Waterboy

A few nights ago Zac and I had a little fun with Jim. My mom had come over earlier in the day and left a mini water bottle. Once it was empty Zac had the fun idea of placing it on the floor and seeing how Jim would react. Our poor little guy. His little mouth was just too small to pick up the water bottle. The new toy totally freaked him out and he came to us more than once during this little game to get reassurance that the water bottle was okay and not out to get him. Here's a small clip of Jim's 3rd interaction with the water bottle. I wish that I would have gotten his initial reaction. It was the funniest thing I've ever witnessed. He freaked out and ran circles around the living room in what seemed like a panicked state. Although at this point Jim had already been introduced to the new toy this video is still pretty entertaining.

*Sorry in advance for the dark video. It was around 9pm and my camera doesn't have a flash while it videotapes. The glare of the lights from the room on our shiny tile floor didn't really help matters, but you can still tell what is going on. At the beginning of the video the water bottle is in front of Jim in the middle of the floor. I only say this because it's kind of hard to see.....anyways, here's the video.*

Enjoy!

Eventually he got a good grip on the water bottle and smashed it with his jaws, ending the game. It was fun while it last, though.

Safety First

On June 1st, we welcomed Jim to our home. Although we had thought about bringing him home a few days before we actually did, we had not prepared for his arrival until we picked him up and drove him from Chowchilla to Fresno. Before we came home we went by a few stores to pick up some essentials including a food and water dish, leash, indoor training pads, collar, flea collar, a few toys, and of course food. These seemed to hold us over for a few days until we were able to see exactly what we would need to keep our little guy healthy and happy.

On occasion over the last week and a half, Zac and I have both had to work during the day which meant that our little Jim was left at home alone. We didn't have many concerns about the kind of trouble that Jim could get in. After all, our little guy is too little to jump up on the furniture which meant that our throw pillows weren't at risk of becoming chew toys. Also, to prevent Mr. Jiminy from chewing on the cable and television cords, we turned off the power strip just to make sure that we didn't come home to an electrocuted pup.

Our biggest concern about leaving Jim home alone was coming home to a wet mess or a stink bomb. Thankfully our floor downstairs is all tile so the mess wouldn't be to difficult to clean, but we worried that leaving Jim without a way to get outside (we don't have a doggie door) would hinder our puppy house training...but that's a whole other story.

When we first brought Jim home we encouraged him to follow us up the stairs so that we could get him acquainted with his new home, but he only stood at the bottom of the stairs and stared up at us. We figured that he was too small to climb our staircase and decided that we wouldn't have to worry about any puppy mischief upstairs while we were gone. After a few days, we realized that Jim was more than capable of getting himself up the stairs and he was only stopped earlier by his own fear of the unknown. We also realized that although he could make his way upstairs he was (and still is) too scared to get down the stairs on his own. So, as a temporary solution, we barricaded the bottom of the staircase.

Although the boxes full of books and the computer lap tray seemed to do the trick as a temporary solution, they quickly became a hazard after just a few days. Not only did they make our normally clean downstairs space look cluttered, but Zac and I both almost tumbled down the stairs tripping over our quick fix. Also, while Zac and I were upstairs one afternoon, getting ready to go to work, a surprise visitor appeared in the hallway. Somehow, Jim had manuevered through our barricade, climbed over the box and made his way upstairs. It was clear that a more permanent solution would need to be found sooner rather than later. So one afternoon while Zac was getting ready for work, I headed to the store to pick up a baby gate to protect our newest addition from getting stuck upstairs and causing chaos while we were at work.

I went to Target and found this secure pressure gate made by The First Years for just $10.99. Not a bad deal, right?! The baby gates that Target had in stock ranged from $10.99 to over $150.00. Without doing any real research and seeing what the difference was between each item, I opted to go for the cheapest one. If it didn't work out I could always bring it back, look online for the best rated gates and make another trip to the store to get a gate that best suited our needs. For now, anything had to be better than box of books.

So, I brought home the gate, quickly read the almost unnecessary instructions, and voila!  the baby Jim gate was assembled and in place. I had neglected to measure the space before heading to the store to pick out a gate which could have been a real problem. Thankfully, the gate fit the space, but just barely. The space required the gate to be locked in place at the very last notch possible. If our staircase was even a half an inch wider, the gate would be rendered useless and we would probably be stuck spending a bunch more money for a wider gate to fit the space. Thankfully that isn't the case and even though the gate barely fits, it does indeed fit!

Thanks to the baby gate, Jim is happy and safe downstairs while we're gone at work. Most importantly, there's no way that he can get through this barricade and get stuck upstairs. Zac and I are still getting used to stepping over a big gate as we go up or down the stairs, but it's a small adjustment to make for the saftey of our new pup.

Say Hello To My Little Friend

On May 28th my friend Kelsey posted this picture and this comment on her Facebook page.

"Free Puppy to good home. Found abandoned, approx 8 weeks old. Male Chihuahua mix. Loves to be held n plays with all our dogs great. Let me know if interested "

Kelsey's family had found the dog while they were on a walk with their own dogs in Chowchilla. The poor puppy had been abandoned and Kelsey's family wasn't about to let him fend for himself on the streets any longer. They took him home, gave him food and a place to sleep (as well as a few doggy buddies to play with). Already having a few dogs of their own they weren't up to taking on a new puppy. So Kelsey posted the photo on her Facebook in hopes that someone would take the bait and give this cute little guy a good home.

I have never really been a dog person. My parents didn't let my brothers and I have any pets (other than fish) when we were growing up. I think the original reason for this 'no pet' rule was that, because my dad was in the military, we moved around a lot. It also meant that we lived in military housing which, much like apartment housing, needed to stay in good condition. Mostly, I think that my parents just didn't want to worry about taking care of more than us kids. Both of my parents worked full days and didn't get home until after my brothers and I were already home from school.

So, for the last 26 years, the only pets that I have owned and cared for have been fish. Aside from a phase when I really wanted a St. Bernard (I think the movie Beethoven  and the fact that I hadn't yet reached double digits in age had a lot to do with that) I have never really had the desire to get a furry creature. Seeing this little guys' face on Kelsey's Facebook profile did a lot to change that.

After looking through all the photos of the puppy that Kelsey had posted, Zac and I decided to get the details from Kels. After a few messages back and forth we decided to go meet the pup and see what he was like in person. On Wednesday June 1st we drove to Chowchilla to meet the tiny Chihuahua...who we were calling 'Jim'. During our online conversation regarding the plans for meeting the puppy Kelsey told us "I don't know if you wanna drive down to see Jim but you're more than welcome!" She had meant to type "I don't know if you wanna drive down to see him...", but the message said Jim instead. Zac and I thought that it was really cute. Jim is such a grown up name and this puppy was such a tiny little dog. Zac said that it could be short for Jiminy Cricket. It was a name that stuck over the few days that we waited until our planned meeting and we decided that if we did take the little guy home, his name would be Jim.

Needless to say, we were a little attached already by the time we drove to Chowchilla. Okay, who are we kidding...I was already attached. I was definitely excited with the idea of getting a little puppy to take home. Zac had furry pets all throughout his childhood so he knew both the fun and the work of having a dog. He was also excited about bringing home Jim, but made sure to remind me of the reality and responsibility of having a pup in our home.

We only spent about 10 minutes with Jim before we decided to bring him home. Kelsey's parents gave us his only belonging, a cardboard box, and we headed back to Fresno. Well, we headed to a few places (the Bennett's and a few stores to pick up some things for Mr. Jim) before we headed home.

When we got home we set up Jim's box in a way that was familiar to him, finding him an old pillow as a soft bed and turning on the box on it's side to create his little "man cave". He took to it very well.

We also got Jim a few toys as a "welcome home" gift.....

....and as you can see...

....he put them all away in his little cave.

Fetch is not yet his favorite game. Instead, we call the game "Throw Jim's toy and watch him pick it up and put it back where it goes". Catchy, right? Although it would be nice to eventually play a game of fetch with Mr. Jim, for now it's pretty cute to see him pick up his toy mess. Here's a little clip of our "game" on the first day we brought him home. *Sorry in advance for the baby talk. It's not my proudest moment. Playing the video on mute might be fun too....just sayin'.*

We've noticed that Jim already has a preference for his toys. The squeaky toys are his faves, while this blue bouncy ball (pictured below) does not make his list of greatest toys. Jim only stares at this toy when it is placed in front of him and when rolled toward him, he takes off running.

In addition to loving his little cave, he found the spot under our coffee table to be a comfortable spot. We're not sure if it's because the carpet is so soft (especially compared to our all tile flooring) or it's just that the table is so low and gives him a hiding spot that is much like his box. Either way this was the new spot that Jim liked to sit. Once we realized that he also thought this looked like a good spot to pee, we decided to roll up the carpet and plan to leave the floor bare until we can get him house trained, as tile is much easier to clean up.

 As for Jim's temperament, we couldn't have gotten a sweeter pup. This little guy is such a friendly and quiet dog. For the last 5 days we have only heard him bark twice. The first time was at the Bennett's when he met their dog Pug. The second time was at our home when, unbeknownst to us, Jim got past our barracade on the staircase and made his way up to the carpeted second floor. He seemed very proud of himself and wanted everyone to know what he had done. Until we can get him house trained (which hopefully won't take too long) we're keeping him downstairs where there is no carpet and plenty of tile.

Our little Jim is definitely a snuggle-buddy lap dog. He loves sitting in a warm lap, curling up, and falling asleep. On his first full day in our home he spent a few hours sleeping on my lap while I read a book and waited for Zac to get home from a day of sailing.

The next day, after he made his way up to the second floor, he took a little nap in the office with Zac, who was still pretty tuckered out from his long sailing trip the day before.

Last night we gave Jim his first bath. While he tried to climb out of the sink a few times, he didn't make the slightest sound (not even a whimper) or fight us when we washed him. He stood quietly and let us dry him off and cooperated so nicely when I put him into his little orange sweatshirt. Yes, I got Jim clothes.

Over the past few days, Jim has gotten settled into our home. We got him a new little bed which he loved so much we were able to take away his box without any fuss. He even let me dress him in this cute little polo shirt. I was very surprised that he didn't struggle, fight, or bite at the shirt when I put it on him.

We just love little Jim and he seems to like his new home pretty well, too.

:)