Growing Up

Our little Jim is getting big. Well as big as a pint size chihuahua can get. Here is a picture of Jim just two days after we picked him up from Chowchilla :

And here is a picture of our growing boy just a few days ago:

As you can see he is no longer a little baby. Kelsey and her family should be happy to know that the little abandoned pup they took in and gave to us is thriving and loving life in his new home. We were happy to hear from the vet that, even with the time he spent on his own before he was found and taken in, Jim is in great health and his growth is right on schedule.

The vet estimated that Jim is now just shy of four months old. In people years this would put Jim right between two and three years old. For being in the 'terrible twos' Jim has been a pretty good boy. There have been times when he doesn't listen, he chewed up the corner of his toybox basket (which doesn't matter to us because it's his basket), and he has dug some mini sized holes at the edge of the lawn, but for the most part Jim has been a well behaved little pup.

Our biggest concern has been house training. We don't have a built in doggy door and we don't wish to punch a hole in our wall to put one in, so we're looking at alternate solutions. We have a few options that we are considering at the moment. In the meantime, we've been working out a routine with Jim that will create some consistancy and eliminate indoor accidents.

Thankfully, after Jim was found and taken in, he spent about two weeks in a home that housed four other dogs. We learned early on that perhaps due to this time in a dog friendly home in addition to his time spent in the great outdoors of Chowchilla, Jim not only knew to go to the bathroom outside but he preferred it. After we first brought Jim home and he was still very small we were hesistant to let him run free in our backyard until we could ensure that he would be safe. We thought that it would be smart to train Jim to do his business on potty pads for those days that we would both be gone at work, but we soon realized that it wasn't going to work. Jim did not like sitting his little booty on our tile floor and found the potty pads to be a nice, warm place to sit down. Obviously, he wasn't going to make a mess of what he had turned into his play mat.

Within the first week we came to the conclusion that the pads were not going to work. We began to notice within a few days that each time Jim went to the bathroom in our home not only did he go to a different room but he also always chose a place that was right by a door. We decided that instead of training Jim to go on a pad (we really didn't want to have to smell his messes or clean them up in our home anyways) we would train ourselves to pay closer attention to Jim and to let him out when he needed it. After a few days, we were able to pick up on the cues that Jim gave and the indoor accidents were a thing of the past. Since the weather has been far less hot than in previous years, we have been able to keep the backdoor open and Jim is free to walk outside and take care of business whenever he needs to. We will have to figure out a doggy door solution before the weather changes and keeping the door open all the time while we're home isn't an option. For now our current arrangement is working out pretty well.

After getting the house training issue under control, Zac and I got rid of the potty pads and realized that our little man didn't have a warm place to rest his tush. Our upstairs has wall to wall carpeting, but until we could make sure that he wouldn't mistake our carpet for grass Jim was only permited to be downstairs on the easy to clean tile.(We even put up a baby gate to keep our pup safe and downstairs.) In addition to getting Jim a new bed, we also got a small rug (a bathroom mat that we picked up at HomeGoods for $4.95) and set up an area especially for Jim.

Jim really seems to love his new little bed. Whenever he feels sleepy or bored he walks right over to his bed and puts himself to sleep. Here he is snuggling up to mini tennis ball.

Over the last two months that we have had Jim, his personality has really developed. Gone are the days that Jim didn't make a peep. He's not a yapper by any means but he will speak up if he has a problem. Just last week he came running into the house, stood behind the sliding glass door, and began barking out toward the back lawn. Curious, I got up to see what he was barking at. Jim followed me outside still barking but only walking as far as I would walk. It didn't take me long to see that a cat had wandered into our yard and that Jim was not happy about it. I got a good chuckle as I realized that Jim had run inside to scare away the cat. So much for a guard dog right? I don't blame him though. That cat could have messed him up pretty bad. Other than cats, Jim is also afraid of the box fan we keep downstairs when the temperature starts to rise, the vertical blinds in front of the sliding glass door, and the yellow water hose in the backyard.

Scared-y dog as he might be, Jim is just as sweet and lovable as ever. Since day one Jim has been a snuggly little guy. He prefers to sleep in someone's lap than in his own bed.....

 ...and he gets very excited when new people come over. He's a charming little pup who is generous with loving kisses.

His fun little wardrobe is definitely adding to his personality. I'll admit that I'm guilty of treating Jim like a doll instead of a dog and I'm so glad that Jim is fine with us me dressing him up. We dressed him in his first shirt (a blue and white striped polo shirt) on his third day in our home and now Jim is pretty familiar with the process. He holds his head still as we slip the shirts on and he even slips his little paws into the arm holes. Most people might think that putting clothes on a dog is pretty ridiculous, but I have to say that he looks pretty darn cute in his little outfits. Just look how adorable he is in his basketball jersey:

Here are just a few of his little outfits:

As you might have guessed Jim is just a little spoiled. I can honestly say that I am not the only one to blame when it comes to spoiling this little guy. Jim has received a few gifts including a gray hooded sweatshirt from Amy and some horse hoofs for chewing from Kim. The majority of gifts however have come from my parents. My parents have adopted Jim as their new little grandson and have been showering him with gifts and love. Thanks to them Jim now has a new leash, harness, bandanna, two shirts, and his new all time favorite toy....a stuffed duck that quacks. Once they handed that duck over to Jim there was no getting it back.

He even fell asleep with his new little friend.

Jim's other favorite toy is the first toy we ever bought him; a red rubber bone that squeaks. I'm sure the neighbors just love us for getting him this toy as it's squeaking can be heard sometimes for minutes on end. Jim seems to love it though and we'd rather have him chew up that bone than some of our favorite shoes (which thankfully have not been on his radar!).

Jim's size has been one of his most obvious changes....up until now. When we first got Jim one of the things that we loved about him were his little floppy ears. Just about a week ago we noticed that his right ear was starting to pop up.

Now it's official, his ears have both perked up and he definitely looks like a chihuahua!

I do miss his floppy ears but the new pointed look is just as lovable. I'm a sucker for that little face!

So there you have it, a little update on our little pup. (AKA:  A 1,488 word post gushing about our Jim.) This little guy has definitely become a part of our family and we just love having him here in our home. It's so wonderful coming home and being greeted by this little creature who is just so happy to see us. We're pretty happy to see you too Mr. Jim!