Everything, Including the Kitchen Sink!

If Shep's summer had an anthem, it would most definitely be One Republic's Good Life. In fact, hit play and then read the summer update:



Yesterday as Jeremy and I were packing up to leave the lake house we couldn't find Shep. We searched all over the house for him. Standing in the kitchen starting to get worried about him having gotten out I heard the comforting tinkling of his collar tags. I looked up, and our dog was sitting in the kitchen sink with his front paws on the window, intently watching the yard. He'll clearly never stop exploring and for this, we love him.

Shep has had a busy summer so far! We boarded him for the first time, which went off without a hitch! We are lucky that his daycare (aka the BEST daycare around!!) offers boarding. He had a blast and so did we on our mini getaway neurotic dog free!

Shep turned two in June. It's amazing to reflect on how far he has come in such a short amount of time. We are certainly seeing him become more and more confident, which is awesome. Clearly, he jumped into the kitchen sink, he's a changed animal from his early times with us! We're with him all the time so its hard for us to always be objective, but its been great to hear from our family, friends and neighbors that they too see a changed dog. Certainly, age plays a factor, but we also know hard work has gotten us to where we are.

From August 14, 2011

Although his confidence is improving, we still have concern in some areas. We learned the hard way that Shep is simply not a fan of crutches, albeit the hard way. A friend who happens to be scared of dogs, stopped by on crutches early on in the summer. Shep was happy to see her, but barked, growled and had his hair stand up when he saw the crutches. If the crutches were laying on the ground, he was totally good. Once the crutches were up and moving he was so unsure. Good thing we have a spare pair in the basement so we can work on it with him to be a little proactive in the event one of his clumsy owners breaks themselves. We don't need Shep protecting us from our mode of transportation!

From August 14, 2011

Shep's most favorite place on earth is my family's lake house in Door County, WI. Shep is so excited to swim that he allows us very little sleep our first night there. Invetiably, morning arrives and Shep is up with the sun around 530 for a swim. He is fearless in the water and barrels through waves to get his dummy.

From August 14, 2011

He can also add marina patrol to his resume:

From August 14, 2011

From August 14, 2011

The beauty of swimming for Shep is a guaranteed long, hard nap.

From August 14, 2011

Shep will never stop exploring at 5:30 in the morning, the kitchen sink, you name it! Even if he we find him in the kitchen sink, we can't help but laugh. We are so happy to get to see the transformation in this dog and to be his family. Hard work has truly paid off. In the words of my dead head husband: "We'll keep on keepin on", so proud to have this dog by our sides.

From August 14, 2011

Post Traumatic Shep

We've been tempting fate by leaving Shep out of his crate alone in the house. We started with hour-two hour increments on the weekends while we were out running errands. He rocked it! Last week we tried a half work day. Nope. Work day mornings are particularly anxious times for Shep-he spends the whole morning hunkering down hiding under tables to avoid being put in his box. I think I totally threw him for a loop last week by leaving him out of his crate and exiting the house, leaving him unsure what to do with the anxiety. So, he promptly ran upstairs to our bedroom and chewed on our wooden bed. He could have chewed on our bed at any point while I was gone, but if I was a wagering gal, my money is on it was done in the first 5 minutes we were away and stopped once he realized being alone was like every other time he had been alone.

Shep is a very active sleeper--tail goes crazy, cries, growls and "runs" in his sleep. The other interesting development is that about once a month Shep has been, like a little kid having a nightmare, wetting the bed at night. Our bed. When we wake up to him jumping out of bed because he's had an accident he hunkers down in the corner, ears flat, tail between his legs. We give him some love so he knows we aren't mad, Jeremy takes him outside while I clean up and get us re-sheeted. We've got it down to a science. As an aside, we have had him checked out by his vet who has indicated there is nothing physiologically amiss.We realize most people would kick their dog out of bed after this happened once, but we've also realized we aren't most people. What happened to this dog before coming to our home was not his fault and we refuse to punish him for it.

The good news is that Shep's trainer is officially no longer on the Techtmann payroll. She does check in with us from time to time to see how Shephard is doing. She happened to send me such an email the day I came home to find the chewed bed. I shared with her the same info in this post. She mulled it over. She got back in touch with us and suggested an unconventional route: treat Shep, via herbal remedy, for Post Traumatic Stress. At this point, we've got nothing to lose. Its totally safe, and we have seen him respond well to herbal remedy's we've tried for anxiety. It's go time.

Are we officially crazy dog people? Yes. Would we trade him for the world? Nope.

Shepdates

Shep is a funny funny guy; therefore, he becomes the subject of facebook status updates, or as known to his ever growing and loyal facebook following: "shepdates".

We thought we'd summarize the last couple months of shepdates to give blog world an idea of what he's been up to and do so Letterman Top Ten style:

10. dear shephard, thank you for being the scene making dog in the neighborhood on a quiet sunday morning. actually, all the time. we're honored.



9.totally biffed at doggy gym today. our neighbor across the street told me he nicknamed me "the girl that falls" just trying to live up to the honor (only included because I fall a LOT when Shep pulls me).

8.What did you do this afternoon? If you are Shep, you spent a great portion of it smelling the wall like a crazy.

7.friendly doggy gym attendee "which dog is yours?"
me, after scanning the pack: "oh, he's that one, the one running around with the cell phone in his mouth"

6.shephard's most recent doggy daycare report card: "I party like a rockstar and I don't like to stop, I like to cuddle and I like to wrestle" Yep, thats our boy.

5.I've decided walking Shephard is like driving a bus full of women in labor in rush hour traffic the wrong way down Chicago's Magnificent Mile. The level of concentration required and near disasters encountered give us both a physical and mental workout. Thanks, I guess?!

4.Shep found a ladybug in the house tonight. and then he ate it. and then he choked on it. and then i had to pull it out of his throat. he's a winner.

3.Sitting on our couch I hear the an interesting noise from upstairs where S is, flying solo. Putting my game face on to greet what I can only begin to imagine is waiting for me I walk up stairs. Yea, Shep got his head stuck between the slats in our banister. Honestly, we need to find a way to make money off this dog.

2.just got home from getting shephard from daycare. standing in the kitchen on the phone, i watched shephard close his eyes while standing up. then his body started to slump over. yep, our dog fell asleep standing up. time to call the lawyer and have the doggy daycare people added to our will.


And the number 1 Shepdate.......


1.I think he missed me. Just got home and the minute I sat down he climbed into my lap to lay his head on my chest. everyone should have a dog. One of life's great feelings.

Snow Dog!

It's a snowy day in the Midwest, but that hasn't stopped Shep!

From Shephard Meets World

Although confused at first, he wasted no time helping us dig out! He makes two formerly winter crabs love the weather!