Wednesday, October 31, 2007

A trip to Long Beach

Palmer went on another trip tonight. This time, it was to Long Beach for Rachel and Ephraim's wedding gift opening party. He was so spoiled... everyone was paying him so much attention! All the oohs and ahhs must've given him some doggie confidence since he had the audacity to bite at both Ann and Debbie's paper plates (both holding pizza). Bad dog! He made up for it by showing off his 'sit' 'down' and 'stay'. All for yummy doggie treats, of course.

Palmer also met Uncle Aldrich for the first time tonight. But, for some reason, he kept insisting on calling him 'Marinovich'. After further probing, Aldrich explained. Todd Marinovich is a former USC quarterback... a quarterback whose college career was most noted for his disappointing performance and recreational drug use. Just wonderful, Aldrich. His name is Palmer... or Homer... or Farmer... (see October 22 post).

Also, Auntie Genee took some good pics of the Palmer pie. I will post once she gets them up on Flickr!

Thanks for welcoming us into your lovely home, Auntie Rachel and Uncle Ephraim! We will visit again soon.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Return from SD

After a weekend in San Diego for Rachel and Ephraim's beautiful wedding, we picked up Palmer from my moms and were greeted by some major dog stink. Palmer was due for abath desperately!! So, after a doggie dinner and a potty break last night, I put on my swimming gear and jumped into the shower with Palmer. Here are some cute pictures of a damp Palmer:
Notice the crimped hair -- haha. It was his second bath since we adopted him and he did very well! Besides a few doggie shakes, Palmer sat patiently as I lathered him up and rinsed. No more dog stink here!!

Monday, October 22, 2007

His name is Palmer!

Oddly enough, I've found it a little difficult introducing Palmer by his name. I mean, if they're not a USC fan, most people get confused and inevitably mistake his name for something else. Here are some funny stories:
  • My dad greeted Palmer one Sunday morning by saying "Come here Homer! Homer, come here!"

  • Our downstairs neighbor ran into us during our am walk and said to Palmer, "Good morning, Farmer."

  • My 2-year old nephew met Palmer yesterday and giggled after feeding and playing with him. When it was time to go home he said, "Bye bye, Hummer!"

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Crately Update

I am on my sister's computer right now so I don't have access to the plethora of pictures I have of Palmer (above is his rescue group picture). I do, however, want to update the blog so you Palmer fans out there get your fix of his crazy antics.

For those of you wondering about the whole crating initiative ... Palmer's completely lovin' it! I was deathly afraid his separation anxiety would be aggravated by being confined to such a small area but it worked out the exact opposite (praise the Lord). When I kept him in the bathroom, he used to claw and chew at the door and when that lost its appeal, he would relieve his frustration by anxiously licking his paws. On a bad day, I would come home to scattered wood chips and a saliva-drenched doggie. Now that he's in the crate, I come home to a pleasant (though energetic) Palmer pie! And, better yet -- when its time for bed, I leave Palmer the option of sleeping outside of the crate in the small carpetted area outside of my bedroom but once the lights are out, he miraculously wanders into the crate completely on his own! How anyone has an indoor dog without a crate is beyond me... I am saved!

Monday, October 15, 2007

The doggie student

I received an email today confirming Palmer's reserved spot in a group behavior class. The 'Adult Basic Class' is a five week course focused on basic training plus some some problem solving of established behaviors such as jumping up and attention seeking. Basic training includes commands such as sit, down, stay, slack leash walking and come when called. Johnny and I are very excited for Palmer's first day of school!

Also, per Ann's recommendation, I ordered 'Marley & Me' on Amazon the other day. The book arrived yesterday afternoon and I've already zipped through the first few chapters. I just can't wait to get through this book. The doggie on the front reminds me of Palmer!

Friday, October 12, 2007

New den

I thought my master bath would suffice as Palmer's 'den' but the bottom of the bathroom door can tell you that it truly has not. I guess it doesn't create a cozy enough atmosphere to leave Palmer feeling secure and at ease so, my solution was a brand new PetMate Vari Kennel (or crate)! Fear not dog-lovers, crate training has proven to be a safe and effective way of housetraining, reducing separation anxiety, and providing the den-like enclosure doggies so-love. In fact, there are many dog organizations (i.e. American Kennel Club) and veterinarians that encourage it!

Though I had to make multiple trips to exchange up for a bigger size (medium was too cramped for the P-dog), Palmer has taken a pretty quick liking to it! I set it down with the top removed for the first night and he slept soundly. Last night, I tried placing the top on it without the door and with the lure of some doggie treats, I found Palmer cozied up in the back of the crate this morning. I shut the door on him for just about 15 minutes today while I was in the shower and he did perfectly fine. No whining or whimpering. Now, the challenge is to take it slow enough so he doesn't reject the idea of the crate and instead, begins to think of it as his own little doggie retreat.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Separation Anxiety

The seasoned dog parents out there are going to laugh but I've been stressing out lately about Palmer's mild case of separation anxiety. I can't seem to find an effective way of leaving him without coming home to a bathroom full of wood or paint chips from him scratching at the door all day. I know its natural but I just feel like a horrible dog mommy when it happens. It must be worse because of the USC loss. I bet Palmer's just as sad as I am that the Trojans couldn't pull through this past Saturday. Good thing I didn't name him 'Booty'. Ugh.

Anyway, about the separation anxiety, I think I need to consult with Mr. Millan or even just Mr. Google. I hope he'll learn soon enough... before he chews up my entire door!

Anyway, funny thing: when Palmer gets wet, his hair texture becomes crimped... circa 1980's. Tiffany and Debbie Gibson would be jealous. You can kinda see the waviness in the pic below.
Enjoy!

Friday, October 5, 2007

Happy Birthday!!


Palmer wishes Johnny a very happy birthday (WOOF!) !!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Same ol'


Nothing new to post today except that Palmer's still super adorable. He's so silly... I've noticed that he gets offended when another doggie doesn't want to play with him. When we're out walking in the neighborhood, I usually let him curiously sniff the dogs that pass by but if the owner doesn't let them play, if the other dog is scared and runs away, or if I pull him away Palmer starts to wimper and cry. What a sensitive boy.


I posted another picture of Palmer and just noticed that most of his pictures are of him lying down. Haha.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

I love argyle!

Kelly & Scott's doggy, Tommy, was too small for this argyle sweater so Kelly decided to pass it on to Palmer. He looks so preppy (and so cute!) in his sweater, I love it! He sorta freaked out when I first put it on him. He rolled onto his back and squirmed across the carpet but he got used to it eventually...

Thanks Kelly & Tommy!!

Here is Palmer in his argyle sweater vest greeting Johnny

And a few more snapshots of Palmer modeling his Carlton attire:

Monday, October 1, 2007

Boo-boo

Thought I'd post a picture from the very day we brought him home from the rescue group.

Yesterday, Palmer was lying in my lap as I was trimming his nails. Usually, I'm very careful about not cutting to the blood vessel but for some reason, I did this time! Right when I clipped it, Palmer jerked his left paw back and when I took a closer look, one of his nails was bleeding! I felt so bad. :( Anyway, there was some septic powder included with the nail cutters so he wasn't bleeding for very long.

Good dog!!

Alright, so Palmer had a few accidents this weekend... he truly isn't housetrained but that doesn't mean he's a bad dog! That just means that he needs to become a little more acquainted with his human housemates and learn that going to the bathroom indoors is not allowed. Because his schedule hasn't been regular for very long, he's probably still a little confused. I'll give him some credit though, for being so well-behaved when he visited Auntie Lillian and Uncle Gregory! I missed him so much over the weekend!

...and will get some more pictures posted soon enough! His forehead is filling in nicely, and now that his hair is growing out a little longer, he's starting to look more and more like a Golden Retriever.