Happy birthday, Primo!

I couldn't find doggie ice cream, but I think the puppy-friendly sprinkles are equally festive.

Plus One

Sasha?!  Who's Sasha?!

This is the refrain I imagine echoing through the homes of my friends and family as they stumble across my latest blog post and notice our new blog title.  Unless, of course, you read this blog via Google Reader and therefore probably won't see that the title has been updated to House of Primo and Sasha.  But now you're caught up and can also ask, Who's Sasha?!

Let me put these questions to rest with the following photo:

Primo and Sasha meeting for the first time.
It's like they've known each other furever.

Sasha is the sweet, little (ish) 9-month old Boxer puppy that will become Primo's sister on Friday.  She was surrendered by her previous family because of a medical emergency and needed a new home.  Our family thinks we're crazy for adopting another puppy that is sure to be as energetic and, well, nuts as Preems, but therein lies the genius of this decision.  They can be bonkers together.  R and I won't be the sole playmates anymore. We're thinking we might even be able to drop from two walks a day to one.  (That's my naive, optimistic side showing through.  Even I think I'm cute in that pat-on-the-head sort of way.)

We can't wait to welcome Sasha home and are busy getting everything ready, so stay tuned to see how it all goes.  I also have three Celebrity Guest Puppy posts from last weekend (Justice! Deja! Rudy!) and will write those soon. 

P.S. Special shout-out to Rudy's mom for coming up with some great ideas for names! 

 

Say Hello to Mr. September

Quiz time.  What do Primo and a hunky fireman have in common?  I'll give you a minute to think about it.

(If I were more tech savvy and less copyright fearful, I would have the theme to Jeopardy playing now.)

Ok, so, what do you think? 

Um, yes, that's true - they are both easy on the eyes.

And, yes, you're right - they both have a thing for hydrants.

Alright, alright, I'll just tell you.  They are both going to be featured in a calendar for 2013!

Preems will be the featured puppy for September in the Kloud 9 Boxers 2013 Calendar!  I would like to say there was stiff competition, but I think photo acceptance was based on the order it was received and the Kloud 9 people are also just really nice.  Either way, Primo's cute little mug is going to be gazing down at people as the leaves begin to change, the air starts to cool, and kids hop on the bus to begin another school year.

This is the shot we submitted:

If you would like to purchase your own copy of the the calendar, click here.  Calendars are $25 each and I believe Kloud 9 is accepting pre-orders through the end of September.

Celebrity Guest Kitty: Murphy!

I know I talk about all things dog here at House of Primo, but one of the first furry loves of my adult life was a little black, meowing furball named Murphy.  He lives with my parents now because his mere presence will make R break into hives/have a seizure, but I think about him all the time and have been known to call Preems Murph when he's misbehaving.  (I totally get why my grandmother called me by everyone else's name for most of my life now.) 

Here he is during a recent visit to my parents' Murphy's house:

Trust me when I say that
this photo is very slimming.

I think Murphy remembers me when I visit, but it's clear he is super happy in his new home.  He gets lots of attention, an abundance of treats, and my old queen-sized bed.  (He almost visibly scoffs when he walks past the old cat bed where he used to sleep in my apartment.)

Still spry like a kitty half his age.

I promise we'll get back to the dogs in the next post, but Murphy was overdue for a post here. I hope he and Primo get to meet some day - I will be sure to post video of that.  (Murphy may never meow to me again, but it will be good for him to get some exercise.)

Pure Joy

R took this during one of our slightly trespassory walks in the evening.  Primo loves to run and he really loves that horrid toy.  So adorable.

 

I should add that Primo never ever ever poops on this field and that, if he did, we would clean it up before the steam even stopped wafting.  (Scented poop bags are included in that diaper bag discussed in the previous post.)  And we appreciate the many garbage cans that are scattered about the property for when Preems poops outside of the gates.  Because he really truly does that.  He's a one-location-pooper on these walks.  It's actually kind of amazing. 

Why didn't I think of that!?

If you have a dog that gets easily dehydrated and you're obsessive-compulsive enough to carry around water for him or her, then have I got a solution for you.  (Side Note 1: I don't even carry water around for myself.)  I'm so annoyed that I didn't think of this!  I could have made millions... er, well, thousands.  OK, realistically, we could have at least offset Primo's vet bills a little.

During a recent trip to REI, we stumbled across a Gulpy, which is basically just a water bottle with a bowl attached.  Now, this may not sound like a big deal, but we actually have what equates to diaper bag for Preems and R has been exposed to significant ridicule from the neighborhood teenagers because it is not a masculine diaper bag.  (Although, are they ever, really?)  We tried to testosterone it up by calling it the satchel, but that just makes it sound like a diaper bag from the middle ages.  Regardless, what's more important is that the Gulpy significantly reduces the amount of junk in the bag.  And, while it won't take away from R's image problems, at least the bag won't be as bulky when he is taunted walking Preems. We might even be able to switch to a smaller bag - or just clip this bad boy to our belt (thereby solidifying our lameness). 

Before the Gulpy:

That's my lovely assistant checking the items in the shot.

The Gulpy (notice the streamlined bottle-in-bowl fit):

I guess the bowl might be better described as a trough, but you get the idea.

It's really quite simple - just flip the bowl out, squeeze the bottle, and your dog is essentially drinking from your hand.  This proved to be incredibly valuable today during our visit to a dusty, dirty dog park where I wouldn't have wanted to put his water bowl on the ground.

Here it is in action:

I just noticed that Preems wrapped his leash around his neck for this pic.

We're a gadget family, so stuff like this is pretty cool in our world.  I'm sure we'll test many more puppy-related inventions and will hopefully be able to give you a heads-up on those that are worth your investment.  (Side Note 2: We bought the large Gulpy and it was $9.00.)

R.I.P. Blue Dinosaur

You were a cute little toy and contained dramatically more stuffing that we could have ever expected.

August Barkbox

Given my newfound (and slightly excessive) interest in beauty subscription boxes, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I also subscribed to Barkbox recently.  I did it for Primo; he loves to try new products.  It's how I know we're related.  You should see the glee on his little face when box arrives! Although, arguably this could be attributed to a visit from the UPS guy.  He's a social dog.

What is Barkbox?  It's a monthly subscription service that delivers 4 - 5 sample and full-sized products for dogs in each box.  You just specify the size of your dog (Preems gets the biggest box) and then they do the rest.  The contents are a surprise and make the whole thing really fun.  It costs around $20/month, or slightly less if you sign up for 6 or 12 month subscriptions. 

Curious about what was in the August box?  Here are some pics:

The big reveal when I opened the box...

Between bath freshening spray.
(Great in concept, but it's actually a jet rather
 than a spray and scares the bejeezus out of Preems.)

This made me laugh out loud. 
These Elvis treats are made with banana,
 peanut butter, and turkey bacon.

Doggie trail mix

A moose antler for chewing.
(Better an antler than a bully stick.)

A stuffed fish on a slingshot. 
(The neighbors are going to love this.)

A cute little illustration inside the box.

We tried the spray on Primo and, as I already mentioned, it scared him a little bit.  On a more positive note, he smelled like baby's breath for the rest of the night.  He also seemed to really like the treats, but he tried to eat a bike tire this morning so that's not saying much.  We haven't tried the rest of the items yet, but I'll share as we do. 

This is only Primo's first Barkbox so I'm not sure if the contents are of equal value every month, but I do feel like we received some good stuff this time.  If you're interested in signing up for Barkbox, click here to get $5 off.  (Full disclosure:  I get a free month if you use this link.)

Celebrity Guest Puppy: Rudy!

How much time do you think you would have to do if you're caught stealing a snuggly little Golden Doodle puppy?  If the time is proportional to the cute, then the hypothetical puppy thief could be in the dog house (sorry, I couldn't resist) for a long time.  Consider Exhibit A: Romeo, my co-worker's newest family member and the potential target of the dog-napping.

Exhibit A

This little fella is true puppy perfection: super friendly, totally fluffy, full of kisses, and amazingly good at dividing his attention amongst the crowd so that everyone feels as if he really likes them the best.  He's like a canine politician in training.  He's also impossible to keep still, so the photos are a little fuzzier than normal.

Checking out Romeo's paw to guess how big he will be.
(He looks like he will be an excellent high-fiver as well.)

Stupid leashes always get in the way of a good belly rub.

Six of my puppy-loving co-workers and I recently met Romeo outside of our office building at the end of a long work day.  I will be the first to attest that a Golden Doodle is the perfect tonic for whatever ails ya.  (Unless you have wine nearby, in which case I will always recommend that.  Primo is a good choice too, but he needs a substantial walk before his cuddle skills kick in and frankly that's just a lot of work.) 

I'm starting to think Primo needs a sibling.  A cute, fluffy, politicking sibling...

Peanut Butter Hangover

He hit the, uh, jar really hard and is sleeping it off.

My apologies to everyone who already saw this on Facebook.  It was too cute to not share again.

Dog Days of Summer

It's been a hot summer.  Clearly we need to turn up the AC.

Sorry, Primo.

Blogging Gold

One of the many reasons that I started writing this blog was the sheer volume of content.  It seemed like Primo was constantly being cute/mischievous/endearing/dare-I-say-perfect and I just wanted to share it with the world!  Then, we started to take him to training classes at a local, holistic pet food store and I found even more to share.  The neat toys!  The healthy treats!  The brand new doggie community that I never knew existed! 

Well, my friends, tonight did not disappoint for dog blog content.  It's like this post was begging to be written.  Tonight, I came home and my dog was chewing on a...

Wait, wait, wait.  Before I just spill the beans, let's drag out the suspense a bit.  Check out the picture below and take a few guesses as to what is lying on the floor in front of Preems.  His dad stopped at the above-mentioned pet store this afternoon and brought home a few surprises.

Primo using every ounce of his self-control to stay.

So, what do you think it is?  A piece of rawhide?  Some beef jerky?  A cinnamon stick?  Actually, it's a bully stick.  What is a bully stick, you ask?  There's no nice way to put it.  It's a dried bull penis.

These all natural beauties are like crack for dogs.  Primo was occupied for hours with this thing.  I took video of his half-hypnotic chewing because I've never seen him so possessed.  And, according to this website, you can purchase bully sticks in sizes ranging from 6 to 36 inches.  36 inches!  (It really is like this stuff just about writes itself.  Unbelievable.  I literally have dozens of other jokes about bully sticks, but my family reads this blog and I don't want them to think less of me.)

Now, Primo is blissfully snoozing after devouring about three quarters of that wonder toy.  I have a sneaking suspicion that the dog community has long known about bully sticks, but I hope that they at least had a similar reaction when they discovered the source of the, um, material.  It feels very environmentally friendly to use every part of the animal and Primo loves them, so we'll keep buying them for a while.  But even I wince a little bit when I see him gnawing on it. 

Don't Panic

So, we put Goo-Be-Gone on the dog tonight.  We're not proud of our decision and clearly didn't think it through.  It was just that he had some sort of gum-like substance ground in to his stomach and the more obvious mechanisms of ice, peanut butter, and dish soap didn't occur to us in our puppy-parent panic.

I don't have any photos of the whole ordeal, but just imagine me standing in a defensive position trying to keep Primo from moving.  That's right - I was trying to keep a nine-month-old Boxer puppy from moving while we applied some smelly, cold, foreign substance to a place on his body that I wouldn't allow him to see.  (When we make a bad decision, we really go all out.)  R was trying to limit exposure to the goo eliminator by spraying strategically, but Primo's sporadic bucking prevented any kind of accuracy.

What's even worse is that the very first command Preems ever learned in his puppy training class was settle and I didn't use it!  That command was especially designed for gum-on-the stomach situations and I completely blanked.  It's terrible.  Clearly we know who needs the training here.

In the end, we got whatever it was off of him and declared that tomorrow will be bath day.

Since I can't leave you with any photos of the incident, I'm going to share a link to the Boulder Humane Society because they have a sweet black female Boxer mix puppy up for adoption and I would bet anyone who reads this blog is just dying for a Boxer puppy of their own.  Just don't let her near any gum.

Click here to check her out.  If we had a bigger house, I would adopt her in a second.

Paw and Other

Not to be confused with Law and Order, but equally entertaining when you think your puppy is a genius and you're procrastinating doing other stuff.

However, before I explain, I should begin by apologizing for the delay in posts.  There's really no excuse for this in the blog world and I realize I may have lost the three readers I have had.  Nevertheless, I'm back to earn your trust?  interest?  sympathy? and want to share all of the fun stuff we've been doing.

Primo's latest achievement is to learn paw and other.   For the sake of extreme clarity, this means that, when I say paw, he places his right paw in my hand.  On the same note, when I say other, he puts his left paw in my hand.  I know - impressive stuff.  I should qualify this by saying that we're still in the learning phase, so occassionally he lays down when I say paw (because I had to have him lay down to teach paw in the first place) and sometimes all paws are up for grabs if I have an especially delicious treat.  (Like these.)

Primo playing it cool while he shows off his skills.

The upside to these tricks is that he looks super smart (or at least of average intelligence).  I've been battling some, ahem, family assumptions that Primo isn't too bright and it's now my mission to prove everyone wrong.  These tricks are the first step.  The downside is that this might be yet another reason why he won't qualify as a therapy dog.  (Look for a future post on the disasterous Canine Good Citizen fiasco of 2012.)  I guess pawing is discouraged for therapy dogs because they run the risk of injuring people if they get overly enthusiastic. So, until we have this whole paw and other business under control, Preems may have to wait on his new career in therapy.

I should add that I'm suuuuuper annoyed with myself because I didn't think to teach Primo right and left as the commands for what is now paw and other from the beginning.  That really would have been the icing on the Primo-is-smart cake.  I'll have to come up with a few other gems (I'm thinking something like barking twice when I say one plus one) to reinforce his new status as an intellectual.

Groupie

Primo takes it old school.

My Posse's on Broadway

Ok, well, maybe not technically Broadway in this case.  But we were kind of close to a street named Broadway last weekend when Primo hung out with his new posse - Bella and Copper. 

Bella is a two-year-old Puggle, who frankly wasn't too sure about Preems when he first arrived.  (There was a lot of unwelcome rear-end smelling.  Who could blame her?)  Not to mention the fact that she and Copper have had a bit of a thing recently, so three was a crowd if you know what I mean. 

I like to think he's waving here.

Fortunately, after a few minutes, she decided that Preems was an OK guy and started posing for some cute shots.

Has it been scientifically proven that dogs can't smile?
Because Bella sure looks happy in this one.

She's also pretty smart.  Preems is still, um, working up to shake.

Copper, on the other hand, was ready to play and play and play and play.  Don't let that sweet face fool you - he's a wrestling machine.  He's also a 7 month old Beagle puppy, so it's all perfectly understandable.

The only way to get a clear shot of his cute mug was to hold him down.

They ran laps.  It was exhausting to watch.

Everyone was still getting to know each other, but it was a good first day for new friends.  So good, in fact, that Copper and Primo decided to get together for the Super Bowl.  (Bella had another engagement.)  Stay tuned for photos of the guys at the party.

Dried Saliva and Highly Digestible Rice

Due to a series of unexpectedly messy events, we were driven to give Primo a bath today.  I was slightly concerned when I noticed that the directions on the bottle of puppy shampoo literally state that you should "secure all possible exits," but he did great.

All of this cleanliness came about because Primo recently spent a few days with the love of his life, Cera, and came home covered in dried Cane Corso saliva (we'll have a future post on Cera soon!).  It actually made his fur stiff and I thought he might have a vitamin deficiency for a split second.  The situation was only compounded after a romp with George, the five month-old Newfoundland who drools when he wrestles, and a three hour stint with a Busy Bone.  Lesson learned - the "highly digestible rice" in the bone is actually code for small, sticky white pellets that will be ground into your carpet over time and secured with more dog saliva.

Overall, the bath went pretty well.  Only one good towel was destroyed (totally my fault - I was drying Preems kind of aggressively and I think he felt manhandled) and the water was contained to the bathroom.  We also found that hot dog bits were quite effective for keeping the little guy in the tub.  Although, that's not a total surprise because hot dogs are the trick to get him to do anything.

Like any good dog, he's now fresh and clean - so he's currently sitting by the back door and pining for the mud in the yard.  You can see it all over his freshly-scrubbed puppy face.

Funny about that training...

While Primo may be an expert when it comes to sit, stay, and leave it, we haven't exactly gotten him to stay off the furniture. 

I mean, if you just look at this picture, you can tell we're victims in this situation.  Who could be expected to resist this level of cute?  No one.  At least, no one with a heart.  And, if you consider that Preems truly is a puppy of leisure (see previous posts) while being an instinctively good snuggler, well...  We didn't stand a chance. 

Thank goodness we decided to wait on buying that new couch.

Who's really being trained here?

Happy New Year!  Primo enjoyed a nice holiday with an absurd amount of toys, and is now relaxed and ready to work on his manners in 2012.

Preems recently started training at a local, holistic pet shop (which are more common than you might think) and is doing really well.  In fact, one very nice woman who is the proud mother to a Schnauzer/Poodle mix named Dottie swears that he's one of the most in-tune dogs she has ever seen. 

During this exercise, owners jump up and down while the puppies look at us like we're idiots.

Little did she know that I had hot dog bits in my hand throughout the entire class.  Our trainer prefers to call Preems "independent" and, upon discovering the hot dogs, whispered that I smuggled in the "good stuff."

Part of me wants to get a fanny-pack to keep the treats readily available. 
But it's a very small part of me that I'm choosing to ignore right now.

Primo has some pretty cute classmates, too.  In addition to Dottie, Preems is joined by Sophie, a 14 month-old cattle dog mix recently rescued by her owners.  Remi is a 5 month-old German Shepherd that likes to guard the water bowl during class and George is a 5 month-old Newfoundland that's a bit of a drooler.  Penny is a 4 month-old Golden Retriever rescue with the sweetest personality and, occasionally, we're joined by the twins - Henry and Ruby.  They're English Bull Dog littermates and are completely hilarious.

Stay tuned for more updates on Primo's progress.  I've already publically declared him to be a genius and my current goal is to get him to flop over when I make my hand into a gun and yell, bang!