Happy birthday, Pokey!

Pokey is 3 months old today!

Growing Up

Pokey is growing taller and longer every day. His spots are definitely more pronounced and the shape of his head is lovely. He's going to be one good looking setter.

Here's a comparison of his ear spots at 8 weeks and again at 12 weeks.

Home, sweet home!

We've returned from Glen Highland, well rested yet tired. The dogs had a great time, as usual. The expected damp weather didn't keep us from having a wonderful three day visit. My sister, on the other hand, didn't have nearly as much fun, indicating that Pokey was quite the handful during our trip. Surprise, surprise. I was a bit shocked to see the physical difference in only four days - I swear he grew a couple inches while we were gone!!

Left behind

Heather and I are going on our annual vacation to Glen Highland Farm in the New York catskills. 175 partially fenced acres with mown trails for the running pleasure of your hounds! It's absolutely fabulous and makes for a wonderful break from the norm. Unfortunately, Pokey is too young to come with us and will have to stay home. My sister has agreed to house-sit and keep an eye on our young monster. I think the other dogs will be happy to take a break from the puppy.

Pokey was a bit perplexed with the packing and tried to climb into my suitcase several times. And yes, I was tempted to sneak him in there...

Work assistant

Pokey likes to keep me company when I occasionally work from home. His barking makes conference calls a bit tricky but the rest of the time, he's a great work assistant!

Pokey's first playdate - video

Today Pokey and I went to visit my friend Angie and her English Mastiff puppy, Bill. Bill is only a week older than Pokey and is obviously quite a bit bigger but I thought they might make good playmates.

To the immense surprise of everyone, Bill was absolutely terrified of Pokey! Admittedly, Pokey was over-the-moon excited to see another puppy and was coming on a little strong. But Bill could have made mince-meat out of him! After an hour of chasing Bill around while he tried desperately to run and hide, we took pity and left. Chasing is hard work, though, and Pokey came home and went to sleep for five long hours.
 
 

 

Pokey's a STAR!!

Shelter Outreach Services (SOS), a local non-profit spay and neuter clinic for low-income families in central Ohio, is creating a calendar. In order to drum up interest and raise funds, they're turning it into an online contest. Professional photographer Stephanie Moon volunteered her services to take photographs and donated the sitting fee to SOS. Of COURSE, Pokey had to get involved. We drove to the clinic on Saturday morning for our sitting with Stephanie and Pokey turned on his star power! He did quite well and, despite all the distractions, paid close attention to my hand signals.

If you'd like to vote for Pokey, visit the SOS calendar website. It's only $1/vote! (and you can vote for his foster brother, Carter, too!)

Yup, I'm trouble - video

Pokey is a very confident little boy and doesn't hesitate to tell you if he disagrees with what you're saying! He's extremely vocal and has taken to barking back at me when I tell him "no". And his "sit" is a little slow.

He's probably not getting enough exercise. I've started walking him in the mornings; his leash skills need some improvement, to say the least. I'm going to try to set up a playdate with a co-worker's puppy. And then maybe some puppy kindergarten. Anything to tire him out. Carter still loathes him although Scotch has taken to some short play times. Not enough, though; he's not sleeping through the night.