A Day in the Life
June 6, 2006With 3 family reunions in a row, I have gotten behind on reporting. J is growing like a weed and weighed 60 pounds today. He is now 18 weeks old. He will be bigger than Sassy, maybe even bigger than Oak. I was tickled at the doc when he told me that J would get to be 110-120 pounds. He's forgetting that J still has a year of growing to do. J is not as massive as Oak and Sassy, much more slender in the head and body.
In addition to being a whiner (which has almost stopped), J is an accomplished howler. It doesn't take much to set him off and I love to listen to him. Unfortunately, Sassy likes to join in and she yips rather than howls. Then they get into a yipping contest and Willie and Oak join in and it gets to be pretty cacaphonous. I love it, others do not.
Sept 17, 2006
J can't stand it when someone is sad. All I have to do is moan loudly and he howls for me. When Sassy chimes in with her yipping, Will has to help out, too. Now I know what CACAPHONY means! Check the Purple J video below. J is so involved in yelping that he falls over Will who decides to bow out until it's safe. I wish I had a video of J hearing this video for the first time. He almost killed me AND the camera.
October 2006
J has surpassed Sassy in size and weight. Since Sassy has spent so much time in the hospital, I haven't weighed him lately but I would bet he's at about 115-120 pounds. He is massive compared to Sassy and she's not small. He is only about an inch behind Oak in height. We gave up and bought a minivan last weekend so we can haul all these guys around! I hate losing my Jeep but I was worried what we would do if we ever had to take them all anywhere. On Friday, J stepped on Oak and Oak jumped up to do battle. J got behind me and hid his face. It was so funny to see him hiding when he is soooo big. We tend to forget that they're still babies at this age. He's still a mama's boy and hangs his head over my arm when I am typing. He was especially lonesome while Sassy was in the hospital. Sometimes Willie plays with him but sometimes he won't. I think he'll be back to his old self now that Sassy is home.
November 2006
Remember Baby Huey? Jethro Bodine? Well, now you can add the Purple J to that list. He's a little smarter than Jethro and probably bigger! This has been a sad month for us. We lost Oak on the 15th and we miss him a lot. J spends even more time hanging on my arm these days. Maybe he misses Oak, too. I just can't get over his growth. He will be 10 months old soon and his growth rate doesn't seem to have slowed at all. He's still gaining about a half inch per month. This puppy is sooo sweet! He discovered the bathroom sink last week and is fascinated by it. They have an automatic water source outside but I guess the water in the sink tastes better. Every time I turn on the faucet he wants to get a drink.
December 2006
Holidays are always so rushed and I'm a typical lazy person, "I'll do it tomorrow." J's growth has finally slowed but he seems big to me, bigger than Oak. I spent a lot of time at Oak's side and J just feels taller. He's filling out nicely with a great butt and chest and his knobby knees fit him now. His front legs are almost perfectly straight with just a little pigeon-toe. All that concerns me are his buck teeth and big ears. His left ear seems to have difficulty folding against his neck. We have signed up for our first show so we have been working every day that it hasn't rained. I let them run around the yard for five minutes or so then clip on the leash and off we go. J has gotten so used to the leash that he doesn't run very far from me. I do love to see them run so I wish he would.
Happy Dogs
starring
the Purple J,
Sassy Sweetgum and
Willow Stump. -->
<--That's J falling over Will and Sassy is singing backup.
<-- Very short video of J drinking from the sink.