The long-awaited puppy post

About a month ago we switched Calvin (now an eight-month old miniature dachshund) over to a vet-recommended food for growing puppies. Why? Because our puppy wasn't growing. The poor guy was Olsen twin skinny. The vets kept saying he was just lean but otherwise healthy. They, however, didn't have to watch him skulk around like a skeleton Koopa Troopa from Bowser's castles.

Now, a month later, Calvin is finally pushing ten pounds and looks much cuter, healthier, and happier. As a result, we've really seen his personality shine through. He'll never be the dog to run up to strangers with a wagging tail - which is perfectly alright with me - but he's more playful, energetic, affectionate and relaxed. He's happy to take 5km walks with me around the lake (four out of five cars come close to accidents because they're too busy ogling my pup) and will still have energy to play with his toys before he curls up for a nap.

The whole toy experience has been hysterical. For the first two months with us, he could not have cared less about anything we had brought home. Now? He can barely decide what to play with. EVERYTHING's a toy! That leads to an adorable problem. When he's finally ready for a nap, he rarely finds room on his pillow between the dozens of treasured items that he stores on it. You see, Calvin has turned out to be quite the scavenger. Anyone ever read The Hobbit? Well, the cover art of the one I read showed Smog the dragon, curled up on a pile of his riches. Please note the similarities:

This photo was taken AFTER I took the time to remove the collection of underwear, socks, slippers, sneakers, books, Bounce sheets, and the bathroom mat. We thought he learned how to play fetch, but as it turns out, he's only trying to run past us to return whatever we so rudely threw across the room back to its appropriate spot in the collection. He also has to count to seven and touch each burner on the stove before he leaves the house. Okay, not true.

Three weeks ago we enrolled Calvin in the Lietash Canine Academy to teach ourselves how to properly train a dog and to teach him how to do things to help around the house like mix drinks and serve appetizers. We were pretty confident going into it since he didn't have any behavioural problems and was already completely reliable with the sit command and coming when he is called. He quickly showed off his mad skills and became a favourite with the instructors. They've all commented on how eager he is to please for a commonly stubborn breed. That being said, after seeing the fully-trained dogs there to do demonstrations (read: make us all feel terrible about our special-ed puppies), we realized how far we have to go.

He had a really hard time with the down command since he curls up like a kitten when he sleeps. Luring him down with a treat doesn't go anywhere since his neck extends across the entire room and his face is about 3cm from the floor to begin with. However, BEHOLD!

Thanks to the continued greatness of clicker training, we're all ready for Sunday's class. We're heading back into the competition to show the haters who's the hottest street dancing crew in this town! Step up and bring it on 'cause you got served, dog.

On the downside, he has been suffering some persistent G.I. problems. We've had to switch to the hypoallergenic brand of the same food, take all treats and rawhide chews out of his diet, and give him five doses of chalky medical froth that he hated. It's been a week since the switch and meds so we're keeping our fingers crossed that it'll be cleared up within another week or two. The next step would be running what I assume to be expensive diagnostics. Or, buy him diapers.

Hope that's enough information to keep the Calvin fans satisfied for a little while. Thanks for asking about the pooch and I'll be sure to love him up enough for all of you.

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NOR: Puppy