Rolling with It....

Dakota

So this week, I've mostly been a giant chew toy for a 9 week old giant malamute. Sure, I've been teaching....but when you look at my arms, you'll notice I'm a chew toy. We're working on that....

Dakota has been a lot of fun, despite the chewing on stuff. Luckily, he hasn't turned to the furniture. This week, we've learned:

*how to go up & down stairs
*you can also go to the bathroom outside if you want to
*no chewing on faces, only kisses
*no pawing on faces either (ears are a gray area)
*you can lie down on a dog bed
*baby toys are a delight, especially when taken from the baby
*when Mommy walks you over to the potty spot, you should go
*cats will jump up on the fridge or bed if they really don't want to deal with you, so all other spots are optional
*when the alarm goes off, help make mommy get up (whines & pawing the bed are good choices) otherwise, mommy gets to go back to sleep
*both Mommy AND Dakota like to sleep in late if they can (cats always sleep)

Things we are still working on:

*when you fetch, you are supposed to bring the ball back
*not everyone likes sharp puppy teeth on their feet
*the same can be said with humping people's legs
*not to wait and hold it until right when you come in from outside
*barking and playing don't need to be the same thing
*the bed is for resting, not playing "Mommy's a big chew toy."
*not everything needs to be tasted & chewed on
*not to paw babies (although, the babies didn't seem to mind)
*not everyone loves dogs
*when Mommy's on the phone, it doesn't mean she wants you to bark at her

So we have our work cut out for us still. I have been amazed how good he is with kids. He interacted with babies this week and he was being very gentle with them. True, he was taking their toys.....but he was being gentle. One 9 month old just reached over and took them back. At one point, they were both chewing on opposite ends of one toy.

I've spent a lot of time with my friends, the Ms. They always let me bring over Dakota. I've spent so much time there, I think Dakota thinks he lives there too.

Another thing I find funny is that people have no idea how young he really is. I've been saying, "He's huge!" Well, this is my puppy at 10 weeks old (today):

Me holding Dakota

Yep, that's my baby. And he acts like a very young puppy, but people see his size and think he's waay older. Mostly kids...so I've been making sure I keep tabs on him while he's around other people.

Wow, he's gonna be big!!