Frankie Cuteness

So the puppy never fails to give us opportunities to say "AWWWWW"

long time no update

Okay, I know we've been seriously slacking in the "update Frankie's blog" department. We could blame it on the fact that nothing interesting has been happening with Frankie pup, but we all know that's totally not true! Every day with Frankie is a new adventure in the land of interesting.

Since the last post, I have learned that we are pregnant with our first child. I'm told that poodles have a sixth sense about these things, and I can say that Frankie tends to prefer snuggling close to my belly on most days, but sometimes it just depends on his mood. Sometimes if we let him stay in bed with us all night, he'll work his way down to the bottom of the bed under the covers and plop himself right where my feet are supposed to go. He always chooses my side though. Maybe it's warmer there. ;-) I usually shove him over gently with my leg and he stays contentedly positioned between Greg and I (so much for snuggles!). There are times when I, being the squirmy pregnant woman that I am, will ball up the puppy and show a little "tough love" and carry him down to his cage for the night. Usually by that time he's asleep enough that he goes pretty willingly.

Frankie is an attention seeking pup, by far. When I come home from school or work, it is he who demands the first greeting (with barks and jumps and licks and any other happy puppy greeting you can imagine). Sometimes I'll be a stinker and snatch Greg first for a hug, which usually recieves a look of "ahem...excuse me...I'm over here" from the puppy. If I'm on the phone with a friend, he'll try extra hard to get my attention by barking at me (it's a playful challenging bark that he's adapted recently) and jumping up on the couch so he can look at me and lunge at me. He's also been known to paw at my face for attention, which I try to discourage. Long claws don't feel good on the face.

So when I have this baby, I think I'm going to be very cautious for the first little bit because I have no doubt that the puppy's initial reaction will be jealousy. But with any luck, he'll quickly adapt the poodle protector role that we've been told is so common, and we won't have to worry. I have seen videos on YouTube of babies and puppies and some of them are SO cute. I can't wait to make a few videos like that. It is my hope that my baby will have a good disposition, will laugh a lot and sleep enough. I mean, I'm doing everything right, and of course there's the music. But of course I know that total perfection is not likely and I'm prepared to deal with all challenges.

I just thank God every day for all of the blessings in my life: my family, my husband, my puppy, my baby on the way, my church, my health. This is the season of neverous anticipation as we await the arrival of Our Savior on Christmas, and it's going to be one amazing ride!

A trip to the "Bark Park"

OK, so we found out that Dayton has a dog park and decided on Sunday to take Frankie on his very first visit to one. We saw one in San Fran that was mostly dirt but was neat because if allowed the dogs to be off leash and interact. Frankie's social skills needs some work. So anyway, we weren't totally sure what to expect but liked the idea. Actually Dayton's park is much better than San Fran's. Dayton's park has a couple parts. There is an agility park with obsticles the dogs can work around, over and through. Frankie is doing well over the climbing obsticles, jumps over the one he wants and isn't sure about the ones he has to go through.

A much larger part of the park is at least a 1acre section that is fenced with a paved path around it. The fenced in area also allows the dogs to be off leash and intermingle with the other dogs. Frankie wasn't sure what to make of things at first. In his great wisdom, he decided to smell up the big dogs first but wasn't too keen on them smelling him up. There were also several small pugs there which he really enjoyed hanging out with. All in all, its a great place to get him some great exercise and socialization. It is entertaining to watch Frankie walk through the gates, without them being opened....lol.

"We don't like what we don't understand"

Ok, so in the play "Beauty and the Beast" there is the song sung by the townspeople reflecting their dislike for things they don't understand. We've discovered Frankie shares that sentiment. In this video I was cleaning our porch and tossed this big ball into the living room and you will see how he reacted.

Home from Honeymoon

So, Krista and I are home from our honeymoon and Frankie is back in our home. No, he didn't go on the honeymoon with us although he was very much a part of the wedding reception. Actually, he was there mostly cuz we wanted him included in a few of our professional pictures. After that he was supposed to be taken to the friends who were going to watch him while we were gone. Of course, plans don't always go as expected and...well, he didn't leave until the rest of us did. These pics give you a perspective on that one.

Frankie meets...Echo!

Okay so last Sunday Greg and I decided to take Frankie for a walk in a different neighborhood. "Where can we go?" we said...then we decided to go to Riverscape. We enjoyed the trails and the spraying fountains and then we walked under a bridge which created a long narrow tunnel. The poor pup went NUTS! Once we realized the strength of the echo, we decided to milk the moment a little bit. I said hello and listened to it reverb like 8 times...Greg clapped his hands and it made a gunshot sound which ricocheted for at least 3 seconds afterwards. The puppy darted back and forth from wall to wall and when it was quiet he stood by the wall and waited for the sound. We must have spent a good 5-10 minutes entertaining the pup, and then when we exited the tunnel, the puppy still went to the edge of the path near the stone wall to try and hear the echo. I was sad I didn't have my camera, it would have been a moment to capture!

However, Greg's mother is coming into town on Monday and I think we're going to find an opportunity to take her and the puppy down to Riverscape so she can see what happens..and so I can get a video. Should be good times!

Oh and also, it seems that not only has Frankie found his tail, he's discovered the joys of chasing it. He's getting a little more husky (we feed him well), and he has also learned how much he likes to dig. Oh boy does he like to dig. Sometimes he digs at the carpet...we try to discourage that as much as possible. He's also teething and often his bones turn to mush before he's able to get them in his mouth to digest them. We've banned him from eating bones on the couch because mushy bones leave a nasty residue. LOL.

It's interesting for me to watch Frankie grow up right before our eyes...I really feel like I have a child. We're so blessed to have him. Thank you so much to Don and Joanne for giving us this wonderful gift!

Until next time...

My First Independence Day

So, today is July 4th, Independence day celebration. Daddy and I are home alone cuz mommy is in Columbus with her friends. Last night Dayton held their fireworks display. We heard it all the way at our house. I wish someone would have told me fireworks were so noisy, who can sleep during all that stuff. (psst - Frankie...did you tell them you yapped, grumbled, growled and barked the whole time there were fireworks going on) Well, yea, I did make noise of my own. What was I supposed to do, there were things happening I couldn't understand and I had to make sure the house was safe. Strange noises in the night will do that to a puppy. So anyway, today its wet, cool and great for lap snuggling, when a lap can be found. Hope you all are having a wonderfully snugglly and grrrrreat day.
Franki Pup