Pupdate April 16

 
Hello.  We made it through another week.  Yay! 

This was a tough week for me as it was audit time.  Long hours. Boring walk-thrus. I did my part...earned a little more time off.    Some good came of it.   

So I was wondering, what to write about this week?  Well, I've decided to focus on Volos.   Volos-the good, the bad, & the ugly. 

This guy... I adore him so very much. Words cannot express how much he makes me happy & my heart melt.   He a big goof ball.   A big neurotic goofball.   

So, I've shared his good points: He's a clown, a cuddler, a strong presence, a happy boy, a sweet boy... I just love him.  I love how he climbs up on the bed and places himself in between my legs and lays on my torso so very gently.   I fall asleep so easily with him there.   He is always over joyed to see us.  He loves his toys. He loves his spot in the basement. He loves playing with his little sister.  He loves car rides.  Yes he is a wonderful boy .

BUT

Things that drive me insane about him.   First off, he is exactly like Galen--schedule driven.   At 4:30AM I am awoken by poking.   The big fluff ball comes right to my side of the bed and pokes his snout right into me.  Wakes me up much earlier than I would like.  

It's not necessarily because he needs to go out or if he's hungry or thirsty. No 4:30 is time to get up and out of bed.     Sometimes he goes right back to sleep shortly after (whether or not I do is another matter).

He is STUBBORN! If he does not need to go to the potty, he will not walk outside. He will plop himself down on the floor under the table near the door & watch. 

Combining his "rigid" routine & stubbornness, we get the situation we have currently. We are getting a patio installed. They took away the back stairs and tore up the ground. This means we are back to using the front door as our in and out. 

When we first adopted him we were using the front door for that purpose because we couldn't find anyone to build us stairs.   From January to mid April that is how he came in and out of the house.  For the past year however, our routine has been to use the back door. 

Trying to get him out the front door and in the back yard along the side of the house.  It is an experience. He fights the whole way. He will not go in the back yard now because it's a mess from the preparation for installing the patio.   It's such a production.   He's a big guy and not easily handled.   

Another story about the change in routine.  Wed was their typical day home. I was in the garage doing some work & opened the door to the dogs. I wanted them to come out and get in the car to go for a drive. 

The back door was wide open.  He came around the side didn't see the front door open so he turned around and headed back inside.  Four times. Finally I shut the car door and when he came around the car again, I let him see me open the door.  He got it then.    This dog.

We never got to train him properly with sit, paw, stay....but he comes when called (most of the time) and doesn't like straying from us too far.    

He is so gentle when he & Lada play.   Gah! I can't wait to see him with a puppy. 

He loves day care (in spite of always lying around with his pack).   So I'd say the dude is living a pretty dang good life.