A "Short" Walk

Yesterday, Kevin, Dakota, Arkhon, and I went with our next-door neighbor on a walk (this is the neighbor who received Arkhon's brother). We were walking her daughter to school, but seeing as we had two small puppies, we decided to leave at 10:30. School started at 12, and we didn't want to be late.

Even with the two pups, we made pretty good time and got there about 11:50. We would take frequent breaks and make the puppies ride in the stroller after a while. We were trying to be very careful not to over-exercise them.

Even so, by the time we got back at 1:20, the pups, Kevin, and Dakota were all exhausted. It didn't help that it was pretty warm.

It was really fun to see the differences between the two brothers. Arkhon is a little thinner and less fluffy, but he has a lot more energy. He also is a bit stubborn. Loki, his brother, on the other hand, is calmer and easily tired. It was funny. We walked about ten minutes and Loki wanted into the basket under the stroller. Once he was placed inside, he instantly fell asleep.

Arkhon on the other hand, did NOT want to take a break inside the stroller basket. He continually tried to jump out. It was only during the last half an hour of the three hour trip that he finally relaxed and went to sleep. That was nice. We'll have to keep working on that.

They love each other a lot. They're always excited to see each other, but neither one of them listens very well when they're playing. When the sidewalk was too narrow for both strollers to be side-by-side, the brother in front would try to get to the brother behind, and the brother behind would be straining to reach the brother in front. They were getting better at ignoring each other and walking though.

We had a great time, and I'm really grateful that my neighbor invited us to go. I like walking with her. We get along well.

The only downside of our "short" walk was that I missed the UPS guy so I had to wait until today to get our crate. It was totally worth it though.

We are planning on walking most days, but so far, we've only managed to do two day in the last two weeks. No worries, we'll get it!

Arkhon's first veterinarian appointment is set for Friday. I'm excited for him to start getting his shots so that we can take him to the dog park.

It's fun to see how quickly he's learning.

He already loves his crate. Just a moment ago, he started whining because he couldn't get into it. I opened it up, and he went right in, laid down and fell asleep. Hooray for successful crate-training!

We started off by putting his favorite toys, his water bowl, and couple of treats in there. When he would enter, we would praise him. After a few times of him going in on his own (it is important not to force them in), we started shutting the door. We lengthened the time that the door was shut, praised him when he was quiet and calm, and ignored him when he started whining. It didn't take long for him to feel relaxed.

Ideally, the crate is supposed to be seen as a safe place. I think he is starting to quickly recognize that. We don't let Kevin bother him when he's in there, and I think he enjoys finishing his naps. (Kevin doesn't like it when people or dogs are sleeping when he wants to play.)

He and Kevin are doing better at being nice to each other. Last night, Kevin would run over, pet him, and run back with a huge smile on his face as we praised him for being so gentle. Arkhon had this look that said, "I endure this because I love you." It was pretty funny.

We have a good time.