Batman sleeping on a rainy day

This weekend was still rainy therefore batman has not been able to get much exercise. I also was looking after Rusko my friends puppy and Batman's best friend. So it was hard to organize my schedule to make sure Batman and Rusko were walked and fed though out the day. The first day I took care of Rusko there was a time in which it wasn't raining so I got Batman and Rusko together to play. Although, after playing they got muddy and smelt bad.

This week is expected to be sunny and beautiful so I will be making sure Batman is able to run around outside. Also, Batman will be spending this coming weekend with my sister and her great dane, Zeus. they have spent a good amount of time together so they should be fine for the weekend and Batman is going to love seeing Zeus.

This weekend I was away for all of Saturday and Sunday, therefore Batman started acting up and always trying to get attention and wanting to play. Times such as this when Batman has not been able to be off his leash and run around with other dogs he tends to get in a mood. Luckily it wasn't raining on monday and he was able to run around with his good friend, Rusko. Althoughit has been raining today and yesterday, and predicted to tomorrow as well. So I am starting to see Batman getting irritated that he has to be inside all day.

I was able to clam him down for a
picture after his bath

Yesterday I gave Batman a bath. It was long overdue and now he is soft and smell much better. Although, I feel bad giving baths to him he doesn't like them and puts his tail between his legs and seems very nervous. Therefore I try and give him quick baths and dry him off as fast as possible. After his bath and I let him out of the bathroom he goes crazy and runs around my entire place, doing laps in and out of every room.

Batman has been very good, he has gotten a lot of exercise and socialization with other dogs. Yesterday was beautiful and sunny out,  Batman was able to play with five other dogs, including his good friends Rusko and Milo. As well as, other dogs that live in the area, who are Bear, Sasha, and Marley. Batman had a great time and always love to see friends and meet new ones. He especially likes bear, who is a year and a half old black lab.


Now that the weather is heating up and the sun is out, Batman gets very tired easily. Batman's black coat absorbs a lot of sunlight and gets him very tired, which is nice because he gets even more tired and will sleep in longer the next morning. This morning i woke up at 12 and was surprised to wake up and see Batman asleep at the foot of my bed. Usually Batman wakes up around 8a.m and will cry and beg for me to wake up, as well as trying to take my blankets off of me.

I have come to realize that I have been slacking in teaching Batman new commands and tricks. I still practice the commands he knows when giving him food and treats, but he has gotten very good at them and now needs a challenge. Therefore, for the next week my goal is to tech Batman new commands/tricks, such as rollover and learning to fetch.

Batman has had a great week we went to visit his cousin Zeus again and they seemed a lot more comfortable with each other now. Zeus still gets annoyed if batman doesn't let him rest after a while of playing, but he is gentle when playing with Batman.

Nala

Milo and Batman chasing Nala

Almost everyday I try to organize a puppy playdate for batman so that he is able to socialize with other dogs, as well as getting  a great exercise in. Especially on Fridays and Saturdays when I stay out late at night I try to let him get a few hours to play outside. This past weekend Batman was able to play with his friends, Milo and Nala. They have a great time playing with the frisbee, tennis balls, and sticks.
Letting batman play and get tired before I go out at night not only is great for him but it also puts my mind to ease. When I do not have time to let Batman exercise a lot I feel bad and he is usually awake and ready to play when I get home late at night and I just want to sleep.

Milo

Batman

One thing I plan on doing his next puppy playdate is to work on his command, "Come". He is great at responding when alone in my room but when he is outside and with other dogs he has trouble hearing and responding to me. Therefore, his next playdate I will bring treats with me and every once in a while I will call for Batman and give him a treat (reward).

Batman got to spend the weekend with his cousin, Zeus. I was away for the weekend so my sister looked after him. He had a great time and was able to get to know Zeus more. Zeus is usually not a vocal dog, being a great dane he is very calm and lazy, but with Batman he is constantly rolling around and barking at him. Batman seemed like he had a great time and he wore out Zeus.

From what my sister has told me Batman behaved well and didn't go to the bathroom indoors. Although, a few hours before I picked him up while my sister was walking Zeus batman got into the pantry where Zeus' food is kept. When my sister walked in the door Batman was inside the food bin.

This week I have started to train batman to fetch a frisbee. I play Ultimate Frisbee for HPU and would like Batman to learn to catch and return a frisbee. In the past playing fetch has been a struggle for Batman but he seems to enjoy the frisbee. It is very entertaining watch him bring the frisbee back because it is slightly too big for him. So when he brings the disc back to me it covers his face so he can't see where he is going or he trips over it with his front paws.

enjoying a car ride
with my aunt

This past week for Batman has been an exciting week as well as a learning experience. This past week was spring break and luckily my aunt was able look after him. My Aunt is an animal conservationist and has been working with animals for over a couple of decades including wild animals, as well as trained/owned/rescued seven border collies in her life thus far. Therefore she is a very trusting person to leave batman with. My cousins and uncle would also help. My cousins already have a dog walking business with the people in their neighborhood, so Batman was easily able to be added to their schedule and get walks regularly, as well as times to train and people to keep him company. While with my aunt, batman was able to get a lot of socialization with other dogs of all ages. He was able to meet all the dogs in the neighborhood, as well as occasionally being brought to a friend's doggy daycare.

One of batman's new friends

All during spring break I was missing him and wishing he could be with me at the beach. But he had a great time with my family. I went to pick him up this past friday, my aunt and everyone were out of the house so I was able to let batman out of his crate and surprise him. When he saw me he went crazy and started jumping up and down is his crate and barking. When I let him out he made this mix of a cry and grunting sound, while circling around and through my legs.

Tired after daycare

Enjoying sunny NC

Now back at school Batman is back to my schedule and sadly won't get as much attention because I have classes and at my aunts there is always someone in the house. Although, the past few days have been beautiful and batman and I have been able to enjoy this past few days outside in this nice 70 degrees and sunny weather.

With midterms and other work piling up, I haven't been able to organize a puppy playdate for Batman. Although we have taken several walks and I have played fetch with him and let him run around in the backyards of HPU's North college town homes.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, it was in the 50s therefore, even though I had work I brought batman outside and let him play we tried to play fetch although batman has yet to understand how to play fetch with a tennis ball. He will chase after it then once he gets to the ball he sprints around it and comes back to me with out it, and his face looks as if he thinks he did the right thing. After attempting to play fetch with the tennis ball for a while Batman found a stick and I decided to see if he would play fetch with that, oddly enough Batman brought the stick back and dropped it at my feet.

While playing outside yesterday I also worked with Batman on his command, "Come". I've been wanting to work on this because whenever Batman is outside and/or playing with other pups he has a hard time listening.  Therefore, I brought treats with me and would let Batman roam around, then say the "Come!" and if we would I would give him a treat. After, awhile of being outside and practicing the command I saw major improvement. I will now continue to do this and then hopefully the next time Batman has a puppy playdate he will listen.

Caught batman with a drool bubble

At the end of this week HPU's Spring break will start and I will be traveling to my aunts to have her look after Batman for the week. This will be the longest I will be without Batman and it will be a test/learning opportunity for Batman. This next week without me will help him learn to respond to others as well as being comfortable with others without me being there.




                                             

Batman has experienced his first real snow this week. While at home during break Batman was not able to experience more than an inch or two of snow. Although, last night it snowed about six to eight inches and batman loves it.
When I walked batman this morning he went crazy trying to figure out what he was stepping in. Later in the day Rusko came over and we let them run around in the back of HPU's townhomes. A few other dogs came out to play as well. By far Batman had one of the greatest days of his life so far. He was able to play with new dogs, play with friends, and experience an entirely new environment.
Days such as this is why I appreciate living in a dog friendly neighborhood that HPU has created and letting Batman learn to play with new and multiple dogs.
Days such as this also force me to think about Batman's living situation after graduation and what I must find to keep Batman socializing with other dogs and stay active.

Batman has had a relaxing week due to the weather. Although after the snow, Batman and Rusko were able to play together and get all their energy out. They had a great time playing and sliding around in the snow.

Even though Batman had a fairly relaxing week my good friend from home has been here visiting and has kept batman company while I'm in class. Batman hates being alone and especially hates being left in the create or his "Bat cave". So having my friend here made him happy and more relaxed. Having my friend be here has let me find out more how he acts when I am not around. When I left my friend with Batman he said that he couldn't get Batman to get off his dog bed. Therefore I think I must start to leave Batman with other people more so that he learns to listen to others and feel more relaxed when I am not there.

This week was not very eventful but I was able to learn more about batman and some things he needs to work on.

Batman had a great weekend because he was able to see my mom and sister during parents weekend whom he loves, as well as playing with his friend, Rusko. My mom has not seen Batman since christmas and was shocked at how big he has gotten, as well as his improvement with his training. Although, as soon as my mom arrived it was hard for Batman to listen and behave because he was exploding with excitement. He jumped on my mom and constantly begged for attention and licking her face. To work off all the excitement I called up my friend Paul to bring Rusko over and let them play. They had a great time and another puppy came out to play as well, named Milo. Milo is small 4 month old mix of several unknown breeds, but is cute  and loves to play with Rusko and Batman. Batman enjoys playing with Milo because he is smaller and Batman is able to catch up to him, unlike Rusko who is an Australian Shepherd and is very fast. Therefore Batman tends to give up chasing Rusko and goes after Milo.

While my mom was here we often talked about the experience of raising a puppy in a college environment. I believe that the residence that I live in and it's environment is great. I am fortunate that I have an entire town home to myself that I am able to maintain and make sure it is a suitable living area for a puppy. This way I do not have to worry about roommates leaving food and other things that could harm Batman. As well as not feeling guilt after Batman breaks something that is not mine. Also, HPU has created a great complex for dogs, that include waste baskets and partially enclosed area where all dogs can play without the risk of running away. In addition, having the easy availability of other dogs  for Batman to interact with has given him the chance to learn how to play with all types of dogs. As well as not reacting badly when introduced to a new person.
On the other hand there are environments in college in which puppies should not be raised in. Puppies need a safe, clean, and spacious environment. I have heard many stories of students that try and raise a puppy in a dorm. This is a terrible environment because it is often a loud environment, as well as often dirty. Another problem with raising a puppy in a dorm is that puppies are not allowed in dorms, therefore students often get caught and are forced to find a new home for the puppy. After a puppy gets caught what usually happens is that the puppy gets moved from dorm-to-dorm and have several owners, which will stress the puppy out and could cause problems and fears for them in the future.
Having my mom come visit was great, Batman was extremely happy to see her and Batman was able to get a new bed, which he loves. (Thanks mom)

Batman has recently turned five months old and about 30 lbs. I have continued to practice all of his commands and he has become very responsive to all commands/tricks including sit, stay, lay down, come, leave it, and paw/other paw. As well as being potty trained, he has not gone to the bathroom in the house since back in CT, in early January. Also, I have also been able to leave him for longer hours of the day. The longest I will leave him will be around 4 hours and even when I leave him for a little longer he has been great at waiting until I come home to be let out.

This past weekend Batman met his cousin ZEUS, Zeus is my sister and boyfriend's seven year old Great Dane that is 160 lbs. This had been an introduction that my sister and I have been looking forward to since I adopted Batman. Although at the same time we were both just hoping they will get along, considering Zeus is five times Batman's weight and could probably eat batman in one bite if Zeus wanted (or strike batman with the wrath of a lightning bolt). Although, overall the introduction went great. We brought them to the dog park in my sisters apartment complex and let the run around and play together. It was very entertaining because Batman would be sprinting as fast as he can after Zeus or running away, and Zeus would catch up to him in a few strides because he is so tall and has such long legs. After playing for a little Batman came over to me and I noticed that he looked like he just took a bath. This was because Zeus enjoyed wrapping his jaw around Batman's entire body and would drool all over his back. Although the played great for a little after a while, Zeus got tired of Batman and wanted nothing to do with him. But Batman would continue to try and would lick his face a jump on him. Which Zeus did not like and would bark at Batman and Batman would bark back and run under the tables and chairs to hide. Even though after a while Zeus got tired and annoyed by Batman, I would say the introduction was a success. My sister, her boyfriend, and I concluded that Zeus is just old , especially for a great dane and just doesn't have the energy and patience for a puppy, as well as great danes are typically very relaxed and mellow dogs.

Here are pictures of Batman and Zeus on Christmas.

A few weeks after adopting Batman we drove ten hours back home to CT. Batman luckily is great co-pilot and doesn't get car sick. He just enjoys the view out the window or sleeps.

My family has never owned a dog before so my parents were skeptical about having a puppy in the house, only because they were worried about him breaking things and using the entire house as a bathroom. Although all that changed when my parents received a full attack of love from batman when we got home.

It only took a day for my family to fall in love with batman and as days and weeks went by my parents could stop raving about how well trained, calm, and lovable Batman is.

Within the first month of having batman between him being three and four months old, Batman was able to learn the commands, come, sit, stay, lay down, leave it, and paw. As well as rarely going to the bathroom in the house, while home for four weeks Batman only went to the bathroom in the house about six times.

While home I found it hard to find places where I could trust batman off his leash without running away.  therefore, my dad and I ran a rope the distance of my backyard tying it from a tree to the back fence and attached the leash to the rope with a carabiner. It was great he was able to play fetch outside and explore the entire backyard, I plan on using it more when I go home.

Now back at school Batman is able to play more with other dogs his age. His best friend is an australian shepherd and pitbull mix named Rusko. My friend Paul is Rusko's owner and we take them to closed in areas at school where they can chase each other and fight over toys and sticks.

Since Rusko is 2 months older and Shepherds have a lot of energy Batman usually gets tired before Batman. Here is a picture with Rusko sitting on Batman, while Batman is trying to rest after playing for several hours.

I will be writing again next week with funny stories and new adventures and experiences with Batman.

I recently adopted a black lab and retriever mix puppy from the Guilford County Animal Shelter in Greensboro, NC in November.

My roommate Nick and I decided to go to the animal shelter to look dogs with the possibility of getting one. Upon arrival we could hear many dogs barking constantly. We went inside the building where the staff directed us to the back of the building with two separate warehouse size rooms each with several rows of cages with all types of dogs of all ages. When entering the room we could hear music playing over the loud barks of all the dogs, in which we could not help to relate this sad music that was playing to the Sarah Mclachlan commercials. It was already hard not to feel bad for these dogs being in these cages on a cold gray concrete floor, but hearing the music drenched me with sadness for these animals as well as pressuring me to adopt all of them.

We walked though each row until coming to one of the last few cages, we come across two brother and sister labs curled up together, Nick and I asked immediately to take them outside to play with them. After playing with the two puppies for just a few minutes I new I wanted one. Sadly I couldn’t get both and had to choose between the two, therefore I decided to adopt the male lab named BATMAN!!

Since then I have never been happier, as well as being organized and together. Batman has changed my life for the better thus far and I have only had him for just over a month.