Stitch

We were only there for the discount strawberries when we saw a 10 week old puppy that was up for adoption by the Tri-Valley Animal Rescue. A corgi/jack russell mix (they think) was given up by his original owners who got him from Oregon because he had a skin condition that they didn't want to treat. TVAR got him on meds and fixed him up (and fixed him permanently :p) so we were able to bring him home on July 5. He had stayed with a foster mom for a couple of weeks until he was ready.

We've been debating about getting a second dog for awhile now, and it was the perfect time with me out of school (and out of a real job). Bailey generally takes to other dogs quite well, but when we brought him home, it was the first time I've seen Bailey actually growl at another dog. Maybe he knew that this was a permanent arrangement.

Either way, as the days go by, Bailey has gotten used to Stitch (yes, named him Stitch) and they play together really well. Bailey is so gentle with him, despite Stitch biting and crawling all over his face. Bailey's 4th birthday was July 15, so we took the boys to Monterey to play on the dog friendly beach.

Potty training has been tough, but after a week and a half, I think the little guy is finally figuring it out. He has now started walking toward the door when he needs to go. Yay! Let's just see how many days he goes accident free. The real test is leaving him home alone, he barks and howls and if he potties, he screams bloody murder when we come home to his mess.

He's about 6 lbs right now but I feel that he's getting bigger. Especially since we carry him around a lot. I hope he doesn't get too much bigger, he's a really good lap dog.

Other than the potty thing, he's been relatively good. He doesn't chew on random things, and he plays with his own toys (and likes to take Bailey's). He has a bit of separation anxiety that we will need to work on once he's potty trained. He's really friendly with people, especially girls and he is really good with dogs in general. He's only had one bad encounter with a boxer puppy that tried to stomp him. That was the first time I've seen him scared.

Otherwise this guy is fearless, unlike Bailey who is scared of everything. Stitch is still hesitant when climbing down stairs, but I feel that once he's used to it, he'll be jumping off laps instead of wanting to be on them. I think most of the time he sits quietly on our laps is because he's scared to move.

Other than barking while we're gone, he's pretty quiet and only whines and grumbles if we are out of his line of sight. I hope he starts getting used to it, because we can't always be home 24/7. We'll have my aunt babysit him this weekend which should go smoothly since he adores people.

That's pretty much what I've been busy with the last two weeks. I can't wait until Stitch can take longer walks and then we'll take them both hiking. Right now it's just dog parks and walks around the local park.