I do is have him stay.  It confused him at first, but he's improving every time.  I'm basically trying to keep him on his toes.  I'm trying to to teach him to calm down and listen.

We're still going on walks, but now we've added fetch to some of our walks.  Sometimes I throw a tennis ball, which he chases and brings back, most of the time.  Sometimes I bring the soccer ball and dribble around the park while he chases me/the ball.  It tires him out and he loves it!

Another big improvement has been him listening to me more outside.  He still gets scared of some really loud noises, but his trust level and confidence level is rising.  In the dog park near my house, he's very good off leash.  He will run around, chase balls, play with other dogs (also immense improvement, he's made 3-4 friends that go crazy when they see him and vice versa), but still listens to every command I give, whether it be to sit, so I can put the leash on or off, stay, follow, etc.

I'll end with a fun story from this weekend.

So, Marty being my first pup and I'll, I'm a bit of a worry wart.  I try not to be, but I can't help it.  Maybe it's because my own mother still dotes on me at the young age of 26.

Well, after running around outside in the backyard a bit on Friday, Marty went up on the porch and sat down, looking at me with a look that says "I want to go inside now human."  I moved to oblige my canine overlord, when I noticed that he had a milky white substance on the tip of his penis.

I went inside and grabbed a paper towel and gently dabbed the tip of his penis, worried that my puppy went from a lick granuloma and ear infection to a now infected urethra.  The substance was somewhat off white and tinted kind of green.  I was instantly worried.

I mentioned this to my roommates and they said if I see it again I should take him to the vet, which I agreed with.  Two days went by and I didn't see anything, I figured that it was just some dry urine or maybe he walked in something weird.  Sunday evening it was there again.

I went into worry mode, when I realized that I had a powerful tool I hadn't consulted yet, Google.  The weirdest google query of my life (puppy has pus on penis) and I instantly was directed to a bunch of results saying "Probably not infected, mostly likely smegma."  In my mind, what the hell is smegma.

Smegma is penile discharge that lubricates the foreskin of a dogs penis.  Smegma is made of natural lubricants a dried pee.  If it was an infection, it would smell horribly.

Marty, you teach me the most amazing things.

K bye!

Grandpa's Visit

So my dad was randomly in town last night and Marty was so glad to see him (as was I of course)!

Marty went crazy when my dad came into the house, wagging his tail like a mad man and try to jump up on my dad to give him kisses and remind him that he loves him, just in case he forgot (this is something Marty does to me....about 5-6 times a day on weekdays and every time I leave the house on the weekends).

After spending a few minutes playing in the house, we got everything together and went to the dog park.  There were a decent amount of dogs at the park, along with two giant German Shepards.  The dogs were beautiful and one of them, Zeus, had a thing for Marty and consistently tried to...mount him.  Marty did not enjoy this and would growl and run away.  Zeus would chase a bit, but his owner was great and eventually led him away since he did not look like he was ready to stop.

After a few minutes Marty ended up going in the water and playing fetch for a while.  He kinda made a friend, but they two pups more of just chased balls together then separated to go after their respective balls.

After 30-40 minutes of playing fetch we decided to go for a short 20 min walk in the woods.  There are some good pics from the walk:

Can I have the stick?!  Please?

I'm in the woods...this is great

   Some more pics:

Ugh, why are you making me sit still?  Do you not smell that? 

Ooo a bird, wait were you trying to take a picture?

We decided to leave after a long dog park trip.  Marty was sufficiently tired and we were getting pretty hungry.  Marty kept trying to spend some time with Grandpa so we decided to let him walk Marty:

Am I holding the leash right Vin?

This is easy when he sits.

We dropped Marty off and went to Rockland's for some BBQ.  It was delicious.  Kelly, as promised, pics below of the Pearl:

Mmmmmm

Again, mmmmmmm food porn

All in all a great visit from Grandpa!!

K bye!!

The Windows

No, this isn't a post about the The Doors' sister act, The Windows.

This is a post about how the DC weather gods have finally deemed the area worthy of receiving some cooler weather, beautiful sunshine, and chilly nights.  Autumn is in the air, and with the fall coming, the air conditioners are being turned off in favor of the scents and sounds of the season.  Puppies are running around outside, thankful for the break in the weather.

Marty is not one of those puppies.

Don't get me wrong.  Marty loves playing outside and loves sniffing all the flowers and new smells.  What he doesn't like (you might have alluded this from the title) is the windows being open all of the time.

With the windows being open, all of the loud noises that were muddled by the air conditioner running and windows being shut are now coming to him in full force.  He didn't like the noises outside, and having them now inside have put him on edge.

Maybe I should rephrase that.  He's not "on edge," like he's going to go postal or something, he's more...ready to jump at a moment's notice.  He still prances around the house like a madman, sniffing and giving kisses to everyone he can, whether they want it or not...Daisy, picking up toys and discarding them just as quickly, but, as soon as he hears a loud noise from outside, he darts towards his crate, my room, me, etc.

On one hand, I feel bad for the little guy.  There's construction going on a few blocks away, loud trucks drive by all of the time, and across the street is being repaved, so there's a lot of noises flooding into my little guy while he's in his crate all day.

On the other hand, I think this is really good for him.  He's in his safe place, hearing all of the loud obnoxious noises (cannot even begin to describe how much my hate for loud motorcycles has grown over the past few months) and is slowly getting used to them.  Today, we went out on a walk and motorcycle drove by and Marty didn't give it a second's thought.  I think that he's going to start tuning out more and more of the loud noises and eventually not be scared of them anymore.

I do feel bad for the guy, but in the end, this is probably the best thing for him.

Sorry for no new pics!  I'll take some more for a post I'm thinking of for tomorrow

K byeee

Labor Day Weekend!

Wow, we had a fun Labor Day weekend.  Despite raining on Sunday, Marty and I met up with some of my friends (Gloria, Ryan M, Ryan F, Honda, and James) and one of his friends, Elmo, at Glencarlyn dog park.  We decided to do a picnic before taking the puppies to the park (this is the no leash park we've been to before) but unfortunately it was raining pretty steadily.

We ended up eating on a picnic bench under an over hang, which was nice, but Marty and Elmo were kind of freaking out for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, they were tied to a post.  Marty, being the brilliant puppy that he is, consistently tried to surge towards me (about 8 ft away, leash is about 5 ft) only to get caught and get yanked back.  Then he would just continue to try walking towards the table, choking himself in the process, but not really caring.

Second, Elmo and Marty thought that by walking around post they would somehow escape from its clutches.  This was not the case.  All it did was shorten their leashes.  They kind of realized this after they ended up tangling themselves to the point that they couldn't move.

Third, random small children reaching out to them while speaking Spanish.  Marty was not amused.  Actually, Marty was terrified.  It was kind of hilarious, even though I felt bad.

With lunch finished we went to the dog park.  Marty and Elmo were glad to not be tied up and once we took off their leashes, took off chasing one another and running around.  Now, if you recall, in a previous blog post I mentioned how much Marty loved the water last time were at the dog park.

In the past 6 days he seemed to forget this.  I expected him to just surge into the water, without fear, and show Elmo how it's done (Elmo did NOT like the water...at first).  After a few trepidatious steps, Marty made his way into the water and remembered that he in fact DID like the water.  Within minutes he was running around and swimming.

Dude, the water is AWESOME. 

He kind of forgot how to play fetch, but remembered after a little bit.  Some of the funniest moments were when I would toss the ball into the "deep" area of the stream.  Marty and Elmo would charge after it, only for Elmo to come to screeching halt right before the deep end, leaving it for his big buddy to go in and grab the ball.  Then Elmo would try to snipe it and bring it back.  It was hilarious.

Don't worry man, I got this.

Ryan M. and Gloria's goal for the day was to get Elmo swimming around and enjoying the water.  They were AWESOME at it.  Ryan waded into the water (the water actually felt really nice) carrying Elmo.  He would then slowly lower Elmo into the water while holding him.  Elmo would start swimming and then all of us would encourage him.  Marty started trying to encourage him, but just became a stepping stone for Elmo during his swim.  By the end of the day Elmo was going into the water on his own, and all in all it was a big win.

With Elmo trying to use Marty as a stepping stone (Marty didn't mind, he actually puts his head underwater on his own) we thought it best if Marty and I went wandering around for a bit.  During our roams I also fell in the water a bit (well, Marty came sprinting in front of me from out of nowhere, and while trying not to step on him, I fell a bit).

The rest of the afternoon was great.  For a long time we were really the only group there.  Other dogs would stop by for a bit (it was still kind of rainy) but never stay too long.  Except for Chumley.  Unfortunately there are no pictures of him, but he was a beautiful Bernese Mountain dog.  For those who don't know, Bernese Mtn. dogs are HUGE and Chumley was no exception.  He towered over Marty and Elmo, and he also loved swimming.  He was just a mountain of wet fur and giant dog.  When he shook himself off, we all got wet.  It was hilarious and he was such a sweet dog.

We were at the park for a little over two hours and by the time we left a ton of other dogs had shown up.  Marty made friends with another puppy who was scared of everything just like him.  They got along really really well.  In my mind they were comparing what each other is scared of and just agreeing that they're both scared of everything.  They ran around together for a bit until Marty decided to go swimming.  Unfortunately his new friend did not like the water and Marty, being the heart breaker that he is, kept swimming and never looked back.

For about 30 seconds.  Then he turned around and continued running around playing with her.

The park was insanely fun and really tiring for Marty and Elmo.  By the end of the afternoon, they were kind of collapsing.  Ok, Marty still had energy somehow, but Elmo was completely crashing.  Well, Marty was tired, but didn't want to admit it.

Go ahead buddy, take a nap.  I'll watch your back.

He wanted to have energy really badly, but after a minute or two would completely calm down, curl into a ball, and go to sleep.

There are a lot more pictures from the park (thank you Gloria!!!) so enjoy:

It's my ball.  I should hide this...

This feels nice.

Oh I can't keep this?  Ok, I'll bring it to you.

Hey, whatcha doin'?  You're pointing that shiny thing at me.

You called me here with no treat?  How dare you!

LEAF! LEAF! LEAF!

Come on Elmo.  Look he has treats!  Let's go get them!!

Hey, come back.  We're not done swimming!  Come on!

Hi, I'm Marty and I'm adorable.  Just in case you forgot.

K bye!

The Dog Park 2: Marty Strikes Back

I've realized that with a middle name like Solo, this blog has had a severe lack of Star Wars references.  I'll have to change that.

As I mentioned, Marty has now gone to two dog parks.  The first was a fenced in affair with dogs he was unfamiliar with.  He made some attempts at making friends, but mostly just ran around aimlessly, chasing balls, and sometimes chasing the group.

The second dog park was completely different.  Meg extended an invite for a ride with her and Daisy for a park that was not fenced in.  I'll admit, I was really nervous about Marty being off leash in a strange place with no fence.  Meg and I both assumed that Marty would trot around a bit, but mostly stay near us.  Man, were we in for a surprise.

Marty LOVED the freedom.  The instant he was off leash, he started sniffing around.  Having Daisy, a dog who he is familiar with and will initiate play time, was awesome.  Within minutes they were both sprinting around chasing a ball.  There was a stream nearby and we made our way over there.  Again, Meg and I assumed Marty would wade around a bit, but not really go nuts.

NOPE.  Marty charged in.  He was swimming around, chasing the ball we were throwing and even jumping off rocks into the water.

All in all this was a fantastic experience.  Marty and Daisy were sprinting around, playing with one another, with the couple of other dogs that were there, and generally just having a great time.  We went on a short hike, maybe 10 min, where the dogs just kind of ran around in circles.  Marty was pretty good about coming when I called, but after a few minutes I stopped worrying about his running off, since if he ever went too far, he'd come sprinting back.

Marty and Daisy were still full of energy when we got home, despite running around at full speed for about an hour.  However, Marty was dead tired all day the next day.

I think a few friends and I are going to go have a picnic near the park this weekend and give him even more time to run around.  I'll probably shoot Elmo's parents an email and see if they want to come.

K bye!

The Dog Park...Part 1?

Yes, there's a part 1 in that title.  Marty has now gone to two, that right count 'em, two separate dog parks.

I was a little nervous about taking Marty to a dog park.  He's a really sweet and friendly guy, but can sometimes get a little rough and a little protective with other dogs.  Chris volunteered to give a ride to Madison Park, which was recommended to me by a few people on Marty and I's walking route.  The ride was pretty uneventful...aside from me taking us to the wrong park first.

Luckily, Marty was fine:

Hey, where we going?  This car's nice and quiet.

We got to the park around 11:30 AM and it was actually pretty nice.  It wasn't too hot or cold out and the park itself wasn't terribly crowded.  Marty was a bit nervous once we got in, he didn't really know what to do.  Marty really needs there to be a leader when it comes to play time with other dogs.  He knows he can just be cute to get people to play with him, but with dogs he's just at a loss.

We were at the park until about 1:00 or so, with Marty running around for maybe half the time and the rest of the time just wandering around the park or hovering near Chris and I.

So, this fence is fun.

Right before we left a collie with a ton of energy came in.  Her owner started tossing around tennis balls in rapid fire.  Marty got excited and started running after as well.  Unfortunately he had little hope of actually catching the collie or beating her to a ball.  Most of the time Marty just ended up like this:

Soooo....where did everyone go?

We left the park and Marty was pretty tuckered out.  It was a lot of fun and everyone at the park was super nice.  We're definitely going to have to make our way back there at some point!

As an aside, this past Sunday was Marty and I's 2 month anniversary.  Here's a quick video of his tricks!

Wait...I found it:

Sorry for the crappy quality.  There's not great lighting in my room.

K bye!