Happy Birthday Junior

On January 1st, 2008 Junior turned 1 year old.

Though we didn't have a cake or have a party for him, Junior did have a great day of just playing with both Russ and I.

We'll definately have to have some type of party for him, but it might have to wait until we get back from Puerto Vallarta at the end of the month!

Snow Days

So what do Vancouverites do best, well they talk about the weather, either it be too much rain, too much sun, or like to day, too much snow. We are again having a great dumping of snow (by Vancouver standards of course), and it's pretty much great to see and get one into the Christmas Spirit.

This is Junior's first snow and he has been enjoying it so much. He loves to run in it, eat it, and of course write his name in the snow :). I shot the following video today via my cellphone's camera, so the quality sucks but you get the idea.



Here's hoping all the Vancouverites are out and enjoying the snow, because as we all know here, the rain is only a day away and the snow will be gone!

Happy Snow Day everyone!

Doggie Hotel

Russ and I will be heading down to Seattle for a couple of days this weekend and as such needed to have Junior taken care of. Since our usual friend Laura unfortunately isn't available this weekend, I had to search for a kennel to house Junior for a couple of days. With recommendations from Junior's groomer's Pawsh Spa [link], we have Junior booked at the Rex Dog Hotel [link].

I should have more details on Junior's experience when we return. But based on Karen (who took my booking), Junior is in a for a great treat this weekend. Gosh this place has even flat screen tvs and a pool for the doggies. Lucky guy! :)

UPDATE: November 12, 2007

Boy the Doggie Hotel was amazing. Junior had a fantastic time, based on the staff, and they have nicked named him "The Junior-nator". Hmmm I wonder that meant. Junior was so exhausted from his stay that he is having one of the longest naps today.

Thanks Rex Dog Hotel for the fantastic treatment of Junior and for showing us around the place. I highly recommend them for any dog owners out there!

Doggie Makeover Madness

It's been awhile since I blogged about Junior and I thought I would do this today.

This weekend Junior went in for his very first dog grooming. I was of course complete scared about it. I've heard horror stories of what some dog groomers have done, either to the dog themselves or just claiming the dog was worse or required more than is necessary.

Well to keep a long story short, I was proven wrong with Davie Groomers. They were awesome to deal with. They answered all my questions and were very understanding as this was Junior's first grooming.

We dropped off Junior at 9:30 am in the morning and by 11:30am they had called me to let me know he was ready to be picked up. Being just around the corner when they called, I rushed over to get a good look at the new Junior. All I have to say is WOW! Davie Groomers did an awesome job! Junior is now looking like a miniature Schnauzer.

I have the images of his before and after shot here or on my flickr (link) page.

Damn Those Mites and Other Fun Bits

I took Junior to the vet on Saturday to get his booster shots (2nd shots, one more to go) and during the examination we found out that Junior has ear mites. The symptoms have been there for a few days now, he scratches his ears alot, shakes his head. So now I have to give my lovely boy some ear drops once a day for the next 2 weeks. He's pretty good at taking them actually, he seems to know that this is going to help him in the long run.

I also went out to dinner with Andrea and Theresa on Saturday night to the Atlantic Trap and Grill. This is a bar with very "East Coast" feel, alot of music, alot of drinking and alot of partying. They usually have bands playing on Thursday and Saturday nights and you can check out their April Calendar on the following link. We had some good grub and I stayed to watch a bit of the band (Pearl Jim) who I would categorize as a fusion jazz/funk/celtic band.

Also on Saturday and Sunday Russ and I started our spring clean frenzy. We tackled the deck and started removing all the dead plants and just some general cleaning. We bought some new planters that stand 3 feet high and had a hell of a time trying to figure out if we should just add soil to part of the container or the whole thing. We ended up just adding gravel to 1/3 of it and then dirt to the rest. Now with such a small deck (8x8) I was thinking it wouldn't take so long, but it is still not finished and I still need to remove some plants from the window boxes and decided what plants to put there this season. Boy I've become a gardener, but not like many, I do not find it relaxing at all! I enjoy the finish product and don't like the journey to it. But that is just me. :)

We are all Adjusting

Well it is now a week that Junior has joined our little "clan" and the adjustment is coming along fine for all of us involved. I definitely forgot how demanding it is to have a puppy around. You have to constantly keep an eye out on him so he doesn't do "his business" and you have to make sure as he investigates his surroundings he doesn't get into any area that he is not suppose to be.

Junior also had his first vet visit with me on Saturday. I was surprised to find out that Junior isn't as young as we thought he was. By the vet's assessment, Junior is more like 4 - 5 months old as he is already getting his adult teeth. This was alittle shocking as I thought I was getting an 8 week old puppy. Not that this really matters as he is so LOVED now it would be heartbreaking to have him "exchanged".

The good news with this all is that he is in great health, didn't whimper at all when the vet gave him one of his shots. Also this now allows us to be alittle more "aggressive" in our potty training.

I've decided to use the Crate Method as it is more beneficial to all parties involved. Basically he is in his crate at night, or when we need to be away from the house. This will allow him to get use to not going potty where he sleeps. Upon letting him out of the crate (his "room") we immediately take him outside. He has been doing great these past couple of days on this method, only 2 accidents.

I'll try to post about other things, but for right now, it's fun being a "parent" even if it is to a puppy.

Meet Junior

After a world wind trip on Saturday and returning Sunday from Vernon British Columbia, I am proud to introduce Junior to the world. Junior is a black and white (though kinda brownish) miniature schnauzer pup. He is 8 weeks old and adjusting very well to his new life in the big city of Vancouver.

I'm sure there will be some challenges ahead, but he's just so cute!!!

EDIT: Another recent photo, better quality