A case of mistaken identity... ?

Hello from "not-so-sunny-FL!" Elisabeth and I will be getting pics up of some of our time here. Until then, I thought I would share a little pet peeve.

On our walks, people love to admire my puppy (naturally :). The first question usually asked is, "Is that a Boxer?" After biting my tongue, I attempt to politely respond with a, "No, he's a Pitbull," which always get the, "Oh! You know, it's all in how you raise them..." Thanks: I'll make a mental note.

Anyway, above is a comparison of a Boxer pup and Roman around the same age. I could see someone mixing those up. Below, is a comparison of Roman and a Boxer pup around the same age. I GUESS I could see how someone MIGHT be able to mix up the two... :)

PPA

Fatso!

As Roman begins to put on the lb's, I think about how difficult (at times :) it is to handle him. I can only imagine how difficult he will be when he gets heavier. Today he weighed in at a whopping 35 lbs. and shows no sign of stopping! We are definitely trying to keep him out the heavyweight division :0 (welterweight will suffice).

PPA

Sleepy Head

This is the first pic that really shows how much Roman is beginning to look like a Pit bull (except for mabye the "big foot" pic). Roman's nose and face are beginning to become more pronounced, and his chest is starting to widen and deepen (and I guess his feet are getting bigger as well :). At any rate, I fear that my denial must find a resting place: my puppy is gone. When I am greeted at the door, it's like getting hit by a small truck! Sleep well crazy pup...

--PPA

Mother May I?!?

Don’t we all remember that game? Haha! That’s exactly what I think of as I think about Roman’s behavior this last week. He does really well for few days, and we feel like we’re making some progress, then the next couple of days are horrible and we’re all at our wit’s end. We literally are taking baby steps in getting Roman trained, but as hard as Peter and I try, Roman is insistent on taking giant steps backwards causing Peter and I to double our efforts to keep him on track. Just when we think we’ve got Roman back on track, he throws in some scissor steps! We’re getting sick of this game and it is now one we shall not be playing with our nieces anytime soon!

--Elisabeth

Sleepy Head

It seems like the only time that I can get decent pics of Roman is when he is either sleepy or asleep! I may do a weekly post entitled "Sleepy Head," but we'll have to wait and see... Till then, here's our sleepy boy.

--PPA

He’s on a Roll!

Yes, the pun was intended! I know, I’m hilarious! So, our Roman is getting very brave in testing our boundaries lately and it’s starting to get old. He just needs to learn what he can and cannot do/have. So, on Saturday Peter and I were in the kitchen talking while I was slicing strawberries and we heard a noise that we’d not heard before, and given Roman’s recent track record, we weren’t about to wait till it happened again. So, off we took in a mad dash to see where Roman could be and what he’d gotten into and we found him coming out of the bathroom into the hallway with a trail of toilet paper behind him. He was quite proud of his new discovery as he pranced around with a piece still in his mouth that we were trying to get away from him, but alas, he ate it. FYI: toilet paper is not “soft and gentle” on puppy’s systems! But, before we could thoroughly reprimand him properly, I had to run and get the camera! Which I’m positive is sending all kinds of mixed messages to poor puppy. Here’s the funny part, it had to happen a few more times before mommy was smart enough to just close the bathroom door! Hey, I’m catching on at least!

--Elisabeth

It Finally Happened!

Okay, so I’ve been really proud of my puppy lately and was going to post that this week about how good he is and he’s not like the typical puppy that tears everything up. . .Well, that was until last week. Roman discovered my rug by the front door, boo hoo. But, as I told Peter, at least it wasn’t expensive, plus, I’ve been preparing myself for the inevitable! I think Peter took it harder than I did, mostly because he didn’t know how I’d react to the news, but it’s fine! For now! I went home that night thinking that the corner would be chewed away, but nope, Roman decided that the dead center of the rug looked pretty tasty to him, so away he went at it. He didn’t chew a hole through it, but snagged it pretty good and tore out lots of really long strings. So now, it doesn’t lay straight, it’s just all bunched up so I trip over it all the time! That’s getting really old! But, at least it still gets the job done for now. We’ll be purchasing a new rug eventually, but not till he’s got the chew thing out of his system.

--Elisabeth

Front Garden

Well, lots of people have been wanting to see what Elisabeth's front garden looks like, so we tried to include Roman in most of the shots. I'll try and get some pics of the vegetable garden next week (older and newer ones).

Separation Anxiety

Roman loves spending time with us, and we like to spend time with him too, but when one of us leaves, he really freaks out and it’s a huge deal for him. He’ll try and run out the front door as we open it and once, he even got his head stuck in the screen door because Peter wasn’t quick enough in closing it! (Roman was in no way hurt during this ordeal, just waited till Peter opened it up for him). He can see out the front doors window when he stands on his back legs, but now he’s finally big enough to look out the big picture window in front. Or, maybe he just realized it was the same view, but a lot less work! Either way, he will sit there and just stare out the window/door waiting for Peter or myself to come back home for like 20 minutes, seriously, really strange, but he thinks he’s accomplishing something! More power to him I say! At least he doesn’t bark the whole time, that would so not be cute!

Elisabeth

Roman and Momma

I finally convinced Elisabeth to get on the floor and play with Roman, and she did, but while he was sleeping! When Roman did wake up, he was pretty lathargic, so I was able to snap a few pics of him and Mommy without him going nuts. Poor guy looks so groogy! Roman has been taking baby steps in obeying us, but he definately has times of complete and utter mischeviousness! When I'm not home, E is usually in the kitchen or cleaning and Roman is pretty content to relax on the kitchen floor or watch Momma clean the house (this of course, is after he runs his needed 15 laps through the interior of the house!). My boy is definately getting bigger :( but what can you do? Well, E will probably post tomorrow or the day after, so look forward to pics of Roman and Momma's garden.

Bye!