Piston Tugs Daisy

Age: 22 weeks
Weight: 63 pounds

During this visit with the cousins, Piston was feeling a little more sure of himself and decided to take on Daisy playing tug. She hangs on and shakes with the usual JRT gusto! You can actually hear Piston kind of play growl back at her - that's a first for him! I was really impressed with how he'd just pull a little bit. He obviously had the size advantage but matched his play with her very well.

Merry Christmas!

Age: 22 weeks
Weight: 63 pounds

Okay, so we have no cute Christmas pictures with Piston in front of the tree, or with decorations or anything.....but, we thought we should share with you what Piston found for Christmas. It wasn't wrapped or anything, but he was sure it had his name on it!




Yes that's right....another dead pigeon part! See our November "Foul!" post to see his previous treasure!

Turkey Call??

Age: 22 weeks
Weight: 63 pounds

After our walk through PA State Game Lands we think Piston might have really liked the smell of those turkeys! So after getting the squeaker out of one of his toys, he thought he better practice that turkey call!

Fetch in the Snow....Storm?

Age: 21 weeks
Weight: 62 pounds

Piston LOVES the snow....so of course, we had to go out in the SNOW STORM to play fetch! Oh well, at least it was a warm snow and we should hopefully have a white Christmas! :)

I'd like to add that *I* was the one out in the snow while David took photos and video from the comfort of the house!

Click on any of the photos in the slide show above to be taken to the full web gallery.

PS...Today is Piston's 5 Month Birthday! :)

Catch!

Age: 21 weeks
Weight: 62 pounds

Didn't take Piston very long to decide that catch was his new favourite game! Started out with just snowballs - but now he'll jump to try catch anything you throw!

Click on any of the photos in the slide show above to be taken to the full web gallery.

Do Not Disturb!

Age: 21 weeks
Weight: 62 pounds

On top of this just being a silly place to sleep....wanted to show you his colour! Look at his side!! Is that dark grey I see growing through the puppy fuzz??

Not so long ago....he used to be able to fit his whole body back there....but now, only his head!

Skunk Outcross?

Age: 20 weeks
Weight: 59 pounds

Talk about drastic change! Where did all this dark fur come from! Its long and wavy too!!


Piston thought he would blend right in with the carpet....but I think he forgot about his newly aquired stripe!

Run Piston Run!

Age: 19 weeks
Weight: 52 pounds

Piston showing off his cute little run. Love the way he throws his feet!

Walkin in a Winter Wonderland

Age: 18 weeks
Weight: 50 pounds

This was Piston's first real off leash experience! and what a treat it was! Behind Grampa's place is thousands of State Game Land acres! With a foot of fresh snow on the ground we grabbed the camera and off we went! He really was in his element - full of confidence and ready to explore! His nose was loving all the different animal tracks - deer, turkey, squirrel..maybe even some rabbit! We're really pleased with how well he did staying close by and looking when called! It was the first time we were walking where there was no obvious trail for him to figure out where we were going so he'd have to look to us to see which path we'd take through the woods. If he would get too far ahead, we'd just change directions...next thing you knew he was running up behind us. It was a really good experience! Exercise for him and fantastic photos for the wall! :)

Click on any of the photos in the slide show above to be taken to the full web gallery.

Meeting the Cousins!

Age: 18 weeks
Weight: 50 pounds

We took Piston back to the States for the first time since we brought him home. Thought it only fair that he got to celebrate the American Thanksgiving with his new relatives.

Piston got to meet Daisy the Jack Russell Terror..ahem, Terrier. ;) She belongs do David's brother Rick and his family. She is a lean hunting, fetching machine. Piston thought he wanted to play, but all she could focus on was retrieving that toy in classic JRT style! Poor Piston didn't even come close to having a chance what with those big slippers for feet!

Piston also got to meet Jake the Golden Retreiver. He belongs to David's Aunt Cherie and Uncle Tom. He's wasn't so sure he wanted to spend any time with a goofy puppy. He was sure to let Piston know when he was getting a little too close. Once they were outside, Jake was much more tolerant of his want to be shadow. By the end of the weekend, Jake started to relax more and they were able to lay near each other on the floor. Maybe Piston should have offered him his bed! ;)

All in all - it was a good weekend. Even though there were very different sizes and very different energy levels they all got along pretty well. Overall it was a really good experience!

Click on any of the photos in the slide show above to be taken to the full web gallery.

Caught Sleeping Again

Age: Almost 18 weeks
Weight: 47.5 pounds

Another silly sleeping position caught on "film".

Foul!

Age: 4 months (17 weeks)
Weight: 43 pounds

So yesterday we're in visiting my parents like most weekends. We put Piston out in the backyard to let him run around for awhile. We peek outside to see what he's up to and he's running around carrying something looking proud as can be. Looks to me just like a stick with some snow and ice stuck to it so we think nothing about it and go back to our dinner. Throughout the evening he goes in an out a few times, always grabbing something off the porch or he'd spend lots of time nosing around in the middle of the yard. It was really dark out and my parents don't really have any lights in the back of their house. We just figure he found some sort of raccoon sent that my mom's dog used to LOVE.

Anyhow, end of the night before we head home, we put him back out into the yard to go pottie before we start the drive. He runs around for awhile and then goes back to that same spot. We call him in so we can get ready to go.....in he trots with this in his mouth!!!

Just in case you can't tell what it is....it's a pigeon foot!! Its then that my Mom remembers that earlier in the week she looked out into her backyard to see a peregrine falcon "eviscerating" a pigeon. Then they had a little snow the day after and so she had forgotten that the remains were still out there! We then realized that the "stick with the snow" he had been trotting around with was most likely a wing!

Well.....at least he had fun!

What's That On Your Back?

Age: 17 weeks
Weight: 43 pounds

Piston has got the start of the tell-tale sable Shiloh stripe!

4 Months Old

Our Piston is 4 Months old today!

Big Foot Sighting?

Age: 17 weeks
Weight: 43 pounds

David's hand next to Piston's paw print in the snow. After looking at the photo again, we think it might actually be his back foot which seems to be a fair bit smaller than his front foot...either way, still is a big paw for a 4 month old puppy!

My what a big snout you have!

Age: 16 weeks
Weight: 40 pounds

He's starting to loose that little puppy snout...


But he's still got that puppy look to his face :)


By this time...he was starting to lose interest in my photo taking! LOL!

Look Ma, they stay up on their own!

Age: 16 weeks today!
Weight: 39.5 pounds

Piston woke up this morning and decided he didn't want to be a conehead anymore! Must have been all those pig ears he's been eating!

Be sure to check out the Picasa Web Album for more cute photos: Conehead No More!

Cat Chases Dog

Age: 15 weeks
Weight: 36 pounds


We brought Piston into the house wearing his short lead and left him to wander around. Next thing we knew...Boosh was chasing him around. We figure if his tail was any longer, she'd be after that too!

Digging to China?

Age: 15 weeks
Weight: 35 pounds

Some one got into a little bit of trouble in the back yard....

I think you can see the evidence all over his face...well, nose anyway!

Cruising in Comfort

Age: Almost 15 weeks
Weight: 34 pounds

Driving in to see my parents on the weekend has gotten a lot easier for Piston. We just plop his great big bed into the back seat and he's quite comfortable just laying around. He'll will sometimes still get up and move from window to window checking out the world, but for the most part he just ends up going to sleep.

Caught Sleeping

Age: 14 weeks
Weight: 33 pounds

Another strange sleeping choice after a busy afternoon.

First Dusting of Snow

Age: 14 weeks
Weight: 32.5 pounds
We got our first little bit of snow last night! There really wasn't much to phase him and I don't imagine it will stick around very long. He just trotted around the yard checking out all of his usual spots.


I think the snow brings out his coat colour very nicely!

Music Critic? Music Fan?

Age: Almost 14 weeks
Weight: 30.5 pounds

Going through some old MP3 albums and thought I'd play some Aerosmith.... I'm not sure Piston was too keen on the idea...either that or he was just doing his own version of air guitar.

3 Months Old!

Our little puppy is 3 months old today!

New Toy!

Age: Almost 13 weeks
Weight: 26 pounds

As part of my birthday gift, my friend included a new toy for Piston from her dog. (Although, I'm not sure her dog really wanted to see the toy go!)

At first he thought it was just a little too big - but once he realized there were all kinds of little bits to chew on (like the ears, the hat, the broom) he was far more interested! If that weren't enough....he then figured out there was a squeeker in it! Oh boy!

There is also a bunch of photos in the web gallery: New Toy

Playin with the Kitty

Age: 12 weeks
Weight: 25 pounds

So today Boosh (AKA Tank) decided to come out for a visit and check out the new addition to our home. Didn't go quite as well as Piston might have hoped...

Not willing to admit to fear, Boosh decides to try it again. This time taking a slightly more defensive position and determined to stand her ground. Again...Piston is left disappointed once Boosh decides that she's made her point!

Not one to dwell on the negative, Piston takes the opportunity to grab one of the kitties toy mice and happily enjoys chewing it in his cool spot in front of the back door.

I always get a charge out of his bark at the end of the video. He'll always bark at any toy/treat if they happen to make their way out of his reach before he was finished chewing!

To see more of Boosh (Tank) take a peek at her Picasa Web Album: Boosh

Hiccups

Age: 12 weeks
Weight: 24 pounds

Poor Piston just trying to munch on what's left of his pig ear...

Escape Artist and Funny Sleeping Spot!

Age: 12 weeks
Weight: 24 pounds

So this morning, David wakes up and rolls over to look in Piston's crate to greet him....then asks me where he is! I sit up real quick and look in his crate, sure enough....no puppy!! Then we see a little puppy back end hiding behind the crate sound asleep!

We had been hauling the crate downstairs for daytime so he could eat his food in the crate, and then back upstairs at night to sleep in. I guess while carrying the thing upstairs last night the side door must have come unlatched. So sometime in the middle of the night the little puppy realized the door could be pushed open and out he snuck and then stretched out on the carpet.

We had no accidents in the room and he didn't once come over to wake us up. Impressive!

On a side note... here's one of his latest strange napping places:

Water Play

Age: 12 weeks
Weight: 23.8 pounds

Seems our little puppy has a thing for water!

Once the weather gets warm again, and he's had all of his shots I look forward to taking him down to the Grand River! I bet he'd get a real kick out that!

You can tell from the photo above that we had just gotten back from one of our woods walks because of all the little "stick tights" stuck in his fur!

Walking in the woods!

Age: Almost 12 weeks
Weight: 24 pounds

For our daily walks we've been taking Piston to the woods behind our house. There are some wonderful trails through there! You could zig-zag all over the place or find yourself a nice big loop to take. The woods are used for walkers and mountain bikers, so you can find some pretty good single track as well as good double track and then the wide walking trails.

Piston walks pretty good on the leash. We'd walk on the quicker side and that would put him into that lovely trot these dogs are known so well for - this speed would also keep him in a really good heel position.

He was never particularly keen on stopping tho. After about 15 mins of walking we'd stop for a few minutes to let Piston have a "sniff" break the way Cesar suggests. It never seemed to come across as a good thing for Piston. He'd start to whine and fuss and then keep trying to pull on the leash in all different directions like he was saying "lets get moving. enough standing around". Trying to send soothing relaxing vibes wasn't really working. So we'd make him sit (which would often take quite some time before he'd pay enough attention for that) and then once he was in a comfortable sit we'd start again. (Didn't want to give him the message that his whining and pulling was what made the decision to start walking again).
After the walk....he sure was all tuckered out!

As usual, we have a bunch more photos in the Picasa Web Album: Woods Walk

We've got a Conehead!!

Age: Still 11 weeks (But almost to 12 weeks)
Weight: 22.6 pounds

He just couldn't wait any longer! He needed to get those ears up so he could REALLY hear what we were up to!

Don't forget to checkout the Picasa Web Album for all the extra cute photos: Conehead!

Ears are coming up!

Age: 11 weeks
Weight: 22 pounds

He's been home just a few days and those fuzzy little ears are starting to come up! Ma(Shiloh) said they were nice small ears and so they'd be up in no time! Boy, she wasn't kidding!

Okay, Okay....we're just foolin! His ears aren't that far up yet, they just come all the way up when he leans his head back to look up at us. The flop back down soon after.

That being said, he is carrying them higher than just a few days ago. So we could still be getting close!

First few nights and days at home!

Age: 11 Weeks
Weight: 22 Pounds

First night went surprizingly well!! He slept quite comfortably in his crate. He really only whined for a moment or two off and on throughout the night. Nothing serious though. He'd usually complain a litlte bit, shift his position and then head back to sleep or chew on the pigs ear we gave him. Because of the renovations we are doing around the house, we are actually just sleeping on a mattress on the floor - so that put us really close to the crate and maybe that's what helped make it easier.

The next night was even better! He slept soundly all night through! Never made a peep! Wow!! Maybe this is one of the advantages of taking home an older puppy! Either that or we've found a dog that can sleep as hard and as soundly as I can!!

Daytime has been fun! We've done a fair bit of romping around outdoors. He's certainly not a real high energy, go getter puppy - but we like him that way. He's quite content to munch on a toy or stick for quite some time before deciding there might be something more interesting on the other side of the yard.

MaShiloh was right...he is a talker!

Also take a peek at our Picasa Web Album for more photos: Playin Outside

Piston's First Bath

Just after dinner at my parents place we thought it would be a good idea to give Piston his first bath! I can remember reading/hearing somewhere that it's always a good idea to give a puppy a bath as soon as you can after taking them from their litter mates. That way you are sure that you get rid of their scent and he wont be as inclined to miss them. Out of scent, out of mind I guess?

Anyhow, Mom's got a bathtub with the hand held shower in the basement. It rarely gets used so no need to worry about getting it messy! I was surprised at the amount of dirt that came out of what looked to be a pretty clean puppy!

All in all, the bath went quite smoothly - just some whimpering and whining but not too much fight After the bath he adjusted quite well and didn't hold a grudge - must have been the treats!

We've posted the photos to our Picasa Web Album: Piston's First Bath