Pedro 07-09-07

Pedro 07-09-07
Originally uploaded by wonderfully complex

These are a few pictures of Pedro from his first 24 hours at the Sheffield residence. He's doing extremely well. Last night we finally rid him of all fleas, so he spent the night inside. Did alright. We had him out in the hallway (I'm extremely nervous of him having an "accident" all over my carpet) where we could close up the doors. That worked until he had to potty. Then he WHINED LIKE CRAZY until Jason took him outside to use the bathroom. After that he did not want to go back to sleep unless we were there with him, so we brought him to the bedroom and placed him in a laundry basket. That seemed to work. He's quickly learned where he can and cannot use the bathroom, so I think he's ready for a doggy bed.

We want Pedro to be a hybrid puppy, suitable for indoors and outdoors. Just like Lucy, Jon and Angie Tyner's dog. I love how Lucy is trained and calm enough for inside, but can go outside. That's how we want Pedro to be. We were told by a friend to check out http://www.howtotalkdog.com to find pointers on discipling, etc. We need to read it so we can figure out how to get him to stop whimpering every time we leave the room. He's so afraid we'll never come back; just like a baby. We can't wait until his reasoning develops better and he understands that we are coming back!

Jason and I laugh about all of this because we feel like we just had a real, human baby! We act like it. Pedro's our "baby." Yesterday, my sister, Nikki, checked on him for us. We were nervous about his first day alone. The funny thing is that both Jason and I called Nikki later that day without realizing the other had called. We were both calling her to see how Pedro was doing. We talk baby talk to him, we get excited when he makes a poopie in the garden and not on the deck or doormat, we shower him with love when he barks (though one day we won't care for the barking, just like one day you wish your child had never picked up talking)...we are getting great practice!

Did I mention how calm Pedro is? Aunt Amelia came over yesterday and could not get over how calm he was. He was laying on a towel in the kitchen while I washed dishes. Just layed there!

If anybody else wants a puppy like Pedro, let me know. Jason's dad has more!