I'm now back to a wireless network connection in my office. Flat-CAT ethernet cable does not stand up well to chewing by a puppy.

Every time I think Logan really "gets" the whole "do that outside" concept, he proves that he has me fooled again. Just now, Jess was kind enough to let me know that Logan had left a little "gift" for "Mommy Ellen" at the foot of the stairs - just when I was feeling smug that he had waited for me to come back and walk him, and that he was getting the idea.

My puppy is back in my lap where he belongs. :-)

He should be kept quiet for awhile to recover from the neutering surgery - no long walks, no running or jumping - but that's VERY tough to accomplish when he's so excited to be home!

We can't go to the drive-in to see "Iron Man" tonight because it's raining. Oh well. I will be able to pick up Logan at the vet tomorrow morning. Amazing how much I miss the little guy.

Logan gets neutered tomorrow - so tonight I gave him some canned food, instead of the usual dry, for his "last meal as a whole male." :-)

According to good authority, neutering him won't stop all of his dominance-seeking behaviors, but at least it may diminish some of them.

Logan also rode in the car with me when I went to Rite Aid and Burger King. He proved that he could whine and yawn simultaneously (he was whining because his harness was hooked to the passenger side seatbelt and he couldn't climb on my lap). He definitely impressed the people at the drive-up windows. :-)

I'm hoping to get to see "Iron Man" at the Ozoner drive-in tomorrow night. I'm so glad that Robert Downey Jr. was cast in the starring role. It sounds like he is going to be absolutely perfect as Tony Stark.

Logan can bark and hide "food" (by his definition, not mine) in his mouth at the same time.

Whether you call it "Beltane" or "Law Day" or "National Day of Prayer" or by another name, happy May Day to all!

( silliness )

I think Logan is actually getting it. The humans had to go out this afternoon, and Logan was confined to one room while we were gone, and I fully expected to find that he had left me a few "gifts" on the carpet, but apparently he is beginning to understand the concept that he should hold it until I get back. I walked him right away as soon as I got back, and we went down the block to a spot that he likes at the end of the block, and he pooped! Yay for my good boy! We ran and skipped happily all the way home!

The sun is shining, the sky is clear - what a beautiful morning!

Logan did exactly what he is supposed to do this morning. He whined to let me know that he needed to go out, and we went out, and he did what he needed to do outside, without TOO much fuss. (If he didn't fuss a little, and try at least once or twice to get back inside with the job only half-done, then he wouldn't be a dachshund, right?)

What a spectacular beginning to the day! With the sun streaming in, and my little guy doing what he should, I feel that this could be a breakthrough day in more ways than one.

If I had $1100.00 to spare ..... yeah, right.

Logan, I think you'll have to settle for walking outside, whether you like it or not.

Up until tonight, Logan and I were having a reasonable amount of success with the indoor puppy-training pads. He didn't always use the pee pads, but at least he used them sometimes, and until tonight, he didn't tear them up.

On rainy days like today, when he isn't cooperating AT ALL with going outside, I was counting on the training pads to help.

However, because he has refused to go out on a walk, he has a lot of extra energy today, and he has been using it to be destructive (like continuing to chew on the cardboard "banker's boxes" despite my yells of "NO!" and tapping him sharply on the nose - that just seems to make him madder and more determined).

Tonight, when I removed a used pee-pad and put a fresh one down, he immediately attacked it and tore it up.

Grrrrrr.

Picture this, if you will: two wet, bedraggled creatures are standing outside the house on a rainy afternoon. One is a miniature dachshund puppy, shivering and whining and putting his cold, wet paws on his person's leg while he begs to go back inside. The other is a human, equally soaked and chilled, trying to coax the puppy to poop, already, please, because as soon as he goes potty, they can both go back inside where it's warm and dry.

It's a stalemate, as they each beg the other - who will win?

The phone decided it. The office phone rang, and I had to go back inside to get to my calendar to schedule an appointment.

Another win for Logan - and the two cold, wet critters went up to bed to snuggle and get warm.

Score this morning: Ellen 1, Logan 1.

It's raining, and of course Logan didn't want to go out. I put his little raincoat and harness on him, and took him out despite his whining and shivering and attempts to climb up my legs. Reluctantly, he did pee outside. Round one to me!

However, he wouldn't poop outside. He managed to convince me that he really didn't have to yet, and we came inside and I went to fill his food bowl, figuring that after he eats he'll poop. While I was putting his one-third-cup of puppy food in his bowl, he pooped inside. Round two to Logan! He fooled me.

I'm brewing coffee now and it should be almost ready. Back to the morning routine ....

Edited to add: Make that "Ellen 1, Logan 2" - he just pooped inside again while I was pouring my coffee.

On a walk this morning with Logan and Maddie, we "met" Bugsy, an 11-month-old black-and-tan miniature Pinscher. (He looked just like this.)

I did not realize that the coloring of black-and-tan Pinschers was EXACTLY the same as black-and-tan dachshunds, down to the tan spots above the eyes; I thought that he must be a mix.

I keep discovering how ignorant I am about dogs, having been a cat person all my life!

( puppy housebreaking stuff )

I'm going to try to divide his one cup of Science Diet Puppy Small Bites into three equal portions for now, instead of giving him a half-cup at breakfast time and a quarter-cup at lunch and dinner time. He can't really finish that half-cup at once yet. Because he's still young, I'm still feeding him three times a day, but that will change as he gets older. Feeding a young puppy is different from feeding an adult dog, especially one who must "watch her weight," and it's OK for it to be different.

As I write this, it's already quarter to nine, so I probably won't make it to CrossRoads in Amsterdam this morning. I did get to Northway for the 6:30 PM service yesterday. Northway is really where I want to go - I just wish it wasn't so far away, with gas now around $3.70 per gallon.

When Ken and I arrived home tonight, it was raining. Time to try out Logan's new raincoat!

( photos under cut )

Once we got outside, of course, the poor little baby shivered and whined and tried to climb up my legs and generally acted like Mr. Pitiful, but eventually I managed to get a poop out of him. (He could actually walk just fine in the raincoat, he just wanted to go back inside.) Of course, it had actually stopped raining by then ... but I still count it as a victory!

Here is the latest update from the Schenectady Gazette on the Johnstown fire.

The destroyed buildings were right along one of my favorite "morning walk" routes, although I haven't been doing much solo walking in the mornings lately (too focused on dog-walking). I did get to drive by the area briefly today, and it was crowded with workers clearing away the debris.

Logan is redecorating! He was just dragging one of the pet beds from one room into another. It's amazing how much he can carry with that busy mouth of his (and those sharp teeth).

He's been testing me. He keeps tearing strips of paper off the cardboard storage boxes and checking to see if I notice.

The use of treats to reinforce his potty training isn't going well, since I haven't maintained consistency in giving him a treat after each outdoor pee or poop, and Ken has given him treats inside for no other reason than because he is so adorable. (Well, he is.) So it will have to be an issue of establishing my authority over him, which means I must yell and even tap him sharply on the nose at times, as much as I hate to do that.

Logan has finally "gotten" the concept of playing with a ball - and he has figured out that when the gates are down, he can do "the zooms" in circles all around the front room and the halls on either side. Wheeeee!

I didn't want to get too close to the fire site when I took the dogs out today, but some of it could be seen from Smith Street. I missed the time when the flames were visible, but I did see the ongoing stream of water that the firefighters were pouring onto the area. Tomorrow, when it's safer, I will probably take a walk on my own through the area (without the dogs) and observe the damage.

There was a major fire just a few blocks away.

Nobody was hurt, as far as I know, but one of the buildings that burned down was going to be converted into a microbrewery. I guess that won't be happening any time soon.