My Teacher and Me

This is Carol C. Ahearn, Pita's Kindergarten teacher and co-author of my new article on Puppy Socialization. Visit the article here!

Dog Costume Party

Pita and I just got back from the dog costume party at Pops Restaurant which was a fundraiser for ARL Boston.

For a review of the event, visit South End Dogs Examiner.

Since I know that Pita hates wearing even her harness, I sprayed her with white hair spray and she went as a skunk to the party.

When we got there, Pops Restaurant had made some chicken and pork spring rolls, goat cheese and caramelized onion phyllo puffs, and steak tartar bruschetta. They were all delicious and good for people and dogs! Pita had not had lunch so she loved the spring rolls especially.

Most people understood that she was a skunk and she did very well with the other dozen dogs there. From pumpkins to penguins, the dog costumes were enjoyed by all!









Happy Halloween!

Pita's Pahk (Peter's Park)

Rebecca took a trip with us to Peter's Park, the dog park nearby, and we had a great time!

Two small dogs came in while we were there, one a four month old cocker spaniel (so adorable!) and the other an older dog that did not want to play. Pita and the cocker sniffed each other and started to bat at each other's faces. They played fairly well for a minute or so and then they got mad at each other (as usually happens with Pita) and we tried a few more times.

When the other dogs were not in there, here was our play time:

3 months old!

Pita turned 3 months yesterday and is loving life! Her new thing is finding a stick on the sidewalk and carrying it. Usually it's a normal sized stick, maybe a foot long at most and she drops it before we get home.

Well, the other day, she found this huge branch and became quite fond of it. She carried it down the street, across busy Tremont Street and another 3 blocks to our street where she left it. People usually smile and say, "Oh how cute! The puppy has a stick in her mouth." People looked much more confused and surprised by the site of this 20-pound puppy dragging a branch through the South End. Here's a video and a few pics:

Pita's pics of the week

She weighed in at 18 pounds yesterday. How bad can life be with two walks and three cups of dog food every day?

Pita's first day of school

Today was Pita's first day of Puppy Kindergarten and she did pretty well!

Because the class of about ten puppies is for ages 8-20 weeks, Pita was one of the youngest and the third largest puppy there. She was also by far the most shy! The puppies all had time to play before we started working on PITA (knowing her name), SIT, and DOWN. While all the other puppies jumped and ran, she hid between Alan or my legs (or another person's!) or sat underneath the table and watched everyone. We encouraged her to play, but the puppies did it for us. They came over and tried to sniff her. She sat still and let them until she decided to start running from them, which the other puppies thought was great fun and she became the play toy. She did well considering she did not growl, bite, or have her tail completely between her legs. Once we all got in a circle and started working on training, she decided that she was big now and barked at the dogs next to her, but if they got close to her, she became shy again.

She did very well with the training, but took a chance with the teacher to finally get DOWN before she did it with us. Of course she did well with the training though because she LOVES hot dogs, which are her treats for extra good behavior.

At home, she is doing well with going outside to relive herself because she knows that she gets hot dogs for that. If she goes inside, then no harm done because she goes on the paper, but going outside is even better! We also are working on CRATE with her to get her to go inside her crate and have that be a positive experience. She has that down pretty well and it became useful when Alan was carrying a large piece of furniture and told her to go in her crate! One more command she is understanding and practicing is DROP IT. When we play, she loves to play tug-of-war, but that doesn't get her very much exercise, so DROP IT is good because we can throw the ball again instead of prying her mouth open. It also comes in handy when she steals a shoe or sock, starts to run away, and hears DROP IT, she does! Our Pita is a quick learner.

Her favorite new activity is going out on walks. On Wednesday, she got her second round of vaccinations so she can now go out on walks and not get kennel cough or other not so fun diseases. She does a mixture of weaving between your feet and chasing after people, other dogs, and leaves. We'll see what her favorite season is in about a year, but so far, she loves fall because of the fact that there are leaves dancing in the wind and she gets to chase them everywhere. She is very good about making eye contact with you on the street if you call her and refocusing. We go on two walks a day and she is great in the house because she is so tired. She also is sleeping much better through the night.

Another new activity is sleeping on the shelf of the bench by the front door. Since she is too big for under the couch, that is the next largest 'small place' for her to hang out. It's adorable!
It was a busy week (Pita grew three pounds) and we look forward to going to the dog park this coming week!

Examiner.com

As of Wednesday, October 7, I am now the South End Dogs Examiner for Examiner.com and this blog will change course because of it. I will still be blogging and some of the content will be the same, though this blog will contain more personal accounts about Pita and my experiences. Thanks for reading!

Please visit us at South End Dogs Examiner.

Pita - 10 Weeks

Pita's getting more used to the camera.

Her recently awakened face.
New Activities:
~ Tearing up paper
~ Running around the house with any clothes she can find
~ Chasing after your pant legs while you're walking
~ Staying up all night and whining
~ Playing with her toys while lying on her back

New Accomplishments:
~ Took a bath in the shower and did pretty well!
~ Went to the vet and actually really enjoyed it - she loved the medication taste...
~ She is 13 pounds and eating about 2 cups of food a day.
~ Can jump to get toys and not fall on her face
~ She is now big enough that she cannot fit underneath the couch to take naps.

That's the Pita update. Once she gets her second round of vaccinations this week, we can actually take her out on walks around the neighborhood, so fun trips will come soon. Thanks for reading!

ARL Boston Veterinary Care

Pita and I had to make an early visit to the vet this week because she started vomiting and had some diarrhea, which turned out to be a common roundworm diagnosis. The Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL) is half a block away and we had already signed up for Puppy Kindergarten there, so I made an appointment to get her checked out. It was by far the best experience I have ever had at any vet's office and Pita really enjoyed it, as well.


We registered with the front desk and Pita quickly became the talk of the office. Staff came out from all corners to come and pet her. Once we were inside with the vet and vet's assistant, Pita was weighed in at 13 pounds and we went over her previous vaccinations. Dr. Davis, the veterinarian that we saw, was extremely kind to both Pita and me. He answered all my questions and talked about the similarities of my Newfoundland and his Bernese Mountain Dog. The vet's assistant was very helpful as well and, after Pita's tasty deworming medicine was injected, she gave us a welcome bag from ARL including a sample of Heartgard and a Pet Passport to keep Pita's health information.

I decided to make our next appointment with Dr. Davis because of the warm welcome we received, and once everyone had pet Pita and said, "Goodbye", we walked back home with peace of mind. A few days later, I received an email with Pita's login information for her web portal which contains all of her medical history and ability to make appointments online. Very cool! ARL has my vote and will be my dog's veterinarian.

A quick pricing guide:
~ $50 per visit
~ $22 per vaccination
~ $50 per heartworm test
~ 10% off total bill with Charlie Card
~ Because they are connected to ARL Boston's nonprofit, the samples and low prices cannot be beat!

Feel free to call them at (617) 226-5605 or you can even email them at bvc@arlboston.org. Normal business hours are:
Monday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tuesday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Wednesday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday: Closed