My little Joe is growing up

Joe went to the vet on Tuesday to get his 2^nd flu shot. Apparently the flu shot stings a little, because Joe let everyone in the vet know what was happening. Let’s just say it reminded me of the scene in Finding Nemo where the fish jumps out of the tank, lands on the little girl’s head, she starts screaming and the poor little kids in the waiting room have that scared to death look on their faces. The poor doggies in the waiting room probably gave the “what are they doing to him” look to their people.

We finally found out what was causing his tummy problems, so he got another shot for that. Thankfully he didn’t make quite the commotion as he did the first time around.

Last Saturday, Joe’s sister Lexie came over for a play date. They both had a lot of fun playing with each other and wearing each other out. They are both black and tan so seeing them walk around together was so cute! Joe slept well for at least a few hours before he was recharged and was ready to go.

Joe is so good about entertaining himself. He is really good about chewing only on his toys and he LOVES his baby blanket with his siblings smell on it. (Good thing his legs are growing, he trips over it when carries the blanket around the house.)

So my baby Joe hit a milestone this afternoon; he lost his first tooth! It was one of his front bottom teeth that are so tiny. It is either out in the yard somewhere or he ate it. I just went to take a picture of his mouth and found out he lost his other front bottom tooth too! I guess the tooth fairy will have to bring two treats for him. Ely says that he will be happy when he loses the rest of them as he is not big on piercings.

Last night Joe went to his 4^th puppy kindergarten class; he did great! All but 2 of the puppies in our group were there, so it was a fun group! Joe only has 2 more classes before he graduates his first obedience class. Is it just me or is he growing up way too fast! There was actually a very special guest for Joe and his siblings. It was their mom, Tina! They didn’t seem to care too much about her and just saw her as another big dog that they could try to get to play with them. They were actually more interested in seeing each their other - they kind of ignored her.

In lest then two weeks, Joe will be making his début at college with me. I think one of my teachers is counting down the days till Joe comes and the wonderful ladies in Student life are ready to give him lots of attention.

I think I have come to the conclusion that Ely is like that old uncle who does not like young kids. I think they will be best friends once Joe gets a little older. One of Joe’s favorite things to do is to snuggle up next to Ely and take a nap. But he has to do it when Ely is asleep, otherwise Ely moves!

I am still trying to find the person who has been sneaking Joe fertilizer, because man is he getting big! He was 31 lbs on Monday and is still growing. I guess he has been sleeping in it. (Sneaky fertilizer, that is!)

Joe gets to go be a model tomorrow for a photography class. He is a pretty photogenic, so they should be able to get some good practice.

Lots of very exciting news!!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting, if you are friends on facebook, you found out over a week ago.

Last Monday, while I was finishing up with some paperwork at work, I got a call from my AC telling me she had exciting news on Sherman. Granted, thanks to one of my fabulous friends and spies (you know who you are;)) I had already found out that Sherman was one of several possible pre-matches for the August class for some late arrival students. So when I saw who was calling, I put the pieces together very quickly. Sherman’s birthday was last Friday and the next day he got the most wonderful birthday present, a new partner. That’s right, the Sherminator was matched! I got to talk to the wonderful man who got him on Saturday, since they were leaving before puppy raiser day. He sounds like the puppy raiser’s dream for their puppies! Sherman is his 6^th guide dog and he said that he was one of the best! He is 91 lbs of lean muscle, which makes him the second biggest pup that I have raised. Sherman is actually about 30 lbs smaller then his new owner’s previous guide dog. Sherman will be traveling a lot and will be worked daily, which I know Sherman will LOVE! He has a HUGE yard to play in with his partner’s retired guide along with two cats to play with. What is really cool is that Sherman and Colt (my 2^nd puppy) are working in the same city and their people actually know each other. I certainly could not have picked out a better person for Sherman to be with. Southeastern found not one, but two fabulous men to be a part of Sherman’s life. I know that Sherman is in great hands! Since they will be traveling a good amount, they will every once in a while be coming through the city where I live, so after the 3 months of no contact (so that they can bond together) is up, I will hopefully be able to meet Sherman’s new partner in person!

Some more exciting news is that I got another training report on Rocky and he is doing great! He is making me very proud of him! Yesterday was my first day of classes for the semester. It was quite sad going to the same place that Rocky and I went so many times without him. I still have kids at church ask me every single week where Rocky is and when he is coming back. He certainly left a very big hole to be filled, but I think Joe is working on fixing that:) Keep up the good work, Rock star!

Speaking of Joe. . .

He turns 3 months today!!!

He is doing fabulous! I could not have picked a better puppy! Though I would love to know who has been slipping him growing pills! Every time he goes to sleep he wakes up bigger! He is a pretty easy going pup who is fearless of anything so far! I had to break the news to him the other day that he was not big or bad enough to take on the riding lawn mower.

Ely, being the good uncle that he is, has taught him quite a bit. Like you need to take a present (i.e. a toy) when greeting someone, that you sit when you come back inside (and you may get a treat, though Joe has never gotten a treat for coming inside, he just copies his uncle E) and the proper manners for eating (leaving other food alone, sitting and waiting till told to eat and not eating stuff off the ground.) and those are just a few of the things Ely has taught him. I did tell Ely he needed to go take a lesson from his sister Tina on how to tell Joe “no”. Ely at one point was ready to send Joe back to Tina, till at least he got rid of those puppy teeth! However, they are getting along much better now, Ely actually played with Joe the other day, granted it was only for about 5 second, but it was a start!

(Note: Joe was in a fenced in area when the photo above was taken)

Joe went on vacation last weekend with us to the mountains. He did marvelously! He is such a little trooper no matter where you take him. He adores his little blue coat and knows exactly what it and his leash mean. He also knows what his food bowl means and does a happy dance (which is too funny) before he sits to be fed. He will be heading to college in just a few more weeks once he gets his 16 week shots. I gave my teachers a heads up and my Statistics teacher has to be the teacher who has gotten the most excited out all the teachers from the past 5 semesters! Of course she got a little bit of heads up from my algebra teacher last spring.

In honor of Joe’s 3 month birthday, 3 things I love about him. . .

1) His coloring! I absolutely love his black and tanness! He has defiantly the coolest undercoat of a dog ever; he has like this grayish brownish color under his black part of his coat. I also love his tannish little belly! He is actually changing colors, he is getting some more areas with tan hair and some of his tan spots are getting lighter. I do believe I have the cutest puppy ever! Everyone who sees him loves his coloring. Most people, when they find out that he is indeed a full lab, want one just like him.

2) The way he sleeps. Joe sleeps in the most unique positions. He loves to sleep on his back with his eyes part way open with his tongue sticking out. It is actually pretty cute! He is also adorable when he crawls up in a little ball. Of course I think that all puppies are adorable when they sleep and I could watch my pups sleep for hours!

3) His personality. He seriously has the best personality. He is such a snuggle bug and loves everyone he meets. He is great in any situation you put him in and loves to go. Joe is such a great puppy!

Happy 3 Month birthday to Joe, Charlie S. , Lexie, Snap, C.W., and the other four boys of the L10 litter!

Hope you enjoyed some of our very exciting news!!!

Happy Birthday Shermy Wormy!

The Sherminator turned a whole 3 years old today! Hard to believe he is that old! I found out some news on him from one of my wonderful spies last night. Let’s just say I will be happy with both options! There will be a post coming soon about the Joe man. We are on vacation right now so I will post when I get a chance. Let’s just say, I am very lucky to be raising such a confident, loving, smart, outgoing puppy named Joe!