No More Mice!

Today Charlie spent the day at the vet's.

It started so innocently. Jessie was on the bed with her catnip mouse. It's a fluffier clone of Pouncer's (the one Charlie took over) and blue and Jessie loves it! Loved it, that is.


The mouse

Anyway, Charlie came in and ran over to see Jessie. Remembering the mouse, I headed over for a rescue - but the mouse was already gone!

Charlie had it and was going to town with it. I tried to get him to drop it, but the more I tried, the harder he worked to keep it away from me. He was careful not to let any little bit hang out of his mouth for me to grab, so I started working on his jaws. He nipped me and I let go, thinking I'd get a better angle on the mouse anyway. He'd surely have to adjust it in his mouth and then I'd have it.

I had him pinned and was going in for the mouse regardless of teeth when, gulp, he swallowed it! Swallowed it!! Down the hatch! I couldn't believe it, but I felt the lump in his throat momentarily. I got his mouth open and reached in, but there was nothing but tongue and teeth. I stuck my fingers down his throat, but to no avail.

So off to the vet we rushed. With Charlie and the mouse clone. Dr. O couldn't believe it, "Are you sure he ate it?" He smiled and shook his head, "Better leave him here; this could take a while." Within a half hour, they had gotten him to throw it up. Then they kept him until 3 to make sure he was ok. As usual, I think they just wanted to pet and play with him more.

At 3 pm we retrieved Charlie and mouse.


The mouse - after

"He's just fine. He's been back there barking his head off all day," Dr. O said. And he was fine. But Jessie needs a new mouse. And she's not going to get one until Charlie can be trusted not to eat it. And Pouncer's ex-mouse - that's history too; confiscated for the foreseeable future. Maybe 2010.

Charlie and the Leash

Charlie has changed his mind about the leash. It's a good thing, really. Very chewable. And it keeps mom close in case of need.

First we let Charlie drag the leash around the house and just get used to it. He'd step on it and trip. Then chew on it. Then try to pick it up in his mouth and carry it.

Then we tried the first outdoor trip in the front yard. At first Charlie didn't quite know what to do.


Charlie vs. leash (click on the image to play a movie)

But pretty quickly he got the hang of it and was walking around the yard like a big dog. Soon the shoe was on the other foot and he was walking his mom, like the best of them!



Master of the leash (click on the image to play a movie)

Sometimes Simple Toys are the Best!

I'd heard of dogs chasing their tails, but until Charlie, I guess I'd never really seen it. He whirls and whirls in a tight little circle until he can whirl no more.


Playing with his tail. (click on the image to play a movie)

Contraband

The moment Charlie goes outdoors, he begins scouring for contraband. It must be carried out into the yard and then tasted, preferably chewed. And who knew there were so many toxic plants in the entire universe?! Wisteria pods, magnolia pods, sticks, roots, bark from the planting beds - what's a mother to do?

And if that weren't enough, Charlie has learned to play, well, "catch me if you can". Having claimed a piece of contraband, he runs around the magnolia tree, always keeping the trunk between himself and his chaser. He may be small, but he's fast!


Catch me if you can!

Enter the solution. We went to the pet store and found a contraband toy to exceed Charlie's wildest dreams - a toy so horrible, it could barely be bought - can never come in the house - must not be thought about much - a rope with hooves! Yes, hooves. Yes, horrible. Yes, he loves it. Even more than pods and sticks.


Charlie and his new favorite toy.

Now Charlie and we are happy. He loves to chew on the, um, toy. We play "catch the toy" or "catch Charlie with the toy". And the bark stays in the beds. And we are able to find and remove the pods before Charlie can get them.


Get it!

Sometimes You Get the Bear...

... and sometimes the bear gets you.

Charlie is practicing for his visit to the 3 little kittens in Yakima - Shackleton, Hillary and Luciano. "Neener, neener," indeed! Now, if he can just get their address.


Rarrrfff!!!

Charlie Meets Uncle Brian

Uncle Brian has come to visit. Charlie is very impressed because Uncle Brian is the Alpha wolf! Charlie knows this because Uncle Brian chased Charlie all around the butcher block table on his hands and knees, growling. Charlie yipped with delight at first; then he realized the seriousness of the situation and ran away to the safety of Mom's arms.


Playing with the Alpha (click on the image to play a movie)

Now Charlie loves the Alpha and is very respectful of him. He follows him around, tail wagging, studying his behavior.

Close Encounters of the Kitty Kind

Charlie loves the kitties, Jessie and Pouncer.

Pouncer, the outdoor cat, is terrified of him and has taken to staying outdoors even more than usual. She won't even eat near the door he barks from behind. And Pouncer loves her food!

Jessie, however, has decided to meet Charlie head-on. She intends to reclaim her house! No more will Jessie run and hide. She saunters by Charlie temptingly. She sleeps just slightly out of reach (for now) on the recliner. She even lounges attractively, rolling over and fearlessly exposing her soft underbelly.


Charlie & Jessie

For his part, Charlie is probably coming to view Jessie as an attractive nuisance. Always worth going after, but unattainable and definitely off limits. He's learning to respond to "NO" - even with respect to a kitty! Just hope he doesn't need to learn "DROP the Kitty".


So close!

...and yet so far away.
Doesn't any kitty stay in one place any more?
It would be so fine to to have a big kitty score.

Comments

Because of reports that commenting on the posts seems to require signing up for your own blog (which Charlie definitely doesn't approve of, although he'd recommend blogger.com to anyone), I rechecked the configuration. It's set to allow anyone to comment on any post.

Here's the trick, though: when you click on x comments , and then Post a Comment you are given a choice between signing in or following a link to post anonymously. If you don't have your own blog and don't particularly want one... follow the post anonymously link. You can always leave your name in the post if you feel like it (but beware leaving your email address - who knows what spam robot might find it).

If you have problems, let the person who told you about this blog know, and we'll look into it.

- Charlie's blog editor


Charlie and Harley

Charlie's Mouse

Charlie has a new favorite toy - Pouncer's catnip mouse! The catnip is long gone, and the mouse has been lying on the floor for months unplayed with. Until now.


Charlie and his mouse.

Charlie knows the mouse is his. It's just his size - made to fit in his mouth.


Hmmm... a tail.

When he carries it around, it fits entirely in his mouth, with only the little tail hanging out.


Mouse tail hanging out.

Home Protection System

If his cries of anguish and exasperation when babygated in the bathroom are any indication, Charlie will be a very effective guard dog. No one would dare enter with such a dog inside. In fact, we'd better warn them...


Guard dog.

Now We Are Nine!

Today Charlie is 9 weeks old!

Happy Birthweek!

He's grown a lot in just a week. He's taller and heavier. The fur on his head and ears is getting longer and wavier. And in some ways, now, he's more like a little dog than a big puppy.

And those paws! They're as big as Harley's already.


Charlie in a rare moment of quiet.

The Great Outdoors

Charlie loves to go outdoors. And he seems to know what it's for! He runs to the door and waits.


Waiting to go outside.

If he has business to do, once outside he gets right down to it! Then it's time to PLAY!

Anything is fair game as far as Charlie's concerned. And it must be tasted. No - it must be acquired and chewed! So we are getting very good at opening his mouth, extracting contraband, and replacing it with a toy.


Winding down.

Sometimes he's willing to come back in under his own steam. Sometimes he's not.

A couple of times, when he's gotten right to the door, he's turned and run back to the yard for a little last minute business. I think he's almost getting the hang of it!

But when he first wakes up, watch out! He needs help then remembering what the yard is for besides play.

Charlie's Firsts

Happily chewing.

Today Charlie had three "firsts" ...

1. Charlie learned to play Frisbee.
   
   
   Charlie and the frisbee.
   
2. He started retrieving outdoors! That's right - he brings things BACK!
   
3. And Charlie experienced The LEASH! He agrees with Sophie - it is evil! He completely panicked when it pulled on his neck and constrained him. According to Alice, all the dogs in the neighborhood started barking - they could hear a puppy being murdered on Calado Ave.!

All Roads Lead *Over* Harley

It is impossible for Charlie to go around Harley; he must go over. Even if it means going out of his way, it is apparently much more fun to bug Harley than not to.


Playing with Harley

Yesterday I caught him trying to drag Harley by the tail. The day before he was trying to do the same thing with Harley's back foot - he'd pick it up in his mouth and pull.


Let's go!

When Charlie gets bigger, Harley's going to be in trouble...

Little Angel.

Ok, I was wrong. Charlie has at least 3 gears - in addition to chewing and sleeping, there is the "little angel" gear. Sometimes he's just so cute and sweet, it's hard to believe he's real!

Little angel.

Charlie and His Toys.

Charlie chews a lot. Sometimes it seems like he has two gears - chewing and sleeping. So it's a good thing he has lots of toys to focus all those teeth on!


Hard at play.

Here's Charlie with his ear of corn. The corn has fought valiantly, but clearly Charlie has bested him. For now...

A boy and his corn.

Charlie loves the purple and red hedgehog he brought from home. He especially likes to chase it when it's thrown.

Chewing on his hedgehog.

And Charlie loves his purple mouse! When he's very bitey, the mouse is almost always able to distract him and hold his attention.

More chewing.

Charlie in His Yard

Charlie loves his yard.

Charlie Helps Write His Blog

Charlie writes his blog.

Charlie and Harley Bond

Well, the suspense is over. Charlie has bonded with Harley.

Harley is quite perplexed about Charlie's sudden appearance, and especially over Charlie's infatuation with him. But Harley hasn't growled or snapped at him once yet, in spite of some surely-painful ear-biting experiences.


More bonding.

Charlie almost always curls up close to Harley when he gets sleepy. He's asleep near Harley right now. The moment he saw Harley he started wagging his tail and fixating on him, and now he is totally connected to him, even though Harley doesn't do much.


:)


Closeup


Piling.

Charlie doesn't seem at all lonely or depressed, so far, thank goodness.

Home at Last.

Charlie slept in my arms all the way home. So much excitement for such a little guy!

At home we kept him apart from Harley and the cats until everyone had eaten. In the meantime, Charlie played with his new bear.


At home.


Playing with Bear (click on the image to play a movie)

Then at last, it was time to meet Harley. Charlie sniffed him, and for awhile he was everso respectful.


Meeting Harley.

But Harley played it cool. So Charlie had to escalate...


Play with me!

Harley continued to play it cool, so Charlie stepped it up a little more.


Walking all over Harley. (click on the image to play a movie)

Finally, Charlie wound down. And not a second too soon for Harley!


All tuckered out.

Meet Charlie

The Arrival.

He's 8 weeks old and already such a well-traveled pup!


Charlie

Charlie was born in Indiana (his name there was Bailey). Today he made a big plane trip to his new home in Campbell, California!

We found him a non-stop flight from Indianapolis to San Francisco - about an hour's drive from Campbell and Alice flew over Friday to retrieve him. He went in cargo, because even at 8 weeks, Charlie's a big guy! A good thing, too - because under the seat next door was a *cat*!

Here's a picture of Charlie's wheels - all set and ready to greet him.


There are his new toys, a bed and blanket, a canteen with water, and a leash.

I arrived at the airport very early to scope everything out - found the ATA baggage office, reparked the car really close to it, and set in to wait.

The plane landed, and Alice and the other passengers began arriving in the baggage area. And we waited. And waited. And waited. Bags began arriving, but no Charlie! At last... here comes the carrier...

There he is!


Got him!

There's a squirmy puppy inside and now that he sees everyone, he wants OUT! We stuck our fingers through the grate and he licked them and quieted immediately.


He's in there!

Then we dashed out the door, across the street, and into the parking garage. There, where all the parking near the edges of the garage (close to the airport) have been fenced off to cars, we let him out.
Sniffing...


In the parking garage.

His bedding was clean, so first he did lots of business, then got down to some serious play!
Too busy for water!


Cute pup!


Time for a drink.


Calming down.

Then after awhile it was time to get in the car and go home. He was a sleepy lap puppy all the way!