No Lyme!

Bubba had a vet visit this morning. I brought him in to be tested for Lyme disease. I found 3 ticks on him in the fall after his first visit to NJ. Even though it's been a few months and he's been fine, better safe than sorry later.

He was such a good boy. He played with other puppies and dogs at the vet. Everyone loved him and kept telling me he has a great personality. Yes, he does.

Good Bubba!

Too much fun in the dog run

Yesterday Bubba had quite the treat at the dog run. All his buddies were there and he got to romp around for at least an hour! Jack (jack russell terrier), Liam (another coton), and Lucy (4 mos old mini-schnauzer) wrestled and chased each other to their hearts' content.

All of us (owners) were so glad because it meant the dogs would be exhausted by the time they got home leaving us with a more peaceful night.

Boy was Bubba tired! I wish I had taken a video. We left the dog run with Liam and they were still very excited and playing. Then after 10 feet Bubba would plop down into a pancake and lay on the sidewalk. He was tired. I'd be able to get him to walk a bit saying, "Where's Liam? Follow Liam." and he'd get up and chase after Liam for a bit. Then plop down again. I think it took 3 or 4 to finally get to the lobby of our building. I was afraid I'd have to carry him home.

But I did have a peaceful night. Since we didn't get back to the apartment until after 8 pm and I had to get to bed early, I didn't bother taking him out again. He drank some water and slept moments after we got in.

Bubba had too much fun.

Happy Birthday, Bubba!!!

It's Bubba's first birthday! He got some american cheese this morning after his walk! I can't believe it's been one year. He's been a doll. A few habits that still need breaking, but all in all he's always been an easy dog to care and love.

This weekend was his very first road trip with me. We went down to DC to visit my brother, Chris and cousin Fraggle. Throughout the weekend they really made strides to being friendlier. Fraggle gets a bit nervous and territorial, so Bubba learned to keep his distance. But that distance is now only a couple of feet. Before it was about 4-5 ft.

When they walk, the pack mentality kicks in and they bump into each other and it's like nothing happened! A very good sign. Bubba had lots of fun and he was so good sitting in the car. He didn't whine. He alternated between sleeping and staring at me. Such a cutie!

Barking "bully"

Bubba has definitely found his voice. When he turned about 7-8 months he started barking at other dogs or animals would see down the street or out the window. He started this when he was in my parents' house in Jersey where the windows are not 34 floors high and dogs walk by the front doorway. I got worried that this behavior would be unbearable, especially in my small little studio and where my neighbors can hear his bark down the hall.

Bubba barks at people in the hallway and large dogs outside, but not all of them. I trained him not to bark more than a couple of times inside the apartment. He barks at the noise hears at the door and then he gruffs and whimpers and comes to me to acknowledge what he's heard. So cute.

But until this week I didn't know what do to about him barking at larger dogs. I didn't even understand why only certain dogs and not all dogs. The only thing I realized is if he knows the dog, then he doesn't bark. Once he approaches and meets the new large dog, gets a little sniffing in, he's back to his own business or he'll start playing.

Maybe it's a dominant thing? Maybe he has to announce his presence?

News about Rocky. We bumped into Rocky the other morning. Bubba didn't even flinch. He was eager to greet him, but he didn't bark at all! Progress!!

An Encounter with Rocky the Pit bull

Bubba has recently had a habit of barking at larger dogs. He is dominant so I think he feels like he has to protect his "turf" whatever that means in an NYC dog-friendly neighborhood. Last night we were about to head out on a walk and Bubba saw Rocky down the hallway with Jeff. Rocky is a beautiful chocolate colored pit bull who is about 2.5 years old now.

Anyhow, Rocky and Jeff were so kind to hold the elevator for us (especially since it takes on average 10 mins to get one these days) and Bubba repaid them by barking up a storm. I'm sure my neighbors appreciated it at 11:30 pm last night.

Bubba even growled a bit. I let him down next to Rocky, whom by the way was the calmest dog ever, and they exchanged sniffs and that was that. Bubba stopped barking and the two of them went about their business as if no confrontation was had.

Jeff and I walked them both along the river and around the block. There weren't any issues at all, which was nice. Bubba though had to mark every tree and corner in his path though. I actually think Bubba successfully dominated Rocky since Rocky seems to look away first whenever Bubba approaches him. Very interesting. The true test will be when they meet again.