Soooooo in the event you aren't on my Facebook, I got a puppy just under 2 weeks ago now. Full blood German Shepherd whom I have named Rackham (after the infamous pirate Captain Calico Jack Rackham). He is almost 13 weeks old now and is seriously the best thing ever. He is SO CHILL. Even the vet couldn't believe how well behaved he is. I was like "I can't take any credit for that he's just that awesome" lol. I've been wanting a Shepherd for I can't begin to say how long and so I finally just said you know what? Now is the time. And I got him. :)

HE IS!!! He is the fluffiest of the fluffy puppies *nods*

I'm getting ready to go out to Cedar Key for a 3 day pirate invasion (Ryan will be sword fighting and spinning fire) where I will be camping and this fuzzball is going to camp at the vet's office all weekend. I dunno who's going to do worse with it, me or him. Aside from a few hours here and there, Rackham hasn't been away from me since I got him. And I'm dropping him off at 1pm today and won't see him again until Monday. I think I'm going to have separation anxiety. Granted I'll be surrounded by pirates all weekend, but I won't have my baby dog. He isn't going this year because he's still a baby and his immune system needs to get stronger before I take him camping out of town. But the staff at the vet's office is amazing so I know he'll be ok. I just don't like the thought of being gone from him lol. New mom much?

So he did wonderfully while I was out of town. The vet's office had no problem with him and I wasn't too worried while I was out of town, though I am very happy to have him home with me now. He is figuring out how to walk to the front door of the house when he wants to go out which is wonderful. Just need to figure out how he'll let me know on the boat...hoping he figures out to just sit at the bottom of the ladder or something.

He has also figured out that his kennel is a nice spot for a nap and will walk in and lie down without having to be told, and I just leave the door open at that point because I'm not leaving the room and he went in on his own. We're making progress! :)

Aww, I love the new photos!

Paints since 6-8-14

How DO you handle potty training on a boat exactly. o_O;;

Link Tree

Magic lmfao.

In all seriousness....crate training and going out lots and lots at first. I would take him off of the boat every 30 minutes and walk him around until he went, then treats and praise and back on the boat. Then repeat a zillion times. Dinner is at 6pm and once he's done eating, he gets one more shot at water, then that goes away too. Then walking before bed to make sure everything is out of his system and then into the crate. The great thing about him, he figured out ON HIS OWN that by barking in his kennel, it told me he needed to go out. He is DEAD QUIET in that kennel otherwise, even since day one. So if he would bark in the middle of the night, he needed to go out and I carried him up and out of the boat and out to the grass. Had had a few accidents on the boat, but since it's all hardwood and no carpets or rugs, it's an easy clean. Had maybe 3 accidents total in his kennel. He's a smart cookie. Figured out real quick how to get mom to take him out. And he has been sleeping through the night for about a week now, so that's a major improvement. And he has only had maybe 4 accidents in my house here in Orlando.

Walking is hard work. Especially when it's hot...

And as you can see, he is a very ferocious Shepherd who will tear you limb from limb...

Oh my god he is just precious.

Link Tree

TOTAL CUTENESS

:O

Last night I looked at a picture I took of him the day he came home with me and one I took yesterday afternoon and omg the change!! It's like he lost his baby fat! You can really see it in his face. He's sleeker, looking more and more like an adult now. And he has sprouted up like a little weed too. Gets bigger every time I fall asleep I swear it.

So cute!!!

With the mouthing...try substituting with one of his chew toys? or a rope toy?

I do. Just need to keep on it.

I have him in puppy training classes with a really awesome trainer who is not only helping me with the basic stuff, he is going to help me train Rackham to be a psychiatric service dog for me to help with my anxiey.

We are also in recovery from having a parasite. My little floof loves water and so he'll drink any and all water he comes across, including puddles after it has been raining. He managed to get Giardia, but with an army of medications, he has been on the mends for almost a week now and seems to be back to normal. Though the meds are making him need to go out much more frequently since they are flushing out his system and he has had a few accidents in his kennel. But I know that will all go back to normal once the meds are out of his system.

Someone's not so little anymore ;)

He is coming along nicely in puppy classes as well. Since I'm still looking for work, I have all the time in the world to work with him. I'm getting a little concerned that he may be beginning to get protective of me out on walks and such, but I will address it with the trainer Saturday at our next class to see what he has to say. It's awesome that I'm working with someone who has specialized in German Shepherds before. I appreciate the feedback that I get from fellow Shepherd owners, but I really like knowing I have a professional trainer in my corner who can help me as Rackham gets older. He is about 4 months old now and is starting to find his voice and test his bounds a little bit. I just want to make sure his behavior is just him being a puppy and not something that needs to be addressed before it becomes an issue.

Hyper puppy is hyper! Lol. I now 100% believe that his "calm demeanor" was because of the parasite I treated him for not too long ago because ever since he ended his meds for that, he has been bouncy/crazy puppy lol. So...exactly what a puppy should be. Although he is still very good with a lot of things, his energy level freaking spiked. So now I'm having to take him on longer walks and play twice as much to even attempt to make a dent. A friend of mine and fellow Shepherd owner said hers goes crazy for tennis balls and that she has a racket and just hits tennis balls for her boy for hours. I'm starting to think I'm going to need to start doing something similar for this one.

Oh...and he is officially 4 months old today :)

So as of last Saturday (Nov. 7), Rackham has officially graduated puppy training class! Yaaaay! He's closing in on 5 months old and he has just sprouted like a little weed. The baby look is gone from his face and he looks like an adult now in a small body. So proud of my boy!

So CUTE!!! :D

I want a puppy so bad..

I just looked at the original pictures I posted here and then I looked over at Rackham who is lying next to me here on my bed. He doesn't even look like the same dog lol. The baby face is gone, he's filling out...he's almost as tall as Ryan's dog now. And he's not even 5 months old yet! My little boy is growing up!

Wow...I disappeared off of HP so this died too lol. Just so everyone who doesn't follow my Facebook knows...someone got huge...at almost 2 years old. And as of February of this year (2017), he is officially in training to be my service dog. The difference from those first pictures til now...there are times when I can't believe I'm looking at the same dog. But this is my boy today. My sweet sweet Shepherd.

So handsome!

WHO'S A GOOD BOY?

RACKHAM'S A GOOD BOY!