Here are some pictures of our day spent in our backyard!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Our Day in the Sun!
So now I am working to catch up on posts! Simon and I got to finally spend a nice hot day in the sun on May 26th. It was a ton of fun. He loves to sun bathe! He just rolls on his back and sun tans haha. Simon is really the light in my life. Everything he does just makes me smile and laugh! We couldn't have chosen a better puppy. His personality is amazing! I am now officially addicted to the Boston Terrier breed.
Here are some pictures of our day spent in our backyard!
Here are some pictures of our day spent in our backyard!
Wow!! It's Been FOREVER Since I Last Posted!!
Wow.....So I have kind of slacked on this blog. I never knew how busy it would be raising a puppy and going to school! So I'm here to update on how it went bringing Simon home and how he is today!
We brought Simon home on May 5th and it was the happiest day of my life! Simon transitioned to our house amazingly and I think it really helped that I had visited Simon at least once a week since he was 3 weeks old. He seemed to really know me and also know that I was going to be his new mom! When we got home he just seemed to feel at home right away. He ran around sniffing the place and then wanted to play for hours!
The first night in the crate went great. Simon cried for about 5 minutes and then was sound asleep. He even slept right until 5:00am. He has always done great at night in the crate. I was prepared to wake up every 2 hours or so to let him outside but he has always slept right through the night! We would usually have to wake up between 4:30am - 6:00am to let him outside and then he'd come right back inside and fall asleep! I'm an early riser and usually get up at around 6:30-7am so after the first week he was sleeping right in till then. I actually would have to wake him up when I woke up and he gives me this look like what they heck!! I was sleeping!! LOL! When I woke him up I would take him outside and then feed him. After eating he would fall asleep beside me on the couch for 2 hours! I was able to drink my coffee and wake up before we went out for a walk around the neighbourhood or a good play in the house! Simon has been such a great puppy!
Here are some pictures of Simon's first few days at home with us:
His ears look funny because they were taped to make them stand up but we decided that we would just let his ears stand if they wanted to :) He looks cute with floppy ears and has that cute puppy look to him!!
We brought Simon home on May 5th and it was the happiest day of my life! Simon transitioned to our house amazingly and I think it really helped that I had visited Simon at least once a week since he was 3 weeks old. He seemed to really know me and also know that I was going to be his new mom! When we got home he just seemed to feel at home right away. He ran around sniffing the place and then wanted to play for hours!
The first night in the crate went great. Simon cried for about 5 minutes and then was sound asleep. He even slept right until 5:00am. He has always done great at night in the crate. I was prepared to wake up every 2 hours or so to let him outside but he has always slept right through the night! We would usually have to wake up between 4:30am - 6:00am to let him outside and then he'd come right back inside and fall asleep! I'm an early riser and usually get up at around 6:30-7am so after the first week he was sleeping right in till then. I actually would have to wake him up when I woke up and he gives me this look like what they heck!! I was sleeping!! LOL! When I woke him up I would take him outside and then feed him. After eating he would fall asleep beside me on the couch for 2 hours! I was able to drink my coffee and wake up before we went out for a walk around the neighbourhood or a good play in the house! Simon has been such a great puppy!
Here are some pictures of Simon's first few days at home with us:
His ears look funny because they were taped to make them stand up but we decided that we would just let his ears stand if they wanted to :) He looks cute with floppy ears and has that cute puppy look to him!!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Three Days until Simon Comes Home!!
Simon comes home with us in 3 days! We can't wait and I'm sure Friday night we aren't going to be sleeping because of the excitement. I can't wait to welcome Simon into our family and have him settle in. I know that the transition to our place will probably be hard for him as he's leaving not only his mother but his siblings and the breeder. We are going to do everything possible to make him feel at home. About a month ago we brought Simon some squeeky stuffed animal toys so that when we bring him home we will also bring the stuffed animals and the toys will have the smell of his old home, siblings, mother, and the breeder. We are hoping that this will be comforting to him!
I had my last visit with Simon before he comes home on Monday April 30th. It was a great visit. He did have a bit of a tumble off of my lap which I felt really bad about. I was sitting on the couch and had him in my lap. I was holding onto him but then his brother, Domino, was jumping up on my legs so I let go of Simon for less than 2 seconds and he jumped out of my lap onto the floor. He basically did a face plant onto the hard floor. It looked painful! I felt absolutely horrible. He wasn't injured or anything which was good! He just shook it off and within a minute was back to his normal playful self.
The visit made me so excited to bring Simon home as we started planning what time I'd pick him up. We will be picking Simon up at 9am and it can't come soon enough!! I'm also a little nervous about bringing Simon home. I start my new university semester on Monday and I have 5 classes I'm taking. I do all of my schooling online so I will be working from home. It is going to be imperative that Simon and I create structure in our routines so he knows what is going on when. Structure will also help me be able to get my homework done everyday. I will have to take advantage of his naps by doing homework. I also have an X-Pen that I will set up inside for when I need to work on some homework. He won't be in it all day or anything just for a short time when I need to get some things done. Simon also seems like a very laid back, calm, and content puppy that will probably love just cuddling in my lap while I read my textbooks or do some homework.
I'm also feeling like there is so much to get done before Saturday. I need to get our house set up for him, finish a research paper, clean, do laundry, run some errands, and get ready for school next week. There is just not enough time in the a day to get everything done! I'm sure I'm going to get everything done and it will all work out.
Here are few updated pictures of Simon from Monday. In these pictures he is exactly 8 weeks old!
I had my last visit with Simon before he comes home on Monday April 30th. It was a great visit. He did have a bit of a tumble off of my lap which I felt really bad about. I was sitting on the couch and had him in my lap. I was holding onto him but then his brother, Domino, was jumping up on my legs so I let go of Simon for less than 2 seconds and he jumped out of my lap onto the floor. He basically did a face plant onto the hard floor. It looked painful! I felt absolutely horrible. He wasn't injured or anything which was good! He just shook it off and within a minute was back to his normal playful self.
The visit made me so excited to bring Simon home as we started planning what time I'd pick him up. We will be picking Simon up at 9am and it can't come soon enough!! I'm also a little nervous about bringing Simon home. I start my new university semester on Monday and I have 5 classes I'm taking. I do all of my schooling online so I will be working from home. It is going to be imperative that Simon and I create structure in our routines so he knows what is going on when. Structure will also help me be able to get my homework done everyday. I will have to take advantage of his naps by doing homework. I also have an X-Pen that I will set up inside for when I need to work on some homework. He won't be in it all day or anything just for a short time when I need to get some things done. Simon also seems like a very laid back, calm, and content puppy that will probably love just cuddling in my lap while I read my textbooks or do some homework.
I'm also feeling like there is so much to get done before Saturday. I need to get our house set up for him, finish a research paper, clean, do laundry, run some errands, and get ready for school next week. There is just not enough time in the a day to get everything done! I'm sure I'm going to get everything done and it will all work out.
Here are few updated pictures of Simon from Monday. In these pictures he is exactly 8 weeks old!
Another Visit with Simon - April 25th, 2012
I had another visit with Simon and all his siblings. It was great to see them all playing with each other. Simon is such a cute puppy. He has lots of energy and loves attention but he also loves to cuddle. It's great because all of his siblings are very high energy, hyper puppies while Simon is hyper but isn't overbearing. If you pick him he just loves to cuddle in your arms! His ears still aren't standing up on their own like his siblings so we may have to keep an eye on them and evenntually tape them up so the cartilage in his ear becomes stronger. Our breeder tried to tape them up but all his siblings would just pull them off and thought they were something fun to play with!
While visiting with Simon the breeder had a little dog sweater that we decided to put on him to see how he'd react. It was hilarious!! I was holding Simon while the breeder put it on him and once the sweater was on him, Simon looked at me with this annoyed look. I swear he was saying "Mom, what the heck. Why are you putting this ridiculous sweater on me?" LOL! Then when we put him on the ground he would not move at all and had this embarassed look on his face.
Here are a few more pictures of Simon and his siblings from our visit:
Simon's Sister Pip
Simon and his sister Ginger
While visiting with Simon the breeder had a little dog sweater that we decided to put on him to see how he'd react. It was hilarious!! I was holding Simon while the breeder put it on him and once the sweater was on him, Simon looked at me with this annoyed look. I swear he was saying "Mom, what the heck. Why are you putting this ridiculous sweater on me?" LOL! Then when we put him on the ground he would not move at all and had this embarassed look on his face.
Simon was also weighed on April 25th and he is a chubby puppy! He weighed 5.5 lbs while his brother weighed 5 lbs. The sweater he's wearing above was close to being too small. He's got a big rolly belly! He is definitely going to be a stalky boy.
My friend Shannon came with me to visit with Simon and all his siblings. We ended up spending almost 2 hours with them! It was great to play with all the puppies. They were also working on pee pad training. On this day they hadn't quite picked it up yet and instead went pee everywhere but the pee pad! The puppies also decided that the pee pad was a chew toy and ripped it all up playing with it. At night the breeder has set up a crate to start the crate training. She has removed the door and they love to sleep in it at night. I'm hoping that since he is familiar with a crate he will be easier to crate train.
Here are a few more pictures of Simon and his siblings from our visit:
Above is Simon's brother Domino and below is Ginger
Simon's Sister Pip
Simon's sister Ginger
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Rescue a Boston
I thought it was really important to talk about Boston Terrier rescues on my blog. There are a lot of Boston Terrier rescue groups in Canada and the U.S. that have many up for adoption. There are many animal shelters that put down dogs everyday and they aren't putting them down because they are sick or injured. These dogs are being put down because they can't find a home for them and the shelters are full.
Here are some links for Boston Terrier rescues:
The best thing to do is check out the above links and do a google search for shelters in your area. There are so many puppies and dogs of all breeds available to adopt.
Here are some links for Boston Terrier rescues:The best thing to do is check out the above links and do a google search for shelters in your area. There are so many puppies and dogs of all breeds available to adopt.
Boston Terrier Links
Through my research I have found some excellent websites, forums, and books that really helped me choose the BT breed, prepare for a puppy, and receive support. I thought I'd share all the resources I've found. Even if you aren't looking at the Boston Terrier breed these resources can give you an idea of what could be out there on the Internet for other dog breeds and gives you a place to start your research.
Once my boyfriend and I were thinking about a Boston Terrier I wanted to make sure that this breed would fit in with our lifestyle so I purchased two books: Boston Terriers for Dummies and Boston Terrier: Your Happy Healthy Pet.
Once my boyfriend and I were thinking about a Boston Terrier I wanted to make sure that this breed would fit in with our lifestyle so I purchased two books: Boston Terriers for Dummies and Boston Terrier: Your Happy Healthy Pet.
These books were great!! I would definitely recommend the Boston Terriers for Dummies book. I found that I probably only needed to buy one book. I read the Dummies book first and then found it had basically everything I needed to know. This book includes information on the breed, history, personality of the BT, your compatibility with the breed, bringing home your puppy, supplies to purchase, toys, crate training, food, grooming, house training, socializing, body language, basic command training, travelling with your Boston, health and well-being, breed specific ailments, and first aid. I don't know what I would have done without this book! This is a MUST for anybody considering purchasing a puppy of any breed; there are Dummy books on a lot of different dog breeds.
Now here are some great websites to check out:
Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) - http://www.ckc.ca/en/
This website has information on dog breeds, how to find a responsible breeder, and there are even breeders listed in each Canadian province.
American Kennel Club (AKC) - http://www.akc.org/
This website is great!! Find out what the AKC is and does, look up breed information, find breeders in the United States, discover why dogs are registered, etc. There is a tab on the top of the website for future owners that contains information on buying a puppy, buyer bewares, and lots more.
Boston Terrier: Canada's Guide to Dogs - http://www.canadasguidetodogs.com/boston.htm
This website has a lot of health information and contains many links to other websites.
Boston Terrier Forums & Discussion Groups:
Woof! A Boston Terrier Board - http://www.woofboard.com/forum/
This forum is the best one I have found online! I have asked questions I've had and many people offered me great advice. It is great to have a place where you can ask more experienced dog owners or Boston Terrier parents for advice. It is also a great place to find other Boston owners in your area. You can also do a search for a certain topic you would like information on and it will pull up all previous discussions on the topic.
Boston Terrier Forums - http://www.bostonterrierforums.com/forum/
This forum is also a good place to go for information. I find that people are not as active on this forum as on the Woof! Board. But it is definitely a good place to search posts to find what you are looking for.
Visits with Simon
On Monday I was able to visit Simon. It was such a great visit! I had just been to see him a week before that and it was amazing how much he has grown in a week. Last time I saw him he was still in the sleep, eat, and sleep puppy stage. All he wanted to do was sleep! He wasn't very playful and instead just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. On Monday he was wide awake and so playful! As soon as I entered the room he was jumping up wanting attention. It was great to see him so active. I was worried he might be a shy dog but his amazing personality is now coming out! My friend came and took some awesome pictures of him. I can't wait to bring him home. This wait is killing me! We bring him home in 2 and a half weeks. I'm really excited but at the same time I'm feeling anxious. I want everything to be perfect for him.
Here are the latest pictures of Simon. He is about 6 weeks old in these pictures.
Here are the latest pictures of Simon. He is about 6 weeks old in these pictures.
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