Some first experiences for the Jelly Dawg

Some First Experiences for the Jelly Dawg

Brandon

Jelly is off to a great start! He has effectively learned to sit and come (Jelly responding to come only occurs sometimes). His crate training is spot on and he has only had limited accidents in the house, mainly only when Ashley or I fail to take him outside. This dog is very intelligent and at some points I wonder if he is trying to out think me in some ways. Over the last few days we have had the pleasure of experiencing some firsts with Jelly. 

-Jelly has his nails clipped. 

        Imagine, if you can, the most wild animal that you can think of. The first thought that comes to mind is a wolf. This could be because of my tenure at NC State, but I like to think the wolf is one of the most wild animals out there. Now imagine that you are trying to hold that animal in your arms. How do you think that would work for you? Well, Ashley braved that first experience. Ashley had bought a pair of doggy nail clippers with the idea to take out Jelly's main weapon.... razor like puppy claws. Ashley lured Jelly to her by sitting in the middle of his play area. She picked him up and whispered sweet puppy secrets in his ear and showered him with love. She then began to hold him in her lap which he wasn't fully against. Next she started picking up his paws and snipping his toe nails. He found that this was not necessarily as appealing as romping around. His mind was saying, "Wiggle like there is no tomorrow.... Escape!"  What would be the best way to make this animal sit still? Some sort of food or better yet a bully stick! Well, we guiltily gave Jelly the treat in hopes of distracting him. There is only one problem with this solution and that is the basis of all problems Jelly runs into.... Puppy power. What is puppy power you ask? Well that is a puppies distinct ability to play with any and everything that they come into contact with. We gave him a chew toy and he decides he wants to drop it and throw it. He did anything he could to play with that chew. This nail clipping took roughly 10 or 15 minutes to achieve full clippage. 

-Jelly goes to the vet

      We took Jelly to the vet on Monday which to most dogs is the bain of their existence. Jelly being his rambunctious self was not scared one bit. Instead he wanted to explore this strange place. After all, we made him ride in the devils chariot to arrive here. I say "devils chariot" because I feel that Jelly has negatively associated the car with being taken away from his mother. He wiggled, shook, jumped, and any other movements that you can describe from a puppy. Finally they called Jelly's name and it was time for him to be examined. We took him into the small consulting room and placed him on the cold metal table. The vet's assistant began to feel Jelly's skin and legs along with some other routine practices. Now lets get back to that wild animal concept that I have previously discussed. The vet assistant decided to attempt to take Jelly's pulse. This was inherently doomed to fail because Jelly and the words sit still do not exist in any sort of  relationship. Finally she just picked him up and then held him until she had the information that she wanted. Now it was time for the vet to come in and answer all of the questions we had about the care of this puppy. Fist question was mainly about what kind of food do we give him? What brands do we stay away from? What ingredients should we try to stay away from? His answer was basically do not buy anything from a grocery store. He said you have to stay away from soy and wheat due to the allergies associated with those two ingredients. Golden Retrievers are pre-disposed to allergies due to their genetics, however we don't have that breed of dog! We have a Goldendoodle only recognized by the AKC as a mutt! The genetics are in our favor in that aspect because of hybrid vigor. During the vets conversation with us, Jelly had to find a way to amuse himself so he found two PVC covered drains in the floor. Jelly took his curiosity to a much deeper level by proceeding to chew the drains. Jelly was very healthy all the way to the end of the exam when he got back stool results showing that he had some worms. With a few doses of medicine we took our leave from the vet for a quick ride in the devils chariot to get home.

-Jelly gets his first food purchase

       Armed with the information that the vet gave me I was ready to purchase some Jelly food! I avoided any and all grocery stores along the path home and found myself winding up at the Pet Place in Boone. I narrowed my food selection down to two choices. I was torn between two brands, Blue Buffalo Large breed and Taste of the Wild. I chose Taste of the Wild because of the higher nutrient loads. Now to choose a Jelly Dawg flavor! We have salmon and a combo of venison and bison....... Being pressured to hurry up by Ashley and not knowing exactly what Jelly liked I bought both and mixed them in my dog food bin! Giving Jelly a sample of both he decided he loved it, which was an achievement in my book.