Kobe the Desk Monster Pounces on Unsuspecting Prey

What could be easier than living the pampered life of a dog in a middle-class neighborhood? My dogs are spoiled rotten. They get good food, lots of attention, swimming lessons in the pool…. What more could a dog ask for?

Kobe (the bulldog-mastif mix my son brought home in February) is now five months old, and as big as a (baby) horse! Well, pushing 60 lbs and certainly a handful. He’s getting so big that I forget the telltale signs that he needs to go to the bathroom, thus the few times I’ve had to clean up poop in the living room this week. I take him outside, and he is so distracted with everything else he could do, that he forgets and later the door is shut (it’s getting warm and humid out!) — I need to remember he’s still a puppy and doesn’t have this all figured out like the big dogs!

I try to be very caring and play with Kobe, but I am expecting he can occupy himself more than when he was 7-weeks old! How quickly I forget he’s only 5 months old – although when you see him, you might make the same mistake. It seems like the past three months has really been six, but alas, he’s about 21-weeks old as of tomorrow, and he’s still teething (this time it’s the big teeth coming in!) and learning the ropes.

Speaking of learning, Kobe has been spending a lot of time in the pool on the weekend. He and Tanner both love swimming, and Kobe is now brave enough to dive in the pool from the top step, to recover a floating toy, just like Uncle Tanner! (Tanner is my soon to turn 11 year old chocolate lab.) He really enjoys the water. In fact, he is enjoying life altogether. I do feel bad when I have to leave him for a long day in the kennel (which is getting smaller and smaller in comparison to his size) – but, until he can be left alone and won’t poop all over or chew up very expensive couch cushions, he needs to stay in his little hotel for one. Maybe I can find a way to let him spend the day in the dining room, where his mess will be easier to clean.

I’m also a bit annoyed that he can’t back off and give the old dogs some more room. Likewise, the old dogs need to loosen up and not snap at him. A couple weeks back, Kobe got a split lip from Tanner snapping at him, and today he got a bruise and scratch to the head from one of the other dogs. He isn’t likely to be injured seriously, but as soon as you assume that, some dog’s got another dog’s eyeball in his mouth! Well, let’s hope not.

Meanwhile, Kobe continues to grow, and eat everything he can find, from clods of dirt, to plastic and wicker baskets. He is a little less manic all the time, but he’s still a puppy, and has a lot of growing up left to do!

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