Ice Ice Baby

Our Watson is totally obsessed with ice cubes. He loves them. He comes running from anywhere at the sound of the ice dispenser. We joke that it is because he was born in Minnesota, in the middle of winter, but who knows, maybe it isn’t a joke.

Whatever the reason, he absolutely loves ice. The only thing that limits the amount of ice that he would eat, appears to be us.

My husband is a hobbyist mixologist. I am a lush  guinea pig  lush. A cocktail is poured in our house more evenings than not (for health reasons, of course).

My husband goes over to the bar and picks up a shaker, and opens it as he crosses to the kitchen, where he fills the shaker with ice from the handy little dispenser in the freezer door. He then walks back over to the bar to start crafting a drink, and on the way he gives Watson an ice cube or two. Watson was always there to get one because he heard the ice dispensing.

Except now, he shows up at the sound of the shaker being opened.

Our dog is learning about bar tools.

Last night, my husband offered Watson two ice cube treats, one in each hand. He just did it because one had slipped, and he’d grabbed it with the other hand. He leaned down with both hands held out, each offering an ice cube. Watson froze like an ice statue. His eyes darted back and forth looking at each ice cube, and he was unable to decide which precious hunk of ice he should eat. A puddle of drool appeared on the floor as he salivated in anxious anticipation of tasty(?) ice, but which one should he take? His poor puppy mind was blown.

It was not purposeful, but of course now it is a great new game: offer Watson two things and see which one he picks. Hey, a little introspection and learning about your own priorities is a good thing, even if you are a dog. Be decisive, little Watson. Meditate. Know thyself.

Elementary

I am feeling supremely unmotivated to blog, for a wide variety of reasons. It seems this would lead to not blogging, and yet there is a part of me nagging me to blog anyway. As if I need internal arguments to help make life more aggravating.

Puppy class went well. I chose the class based on location, schedule, and the fact I hadn’t heard anything bad about the place. I am very pleased that happenstance led us there. I think they have a good program.

The biggest challenge I am currently facing with Watson is housebreaking. This is no surprise, since at this age, that is the biggest challenge for most families raising puppies. What is slightly different, for me, is the nature of the challenge I am facing. Overall, he is doing pretty well. Now, mind you, I believe that training the average dog is 60% training the humans, and 40% training the dog. We are all doing okay. The problem I am encountering is one I’ve never had before. It isn’t a full blown problem yet, just one I see looming. Developing a substrate preference is a big part of successful or difficult housebreaking, and Watson has definitely formed a substrate preference. Unfortunately, his preferred substrate is vanishing a bit more with each passing day.

Yep. He is strongly inclined to potty on snow. This makes sense. His early “go potty” “good dog” training has all been on snow, since the whole yard was snow. As the snow is shrinking away, he is clearly moving away from the areas where he used to go to the bathroom, and going where there is still snow. Yes, I know how to work on this, but any further challenge during this particular time in house training is annoying, even when you know how to address it, and that it must be addressed.

He remains adorable.

Handsome Boy

Promised Pics

I am too wiped out to type much now, so I’ll give you what you want instead.  Puppy pictures!  You already saw Mindy, so here is –

Darby:

Darby and my husband, both sleeping.

Webster:

om nom nom nom