Frankie's Many Adventures

Frankie Cuteness

2009-01-28T16:05:00.001-08:00

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

long time no update

2008-11-29T11:32:00.001-08:00

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"

2008-08-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

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"

2008-07-30T17:43:00.001-07:00

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

2008-07-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-04T10:14:00.001-07:00

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

He's an "it"!

2008-06-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Oh goodness...after a successful trip to the groomer yesterday, he was such a bundle of energy..I think the .3 ounces or so that he lost in hair weight made him want to fully experience how jumpy and fast he could be--and he did!

But then this morning when I got his leash out he seemed to be excited to go outside, but little did he know we were hopping in the car to go to the *dun dun dun* (I don't even want to say it, lol). I brought him into the vet at 7:45 (trust me, neither of us were very awake) and left him there until...3pm (it was torture for both of us, don't worry). And when he came back, he was missing a few man-parts. The poor thing has an Elizabethan collar on to keep him from licking his stitches (don't worry, I'll post a pic eventually). He's so drugged up...gosh...with all his hair gone you can really see how scrawny he is (no more lion mane, haha!). He's pretty tender "down there" too so I'm content that all he wants to do this evening is sleep. Once the drugs ware off and he wants to jump around more it'll get interesting. But those adventures are yet to come.

For now...that's the life of young FrankPup. ;-)

Frankie meets an Imposter

2008-06-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

So, today brought frankie another puzzling moment, he met an imposter, or what he believed was an imposter. So this is.....

Frankie meets

Imposter

And you get.....

A visit to the groomers

2008-06-25T14:26:00.001-07:00

So, today we made an appt and took Frankie to the groomer. We knew he needed it and figured it'd be a big job for someone. Plus, we weren't sure how Frankie would feel. We are thankful we found a nice place where Frankie quickly snuggled up to his groomer and they bonded well, and she reminded Frankie who was boss and shared a few tips with us. Here are a couple before and after pics of his visit.

Playtime!

2008-06-22T13:58:00.001-07:00

Okay...so I had a little fun. Since I'm a music dork, I said "hey, why don't we put some Frankie video to music?" I hope you enjoy this little excerpt of the playfulness of FrankPup. :-D

Just some fun pics

2008-06-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking this puppy may be seeking attention...or perhaps he is just interested in helping pay the bills.

Frankie likes to perch on the stairs where he can see out the door and monitor the world.

When guests arrive, he greets them warmly and promptly snags a shoe as a token of his appreciation for their visit.

Have we mentioned how much Frankie likes to make new friends. This is Allison Bemis, Krista's Dad and finally a baby he met on a walk.

Grass and people and sun, oh my!

2008-06-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

So today Greg and I decided to take Frankster to the park. We got food, packed him up in the car, and were on our way. While we ate our food, Frankie did figure eights around the picnic table. When we asked him about what was going through his head on our adventure, this was his response:
"Woof! I was so excited--there was grass, and LOTS of it! And *woof* there were people and *woof woof* lots and lots of places to ruuuunnnn and *woof* weee! And *woof* lots of new smells and *woof* and...and...and...*woof woof!*"

Then we went down to the river and decided to see how he responds to the moving water. He wasn't too thrilled--he told us as much:
"*Woof* I'm sure they had good intentions...but seriously. *woof* I had to go out in public with chicken legs. I *woof* musta looked like a bread roll on popsicle sticks! I made sure they *woof* got the puppy glare and then *woof* found a groundhog to chase after and forgot I was *woof* mad."

Then we threw the frisbee around a bit and rather than catching it like a "normal" dog, he decided it was for pouncing on instead. And then when the frisbee got boring, there were four ankles readily available for chasing. And boy, that pup has some springs in his feet! Weee!

And then he ran and he ran and he ran and by the time we put him in the car he was tuckered out and smelled a good bit like puppy. When we got home we met a couple of the neighbors and decided he's definitely going to be a good "kid dog". Little Devon screeched with joy as Frankie was more than happy to say hello and show love with some kisses.

Now he's had a bath and he's rolled up in a little Frankie bundle (baths make him shiver, poor thing) and will more than likely sleep all night long. Or...until morning comes in his head, at least.

PS--Feel free to comment. :-)

a long..er...short night

2008-06-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

So last night we all went to a concert and Frankie got to spend lots of extra time in his new larger cage. We quickly learned that new and larger didn't mean active cuz when we got home Frankie was plenty ready to play, of course we were ready for bed so we put him in his sleeping box, he slept for a short time and was up the rest of the night. Goal for today, wear out Frankie. Lets pray all his walks and extra fun today have helped tire him out. When we take him for a walk he likes to really run all out the last block to the house. We are planning to try and get some video of his very energetic moments.

Sleepy

2008-06-14T13:06:00.001-07:00

Haven't posted in a few days so I think we're due for another video, what do you say? Enjoy.

We'll get some videos posted with more action in 'em soon. The problem is, when Frankie's in action, the action usually changes before I have a chance to say "hey, where's my camera?". But look for more updates! Peace.

Puppy Love

2008-06-11T08:52:00.001-07:00

One of my friends told me that they thought Frankie looked like a stuffed animal, so I decided to find out if they were right. LOL. Enjoy:

I also took a few pictures of the first meeting of Frankie, Fido, and Huggles. It was an interesting encounter:

Huggles (on the right) got the cold shoulder from the beginning.

Fido seemed prtty friendly though.

So they decided to hang out and share stories.

More of Frankie's adventures to come! :-)

Snuggle Pup

2008-06-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

When Frankie gets tired, he's really done in. Not even a random chew toy will grab his attention. So, being totally enamoured by the cuteness, we decided to take a few pictures:

Snuggling on daddy's shoulder

Chillin' on the couch

Sleepin' on the couch

Just before crawling into his puppy bed

Frankie's a pillow thief..haha

I was like "hey man, can we share?" and he was like "sure, your head looks cozy"

And then when I woke up this mornin, I had a bundle of fluff curled up at my side.

Morning sleepyness...aaaw!

Day 2

2008-06-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

Today Greg had to work until 4 and I started work at 4 so I got to be with Frankie by myself for most of the day. I awoke to some wrestling and kisses in bed, and then we headed downstairs for breakfast. All day we either 1) played with the toys; 2) went outside to go potty or go for a walk; 3) had a battle of strength and endurance to see who would end up eating the people food (haha); 4) snuggled; or 5) I sang him pretty songs and played for him on the keyboard. I want to see more of how he responds to music though (being a musician and all). Maybe I'll even write him a "Frankie Blues". HAHA that would be funny. The basic routine of a pup: Eat. Sleep/Snuggle. Play. Potty. Repeat.

He met our fish today and I took a video...but I had to cut some parts out. LOL. He barked at the fish for a bit until I turned on the camera and then he decided they could be friends, I guess, cuz he stopped barking. Here's the video, which I affectionately titled "Love Songs and Fish":

I put Frankie in his cage when I left for work--he was home alone for a whole hour at least before Greg got home from work so I hope things are okay there. I should call them. More to come soon!

Day 1 Pics

2008-06-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

So today I had the luxury of getting some one on one time with Frankie after Krista went to work. Of course we had to make a trip to the pet store and get a couple toys. After that we came home, visited the neighbors, got his stuff settled, a place to sleep, OK, three of them to be exact and a place for his food dishes, he has his priorities straight. Then like any father, I started breaking him into the chores of the house, or around for that matter, we went outside to work on the lawn which was very tall, he enjoyed bounding through it. Interestingly enough, he wasn't afraid of the mower, either that or he had a greater desire to stay at my side.

The real entertainment was Frankie meeting the neighbor's big dog. At first he was startled, then he decided that a dog on a chain wasn't a threat and stood up to Simba. Here are 2 videos of their encounters:

Finally, Krista came home we ate dinner and the three of us went for a walk. We met a few more neighbors and Frankie felt one of them deserved a treat, which the dutiful master promptly cleaned up. Be sure to check out other pics from the day's excitement. For now, Frankie is contentedly sleeping on my lap.

We have a new puppy!

2008-06-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this afternoon Greg and I became proud parents of a six month old pup named Frankie. He was born on the 26th of January, 2008, and we're so excited to share his adventures on this site! I hope you enjoy sharing our experiences of this little bundle of joy. :-D