Bailey paddling for dear life

We wanted to see if Bailey can swim so we figured a hot tub is a safe and warm place to try it out. So the outcome is that Bailey can swim but he was definitely scared and swimming for his dear life. I feel a little guilty about tossing him in the tub afterwards. I hope he would not be fearful of the water after this experience.

Bailey's new love .... Flossies

Between 5mths to 6mths is when puppies have a need to chew because they are switching from their set of baby teeth to adult ones. We have been giving him those pencil like raw hide sticks which he loves, however he goes through a stick in 15 mins. As we were at the local pet store to get him some more, we learned that those raw hide which is what those sticks were made off is very bad for their digestive system. They are difficlut to process, and too much accumulation in their intestines can cause problems. So is is suggested that you stick to natural chews like bones, beef tendons. I think beef tendons are the best since it is lower in fat compared to all the pig ears and piggy related products. So this is Bailey's new found love ....

I had to get him this tendon, it was just too funny. Sorry mom :).

All the slippers at home are happier after Bailey found "Flossies" tendon. Bailey completely ignores the slipper we purposely lay beside him. He would be all over it before.



Here are some pictures of other great chew products, a real bone and bully stick which is also a cow's penis! but they are completely digestible.

Bailey's 2006 christmas stocking

Bailey is so spoiled. He got 2 new outfits today. Aunty Pei Sun and Uncle Choon got Bailey his very own Christmas stocking. How cool is that. What's cooler is inside the stocking, is a smart looking wool jacket with gold buttons. He looks so handsome and boyish in it. Woof woof Bailey thanking Aunty Pei Sun and Uncle Choon.







Mommy also bought Bailey a red turtle neck sweater today because he was such a good boy. He snuggled up with me on the couch all day while I work on the computer. He is looking all metro sexual now.

What to feed the baby?

We started Bailey off with Eukanuba lamb and rice dry food, but we found his mouth kind of foul and quickly infused his coat with the smell from liking himself. We were told that Science Diet smelled better, so we switched. However, reading the ingredient in detail we found Science Diet to contain predominantly corn meal, chicken byproduct meal, soy bean meal, and animal fat. That just does not sound very healthy for a top of the line premium dog food. In addition, dried beet pulp was one of the ingredient in Eukanuba and Science Diet and it stains his beautiful white beard. So we were on a quest to find an alternative dog food brand that would be healthier.
We finally found it, something healthier and no beet. It was introduced by Bailey's teacher. It is by a company called Natura Pet Products (based in Santa Clara, CA), and it's called Innova Puppy food. The 4 main ingredients are Turkey, Chicken, Barley, Brown Rice. The other ingredients are cottage cheese, tomato, sunflower oil, flex seed, potatoes, herring, carrots, apples, alfalfa sprouts, garlic and egg. The beet pulp which works as a stool hardening agent is substituted with chicory root which does not stain! All the ingredients sounds so yummy. We are quite happy with the results, his breath and poop is less stinky. Hurray pooper scoopers

Terror in school:

So we took Bailey to puppy school this past Sunday. We now know for sure he's got some terrier mix in him after all. He was terrorizing all the other puppies. But, it was fun to see all the young pups at play. We were taught how teach the pups sit, down and roll. Bailey does it now but still needs treats. He is basically working for food.

Here is a video of a retriever, poodle mix pup playing with Bailey.

He fetches...

Bailey can fetch now... Sorta, he still gets distracted and forgets what he was doing but 3 to 4 times in a roll is pretty good.

Celebrity moment

The weirdest thing happened yesterday when I was taking Bailey for his walk around the neighborhood. Some lady stopped me from across the street and asked if my dog was Bailey. Being 9 o'clock in the morning, I was a little a bit sleepy and confused. I am thinking, she not reading my blog is she. Wholly crap the web is more powerful then I thought. It turns out that she saw Bailey when I took him to the vet the day before in Los Altos and remembered the encountered. It was just weird to have someone you don't know to recognize your dog.

Visit to the vet

Lynn took Bailey to the vet on Wednesday to get this first check up. Everything seems a normal except Bailey appears to be a bit chubby to the vet. And we were worried that he wasn't eating enough.

Along with the last vaccination and de-worming shot. Our doggy is a now a druggie. Bailey got some flea and de-worm medication. The whopping cost of the drugs $100. Ridiculous. I get the feeling thats how the vet makes money.

Lessons learned

At last, there is some progress. Bailey has gotten better at not biting at people. I guess the flicking the nose thing does work. I kinda feel bad to hit that cute nose of his though. Bailey also learned how to sit. It doesn't work always but we are very excited when it does. Now, if only I can get him to go into his crate without any fuss. He's so smart that he leaves a leg or two out so I can't shut the door on him.

Bailey is not the only one learning. I am learning that being a pooper scooper is not all that bad. Maybe I am just a softy for the little rascal. Either way, I am happier with him around dispite all the work required. Maybe it is part of giving and recieving. We now get up early every morning and have breakfast togther. That rarely happened before Bailey. I am thankful for that. It is kinda nice.

Bailey pictures

Here are some pictures of Bailey. We only have a few pictures for now. Too busy playing and taking care of him. Will add more

Click on the picture below to see the album.

Bailey

First week with Bailey

First week was a real test to our parenting skills. I was learning how to accommodate Bailey's needs with our daily schedule and routine. Bailey will not fail to wake us up at 7 am every morning to let him out to the yard to potty. I was not used to starting my day this early, but I guess Bailey trained us pretty quickly. Being an inexperience mom, I was over reacting to all the small details and making many trips to the pet shop. I was trying too hard. I went into a post puppy confusion quickly.. to question if this is want I wanted. With support from Jack, who strongly believe we could handle this together. We have decided that Bailey will be with us for the long haul.

I am glad with my decision, as he brings a lot of joy to the both of us. He is almost potty trained, only barks when he needs to go potty. He always overflowing with energy when we take him out to play. We quickly learn to bribe him with doggie treats with traning excercise. There is a biting issue that we need to address next, was told by the breeder to flick him on the nose when he tries to bite.

New addition to the family.

We have a new addition to our family. Introducing Bailey, a miniature schnauzer (雪納瑞) born on July, 16th 2006. We picked up Bailey from a top breeder in Tracy on Lynn's birthday this past Wednesday. He had such a sweet temperament and ears so large that I was tempted to call him Dumbo. When he runs he kinda resembles a rabbit because of his years. His sweet temperament did not last to long as he got accustomed to being home. Day by day his puppy instincts came out. Now he is biting, chewing, jumping. I guess my ideal TV chill dog will have to wait until he grows up a bit.