Suddenly *Not So* Single Journey

Bishop came home!

Author: thenicknick

We picked up Bishop today!  It went precisely as we expected.  The breeders, who happen to be this really devoted family, had a difficult time parting with him.  And who can blame them?  It’s with a mixture of relief, trepidation, and sorrow that they are sending these babies out into the world.  They can only hope that they have chosen families that will love these puppies and raise them as well as they raised the mother, Zoe.  S and I are determined not to let them down.

Bishop is his dream dog, and after only a few short hours, already his pride and joy.  The kids, while able to go with us to bring him home, are staying at Spring and Jay’s tonight while we try to get him acclimated bit by bit to his new setting.  As much as they think they are missing out, soon enough they will appreciate how much work it is to raise Bishop right.

Our first task, right form the start, was to make sure he was well-trained in every respect.  With that in mind, we began to adhere to a strict hourly pee schedule.  And like the proud parents we are, we have recorded every stinking moment for posterity.  I couldn’t resist snapping a picture of him peeking out from under S in response to his first time being on the grass.

As you can tell, he adapted pretty well.  Soon he was playing outside, following both of us everywhere.  We’re working on preventing him from eating grass.  Let’s face it, no one wants the mess that would ensue.  And I didn’t do all that Dane research so that he could eat anything other than the perfect puppy food for his size and breed.

Oh, and as for his size…Bishop gained nearly three pounds since we saw him last week.  Our baby weighs 18.4 pounds.  And he’s only 7 weeks old.  That’s right.  He’s a veritable munchkin.

As we were driving home, S looked over at him, half asleep in my lap.

S: Grow my pretty.

me: Bishop, he never says that to me.

S: (looking at me) Shrink my pretty.

For some reason, the kids found that to be very funny.  Okay.  It was funny.  Just don’t encourage him.

And next to the potty training, our biggest challenge was going to be making sure that he was well-behaved and knew what was an acceptable chew toy.  The breeders had warned us in advance that his immune system wouldn’t be Petsmart-ready, so we shopped before he came home.  Little did we know that the breeders were going to send us home with a fantastic goody bag with a toy a ball, some food and baby shampoo.  (I told you these were special people!)

Bishop has enjoyed trying out all his toys.  And little Alpha male that he is, I am his favorite wrestling toy.  So, I’ve spent a ton of time saying, “Not the mamma.  Don’t bite mommy.”  And then I’m shoving an acceptable replacement in his mouth.  Luckily, he’s taking to that training method really well, too.

All I know is that things are going very smoothly thus far.  He has gone potty outside about five times and even pooed twice.  (Don’t you hate those parents that always feel the need to discuss their children’s toilet habits?  Don’t you hate that I’m suddenly one of them?)  It’ll taper off, I promise.  I’m just so stinkin’ proud right now.  And we did have one slight accident.  He literally turned around from drinking some water and started to squat on the tile floor.  S picked him up and rushed him outside.  I grabbed the Windex and paper towels.  Go team.

We were warned that his mother, Zoe, wouldn’t eat in her new surroundings for three days.  I was concerned that might happen with him, but he had adjusted to that nicely as well.  As soon as he returned from his first potty break outside, he went for the water and food bowls.

We already have them raised up to prevent bloat.  See, big dogs are at risk of their stomachs twisting after eating and drinking and playing.  So, we have to make sure that he’s pretty mellow before and after his feedings, and that his bowl is elevated so that he doesn’t suck in too much air during those eating and drinking times.  S plans to ultimately build a stand for him, but for now we’ll just keep raising with household items.  Pretty resourceful, huh?

I have a great photo of him taking his first nap with S, but since S still has this issue about his picture being on the blog, this one later in the evening was the best I could include.  (That he would even allow that picture of his backside on here with Bishop was incredible.  He’s coming around…)

And yes, that is my sofa pillow that is propped under King Bishop’s head.  He’s also sleeping next to his current favorite toy.  It’s the squeaky cow, just as I predicted.  He hasn’t mastered all the squeaks yet, which may be why I’m still sane.

Though nap time has gone smoothly, I worry about tonight.  S swears he’ll take turns with me if it comes down to it with night time potty runs.  Shoot, that’s more than I could have hoped for.  Yay!  Dare I also hope that he’s sleep for a good stretch at a time?  Yeah, I’m hoping.  (Please don’t let me be as sleep deprived as I was when my kids were infants.)

Half the neighborhood has already stopped by to meet him.  No one has pet him yet.  We’re a little strict.  And none of the other dogs in the nieghborhood have been able to hang out with him yet.  We’re holding off until he has his shots all done.  Everyone has been very understanding.  (Okay, the people have, but right now, I can hear Snickers pacing around outside the back door, waiting and hoping to be let inside.  Sorry, McSnick.  No Bishop for you!)

And I just had to post one parting shot of him.  Isn’t Bishop beautiful?  Don’t get any big ideas.  We’re getting him chipped.  We have a yard with a locked gate.  And our neighbors will shoot stangers on sight, no questions asked.  Okay, maybe thay’ll ask one question.  Then they’ll shoot.  And trust me when I say that paintballs and air soft hurt.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 13th, 2009 at 12:20 am and is filed under Bishop tales. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.