Sorry I haven't been around for a while... my life has been so hectic!
I finally decided my life would not be complete until I got a dog. So last week, I went out and added a beautiful Samoyed boy to the crew. That puts the count at 1 dog, 5 cats, two fish tanks, and two parakeets. He is a beautiful, 3-month-old fairly well behaved ball of fluff who is coming along nicely with the crate training and housebreaking, and learned to sit in one day and lay down in two - he is such a beautiful, smart baby.
But boy, can he bark! We are trying to get him used to being in his kennel for a few hours during the day so he won't have to be in his crate while we are at work. I currently have two unemployed roommates, so someone CAN be with him 24/7 - but hopefully that will change soon as they find jobs so we are trying to get that issue solved now. He barks from the very second he goes in the kennel until we take him out. It is 10x10, so it isn't tiny, and there is water and toys as well as a dog house. Plenty of shade all day long, too. We have learned not to release him until he is quiet, so he shuts up as soon as he sees one of us and stays quiet for at least a little while, but if he can't see us or we don't let him out right away he starts right up again. His other trick is to start barking in his crate at 5 am to wake us up - we are trying to move that forward by not letting him out until 6 am - we are currently at 5:30. At first I thought it might be a bathroom issue, but he doesn't go right away so I KNOW he could hold out for at least another half hour.
Anyway, he gets all the love and attention he could possibly ask for, but refuses to be left alone for even one second without barking incessantly. Any clues? My neighbors are currently being patient because I explained he was a puppy-in-training, but I don't know how long that will last.
Anyway, here is a picture of Mishik - AKA SnoWhite's Diamond Frost.
