An Update....

Well, week 3 is upon us and I haven't posted since my last frustrating rant...

Myko is doing great! We are really starting to get the hang of things! Mark even said tonight that he is starting to like him more, and the biting is getting fewer and further between. I think it is all the episodes of Dog Whisperer that we have been watching, but Mark keeps reminding me to be the "pack leader" and stand up when I talk to him so that I seem bigger to him. He says that when I play with Myko on the floor, I am like a "big dog" to him. I guess I shouldn't take it personally that my husband called me a big dog. :)

We also keep calling Myko random nick names out of nowhere. Here are a few that seem to keep popping up!

1. Myks (pronounced: meeks) We use this one the most!
2. Mykster (pronounced: meeks-ter)
3. Myky (pronounced: meek-y)

I'll post a video and more pictures later! But for now--- everything is going great with our little puppy and our sanity!

P.S. He is still 100% sleeping through the night! No whines, no barks, no potty! Perfect!

Week One with Myko...Survival and Patience

Well, it's been one week exactly since we went to get our puppy from Bonham, and he has gotten quite comfortable in the McSpadden household. Okay, so don't get me wrong... I LOVE our dog, Myko. He has the cutest face in the whole world, it takes him about 5 minutes and all his strength and energy to bark, and he loves running back and forth. When I let him out of his crate, his excitement to see me is priceless!

With that being said, I have to ask my good friends, why they didn't warn me that I would want to pull my hair out on a consistent basis? Seriously, today,  had to have a "come to Jesus" meeting with our dog because of the intense biting and growling... he doesn't do it to Mark, but he does it to me. I LOVE snuggling with him and throwing a ball for him to retrieve, but seriously, the biting!!! Granted, it's only been about 3 days of biting and growling, so maybe I should give it longer, but we'll see. Here are some things we've tried:

1. Holding his mouth and saying, "no bite"

2. Barely popping his mouth and saying "no bite" (see the trend here)

3. Saying no bite, holding his mouth, and then putting him in the laundry room for 30 sec (time out)

4. Screaming "ouch" and walking away (trying to ignore him, but he follows me and jumps at me)

.....and then there's the growling. He looks like a gremlin mixed with the personality of Old Yeller when Yeller gets rabies. I keep asking Mark, "Does our dog have rabies?" He laughs it off and says, "No," but I am still suspicious. I may ask for a rabies test when I take him to the vet this week. :)

ON A POSITIVE NOTE: Myko has slept through the night every night except for the 2nd night we had him, and even then, he only needed to go potty at 2am. I guess God knows I couldn't handle losing sleep AND having my flesh ripped from my skin at the same time. :)

In order to provide a visual to how my week started and ended with Myko. The picture at the beginning of this post was taken the day we got him, and the picture below is one of me right after I put Myko to bed this evening. Can you sense my frustration!

 May I have patience with this pup, so that I can enjoy my summer and our dog! Any advice? Any anti-biting strategies? Help! At least pray for me to have patience with this dog. Babies are easier than dogs, right? :)

Myko: Our First Puppy

Wanted to just let everyone know that tonight, we went and picked up the greatest puppy ever, Myko.

Myko (Me-Co) is a 7 week old Miniature Schnauzer, and he was the first one of the pups to walk up to Shevawn when we went to pick one out. He loved her at first sight, and any dog that does that is one worth taking home!

Here are some photos!

Hello Myko!