Sunday, April 15, 2012

11 for 11

Orent turned 11 months old last week, and here are 11 things we are remarking on right now.

  1. Orent has a new "brother" named Brady -- a tiny, 7-year-old papillon/pomeranian mix who barks a lot and has gobs of energy. In comparison, Orent is a silent, slow, dopey dog. The contrast couldn't be more stark. Wherever Orent ends up, let's hope they don't need a dog that moves fast or barks!
  2. We're starting to think more about Orent as an actual service dog, now that he has grown into himself. For example, when he pulls on the leash now, its clear he's very strong and we need to get better at Let's Go in case someone needs him to walk patiently by their side.
  3. Speaking of being strong... today, Orent pulled me (Kaytee) over. Literally. He was on his long leash, chasing a frisbee down a (soft and grassy... thank god!) hill, and he got up so much speed I couldn't keep up. Next thing I know, I'm flying to the ground and the dog is racing ahead. Fortunately, Max's dad got the dog's leash and I am fine. But man, he got STRONG!
  4. He's exceedingly lovey. He'll probably be an emotional support dog for someone, considering all he wants in life is to lean on you and tell you he loves you.
  5. He's learning to do more commands without bribes/lures, and responds to corrections, which is a very grown-up dog thing to do.
  6. On the other hand, he's scared of putting his vest and gentle leader, and won't do it without bribes.
  7. But it's not that simple! It seems sometimes he has two brains -- brain one is slow, dopey dog that doesn't know what commands mean. Brain two gets turned on whenever food is around, and that's when he remembers what commands mean. It's not bribing, per se... it's using food to turn on the light switch that activates the part of the brain that remembers what commands mean.
  8. He now officially lets us cut his nails! 
  9. He loves to run, and to be chased around. His favorite game is "On your mark! Get set! Go!" which is basically where someone says that and then goes running off in a direction, and Orent runs along beside. This works best when Orent has something (a stick or toy) to hold in his mouth, because otherwise he really wants to carry the leash.
  10. He can destroy most toys in less than a day, and some in less than an hour. We've basically stopped buying toys that aren't made out of special (expensive) plastic at this point, because it's just not worth it.
  11. See below...



3 comments:

  1. he's so big!!! also, i can't believe he pulled you over! and i'm glad you're okay :)

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  2. you need a 12 for 12 on your big one year of living-ness!

    ReplyDelete