PEANUT THE NEW PUPPY!!!

Welcome little Peanut! He's an 8 week old Jack Russell Terrier (Chris and I both had Russells before) and is just the second cutest thing (Kyle being the first, of course). When some clients from the restaurant told us they had a litter of Russells we figured if we ever wanted a dog it was now or never! I am still home with Kyle so I could take the time needed to potty train an 8 week old pup....FUN! All I can say is THANK GOODNESS FOR CRATE TRAINING! It is making potty training and the adjustment to a new home so much easier for us and little Peanut. It goes under the fact that dogs are "den" animals and they will go to long lengths to keep their "den" clean. It also serves as a refuge or "safe place" for the pup. Peanut learned to make full use of his crate for just this purpose in about 2 hours of joining our family. With 3 cats (all much bigger than he) and a toddler to deal with his crate is very important to him. He takes all his naps in it and even sleeps in it at night with little fuss. Unfortunately, an 8 week old pup can only hold his bladder for a max of 4 hours so we still have to get up to take him out to "go shishi" through out the night. We've had a few accidents in the house (to be expected and they were all my fault-I didn't take him out on schedule or on time) but we are getting the hang of it all as we ALL get on a schedule. I removed every single carpet before the pup arrived also so I am just cleaning the hard wood floors-EASY! Right now both Kyle and the pup are napping....it is wonderful! I wish I had known about crate training with Bits. It really works! Anyway, he is adjusting to the family and farm just fine. He loves to chase Kyle all over yard and tries to get the kitties to wrestle with him. Crux, our gray tabby, is proving to be the most tolerant kitty ever! He is the only one of our cats who will actively play with Peanut (and Kyle for that matter)! Note in the pictures it is the pup who is always in the submissive posture to the cat! That cat is a riot. It is nice to have a dog again!