The Life of our Denali Dog

I've always said that we would never be those parents that talks about their kids (now pets) ALL THE TIME. I know that not everyone is a dog lover and I hate to be an inconvenience to anyone with my latest pet discovery. But since we've only had Denali for 3 weeks and my job is good, Adam's job is stressful as always, we haven't traveled anywhere fun, friends/family are the same, I've decided to update on the dog. The precious dog previously written about in the last blog is still precious, but much, much, much more "puppy-like" (ie: chewing, peeing, not eating, biting, etc). The biggest struggle for us as new parents has been getting this stubborn dog to eat. Another thing I said I would never do is have a picky eater in my house.... That too has been disproven. Denali came to us eating Iams dry food. He wouldn't touch that stuff with a 10-foot pole when he got here and we have since tried dry food with chicken broth, dry food with wet food, only wet food... you get the picture. Since he's underweight and having severe GI issues (I'll save you the details), the vet now has us feeding him a strict diet of homemade chicken and rice. Seriously? I don't even eat that good. He is crate-training and doing quite well with that, but still struggling with the concept of peeing/pooping outside. Does anyone know how long this "phase" will go on/ have any good tips for us? :-) He's also had numerous scares for me where he falls or runs straight into the glass door (which was hysterical might I add) in which I was convinced we were going to have to make a trip to the vet. I must say though, I think he is a pretty good dog. He loves car rides and has been to Williamsburg, the James River, and numerous homes and get-togethers. He is a people lover:-) I definitely advise anyone thinking about children to get a dog. It's excellent training:-)


Michael gave him this duck when he was visiting last week

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He loves his bed. He also loves to pee on his bed. Does that make sense to anyone?


First bath... Not quite the water dog. Actually he looks super skinny and sick when he's wet!

I'm in love....

....with our new puppy! I mean, I feel like a proud parent. I want to show him off to everyone and take him everywhere (Which is NOT a good sign for when we actually have children). We picked Denali up on Saturday in Fayetteville, NC. The breeders said that he was the calmest one of the 9 and so far we've found that to be true. He rode the entire 3 hours on my lap without making a sound! He's about 9 or 10 lbs right now (we think) and he's a big ball of fur. But the best thing is that he doesn't shed! That's right folks, he's hypoallergenic (because of the half poodle)... and also the reason we chose this breed. We are working on crate training and potty training and I must say that he is doing a pretty good job (We won't count the fact that he kept Adam and I up half the night last night with his yelps) But he really is soooo precious and loveable. So that's enough gooshing from this parent-- here are some pictures:-)