Thursday, February 5

A Better Day with Dakota

I went to bed right after posting last night and put Dakota in his box in our bedroom. It told him, "Bed time." He seems to get this and went to sleep. However, just after hubby left for work, I heard him whine and get out of the box. By the time I got to the kitchen, he was wetting on the newspaper by the back door.

When he had finished his business, I put him back in his box and once again said, "Bed time." I never heard another sound out of him until hubby got home this morning, though there was evidence that he had used the newspaper earlier, as it was wet.

Immediately, hubby took Dakota outside and he actually did BIG business outside. That is great. I am hoping not to pick up too much puppy poop and it's great he went outside.

Here he is coming back up the sidewalk. You can tell his approximate size by hubby's feet. He wears a size 9, so he doesn't have a large foot.
Dakota sitting in the living room. He will sit when I tell him most of the time, and now he is starting to respond to his name. I called his name while poising the camera and he looked right at me.

Hubby and I decided to surprise Brandon and Jordan and take Dakota to pick them up from school. They were dying to see him again. Above, hubby has Dakota wrapped in a towel so he won't widdle in the van.

The boys were delighted that we picked them up and then took Dakota back to their place to meet Michelle and their dog, Buddy. Here the boys are holding him on the couch.

Jordan has a time holding Dakota as sometimes he's a bit wiggly. Here he's trying to get away.

Then they played the game of running around the table. Dakota got a little excited and widdled on the floor. Brandon got some paper towel and cleaned it up. That really surprised me.
Dakota got to meet the boys' dog, Buddy. I was surprised at how well Buddy accepted Dakota because he was infringing on Buddy's territory and Buddy doesn't usually like others of his species. However, he seemed to like Dakota and he wasn't at all afraid. Hopefully this means Dakota will be easy to socialize. We like to take our dogs to the dog park and of course there are all different breeds of dogs there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm happy with the way he reacted.
Buddy was getting a little excited near the end, so Michelle held Dakota while I got my coat on. He is watching Buddy like a hawk. Michelle thinks he's cute and Barry came home while we were there and he even held Dakota for a while.

There isn't much in my life right now except Dakota. When he sleeps I either work on my writing or do chores. Not much of either getting done but today was a much better day and he's learning, so that is a plus.

On another note, Brandon handed in his choices for his high school courses today. He chose welding, horticulture, life studies and a few others that he thinks he will be interested in. I think he chose wisely. Originally, he had chosen gym over life studies, but when he found out he would learn to cook and that they have a restaurant at the high school, he changed gym to life studies. I think that course will be good for him and he will learn to wait on tables, cook, clean up and other things that go with working in a restaurant. Gym is not something that he always enjoys, so I think he made a good decision with that.

Take care. Anytime you get tired of hearing about Dakota, let me know and I will try very hard to find something else to blog about. ~Blessings, Mary~

20 comments:

  1. We're not sick of hearing about him. I love the picture of him - he really is cute!

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  2. Sick of hearing about Dakota? I think not! Mary, I am sooooo jealous that you have that puppy, you just can't imagine! That pup is absolutely adorable and I want one too! Fat chance of that happening as Mandy keeps telling me a big fat NO, MOM to my requests for a puppy. Sounds damned near like my Mom used to way back when I was a kid.
    Oh -and one other thing -I tagged you for that easy-peasy photo meme today! Stop by and get your instructions but you've probably done it before, I'm sure.
    Peace.

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  3. He is so cute!! Will he get really big? He is very very smart and learning so quickly. What a blessing.

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  4. Oh I love kitties, but your puppy is so adorable! There almost as much work as a newborn right? take care,Lori

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  5. Oh girl....... He is just sooooooo cute .... I love puppies.... He will bring much laughter to your life and it sounds like he is a pretty sharp cookie.....good for you.. I have potty trained the last 4 Schnauzers for myself and Dennis and for Chris...... it takes about 8 weeks but it is so worth it...... Zeke is our schnauzer and he has never messed or peed in the house...... He is very smart dog.... soooooo sounds like you have a smart one going on here..... and the boys look like they are loving every minute of that little Dakota!

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  6. I read all of your Dakota post. I loved them all and all the pictures. Please keep them coming....m.

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  7. That's great that he did his business on the newspaper, what a smart dog :-)

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  8. He is just darling...a little ball of energy! It sounds like he is going to be easy to train which is always a plus in my book..:)

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  9. He is truly adorably, Mary...I just love the pictures of him!
    He actually seems like he is doing great at all the training!

    I have to say that when we got our lab\chow mix, Mandy, two years ago at about the same age, we were able to housebreak her in no time, as well...but I did have to get up with her the first couple months and let her out to do her business...and it was SO hard! Like getting up again with a newborn, only this time actually stepping out in the winter cold!

    Dakota is such a cutie and you can tell he is going to be a beautiful dog!

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  10. Hi Mary, hope all is well with you. I've not been visiting for a while. I read about Meeko and I felt really sad. I know what it feels like...Glad to know you have cutie Dakota now. Pets are such wonderful companions.

    God bless.

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  11. I soooooooooooooo love Dakota!!! He's adorable. And by the size of his paws he's going to be about medium size when full grown. He's a cutie.

    I can tell your family, all of them, loves little Mister Dakota.


    The subjects he chose for his classes sound awesome.

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  12. He's a very cute pup. Almost makes me wish I had one. Almost.

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  13. You are so silly...you talk about what is important in your life. And we all know that this little one is keeping your mind busy and trying to help fill a void.

    Loved all the pictures and I am glad Dakota is settling in to the family.
    I won't have a hard time remembering his name because it is the name of the last fine dinning restaurant I worked in.The Dakota Restaurant...hopefully your Dakota will not bring you the stress that Dakota brought me. :)

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  14. Love all the neat pictures of Dakota, keep em coming. He is so precious and bright. Good for you working with him now, big payoff in the long run. I had not had a puppy for so many years, Molly's soft little paws amazed me.

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  15. Sound like your adjusting to Dakota well or maybe it a little bit that Dakota is justing to his new family.

    Dogs and or so lovable and non judgmental I can see and understand how Dakota will bring joy in your life.

    Coffee is on

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  16. How can we ever get sick of hearing about that darling little pup of yours...NEVER!! hehe He's just so precious, dear Mary, and I'm so hoping I get to hold him this summer:-) Sounds like he's coming along nicely with the commands and rules. Don't you wish he could stay small like that?? lol

    Good for Brandon for choosing such good courses to take in High School. Wishing him all the very best of luck with them. xoxo

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  17. Mary-Dakota is adorable!! I think it's great that you got him-I know you all still miss Meeko terribly but a new puppy is always great.

    Neat that Brandon gets to choose his classes. I think that's how it should be-give the students a chance to excel at what they are interested in. Unfortunately here-our schools don't offer many choices-as they have so many mandatory courses-including gym.

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  18. I knew I had missed a post on Dakota over the weekend and kept scrolling down the blogs I follow until I found it. He is picking up the rules really fast. Puppies always tinkle more often and especially when excited. He seems to be learning about the newspaper and going outside so soon, he'll stop having accidents.
    Hes so cute.
    Mama Bear

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  19. IN the past, I found it simpler to train a puppy when there was an older dog to 'model' behavior for the pup. With Molly I didn't have that but she was used to sleeping in a crate by herself so she never kept me awake and she's so smart she learned very quickly. Everyone marvels how I talk to her as I would talk to a person ... and how she listens and responds right away.
    Hugs and blessings,

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