New Diet

Johnny has lots of tummy problems.  Some of it might stem from the fact that he will literally eat anything he can get his paws on, clothing included (and in fact, preferred), but he does have a weak stomach.  Johnny's been on  medicine for a while which does seem to help, and we've also been having him eat a grain-free dog food:

Most days are successful and puke free.  Since Johnny looks and acts so healthy, Brian and I decided to jump on the grain-free band wagon.  Thanks to the help of some friends, we began the paleo way of eating about a week ago.  It's been a successful week, filled with lots of veggies, a few cravings, and some very satisfied stomachs (Johnny agrees; he managed to get an entire bag of tomatoes).  A week in, and we've even managed to lose a few pounds!  We are both keeping a close eye on our goals so that we can meet, but be careful not to surpass, them.  We're feeling good, but have heard that it will get even better as our bodies are no longer using energy to process food that they weren't built to process.  I'll keep you posted!!

Hoopin' It Up!

Finally figured out how to put this large video on the blog.  Check out Johnny's skills (gotta turn your head sideways, sorry)!!

Sonoran Desert Pet Resort Rocks!

Johnny after his first day of doggie day camp at the Sonoran Desert Pet Resort:

My sleepy puppy

Worst grades of the family...

Brian Crushes It!!!

Just for fun... the last minute is the best!  Go Brian, go!

Johnny's First Agility Run

A little delayed, and definitely not our best run of the night, but still fun to see (see previous posts for details)!!

Time for Something New

Last weekend Johnny was asked not to return to Doggie Day Camp.  This was DEVASTATING for me, because I am pretty sure I love it just as much as he does (who does not like their puppy to be happy all day long and exhausted when he comes home?!).  No, Johnny's not aggressive, he just likes to play, and he doesn't take "no" for an answer.
Yesterday, Brian and I checked out 4 new doggie day care places to make sure they could handle our Lil' Johnny. We struck gold with 2 out of 4, and one of them was especially great!  With our long hours (especially while Brian is in school) and tight budget, we needed some place that was cheap and would take Johnny all day long.  Luckily, of the two we found, one is by our house (with a second location by the in-laws) and the other is by my office which will offer us lots of options!
I told Johnny all about them and he can't wait to check them out.  Here's hoping he passes the evaluations...!!

Firsts

In the past month, we've celebrated many firsts with Johnny including:

Johnny's first big test-

Before

This is your ONLY chance to climb on the new furniture!

After (yes, that's Austin Powers)

Enjoying the new furniture!

Johnny's first Kansas Final Four-

Rock Chalk!

Go Jayhawks!

Johnny's first birthday!-

Looking for a place for his first 1 year old poop

Johnny being Johnny

"I'm not looking at you, Mom.  Flying leaves are way cooler!"

Doing the Sara head tilt

Other firsts: Johnny's first nap at Doggie Day Camp, Johnny's first detention at Doggie Day Camp, Johnny's first night with Jeff (THANK YOU!!)

Like Father, Like Son

Agility Competition

Last night was Johnny's last night of agility training and it was full of prizes!  I'm not normally the most competitive person, but I got pretty competitive in honor of Brian since he couldn't be there (ok... maybe I was just a little into it myself...).  Johnny was a rock star!

The obstacle course was comprised of all 8 obstacles we learned over the last 6 weeks: see-saw, hoop, weave poles, balance beam, crawling under, high jump, and A-frame.  Each of the three dogs in the class got to do the course five times.  Prizes were given out for best overall time, best average time, and for a perfect round regardless of time.

Johnny's scores were:
34 seconds
25 seconds
24 seconds
22 seconds
20 seconds (he had his leash on for this one because he was being a butt hole after round 4 and needed to get under control... think how fast he could have been with it off!!)

The fastest time was 17 seconds.  Bummer.

The fastest average time was JOHNNY!!  He was a rock star and I was so very proud!

Johnny also got a prize for having a perfect round (although I don't know which one)!

Too bad rawhides won't stay on a shelf like trophies.

Agility at Home

Johnny and I have been taking agility classes together for the last 5 weeks.  Tonight was our second to last class (sad day), so I figure it's finally time to at least post some practice videos.

I have a video of him jumping through a hoola hoop, but it won't upload (I think the file is too big!).  I'll have to generalize my work video-editing knowledge to home and see what I can do to fix it!  Meanwhile, enjoy the weave poles (chairs).

Family Nap

Yes, Mom, he is on the chair.

Sleeping on me.

Where's my pillow?!

The Many Nicknames of Lil' Johnny

Johnny... Johnny Boy... JB... Asshole... Sweet Puppy... Jonathan... Jonnerson... Dumbass... Johnny B Good... J-Dog... Jonathan Silverman Aronson... J-Dizzle... UGHHHHHHH... Lil' J... King Johnny... Dorky's Uncle...

Johnny helping me type this blog post.

Missing our Brian

Brian's in Vegas for school/work and we miss him!

Loving Daddy

Don't worry, Brian.  I give mine and Johnny's time together an A... so far...

How Johnny Got his Name

When Brian bought our house, he did a walk-through with the contractor and his dad.  Whenever the contractor walked into another room he said to Brian, "make sure to point out anything that's wrong because in a couple of years I don't want to be hearing you say 'Lil' Johnny's done this, and Lil' Johnny's done that.'"  Micah, of course, thought this was hilarious.

After we had been dating for a while, and especially after we got engaged, Lil' Johnny comments were made more and more frequently.  "We'll show them!" we thought.

And that's how Lil' Johnny got his name.

Johnny being cute.

Johnny's life so far...

Brian's been asking me for a while to start a blog, and since Johnny is the most interesting and exciting thing in our life right now, Johnny it is!

Not yet ready for kids, Brian finally talked me in to getting a dog right before his birthday in June.  We had a boy's name and a girl's name picked out, and finally found the perfect dog- our Lil' Johnny.  What follows is a brief summary of his life so far:

April 1, 2011... Lil' Johnny (originally named Sampson) was born in a litter of eight.  True to his name and his birth date, Johnny is trouble.

This picture was taken when Johnny was still Sampson!

June 12, 2011... Johnny comes to live with us!

On our way home...

Playing in the yard.

First family shot!

July... Johnny got neutered and ate through his e-collar in a day.  Oy.

He also got a delicious Kosher Bone for being so brave!

August... We started a weekly obedience class with Johnny.  He's quite the instigator and just wants to play with all the other dogs, but he actually does pretty well.  Most of his skills are generalizing to home too!

September... List of casualties by chewing: couch, vacuum cord, lamp cord, blu-ray cord, 2 puppies beds, my favorite Target flip flops, other flip flops, lots of socks, new bathroom rugs, kitchen towels, lots of rolls of toilet paper, dog food bowl, tupperware, dog toys that are "indestructible," $40 cash, anything we hang on the refrigerator, M&Ms, 2 checks, a SARRC report, table legs, etc.

...and the hose...

...and a cantaloupe from our used-to-be garden...

...and the peach tree...

October... Johnny gets bit by a rattle snake!  It was a really scary day, but Johnny made it and we learned some things.  Did you know that if dogs get antivenin within 2 hours they are usually ok?  That's way more time than a human has!  Snake bites can wipe your wallet, so we took Johnny to a snake aversion session.  Hopefully he'll stay away from snakes from now on.  Johnny also graduated his obedience class, with honors!

Puffy face from the snake bite on his nose.

So sad and fat-faced!

Johnny driving on the way home from snake aversion training.

Johnny graduated!  We are so proud!

November... We took a 12 hour car ride to New Mexico for Thanksgiving.  Johnny grew up on this trip and was SO well behaved.  He traveled to four states, played in snow, and stood on the corner in Winslow, AZ among other adventures!

Standing (sitting) on the corner in Winslow, Arizona.

Being a ROCK STAR on the car ride!

At the Four Corners Monument.

Happy Thanksgiving from Questa, NM!

Window Rock, AZ

December... Johnny spent a few days at Doggie Day Camp at Petsmart.  This is my new guilty pleasure.  I would spend all my money there if I could!  Johnny has so much fun and comes home exhausted.  Too tired to bother me!  It's perfect!  He continues to blow us away with his genius.  Johnny learned to throw a container that held his food down the stairs to get the food out.  When that didn't work he learned to unscrew it!  Can't put anything past this dog.  He's special.