Month 2 of Reese- aka my 4th child

Reese has been with us for a little over two months now. We love him to pieces. Get it? Reese’s Pieces! He is delightful at times- he loves to cuddle and play. He would do this all day long if he could. Like anyone else, his personality is multifaceted. When the kids are out & my hubby is working from home, Reese pretty much spends his day chilling by his side. Many of the challenges lie when the kids are home.

As I mentioned in my last post on my “wins” for the week, we have a constant cycle of him chewing up toys, followed by the kids chasing him around the house screaming like banshees trying to get their beloved pieces of crap back- I mean their toys. The upside of this is that I will be forced to do a major purge of all the toys that they don’t play with. Hopefully, some lucky children will benefit from their hand me downs.

Reese has made great progress when it comes to walking. He has become my walking companion. Each morning, I take him on a mile and half walk around our neighborhood. He rarely goes on strike anymore. Previously, he would plop himself to the ground and stop walking at his whim. I would have to drop the leash and walk away, before he would eventually follow. Now, he seems to enjoy walking beside me and listening to me sing- typically 90s alternative music. He doesn’t complain about my singing like my family, my high school choir director, and anyone else who has ever heard me sing. That’s possibly why he will walk fast with me- to make the singing stop.

Reese is super smart! He just graduated from puppy school. I think his diploma is more on par with my children’s participation certificates from all the sports and activities that they have been a part of, but didn’t necessarily excel at. He showed up, but wasn’t exactly the star student. No puppy left behind, right? We still have so much more to work on. He will start “intermediate” puppy training in August.

Reese is very comfortable here. He has a super soft doggy bed that is placed at the foot of our bed. However, he prefers our bed to his. Reese would rather eat his bed, than sleep in it. In fact, he actually has! Each night, it is a struggle to get him to stay in his own bed. We often wake up to him sleeping in the middle of us the long way, in the “H is for Hell” position. Having a puppy is really like having another child…

In the last few days, Reese has learned to use the doggy door that was installed in the house by the previous owners. Speaking of doors, Reese has also learned to open doors within our house. He is so tall, he can stand on his hind legs to reach the door handle with his paws. Yesterday, he realized if he pushed down on the handle, the door would open. We are in so much trouble…