Canine Hospitality in Italy

We have been back in Italy for over two months and Brinkley has done great! The first couple weeks were strange. We stayed at a friend's house in Ancona for a few days, then to Verona. During those first couple weeks I was very sick and yet even through all those hurdles, Brinkley made it through. One of the things we have been surprised at is the hospitality of Italians to our little doggie. Several strangers have asked us if he needed water while we were out and brought him out something from which to drink water. It is incredibly normal to ask for something like a bowl of water at cafes or restaurants. It is also okay for you to take your dog to restaurants with you. Today, Angie and I were out for lunch, we had Brinkley with us, and the waiters asked us if we wanted them to bring some water out to our dog. We graciously said yes and they brought him out a little dog bowl with water. Here are pictures of our happy little puppy out on the town in Verona.

Brinkley, Gracie and Puppy Class

This a video of Brinkley playing with Gracie, one of his playmates from puppy class. Before class the dogs run around the room, getting their energy out, so they can learn things like sit, stay, come, down, etc....

http://dashwire.com/share/AjGznXrw

Brinkley and his Ducky

It doesn't get much cuter than this. We were watching TV and looked over to see Brinkley had crawled up into his bed and curled up with his favorite stuffed toy, his Squeaky Duck! He was also wearing some new clothes that we had picked up for him.

Brinkley and Tucker

Brinkley met his cousin Tucker last week. Tucker is a maltese puppy, smaller than Brinkley which is a feat in and of itself!!! Brinkley is 4 pounds and Tucker is 2 pounds, but Tucker is several weeks younger than Brinkley. They have fun running around and play fighting.

Brinkley the Guard Dog

Brinkley is a guard dog at heart. He has no idea how small he actually is. At 14 weeks he is around 4 pounds, maybe even a little less. When he hears something outside, he takes off for the window and peers out, barking if necessary. Good dog.

Brinkley in His New Bed

Brinkley loves his new bed. All throughout the day he goes and hops into it. He naps in it. He takes his favorite toys in it. It's so comfy, we wish it were big enough for us to get in there with him!

Easter Morning

This was Brinkley's first Easter. So he had a small basket left by the Easter bunny as well as new Easter duds to wear throughout the day...

Easter Biscuit Hunt

So, we found a store in the Farm Shopping Center (51st & Sheridan) called, The Dog Dish. It is a great little pet store. From healthy homemade snacks to cool accessories this store has a great selection of specialty stuff. Every month or so, they have an event for you and your pooch that they call "Yappy Hours". This month's was the Easter Biscuit Hunt. The Saturday before Easter, dogs of every size and breed brought their owners out to hunt through the sprawling shopping center for Easter Eggs filled with dog biscuits and raffle coupons. Angie and I took Brinkley and he loved every minute of it. He met several dogs, some his size.....some much much bigger. Check out the Dog Dish's website and also check out our pictures from the event below.

First Day at the Groomers

So, we actually took Brinkley to the groomers at Petsmart before this, but it was only to get a bath, nails trimmed and very little else. We were extremely underwhelmed with their professionalism, and he came out smelling the same. Did they even really give him a bath? It also seemed very chaotic, so we began a search for a "real groomer" where we could take him before we leave for Italy. This time he would get a haircut too, in essence his true first trip to the groomers. We found a great place called Shaggy Waggle at 21st & Memorial in Tulsa. Below are some before and after pictures.

Brinkley, the Broth Junkie

So, we realized tonight that our pup has an addiction. He is.....a broth junkie. It started shortly after bringing him home. He wasn't eating all that great, and we read somewhere that if pups are having any difficulty eating their solid food, moisten it with water or broth. I thought hmmmm....broth. That sounds tasty. So, one night we tried it. He literally ate it up. The usual routine follows something like this....

1) Put dry food in his bowl.
2) Wait for him to "sit".
3) Set the bowl down in front of him.
4) Brinkley eats about 1/4 to 1/3 of it then steps back.
5) He stares it for a few seconds then looks up and stares at us, if we are present.
6) With an aloof turn, he walks away.
7) We wait a few minutes to make sure he is no longer interested.
8) We then put some chicken broth over his food and then stir it in. (I think I put in more than Angie when I do it).
9) We sit the dish down.
10) He returns and proceeds to eat all or most of it before finishing for the night.

Two words....BROTH JUNKIE. It's a good thing we can buy broth in Italy....

Meeting my Dad

Upon release from the hospital, my Dad was excited to see our new puppy Brinkley.

Here is Brinkley's "Uncle" Greg giving Brinkley kisses!!

Brinkley Habits

Brinkley has already gotten very attached to both Angie and I. One day, Angie came home and went into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Brinkley got up to follow her in there. Upon finding the door closed, he took the next best thing and laid down beside Angie's cowboy boots.

Angie does a great job of grooming Brinkley every night before he goes to bed. She cleans his eyes and belly, even if he doesn't like it very much!

I have already gotten very used to holding Brinkley on my lap or in my arms while watching TV.

Here is Brinkley, hanging out with his buddy Roo, and meeting his "cousin" Taylor for the first time.

How cute is that face, huh??

Brinkley's Antics

Here is Brinkley with his favorite toy. It is a stuffed duck that squeaks when he bites on it. It makes Angie and I laugh as we hear him in the other room biting over and over and over again, making his squeak - squeak - squeak sounds. He's a keeper.

Here Brinkley is meeting his "aunt" Mary Ann and his "cousins" Shelby and Macy. I don't think they like him very much ;)....

Here's Shelby holding Brinkley.

Here's Macy sitting in the kitchen with Brinkley.

Sometimes during the day, we block off a section of the kitchen with Brinkley's crate opened in it, as well as several of his toys and a training potty pad. We started this when it snowed us in last weekend, hoping he would start using the training pad finally. And he did, that night!!! Now, he rarely has an accident, it is almost always on the training pad. That works great for us in Italy! So the other day, I went to check on him after we put him in the space to go potty. He had climbed up on top of his crate and fell asleep. You'll notice he took his favorite toy with him too, his squeaky duck. If only he didn't get scared of jumping down....

You can check out a sketch I did of Brinkley over at my sketch blog, it's at: http://mattsketchpad.blogspot.com/ and here is the permalink: http://mattsketchpad.blogspot.com/2009/04/brinkley-first-sketch.html

Cratetraining Brinkley

Brinkley has done so well at cratetraining. This week we have had to do some of Brinkley's cratetraining in our car. My dad has been in the hospital and so we have had Brinkley in his crate in the car with the windows cracked open. He only had one accident today in about ten opportunities. The accident may have been our fault for getting to the car about thirty minutes too late to check on him. It's hard to believe we have had Brinkley for only four days, he has done so well with his training it seems like we have had him longer.

Housetraining

We've only had Brinkley about three days, but he is already becoming housetrained. Yorkies are pretty intelligent, but known for being stubborn. Brinkley has already becoming really good at going Number 1 and Number 2 outside. I usually stay up late and take him out during the late night hours. Angie takes the morning shift and first thing in the morning. Tonight the problem is there is a thunderstorm. Which means I can't take him out in the rain. I got a plastic tub and laid this stuff down in it called Nature's Miracle. It is supposed to be puppy training pads, but so far it hasn't worked real well. I am hoping it works though, because once we get back to Italy, there may be times that we can't get outside. I mean it's one thing to take him out the front door and onto grass here in Tulsa, it's another thing to leave the apartment, get in an elevator, go down four or five floors, walk through the main entrance to the apartment building, walk at least several feet from the front door and let him go. On top of that it may be raining...so hopefully we will have an alternative.

Brinkley's Second Day

Getting started early with housetraining!


Looking especially dapper in his new sweater.


Here Brinkley is meeting Brandon's new puppy Roo. She is a Morkie, a Yorkie-Maltese mix.


Brinkley was a little shy at first. He's only eight weeks old, you know!


Then off came the sweater and the brawl was on!


Playful puppy fighting is so much fun.


They fought until they got sleepy.


I got sleepy too and laid down next to Brinkley's crate while he slept.

Then a little later, Roo and Brinkley slept next to each other, quickly becoming good friends.

But it didn't take long for the fighting to start again.

Here's Brinkley back at our apartment getting some chow!

Brinkley had a great day meeting new family, going shopping and making puppy friends. Here he is with some of his toys!

Brinkley's First Day

Brinkley sleeps however he wants, including on his back spread out.

Brinkley's crate, his new den.

Brinkley sleeping.

He met his "Uncle" Kevin and promptly went to sleep in his arms.

The little guy was tuckered out, and walked right over and lay across my foot and went to sleep.

Here is Brinkley with Angie when we got home with him for the first time!

Brinkley, Our New Puppy

Tonight we brought home our new puppy. His name is Brinkley and he's a Yorkshire Terrier or known more affectionately as a "Yorkie". He only weighs 2.1 pounds and is eight weeks old. He was born on January 24, 2009. His mother weighs around 5.5 pounds and his father weighs about 5 pounds. That means as an adult he will only be around 5 to 5.5 pounds! We'll be using this blog to keep track of Brinkley and his antics, but also as a way to share pictures of him as he grows! Hope you enjoy getting to know our little guy!