COLD!

Not too much new this morning except that it is VERY cold outside.  In the matter of one weekend the weather has turned wicked.  First we got snow on Saturday and then today it's in the 30's.  It was quite the brisk walk this morning and I think both Lola and Storm were in just as much of a hurry as I was to get out of the cold.

More training...

This afternoon I enlisted the help of my nephew, Ari, to help with training Storm.  Sadly I could not train and take pictures at the same time.  However, I can say that storm did awesome as usual, running right to him.  I am astounded by this puppy and still have super high hopes about his future abilities as a SAR dog.

Snow!!

As most of you who read this are aware the north east is getting hit by the first snow storm of the season.  Along with the first snow of the season it is also Storms first snow ever, and I couldn't wait to take him out in it.  I got Storm and Lola on their leashes and headed out.  Storm went nuts over the snow, it was like over stimulation.  He ran around eating every little bit of snow in front of him, then shaking his head when he realized how cold it was.

I walked over to the nearby park where I let Storm and Lola off leash to run around and have a little fun.  Here is the video and some pictures that I took.

Do you see a theme here?

I was going through some old pictures and I found one of my other dog Lola when she was a 6 week old puppy.  Tell me if you see a similarity.

Storm @ 8 weeks

Lola @ 6 weeks

My apologies..

I did not write at all yesterday as I was extremely busy with some paperwork that absolutely had to get done.  Tonight was less than eventful in the Storm world.  We went for our usual walk in the morning and at night.  This morning he got extremely wet due to the rain, and tonight it was pretty cold.  In fact with any luck Storm might see his first snow tomorrow. 

I have noticed that Storm seems to be very litter conscious, in that as we go around on our walks he stops to pick up almost every piece of litter on the ground.  In the city of Allentown that is a lot of stopping and a lot of litter picked up.

Good Morning!

As promised on our walk this morning I managed to get a couple of quick shots of the puppy to try and give you an idea of how he has grown.  I realize that he has only been with me a week and a half but the difference is VERY noticeable.

Potty training...it's no picnic.

So I have Storm set up in the kitchen, the only room that doesn't have carpeting. He is in a play area with a crate, food bowl and a weewee pad.  So he starts of great going right on the pad, after that he then  decides that he will just go anywhere.  So I clean it all up, and right in front of me, before I can put another pad down, he pees on the floor again!  Kind of an "In your face Daddy" kind of thing.  Today I came home from work to find that the pad I had set out was missing.  Now Storm has in the past tugged at it, moved it around, but this was nowhere to be seen.  After a little more investigating it seems that after soiling the pad, Storm decided that he was attached to it and brought the whole darn thing into his crate.  I have NO idea where this behavior came from.  In the meantime until I can do a load of laundry, I am out of towels to pad his crate. 

On another note I cannot believe how big he has gotten in a little over a week, it is truly amazing how fast he is growing.  I tried to get a photo just now, but he is kind of sleeping and totally not cooperating.  As I am about to go to bed, I'm not going to wake him up.  I'll snap one in the AM.

Search and Rescue training day..

Today was search and rescue training day, and a beautiful day it was to go out and get lost in the woods.  For Storm though it was a series of playing and what are called runaways.  Basically a person gets Storms attention, excites him up quite a bit, then runs away while another person holds him.  After about 40 feet the runaway person stops and Storm is let go to go get the person.  Upon going to the person and "finding" him, Storm is rewarded with his favorite toy and oodles of praise. Storm did three runaways and was successful every time and seemed to be having a boatload of fun as well.  Lola came along for the ride and seemed to be enjoying the outdoors quite a bit.

Storm even seemed to make a new friend named Gwynn, an 18 month old lab/great dane mix who towered over him.  What was hysterical though was when Gwynns leash was on the ground, Storm ran over, picked it up, and proceeded to lead Gwynn all around the parking lot.  This video is really more of Storm kind of playing tug of war with Gwynn though.

What we have here is a failure to communicate..

So Storm has a crate that he sleeps in and as a mat in the crate he has a towel that I laid out all nicely on the bottom, that is...until tonight.  Storm is doing his version of the anti establishment movement and is pulling it out of the crate and running it around his play area, despite me putting it back in.  Tomorrow it is off to search and rescue training again, looking forward to it.

Well it is Saturday...

I have officially had Storm for a week now and we are getting to know each other well.  I know I failed last night at blogging but there was really nothing all that new.  I have noticed a little more of an independence from Storm.  When we would go on our daily walks it was always, follow big sister Lola around, now it seems more like he is checking things out on his own.

Today I have to clean out the car, and spiffy it up a bit.  Going around to dealers to look at trading in the Versa and maybe picking up an SUV or truck to hall the dogs around in a crate and or with a bunch of search and rescue supplies.  I don't really have anything in particular in mind, although I do qualify through work for the X-plan at Ford.

More updates later this evening.

Day 6

Nothing really interesting to note today except maybe some potty stories.  I don't want to jinx anything either, BUT, the puppy did not poop in the house today, even on the puppy pad.  He did pee a lot, but he waited until we went on our walk tonight to poop.  Oh...there was one other thing, and try as I may, Storm would not cooperate, and I could not get a photo.  While walking, Storm takes about three inches of his leash and basically walks himself.  It is hysterical to watch, but every time I had him stop to take a photo, he would let it go.

End of day 5..

Got a call from the vet while at work, evidently Storm has worms which require some pills.  I stopped and picked them up on the way home, poor Storm will be on them for the next 10 days.  I took the kids for a walk after I got home and lo and behold, Storm can go down stairs now!  After 2 days he was able to climb, but I was having to carry him down as he would stare in fear and whine while Lola just walked down.  Tonight, no fear, he just walked/ran/semi-fell, down the stairs.  Despite the rain I gave Lola and Storm a bit of freedom to explore on their walk.  Encouraging Storms curiosity will only help him be a better search dog.

I know it has only been 4 days.....but I swear he has gotten bigger.  You can't really see it in the photos but he certainly looks larger to me.

I had a dream..

When I woke up the puppys name came to me.  His name will be Storm.  I wouldn't exactly call him a trouble maker, or mischievous, but Storm, a thing that can cause trouble, you can hear and see them coming, they turn the day black and then light it up with a bright flash.  Yes, I do believe that Storm fits him well, not only in nature but in his coloring.  I tried to think of something rescue related but nothing I came up with seemed to fit at all, Storm just fits.  This picture was taken after the morning walk in the rain and some playtime.

Day 4

Late posting today, was a tad hectic.  Once again the puppy slept through the night, and I had to go to bed early since I was exhausted and the puppy had an 8am vet appointment.  Took Lola and the puppy for a fast walk as I was feeling rushed.  Got to the vet and of course everyone is swooning over the little guy, although I'm getting all sorts of nasty comments that he doesn't have a name yet.  Puppy got his booster and I insisted that he be given his microchip since he will be doing search and rescue training in some unfamiliar places.  The vet said he was amazing when it came to getting his microchip, especially since it's a really big needle.  I got another round of nasty comments about not naming the puppy, after they figured out that they couldn't register the microchip without a name. 

I rushed home afterwards having to be at work.  Put the puppy in his play area, fed him, put down a new puppy pad, and got ready for work and ran out the door.  I rushed like hell to get to work by 10, only to realize when I got there that I didn't have to be there til 10:30.  I was so sad that I had missed playing with my new puppy for an extra half an hour. 

After work I came home to find my Lola and puppy waiting for me anxiously, not that they really could have gone anywhere, and immediately took them out for a walk.  Play time is currently going on while I type this.  Look!  I can multitask!  I'm trying to tire him out as much as I can so that he will once again sleep through the night.

Day 3

::Yawn:: yet another night of peaceful sleep.  I really hope I don't jinx this, but the puppy didn't howl or cry all night and I actually slept!  Woke up before the alarm and as soon as the light came on the puppy was up and raring to go.  Got all dressed and took Lola and the puppy out for a walk.  I went out the back door like I usually do and was greeted by a roughly 60lb white pitbull.  I immediately grabbed the puppy as the pitbull seemed interested in Lola and for the moment was non-aggressive.  I went back to the door, opened it, then called Lola.  The pitbull followed her all the way to the door, but I was able to keep him out.  The walk continued out front door today with both Lola and puppy on leash.

We walked for a couple of block and the puppy did really well.  I'm sure that he wasn't really happy being on the leash, but he was happy to follow his older sister around and that was all that mattered.  I was VERY impressed when the puppy came to a high curb and didn't balk one bit.  In fact the puppy hunch down and leapt into the alley with no fear, although an awkward landing.  In addition when we got home, the puppy was able to climb the 4-5 steps leading up to the front door, I am a very proud daddy.  Once inside playtime began, Trying to get in as much as possible before I have to leave for work.  For all of you without puppies, but with children, having to leave them when they are young to go to work feels the same, and I am not happy about it.

Just got a call from the Vet (Macungie Animal Hospital), puppy has an appointment tomorrow morning to get his follow up shots and his microchip.  I'll definitely feel better once he gets that taken care of.

Day 2....

The puppy took a long trip in the car today, and did pretty well.  He went and met the Search and Rescue team at a training.  The puppy got plenty of attention from members and their children who were there.  It was nice to meet everyone and I look forward to the day when the puppy will be able to venture out and save lives himself.  Here are some more pictures of the puppy, I am going to try and blog and photo every day.

First night at home

After taking the puppy to meet the family, where he was played with extensively by two nephews.  Then driving to a friends house to pick up a crate and play area the puppy came home.  It was about 4:30 in the afternoon and I setup the play area, put the crate inside and lined it with a towel.  I put a bowl with food and water, laid out some paper for the inevitable and put the new toys inside.  I then put the puppy in the play area, tossing his squeaky tennis ball into the tent to try and get him used to the crate and he surprised me by immediately climbing in and going to sleep.  He was out for about 3 hours before waking up, about the same time that I woke up from being passed out in front of the TV on the couch.  I played with him some more, took him to see the family again before they left town, and then put him back in the crate.  I was totally expecting a night of howling and whining as with my previous pet, however I got almost none of that.  I heard him cry for about 3 minutes around 3 am, but then he just drank some water and crawled back into the crate and went back to sleep until I got him up around 7am.

Puppys car ride home

As I was driving home from the shelter I decided that the world needed to see my new boy, and I snapped this photo of him sitting in the car seat.

The search continues...

Since I had decided to bite the bullet and get yet another puppy I decided that I was going to try and train a Search and Rescue dog again.  I started reading the books I had purchased back when I was interested in getting Lola into Search and Rescue and continued looking for a puppy.  I caught a break from my several time a day looking on Petfinder.com and found that the local shelter had just come by a litter of puppies that was going to be up for adoption at the local Petsmart.  I immediately contacted the person, and filled out the adoption application.  I was told that the puppies would be at the store at 9am on Saturday.  I contacted Brenda Richards with Valley Search and Rescue and she was gracious enough to come to the adoption day with me to evaluate a puppy for Search and Rescue.  The store was a mob scene!  Evidentaly I was not the only person looking for a puppy and out of the 11 that were there to start with, by the time Brenda and I contacted each other there were perhaps 7 left.  One by one we pulled prospective candidates out of the litter to evaluate them.  Certain ones didn't make the cut right off the bat just from watching them.  The first puppy lacked any kind of interest in playing with a toy at all, a very important, and similar problem that Lola had.  This puppy was put back to be adopted by another person.  The 2nd puppy, a boy, was just....well...amazing!  This puppy went for the toy like it was the only thing in the world and with a little coaxing, even retrieved, and at 8 weeks old!  Not to just take the first potential candidate we took one of his sisters to test her potential.  It took her a little to warm up, but she did, and showed interest in the toy proving that she could be a viable candidate, however would likely take more work than her brother.  Relying on Brendas' experience, I asked her point blank if she would take the boy puppy to train as a Search and Rescue dog, to which she said to me something along the lines of, she would not hesitate this puppy to train as a Search and Rescue dog.  As such the little girl was put back, and I adopted her brother.  It's at this point that the story gets a tad odd, was I meant to have this puppy?  Was it fate we crossed each others paths?  While going through the paperwork the shelter has to name the puppies to keep them straight with vaccines and the like.  This puppys name was Mark.  Mark happens to be my fathers name.  In addition, the puppys birthday is estimated to be on or about August 12.  My fathers Birthday is August 11th.  I know you are saying to yourself, what the heck kind of name is Mark for a puppy?  Well I agree, and I will change it as soon as I find something that suits this little guy.  In the meantime I am just calling him puppy.  

The search begins....

Back when I adopted Lola, I was able to walk in to the pound, fill out some paperwork, pay a fee, and Voila! you are now a dog owner.  The same was true I adopted Xander and when my roommate Leanne and I also adopted Quinn.  Evidentaly things have changed DRASTICALY!  When looking for a pet on PETFINDER.COM, I was confronted with pages of applications, fees upwards of $400, and home visits?  While I am a dog lover and I can appreciate having to screen applicants, and wanting the pets to go to a good home, this was quite a shock.  After having 2 puppies from 6 weeks, and one at 6 months, I swore I would never get another puppy.  I started looking for a Lab, at least 2 years old, within 100 miles.  Needless to say there wasn't much to look at.  I even spent several days driving around to the local shelters only to see pitbull upon pitbull.  After going to the shelters and even walking some potential dogs I decided that, despite my previous experiences, the only way to train a dog the way I wanted, was to start from scratch, from a puppy. 

The Back Story

Most of my life I was always curious about wanting a dog.  My parents told me that I had one when I was a baby, but growing up I never had one.  I had cats, turtles, hamsters, guinea pigs, everything but a dog.  When I moved to California in 1998 I started out in an apartment where I still was denied a dog.  In 2003, the company I was working for decided to close my office, which required me to relocate.  This was my opportunity!  I went out and bought a house, and that same week, I went to the pound and rescued a dog.  Lola was an experience from the beginning, and I can honestly tell you I was TOTALLY unprepared.  From confining her in an area where she proceeded to destroy the walls, to keeping me up all night crying and whining, to pooping in her crate, which was obviously too big for her, it was a total learning experience.  In the past I had been in a Search and Rescue team, but not as a K9 handler, and I was very interested in seeing if Lola had what it took, sadly she did not.  It has been 2 years since Lola was separated from her 2 brothers in California and I decided it was time to get her a brother or sister.