So Marshall has had two days so far of our workday routine. This is how his days go…

6am       Wakeup with Daddy.. go outside
6:15am  Play with Daddy while he gets ready
6:30am  Mommy gets up and plays with Marsh
6:50am  Breakfast time!
7:00am  Walk Daddy to the el train
7:15am   Play with Mommy while she gets ready
7:30am  Go in my crate while Mommy finishes getting ready… then sneaks out the back door
11:30am Tom his walker comes and they have lunch/walk/playtime
12pm      Back in the crate with a peanut butter filled Kong
5pm        Mommy comes home! Walk and playtime
6pm        Daddy comes home!

So he’s done pretty well. I think him being alone during the day is harder on Mommy than it is on Marshall! I spent Tuesday texting Adam freaking out worried Marshall was in his crate barking all day and traumatized. Then I totally freaked out when I realized we forgot to let Tom know that Marshall can only come up the stairs and not go down them. I pretty much had a panic attack and poor Adam had to text Tom and calm me down. So I had my first Mommy panic moment. To those of you shaking your head…. he’s our baby! I’ve never had a dog where we had a dog walker and lived in the city… Adam and I come from Maine where we have a yard or lots of land for the dog to roam around and friends/family to let them out or check on them. This whole raising a puppy in the city on our own is new…. and we want to do it right and have a loving, obedient and not spastic dog.

Anyway, so far so good. And the best news of all comes in two amazing announcements….

*knockonwood* Since Marshall came home, he has NEVER had an accident in his crate!
Last night we ALL slept through the night without a pee break, YES!

Now for the things we’re working on right now… #1 would be BITING. Puppy Marshall loves using his mouth. He bites anything, everything and us constantly when he’s playing. We’ve read a lot about letting out a loud OUCH or yelp, well that makes him go crazy so hasn’t worked. We’ve ignored him, that is pointless. We’ve said NO BITE and replaced us with one of his toys… also less effective since he spits out the toy and goes back to mouthing us. So we’re still working on the best solution. Also he’s eating anything wood in the apartment… the bitter spray was a waste of money so all we have been able to do is say NO BITE and give him his toy to bite, also not that effective. So we’ll continue looking for tips on that. #2 would be jumping. We love to jump, especially on the gate, couch, Mom and Dad and anything else. He’s getting better with DOWN since we don’t give him attention when he jumps.

Finally, we’re trying to find a puppy kindergarten class to enroll him in so he can socialize. His next vet appointment is the 29th so we won’t have his 2nd shots for a while but he needs to socialize and right now we’re afraid to let him near all the neighborhood dogs for fear they’re not vaccinated or carrying an illness. So HOPEFULLY we can find a class soon… so far they’re all on Tues or Thurs and that’s when I have class. So wish us luck! But in the mean time, he’s a happy, silly, fluffy puppy who loves his Mommy and Daddy…. and they love him too!

 

P.S. No one can say my floors aren’t clean… I scrub them on my hands and knees daily after SOMEONE has an accident. Thank you Arm & Hammer puppy solution!

xoxo

Marshall has been amazing. All our fears on crate training were for nothing. He goes in, whimpers for a couple of minutes then settles down and sleeps. He knows the crate isn’t a bad place and that he won’t be in there forever. Thank you baby Jesus!

He is doing really well, we have very few accidents in the apartment, he knows the drill when we go outside and just last night he overcame his fears of the 16 stairs going up to the apartment. We haven’t tried going down yet… a little too scary… but he can go up them! Which we’re impressed with since the steps and him are almost the same height.

Overall he’s doing AMAZING! The vet appointment went great, he has a dog walker starting tomorrow and he’s a happy little boy. Now that he’s more settled he’s chewing and biting more so we’re working to get him to play with his own toys and realize what can and can’t be chewed. For example, the coffee table… while a lovely yummy pine, isn’t a chew toy. We got some of the bitter ‘no chew’ spray but he just licks it off and wipes his face on the floor then chews again… so that hasn’t been any help.

He’s met a few other dogs and lots of people. He LOVES people… and when they walk by the fenced in yard and he sits and stares at them with his adorable puppy eyes, he can’t understand why some people walk by, actually he seems to be a little annoyed they don’t pet him. As for the people who do, they get lots of kisses and one happy wiggly butt dancing around them. He likes to play with other dogs, but he just loves people and loves attention and he sits right down until they come over to him…. I wish we could take credit for those manners but he came to us that way. As the vet and trainer at PetSmart have said… we clearly chose a good breeder who knew what they were doing and knew about this breed. We couldn’t be happier

Tomorrow will be the first day we’ll be at work all day and he’ll have time with Tom, his walker so let’s all keep our fingers crossed all the great work and routine we’ve been working on all weekend… will carry through and keep going smoothly with only minor hiccups. But the most important part of this whole rambling post… is that Marshall is in a happy and safe home and he is completely adored by his parents <3

xoxo

Sooo to all of you nay-sayers or doubtlers, who read Danielle’s post and think that she was dialing down a bit to try to gain public support…not even a little bit! She’s not some Democratic presidential candidate trying to hide the truth….that was the gist of it! He has pretty a damn good lil’ dude, eats when his foods down, starting to learn his name, we’re working on the “potty” thing, and he when he’s in his crate he objects with minimal whining and whimpering….*knock…no, Pound…nah, HAM on some nice strong Brazilian Walnut hardwood* for that one!

He is getting settled well though. After we got back from his vet appointment…which he was so docile during he started falling asleep on the exam table with the Doc right there…we had an appointment to meet with a prospective dog walker, Tom, “The Dog Dude”. Those of you who know ME, can guess I liked this guy right away – but so did Danielle! We sat down and talked with him and his girlfriend, who helped on the rare occasion if Tom needed it, and shot the dog shit on every subject from Publix Grocery Stores (in central west-shore FL), to dog care, training, and behavior, to shared thoughts on little dogs, to Star Wars vs Star Trek…needless to say it was an excellent, and productive, meeting! Marshall seemed quite satisfied with him and gave us the go-ahead to hire Tom, and they will have their first Constitutional on Tuesday afternoon. So now were are just relaxin’ on this overcast drizzly Labor Day weekend, Marshall’s been pretty mellow and has been napping away in his crate – Gooood Lad! – and Danielle and I are just trying to get some school and Navy studyin’ done, enjoying the sitting….cause, we’ll be up movin’ veeery soon. Til next time…we’ll “let sleeping dogs lie” (Geoffrey Chaucer 1374).

….And yet I can’t help but wonder…..what kind of Disney character voice is Marshall going to have….? Any thoughts folks? Peanut Galleries be damned…So post us a message!!

Marshall is home! And we’ve had a lot of firsts in the past 12 hours… first dinner in my new bowl, first collar which I really don’t like, first time Mommy and Daddy tried to walk me on the leash and I sat down and wouldn’t budge, first night in my big crate, and first accident on the new rug (Mommy is glad they were inexpensive rugs from Menards).

So Adam and I left work in downtown Chicago at 4pm… we were picking Marshall up 46miles away and Google said in the current (horrible) traffic it’d take 1hr12min. I  said we’d be there 5:30ish. Well we didn’t expect to crawl along as slowly as we did and travel only 6 miles in one hour. Needless to say it was a long journey. But when we walked in and held our pup, it was worth it. We did some paperwork and then walked out, with Adam holding him. Seriously singing a few forms and handing over a money order and we walked out of a strangers house with a dog. It was a strange experience and we definitely felt like we were stealing this lady’s dog.

So we started the jeep up and Adam got in the backseat with the dog… he smelled around a bit but settled down next to Adam. Since it was 94* he was warm and we got him some water and had all the windows down. He didn’t really do much in the car, didn’t whine or care just was hanging out. When we stopped for some super cheap suburban gas I tried to walk him around a little bit but the leash freaked him out and he stared at me. So we finally got home around 8:30pm and began soaking his food. He roamed around and we had a few accidents but overall we actually did really well.

When bedtime came he walked into the crate (he had gone in twice on his own to check it out before) and when I shut the door he didn’t put up too much of a fuss, he was hot, tired and probably happy to have a fan blowing on him. Since it was ungodly hot we wrapped ice packs in sandwich bags then in a pillowcase for him to lay on. So, first night. Actually it was probably harder on us than him. We were expecting some horrific whining to break our resolve to crate train, or at the least barking. THANK GOD we had only minor whining and we’re pretty sure it was just due to the heat. Now let’s all hope tonight is the same story. I don’t even mind the 2:30 and 5:30 wakeups to pee as long as he is comfortable and happy in his crate.

It’s almost time for our very first vet appointment so we’re trying to be relaxed and quietly get ready to go while he decides if he wants to sleep, jump, wonder or pace. More to come so keep checking back. With a long weekend and rain approaching this afternoon… we’ll no doubt have lots of stories to share!

xoxo

We have been counting down to today since Bean’s pregnancy was announced and her due date estimated. From pre-birth to the impatient waiting for him to arrive in the world, to watching him grow and all the excitement and planning along the way…. tonight is finally the night. I can’t believe we finally get to bring our ball of golden-red fluff home!

Ridiculous amounts of photos, stories, laughs, love and fun to come…. so stay tuned everyone

xoxo

Gath’round All -

Alrighty tale-hearers! So here we are! Safe aboard our ship the USS Maine (in memoriam of the legendary battleship that met its demise in 1898 eventually leading America to war with Spain) docked here in the northern shore of the city of Chicago, we ready ourselves…. for battle? Nay. For some evil foreign invader to breach our mighty hull and home….well…perhaps, but our fingers remain crossed, for our hope relies on a welcome arrival, and both, my first mate, Danielle, and I are very positive such thing will be a guiding light into our lives!
Much preparation is still to be done however! There are decks to swob, bulkheads to paint, sails to mend, doggie pee pads to position, dog toys to assemble, stowing of all things not wanted to be furnished with doggie drool or slobber, or simply devoured whole! T-Minus 92 hours and counting until we launch the long boat, hoist our skiff’s sail and venture forth on the not so open concrete sea of the Illinois and her raging currents, known to the Chicagoians as “suburbs”. Wicked things they are…swarming with mini vans and SUVs commanded by horrid mermaids and sea creatures, all that seem to mark their vessels with little stick people insignia. I’m told they displays the number of searats there are aboard…and rats they are….I have never thought to taunt or provoke these creatures, because I have heard for the sailor who does, gets kidnapped and swallowed into the depths of the vessel’s belly….(while vessels are just simply named “My Son/Daughter is an Honor Student at Morgan Park Academy”! across the vessel’s backside…ohhh they are gloating beings…I loath them so…) And that, my friends, is just the beginning….there is much more tale to tell, but it is for another time.
Late grows the hour, and I must return to my rack, to dreams of my lovely lady by my side, and the high seas for which I call home…for there is a new boatswain coming aboard…his name is Marshall…that is all he is known by…and that is all that we know…so we have much more prepping to do! G’night fair Poseidon, grant us calm seas and clearing skies, for we have a possibly treacherous mission ahead….

Capt. Adam P. Shaw
CO(and Skipper) USS Maine

Well we’re ALMOST ready to get our puppy and he’s almost ready to come home! Today we confirmed with our breeder our appointment to pick him up is next Friday evening. Which means there is about…

1 whole week
1 long day
2 slow hours

…until Marshall is all ours and heading to his new home in Chicago!

We’re decently ready at this point and just need one more PetSmart trip to decide on his food and grab another Kong and probably more puppy pads.

A little over a year ago we arrived in Chicago, straight from the fresh ocean air in Maine and instantly missed our family dogs. We’d talked about getting a dog and our apartment didn’t allow them. So we’ll fast forward through a year of research, planning, hoping, anxiety, excitement….. to today when we’re FINALLY so very very close to having our fluffy companion who I already think of as our child.

For those of you shaking your head, he will be our four-legged son but he won’t be COMPLETELY spoiled. Not really at least…. he’ll have tons of love, toys, walks, beach time and belly rubs. However we’re going to be stringent on people food, begging, being on furniture and displays of dominance. I won’t lie, it won’t be easy for me. Adam thinks it’ll be just fine, but a big cuddly dog on the bed when I’m home from work sick… sounds pretty damn good to me. And why can’t he lay by me on the couch and rest his head in my lap while I read 342379 articles for my thesis? But I promised I’d try to abide by our rules! (Let’s see if Adam abides by the no people-food rule… FAT CHANCE!)

Well before I go on and on for ages, below you can find some more pictures from Marshall’s litter at 6 weeks old (last weekend). Enjoy and wish us luck! I’ll post again before we get him and of course once we do so stay tuned!

xoxo

Hi Everyone,

Adam and I thought it would be fun to share our puppy adventures with friends and family so I went ahead and created this fancy blog! I promise I’ll try hard not to fill it full of stress and fear over my looming thesis and instead focus on our life with a bundle of golden fluff!

Here’s some background info to get you as anxious as we are!

Sex: Male
Name: Marshall
Breed: Golden Retriever
Age: As of today, 1 month 1 day (he’ll be 8 wks when we bring him home)
Location: Waaaaayyy up north in Wisconsin
Parents: Bean and Henry (Henry is rated as a Master Hunter!)
Readiness: Getting there…

 Of course before I finish this first post I’m sure you’re wondering what he looks like… so with this post will be two pictures. One of Marshall’s litter when they were a day old and the other at just over 3 1/2 weeks old.

Enjoy your puppy fix! And if that’s not enough… we’ve been addicted to watching Warrior Canine Connection’s puppy-cam. Find them on Facebook and check it out… it’s a FANTASTIC mission/organization!

xoxo