LABOR DAY WEEKEND ADVENTURES – 09.04.2010 TO 09.06.2010

This was an adventurous 3-day weekend for Orso!  Many new things took place, all of which we documented either through photos or video.

Saturday morning brought with it beautifully standing ears still!  Some family members had not yet met Orso, so we thought today would be a great opportunity to introduce everyone.  We loaded Orso into the Jeep and paid them a visit.  Orso was thrilled to meet them and his canine cousins, Amber, a Miniature Pinscher, and OB, a Long-Haired Miniature Chihuahua.  See the 3-minute video clip below to see how everyone got along.

Sunday morning also greeted us with standing ears, even though Orso’s right ear was starting to look a little soft!  Diane had warned us that they would settle a bit, so we were trying not to stress.  It was a good day for a new adventure, so we grabbed Orso and piled into the Jeep for some Sunday trouble.  We all went to Casavana for breakfast, a local Cuban diner that offers outdoor dog-friendly seating.  This was Orso’s first public dining experience, so we were very impressed with his wonderful manners.  There was no begging, barking or bothering the other restaurant patrons.  He sat patiently, albeit vigilantly, while we ate our breakfast.  After our meal, we decided to pay my parents a visit.  Although we live on a large lake like they do, their beach has a much more gradual slope, while ours is still way too steep to be safe for Orso.  We wanted to work on Orso’s swimming skills, so a gradual slope was imperative for his confidence level.  He definitely loves the water and seems to be a natural little swimmer!  Below is a 3-minute video clip of Orso’s day at Grandpa Frank and Grandma Eva’s house.

After a long and muddy day, we gave Orso his first bath while Mouse and Luna looked on with curiosity.  We used some really gentle, organic puppy shampoo that left him smelling soooo yummy.  See below for a photo.

Monday morning welcomed everyone into the day with a drooped right ear.  Our guess is that Orso slept on his ear all night.  Ugh!  Much to Orso’s displeasure, I retaped his ears after he ate his breakfast.  Then we prayed to the puppy ear gods to make it stand again…  We were not going to allow this droopy setback to stop us from enjoying the day.  Armed with toys and a travel bed, we took Orso with us to have a late lunch at Che Tito, another local eatery – this one was Argentinean – with outdoor dog-friendly seating.  Once again, Orso behaved like a little gentleman throughout lunch.  See below a photo I took with my Blackberry.

The long weekend also brought some changes at home.  Recognizing that Orso has doubled in height since he arrived at home, we started using an elevated feeder for him.  It’s better for his joints and aids in digestion.  We also have noticed that Orso is starting to look considerably thin.  Not wanting to over feed him, we had previously increased his per meal intake to 1.25 cups per meal.  Today we decided to go up to 1.5 cups per meal and monitor his weight gain.  He is very gracious about his increased serving size, but still throws his typical “there’s no food left in my bowl” tantrum when finishes eating.  What a piglet!  We also have been working quite a bit on teaching Orso how to go safely go up and down the stairs with us.  He is getting very heavy so carrying him up the stairs has become a mission.  He has done a great job learning and is pretty confident going up the stairs.  Going down the stairs is still quite a challenge, but he trusts us enough to do it.  I’ll upload a video clip of him and the stairs on another day.  Last big change was a selfish one on our part.  Orso’s crate has been in our bedroom since he came home August 15th.  This has created some difficulty sleeping.  Although he sleeps through most of the night, he does toss and turn and make sounds that could wake even the neighbors.  So, in the spirit of sleep deprivation, Orso’s crate was finally moved to the dogs’ room down the hall from our bedroom.  He is now sleeping with Mouse and Luna, which is good for the “pack” and even better for his sleep deprived human pack.  See below for a couple of random pictures from today.