1 day down.

Well, as planned, Sunday we picked up Gunner from his previous owner. The boys were napping when Jer brought him home. He seemed pretty hyper and excited about his new surroundings. We needed to get some yard work done, so we decided to proceed after we played with him awhile. He did pretty good respecting the curb boundary that seperates the grass from all landscaping. We felt optimistic. He clearly was given people food and has a horrible begging problem. HUGE Pet peeve. But other than that- we felt like he had a lot of potential. He finally laid down in the evening for more than 1 minute and relaxed a bit. He went into his crate and we didn't hear from him through the night.

Next day, I have him all to myself on his first full day of being around us and the kids. I also have the boys- and Luke is semi-potting training. (remember- dogs and I aren't a natural mix) I thought- I'll just make the best of it and do my best. My babysitter is on vacation and I needed to go into school and continually work on a few things so I took the kids with me- knowing not a whole lot would get done but at least we would get out of the house. Ian likes to go to my classroom but Luke usually needs to be entertained. After a total of 50 minutes (probably a combined total of 5 minutes of actual work time) we left the classroom and chalked it up to "we won't do this again for awhile". We drove back home to be met by Gunner on some serious uppers. He was just sprinting back and forth from the living room to the kitchen. No ball, no one chasing him, not even doing it and then prompting us to play. Anytime I'm making food or around it remotely- he is like jumping in the air trying to get it. He stalks the boys' chair, hoping in desperation that they will drop some of their leftovers. And they do. When we were on the floor, he kept trying to rough house-with his teeth even. I just can't play with a 2 yr old, a 3 yr old, and a dog at the same time. Then when we had to go to the bathroom, he couldn't stand waiting outside the door. It was just so overwhelming. I found myself so short fused dealing with all 3. I called Jer at lunch time and told him I was about to put all 3 in cages. :) He seems to respond to Jer more anyway. His owner was a male. In the afternoon he peed on the couch. (deep breath) Anyway- I put him in his cage during 1 hour of nap time and went upstairs to retreat for a break. It was definitely the worst of it. We got him some more bones last night and he seems to like those.

Today has been much better. I think he is realizing that he will get more attention and he doesn't have to work so hard for it. But, even still- I can't just walk around and do house work, etc. He's actually laying down with his eyes closed right now. But I'm sure as soon as I get up- he will jump up to. I'm just praying for patience. His obedience training starts on Saturday night. We're doing it through Treasure Valley Dog Training. I've heard a lot of great things about them. Let's hope. But as for our previous interview- most requests he is complying with. I guess I should be grateful.

The boys discovered his igloo house outside and found a new fort for themselves. It's seriously huge. All of his stuff came free with him. Huge blessing.

Then they wanted to see how many other things they could fit into.

I have a bad cold right now. It has probably enhanced my frustration. I better go get some laundry done and risk losing this paradise of the dog sleeping.