"> Puppy Stuff – Having a Ball! 
April 9th, 2008 Posted in Doggie Tails (Tales)
I think we are pretty close to a name (thanks Mom – you win doggie kisses for life). Since we are avid Yankees fans, and since I won’t name him Yankee like David wanted and he doesn’t really want to name him Jeter like I want (or Tanner), we are 85% sure that we will probably name him Steinbrenner (but we will call him Brenner). Personally, I just want to name him Brenner and we would know what it stood for, but I think David want’s to keep the full name (even though we will almost never call him that).
And now David is ready to kill me because I keep finding the cutest things for him. I cannot help it… I am excited and he is my first doggie. I went up to the pet store near our house to get Nutro puppy food (no byproducts and is totally natural) and Earthbound tearless puppy shampoo (necessities), but I found some of the products that I liked from PlanetDog.com. Their toys are super durable… not that thin plastic stuff. They are made with what they call Orbee-Tuff to make the best dog toys on the market and they are eco-friendly, recyclable, and minty.
 
 
(you can click the images to be taken to their product pages)
In keeping with the baseball theme here, I figure he needs a baseball to play with! He has the Yankee collar and will probably be named Steinbrenner, so shouldn’t his main ball be a baseball? Yes, I thought so too. But then I also want to teach him how to play soccer with his nose, so I got him the soccer ball too. And how can you resist a ball that looks like a little planet? I got the medium-sized one in blue and green. These things are great and I can’t wait to see how he likes them!
And tonight I am going out to find this book: 101 Dog Tricks. Not only does it teach the basics like sit, lay, stay, etc. It also has fun tricks for the dog to learn like waving goodbye, giving kisses, etc.. I primarily want it because there is a sports section where you can teach the dog how to play basketball, football, and my favorite… SOCCER! I really want to teach him that. I also want to teach him some fun stuff like when we say “Red Sox” he could lay down and put his paws over his eyes or something; or on the flip side when we say “Yankees” he could dance or bark or something. Same for when we say “Homerun.” I just think that would be priceless! Yeah, I may be a little over the top with these ideas, but I think it will be cute and I’m sure it would tickle David to death. In the beginning, I think we’ll stick with the basics.
I also found out that there are 4 dog parks around where we live… one right down the street where there is a fenced in area that you can let the dog off the leash to play. I think this will be great for him (and us) to play frisbee or just to run around and socialize with other doggies.
One Response to “ Puppy Stuff – Having a Ball!
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By Erin on Apr 10, 2008
I got the book last night and it is AWESOME! It makes training look easy, which I know in most cases will not be, but I am so excited to work with Brenner on some of these things. I already have his training bag ready to go with doggie treats and a ball so we can take him outside on his leash and try some things in the first week. Crate training and potty training are obviously first, but we also need to work on walking on a leash and heeling, and sitting. I am reading some other things about how to have a good doggie and it all starts with establishing dominance. They need to know who’s in charge… like they eat after you eat and you don’t leave the food out for them to graze. The also need to learn that people walk through doors first. You also should not give him all his toys and the person needs to remain in control of them so that they do not get possesive of them. Playtime needs to be scheduled and a few toys come out for that purpose… although you do leave one toy in his crate so that he has something to chew on.
I want to work on sitting as soon as possible b/c you should make them sit each time you put their leash on them before you go outside.