Probably not. I’m going to assume his “actions” are normal. I remember Indy going through these phases, but I’ll admit I can’t remember Gryffin going through this so early.

As I mentioned the other day, Ozzy is four months old. He’s been doing freakishly well on the house training…until Wednesday. I think he actually went about a week without any accident, but since I was out of town last week and the other human in the house can’t tell me when the last accident occurred, it’s really a guess. Most of his recent accidents have been swizzles until last night. He was supposed to be under the watchful eye of someone who is not me as I was working out. He and Indy were playing like crazy in the hall which means he’s going to need to go any second. All of the sudden, I heard that lovely sound of liquid hitting the carpet at a decently high pressure. Yup – he let it rip in the hall.

To be honest, the pee stuff doesn’t bother me that much. It’s part of having a Swissy puppy, and we clearly missed the signal there. What is kind of annoying is that he’s hitting a rather stubborn and obstinate phase a bit early. He doesn’t want to do any of his normal puppy pushup stuff (sit, down, stay, etc) without treats, when he previously was a champ. And not only does he expect treats, but now it needs to be the really good stuff. It can’t just be a piece of kibble or the normal training treats we use – it needs to be a chunk of bread or the dehydrated beef heart treats. But on the bright side, the use of said special treats got him to learn two tricks – paw and sit pretty – within five minutes. And he’s consistent with those tricks now, so we’re going to work on other paw, roll over, and probably an army crawl.

So I say we’re having setbacks, but that’s probably not a fair assessment. We have a puppy. It’s normal.

Don’t forget that each comment (unless it’s just gibberish…) that you make on my posts from 9/2 through 9/9 at 5pm central time count as an entry in the 2HD collar giveaway! Comment away!

Calm down. I’m worried you’ll throw your back out or something…

Now, I know you’re happy for me and all, but you really should be more happy for yourselves. Because if you remember from last year, anniversary time means FREE STUFF for you!

What is this free stuff, you ask? Well, it’s a 2 Hounds Design collar*! They are without a doubt my favorite place to get fabric collars. Indy has a couple and Gryffin did too – I imagine his will fit Ozzy one day, but I think he’ll probably need his own too. They are well made, and as a company, they do a fair bit to support rescue organizations and donate to osteosarcoma research at OSU.

And, yes. I know Gryffin had hemangiosarcoma, not osteo…but cancer research is cancer research. And cancer sucks.

So, here’s what you do. You need to comment on my blog posts. Any comment made on blog posts from today through 5pm central time on Thursday, 9/9/10, are eligible to win! You can comment multiple times, although the comments must actually have some sort of content to be valid. If all six of you go absolutely nuts and there are freakish amounts of comments, I will give away more than one collar.

So, start looking at 2 Hounds today. There’s plenty of time to get that nice, fall collar (see Ozzy’s pic from yesterday). Or maybe you want an every-day martingale. There are some really cool collars available!

If I had to pick one, I think Indy might get the Freesia-Copper-Floral collar.

Or maybe Ozzy would get the gorgeous Arabesque-Sapphire collar.

Start commenting today!

*Collar must be valued at $50 or less.

To give you an idea of how big he’s getting, here he is at about 8.5 weeks and maybe 16 pounds wearing Gryffin’s fall collar.

And here he is tonight.

He was definitely wondering why it was taking me so long to give him the yummy dehydrated beef heart.

Check back Thursday for something fun!

I arrived around 7am that Sunday. Keep in mind, this means I left our block party early the night before and went to sleep while people were still partying outside. The beer pong was my idea, and I think I may be a bit relieved I did not participate. I met up with Julie, the treasurer for BCD, and helped setup the tent. She might have been convinced that we would not get people to visit the tent in the beginning, but we had a fair number of people stop by…maybe seeing the “C” word doesn’t freak everyone out like it used to.

I spoke to a lot of people. I did my best to educate people, or at least pass out information that would start the process for them. But for some reason, I did end up speaking to a lot of people about nutrition and supplements. I really hope that I didn’t steer them in the wrong direction – I am not an expert, but I do consider myself to be informed. I was good and suggested they speak with their “health care provider” to cover the bases.

The (nicely) surprising part of the day was McKey. Yes, she’s gorgeous. But she’s a nice person and seems to be grounded firmly in reality. Dogs are important to me, and I am very happy that she was willing to use her “celebrity” to bring any amount of attention to them, and the Bone Cancer Dogs organization. She has 2 small dogs, but knows her big dogs too. She has a Weimeraner, Axel, who she lost to Osteosarcoma last year. She’s previously been owned by a red Doberman as well, and she handled it in the ring. Who knew – a former show dog person. She also seemed attracted to the big, blue Dane we saw trotting across the field. I had already met said Dane and completely approved of this attraction. Her boyfriend would prefer a Harlequin, methinks, but I have a feeling she will end up triumphant with the Blue at some point. She also spotted and named a Leonberger and Neopolitan Mastiff from a distance.

All-in-all, it was a nice day. You may have realized, I enjoy talking to people, even if I consider myself somewhat shy. And I am very comfortable talking about dogs and health.

I spent a fair amount of time thinking about Abby the Pyr (aka the Great White Swissy) and what she and her family must have gone through during her Osteo battle.

Cancer sucks.

The second annual Dog Day on the Green will be held at Montrose Harbor on Sunday. There will be a number of events, like a Bark for Life walk, plus vendors and dog-related booths galore! I will be working at the Bone Cancer Dogs tent all day.

Hope to see you there!

I’m not sure how long you’ve been a reader of this blog. If you’ve been around from the start, you may recall that we’ve gone through several trainers since we brought Indy into our lives. I was considering taking Ozzy to obedience at the same facility we used (different trainer) for Indy’s Cautious Canine class, but they aren’t easy to get to right now with all of the construction. I also found a boarding facility that is walking distance from our house, but the classes are very expensive (6 for $200), and I can’t get a trainer to call or email me – so they’re out.

For Puppy K, something we’ve never done before, I decided to settle on Petsmart because they are inexpensive and close by. Tonight is our 5th class (out of 8), and I knew from the 2nd class that it was not the right facility or trainer for us. There is nothing wrong with them, but it’s meant for people who want a pet only – no competition training, no working stuff. So, not for us.

I found a place, Wiggles-n-Wags, that is half an hour (or less) from us, depending on traffic. I conversed with their novice rally instructor via email and went to observe a class. There was another instructor actually participating in the class, so I got to speak to two of them during my visit. It’s all positive, which will work well for us, and all participants seem to enjoy themselves. So, we’re going to sign up for their puppy 2 course, and if things go well, novice rally.

Yup, I’m really happy. I think this place will be great for us.

Ozzy is a fantastic dog. To be honest, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. He’s a well-mannered (well, usually), happy dog. He has a fantastic appetite, hasn’t chewed on stuff he shouldn’t (unless Indy counts) yet, and has been very easy with house training.

Actually, I jokingly mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I should rename the blog to “The Daily Swizzle” because on average, that’s all we get. We’ve had a few multiple-accident days, but he will go for four or more days without having any at all. He knows he’s supposed to go outside, and he has very good control for a Swissy. He just hasn’t figured out how to tell us he needs to go. We are pretty good at watching his signals, but we don’t always get him out in time. Of course, it happens during or post play, right when we are trying to usher him to the door. He’ll get there soon, I think. (Or is it I hope?)

Ozzy is doing very well in our household in general. I do believe I’ve mentioned before that Indy loves him, but it’s important to note that I believe Beowulf, the old curmudgeon, actually enjoys his company. I have caught them cuddling and – gasp – playing just a little bit.

His socialization is going quite well. We have completed four weeks of Puppy K, and I believe he is the star of the class. Perhaps that’s what happens when you actually work with your dog on the basics before class starts, and when you work with him daily when it’s going. I could be wrong.

There is one thing about him that worries me. While Gryffin was a great dog for obedience because he WANTED to please us, Ozzy is just plain smart. The obedience comes quickly, and he enjoys it. But I have a feeling he’s doing it because he wants to and he likes it, not because it makes us happy at all. The reason this is worrying is because this is how Alex was-extremely smart, frequently extremely obedient, but cunning beyond belief. While I say I’m worried partially in jest, it’s not all funny-although I don’t believe this is the end of the world. Put Alex’s mad skillz into a dog that will likely end up near 140lbs and tall enough to graze counter tops, and you can see why we might have issues. I guess this means training, training, and more training.

In other news, the small puppy (we brought him home at eight weeks and around 13lbs) is no longer small. He’s around three and a half months old, and weighs in at 37lbs. Our vet met him this week and believes he’s around a quarter of his eventual size. We initially thought it was possible that Ozzy may end up on the smaller side, but we have since revised our opinion. Please send help.

That’s all for now. I hope all three of my readers have a fantastic weekend! Stay cool!

Navigating through the site is pretty simple. You pick your pet type (dog or cat), and it has a process that you follow to pick your base formula, then add-ins. You have six options for your base:

High Protein: Lamb and Potato Fusion or Chicken and Yellow Pea Medley
Moderate Protein: Lamb and Potato Fusion or Chicken and Yellow Pea Medley
Low Protein: Lamb and Potato Fusion or Chicken and Potato Medley

All options are grain, soy and gluten free. You basically need to determine what formula is right for your dog given their breed, age and activity level. As you mouse over the options on page, it gives you assistance. For example – I chose the low protein chicken option because I have a Swissy puppy. If I was unsure, they can provide me assistance, but the mouse over told me this:

Low protein chicken and potato medley is formulated to be ideal for large and giant breed dogs and puppies, or for any dog that has a low activity level. The formula contains no grain, no gluten, no corn, no wheat, no rice and no soy.

After I determined the correct base formula, I chose an energy level. There were three options, and I actually did two separate bags and used two of the three options. You can pick Senior or Weight Management, Normal Activity and Weight, or High Energy or Puppy.

Next, you pick your bag size, and it also gives you a base price. Don’t be freaked out by these prices – it’s a premium food (meaning you won’t be feeding as much as you would with Iams or Science Diet), and the shipping is free. (Or at least it was at the time of this review.)

After the bag size is picked, you have the option to add in up to six supplements – two are free. I picked Digest-Aid and High Gloss Skin and Coat Makeover. You can also chose Antioxidant Immune Booster, Perfect Pant Oral Health Support, Spring Step Joint Reviver, or Spring Step Joint Reviver Plus.

Next you finalize your order, and you can save your custom food formula with a name that gets printed on the bag.

I ordered on a Tuesday and had my bags on a Thursday. I was amazed! I opened the bags up immediately and let all three dogs try a small amount. The smell of the food was fantastic – even grouchy Beowulf was super interested. I’m not exaggerating when I say that they were all clawing at my hand to get a taste of the food. They really, really wanted it. I let each of them try a little, and we used it mixed in with treats for a few days since we were traveling and didn’t want to do a food change out of town…

The following Monday, we started feeding them all the Red Moon food for one meal per day. Again, they were very, very excited about the food. I don’t think it was only because it was a different food – it was a nice, substantial kibble and it had a very, very good smell. Mister Picky Eater (again, Beowulf) ate his food in record time.

We experienced the same things you would expect during a food change – a little gas and funky poop. Seeing that we didn’t go through a full food trial (I would consider a full trial to be 4 weeks), it’s difficult to tell you whether or not my three would have resolved their issues or not. I have a feeling they would have. I am considering purchasing a full month supply for Beowulf, partially because he was so very enthused about this food. I love to see the old guy interested if food again.

So, initial review is definitely a thumbs up with a possibility of more info to follow. It’s definitely worth a try.