Encounters with the Davis Family: Junior Update

Friday, April 23, 2021

Junior Update

We have had Junior for 3 months!! 14 weeks to be exact 😮 Some days it feels like we have had him forever and at other times it's hard to believe we have had him for 3 months. Time is moving so quickly! We are going to blink and April is going to be over.

When we got Junior he was only 3.2 pounds, now he is 10.2 😯 You all, that little fluff ball has tripled his weight in 3 months!!! It is insane. He is still little, but he seems so big, it's funny. We have a lot of nicknames for him, Elijah calls him "Fluffy" and does not look forward to Junior getting his Schnauzer hair cut-which will be at his next grooming appointment! I am actually looking forward to that hair cut because it is getting warm and I know Junior will be more comfortable. Plus, he will not shed as much (not that he sheds terribly, but still).

Being a pet owner is HARD. It is a lot of work and time consuming. It has literally been one thing after the other with Junior. When we got him and took him to the vet he had "dirty" ears, was slightly underweight, had something going on with his ears, and then had to get shots, which threw him off. After that he ended up with a stomach thing, then started teething, going through the terrible twos, and is now in his rebellious teenage phase!!! I have learned so much about dogs and have so much more to learn! I did not realize how much they grew and developed in the first few months.

We have had positive moments where it looks like he will settle and just chill, so we have hope that as he grows and matures he will not need/demand as much attention as he is now. He is about an equal mix of entertainment and joy, as aggravation and frustration! Here's hoping for more of the first and less of the second.

He incessantly barks at cars/dogs/and people. I took him just a bit ago to a neighbor's yard to "play"
with her dog and they kept trying to dominate each other. Junior was having none of it and was being VERY aggressive to the other dog. Not sure how to control/handle that...he still needs lots of training.

We do have him in a six week training at Pet Smart, but so far they have only worked on what we had been working on, so we will see how it goes.

What he has learned

sit
stay
come when called (most of the time)
potty outside
no
yes
bedtime
down
up
stand
kisses
toy
his name
leave it/look at me
treat
drink water
clean your chin

What he needs to learn

control his barking
manners, lol
not to pull the leash
come when called all the time
not to chase cars
not to bark at the neighbors/cars/wind/everything
eat out of his bowl
drop it
to let us brush his teeth (he is getting comfortable with the toothpaste and toothbrush)
to settle more

I am sure there are many other things for him to learn, but that is our focus for now. The barking at

I'm innocent I tells ya, innocent

EVERYTHING is the number one thing that drives me crazy. Well, that, and trying to go outside every five minutes just to be outside, yet he will not stay out there by himself without whining and crying...so I guess that is something else he needs to learn😂 Maybe I should go ahead and end this post before it becomes negative and I continue to think of more things he needs to know and get overwhelmed! LOL I will say that he has really helped Elijah and he does make us laugh. He has a lot of personality. I will add a few pictures under this post too, just for the cuteness factor. And, thank God he is cute, because that certainly helps in the frustrating moments!!