each day an adventure in alaska: a lotta puppy...

so Sunny is keeping me pretty busy. just the distraction i needed. at times though i've felt frustrated in the training process, a little reminder that i had a wonderfully trained dog and i am now starting over.

trying hard to not compare and contrast, also to not have too high of expectations but also not too low of expectations.

potty training...well, it could be further along. the cold, cold temps have made that less easy. you can't just run out in next to nothing at all hours at the moment a puppy starts to pee. for the moment he does seem to be doing his poops mostly outside and using the pee pads if he goes inside. i'd rather not have any of it inside, but i've had to come to a bit of an understanding with myself. he's not picked up the dog door yet and i don't think we will get all the way there until he does.

this evening he's been outside off and on all afternoon and evening and yet, there is still new pees on the pee pad. it was also how he was trained until i got him at 13 weeks. accidents are generally the fault of the owner..so is chewing and most misbehaviour. i do own that. i'm sure i'm not as present as i have been. dependent on him for some emotional support. i am confident we will both get there.

my first week back to work with him at home was rough. not enough sleep. more frustration, tears...expectations needed to be ramped back. the first night the pet sitter wasn't able to show up to let him out. he survived. probably the best thing really. she was able to come the next few days. did it make a huge difference? who knows. i hate to leave them 12 hours but the truth is dogs adapt to your life, at least in general that is how it should be. on these days off it's been much easier to get into a rhythm. also the temperatures these past two days are now over 20F...the first time in weeks and weeks.

we went on our first camping trip. manitoba with friends. he did great. no accidents there. i think my friend was right it was a small yurt we stayed in which dogs do not like to soil a smaller area. he was penned up for the nights i worked.

these two are getting along quite well. i think Ivy is very maternal with him. it's pretty cute. she is very willing to reprimand him when needed...like when he jumps on her back. she's patient as well though. he can steal the tennis ball or eat from her food bowl.

the cats are also starting to adapt. he doesn't chase them all that much so they seem to be figuring out that he's not so bad. the other day there were all 4 animals on the bed resting for a time. it is possible...it will happen.

i'm working on sit, stand, down and starting to work on come. i use the commands off trail and walking when on the trail. he's been on leash and though he's pulling he rarely tries to grab the leash or go different directions. he's walking on the leash well for his age. leave it is starting to be needed more as well. so i'll need to add that to the mix

i bought him a coat for our trek. it will be fun having a dog i can dress up in sweaters. so far he doesn't seem to mind and it's good for him. i will need to figure out the grooming stuff. he for sure is getting balls of snow in his fur.

my last stretch i worked all PICU. it's been awhile. i had different assignments every night, the last night i even had a baby on a vent and then a tiny admit. it made me a bit nervous. more the usual anxiety of work.

mostly, i am myself. the occasional pvc, but much more rare than that one week. i have an appointment with my doctor still coming up. with increasing covid numbers that may end up being a phone appointment...we shall see.

the new pup has his first vet appointment tomorrow. Miss Breezy goes in as well.

i have my to do list going. contacted the woman who made the ski hat with the design that had Blossoms fur..i have a bag of Ivy and Tuskers fur together so it does seem fitting to have her make me another one with a mixture of their fur. i guess i can start a new bag with just Ivy's fur and he will get shaved from time to time so i could put some of his fur into a bag for that sad day. so i'll mail that off. i had brushed Ivy after Tusker passed and as i went to pull the fur off i noticed it had Tuskers fur underneath....that was more tears of course....and i left the fur there until after i'd contacted hibernation textiles.

it was about 0F when we arrived at Manitoba. it's just around a 1 mile walk i think. 4 dogs so Sunny had fun being one of the big dogs. i dragged all our gear on a sled. in the morning it was 30+ degrees. the drive home got a bit dicey. coming down the hill to Turnigan there was a bunch of cars behind a big semi going super slow. we all eventually passed the semi...the road was glare ice from there until closer to Girdwood. really bad in the flats.

at times i feared i was driving too cautiously, but when i looked back, my friends and all the other vehicles were also driving super slow and cautious. then i got word of how bad it had gotten out there. it only takes one fool to think they can drive faster...then major pile up's happen.

mostly, i'm just trying to keep to some sort of rhythm and keep myself active. we've walked pretty much every day. do our puppy push up's, do treats by the dog door. he'll go through with help, i hold up the flaps. hasn't ventured through on his own yet. i suspect he will once he's even more independent. Ivy will be out there and he'll want to join or whatever.

a school mate years ago was the youngest of 13 ( my sister in laws family)...i heard that they were worried about him as he hadn't spoken and was nearly 5 years old. the first thing he said, from what i heard was "help, help i'm falling" as he fell off his Moms lap. with so many around he just hadn't needed to speak. it just took the need to make it happen. i suspect that will be Sunny. when he needs to use that dog door, he just will and then that will be that.

today is the first day i've been able to leave him outside without me and not have him immediately come to the back door and start barking. he's just acting more confident in general and more relaxed.

my next week of work is coming fast. bummer. just so much easier working on puppy training without work to put us behind.

i need to make him some tags and try to get him into a puppy class. just need to check on open classes each week. may just write and see if they can make sure it can happen. Monday nights would be the best. i like having a class as it makes the dog train with other puppies as a distraction. really helps them seed in that knowledge.

i leave the occasional memorial rock and i keep painting them. hard to find time for anything that first week or so with the puppy. they do take a lot of time and energy. time and energy that i would have otherwise been wallowing in grief. now i can visit grief from time to time and not wallow.

he has been a snuggly, happy ball of fur for all of us i think.

i had this sledding one for some time. i finally left it out there at Ruths. most of the rocks are leaving super fast. combo of folks who come with empty pockets and leave with full ones, many rockers are just running low on rocks to paint. also in winter the local trails are just more busy.

hit Cheney Lake today and then later hit Ruths since i was over that way anyway.

one of my memorial rocks left at Ruths.

today at Ruths poor Sunny got attacked by a Jack Russell Terrier. thankfully, he seems to be just fine and wasn't freaked out after by other dogs we ran into. always frustrating when owners know they have reactive dogs and leave them off leash. he had a e-collar on but that didn't stop him attacking my puppy, my big boot did. the lady said something about her dog reacting to tennis balls...well Ivy had the tennis ball so why didn't he attack the 70 pound dog off leash with the tennis ball and not the on lead 25 pound pup. that just means this happens with some regularity. she took off...apologizing but not asking how the pup was. probably has a record at the animal control and didn't want to risk another demerit.

i suspect his thick fur and little camo jacket saved his hide. he has a vet appointment tomorrow. i couldn't find any wounds. no blood.

also saw a moose today but i don't think he saw it. his latest trick is to bark at anything he sees on the trail.

embarrassingly, i have a few sore muscles in my forearms from pulling the sled with gear i think. who knew. as you get older, you do need to pre-medicate more or post- medicate with the same outdoor activities i never would have thought a thing of years ago. some aspects of aging really bite. haha.

Ivy has a shadow most of the time now.

i have a new to do list started. the poor element has a dead battery again so i need to get that started again. could be icy out tomorrow. wasn't bad in town today....nothing like our drive back yesterday and we survived that.

the little waterfalls were so beautiful, totally frozen, coming back from Manitoba. we have the first camping trek done for 2022 and Sunny's first camping trip ever done. he smashed it i'd say.

he likes being around the big dogs and being a part of it all.

what a cute face. he has his moments of zoomies and wild puppy, but overall he does seem fairly mellow tempered.

woke up to this one day. mostly he likes to sleep by the water bowl upstairs or near Ivy anywhere.

the dog crates i dragged out and set up are completely ignored. he's not a fan. in the end. they are safe havens for the cats to hang out in or on top of to escape the puppy's attention. the green thing above is the remains of a disc sled. Baby Huey snagged it years ago while we were sledding in Ketchikan. he dragged it around for all his remaining winters. it was a chew toy for all the dogs since. Blossom, Ivy Rose, Tusker and now Sunny. not much left to it but it's a great chew toy for puppies.

i think it has helped that the cats do have so many places to get away from the puppy. the pen is probably nice when i'm at work. they can get close to him and check him out without him being able to chase them.

i like that all the critters get along here so i'm very hopeful that we will get there with this group as well.

bunk bed napping is very common. it is happening at this moment.

they will make for cute photo ops.

hard to get this shot but it was super sweet. the emotional support pup is a real thing.

some new online friends from Ruths...one of the freddie rocks. she makes some amazing ones. she also is one to remind us all that these are just rocks in the end. paint them and put them out there.