Raising Ruger

Right now Ruger is over 6 months old and I would imagine he's in the toddler stage of puppy hood? When I say toddler, I mean always going and going. This guy has energy! I was trying to facetime my mom the other day and I had to laugh; Ruger was wild. As in running around the house full speed, trying to pick up anything that would fit in his mouth. I suppose it didn't help that I was chasing him...!

He is wild at times, but he is good, too. He doesn't bark in our back yard (thank GOODNESS) unless he hears Jack, the neighbor dog, on the other side of the fence. He doesn't jump on us (just guests because he gets so excited...we're working on that..). He's potty trained. (hallelujah!) And he's wonderful on walks. He's starting to ignore other dogs that bark when we go by and he is getting lots better with not stopping so much to sniff!

We love him so much and more often than not it's my husband, the guy that swears he doesn't like animals in the house, that is saying "Why don't you let Ruger in?" I have to chuckle as I go to the door and let the big baby in. He'll gingerly walk up the steps in the garage and then shoot into our bedroom, jump on the bed and give Aaron a wet, sloppy welcome on the face and lips - tail going crazy. "I don't let just any dog do this Ruger," Aaron will say to him between licks. I just have to sit back and smile before joining them on the bed (or rather, 1/8 of the bed since Ruger takes up over a half).

Ah, puppy stage - you make us laugh even when you're exhausting!