Good Job Mylo

Today Mylo, Tucker, Meg, Dan and I went to bloomingdales. Mylo does wonderfully out there. He walks off leash and listens very well to me which is a blessing to us both. 

Mylo is a very energetic dog who needs lots and lots of play time. Bloomingdales is wonderful for that because they have trails to walk and ponds to swim. Also I have begun letting Mylo walk home from the crescent on his own during walks. Its not far, only 5 minutes from our house and I still keep the leash on so that if he were to run I could hopefully step on the leash and stop him. Luckily I haven't had to do that because he walks great! He even stops and sits at the corners before crossing the street. Mylo even walks straight into the house with out me pulling or holding on. 

I am so proud. Mylo's getting so much better! I just had to brag. Way to go Mylo! He has come so far! 

Must love dogs.

Before I had a puppy, I always wondered.. Why do people like dogs??

Although Im still not a huge dog person, having Mylo and loving it makes me realize what there is to love about dogs.

Dogs never hold a grudge, you could leave them for the weekend with a friend and they may be sad at first or even grumpy when you first get home in no time they are jumping up at you giving kisses with that tail wagging in the background.

Also who is always happy to see you when you get home? My Dog! He's not grumpy cuz he had a bad day at work, or cause he got no sleep. He's racing around the house ecstatic that you are finally there! 

And when you are tired, sleeping or just had a rough day? Mylo is there to just lay beside you and let you pet him or sleep too. 

Those must be the reasons to must love dogs.

Mylo at the cottage

This past holiday weekend Chris and I went up to April's cottage for a few days. 

We brought a long with us .. MYLO!

He enjoyed himself soo much. He loved playing with Kyla and swimming in the water. 

I think he did pretty well for a crazy puppy beinging in a strange place. 

Mylo is a swimmer!

Last week while Chris and I were on vacation we took Mylo up to Bloomingdales. Its a little conservation area with a bunch of trees and a lake. 

We were impressed with how well Mylo did off his leash. He stayed with us the whole time. 

But the funniest part was him and the water. There were at least 7 other dogs there going in to the lake and swimming. Mylo would only go as far as he could still be standing. Luckily Chris' aunt brought a ball and we would throw it into the water and mylo would retrieve it. 

At first he would wait till it waded closer to shore then slowly he would go a bit further to get the ball but when he would swim he was splashing like crazy, panicking to get back to shore.

Happily though, by the time we left Mylo realized that he could swim and that there was no need to panic and swam gracefully in the water.

Mylo Graduates

So Mylo has graduated from beginners obedience. He wasn't "TOP DOG" but he did come in second place. (Only because Mylo and Chenga were the only two dogs that showed for evaluation) But he still did FANTASTIC. He scored 44.5 out of 50. 

YAY MYLO!!

We are taking a short break before we continue on with training.  The next class started tomorrow and that was too early and its my birthday so Chris and I wouldnt be going. So the end of August Mylo will be in intermediate obedience.  

Very Polite

Last night Tim and Mary came over to our place for dinner. 

I was a little worried about how Mylo would react to having people over in our house since he's still getting used to it, but I must say he was GREAT.

He barely pounced on Mary or Tim and this was the first time meeting them. Then he left them pretty much alone while we hung out in the living room

We decided to eat downstairs away from Mylo since he definitely would've been begging for food and I dont think that nice expecially when we have company. 

I think we are making progress and hopefully it won't bother Mylo one bit when we have company. It's just going to get him used to having people over.

A new look.

So yesterday while Chris was walking Mylo, Mylo decided to eat his leash. (He gets nervous and starts to chew on the leash when he's to close to another dog on his walks) 

Chris went out today and bought him a new leash which is blue. We've had this blue collar for a while just as an extra so we thought we'd throw it on to match his new leash. 

Mylo has a new look for the summer.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 Also the quick change to this hot weather has not been great for Mylo. He gets tuckered out so fast on our walks in this heat. I feel bad for the poor guy. We keep his walks short during the day. He needs to go out for a pee. In the evenings is when we've started taking him for his long walks. Its not as hot, and the sun's not beating down on his black fur.

Patience is a virtue... and a hard thing to have sometimes

Mylo has been driving Chris up the wall lately.  It's funny how things have switched. Mylo used to be the one driving me bonkers. Mylo ate our couch, our window sill, part of our stairs and baseboards which are a few things that drove me to tears in the beginning. 

Now I have learned that 

1) the dog can't be caged cause he's hoodini and gets out while its locked. (the cage is still locked once he comes out) 

2) He's not so horrible now as in the beginning

and 

3) Its just stuff that can all be replaced. (eventually - we arent running out to fix it right away just incase)

But this time around Mylo is getting things that belong to Chris. Like new hockey shirts, shoes, etc. As well as running away on Chris and getting into the closet. 

I know Chris has said Mylo should go back to the pound. Im positive he doesnt mean it considering when I was in tears he told me Mylo wasn't going back. So now its my turn to put my foot down and hold up the fort. 

We would never get rid of Mylo but I do know this for sure .. if for some strange reason we ever did. There will never be another dog in our house. 

Why? Because I dont think its fair. Yes, Mylo is a heck of a lot of work and TROUBLE but so is every dog and if we ever got another dog we would go through the same thing all over again. So lets just work with what we've got and sit back and realize that we have come a long way with Mylo and YES he will get better. With our help.

First day of class

Today was our first class of doggy obedience. I was terrified considering Mylo has been having a few issues. Of course he barked at all the dogs as they walked into the room. But I must say he did very well. Mylo does know the basics pretty well; sit, laydown, shake a paw. 

Our trainer introduced Clicker training. Mylo seems to be taking pretty well to that. He needs to get used to it and thankfully she said he will be weened off the clicker by the end of the class. 

We worked on the basics, and getting used to the clicker. By the end Mylo was exhausted because as soon as we got home he fell asleep under the computer and has been there since. (1 hour) 

Now we will just have to remember to use the clicker. Its a matter of chris and I getting used to using it.

A bite...

So Monday night Chris took Mylo for a walk. When he came back he was pretty upset and told me that some yippy little dog bit Mylo. Of course I was surprised and asked what happened? Chris said that there was an asian lady with her dog off the leash and her dog came up to Mylo when he started to bark and wanted to play. Chris of course had Mylo on his leash. The little dog ran up and bit Mylo on the belly. Chris lost it and started yelling at the lady who of course did not speak english.. or pretended that she did not speak english. 

The next day at two separate times when we took Mylo out for a walk he went strange and started nipping on our arms. He even destroyed Chris' sleeve and just bruised my arm. We think it has something to do with the biting incident. Today he has been fine. But we are watching him closely and working on his behaviour. 

I also enrolled him into Dog training. He starts May 12 and hopefully that will help. 

Run of the house

So Yesterday I went out the side door. Mylo would not do the side door because its on the stairs to the basement. Well that changed. Mylo slowly got the nerve to walk out the open side door which was fine since I was there to prevent him from running off. But then Chris decided to make him do the basement stairs. Now our dog goes every where. Its good that he's not scared to come down anymore but I did like the fact that there was a place you could go to escape our crazy dog. Now we have a gate up to prevent him from going downstairs. Its good especially when we are not home because he's still chewing. Ive lost 2 pairs of flip flops in the past 2 days because he ate them. Well, he ate one of each. Why couldnt he at least eat two of the same. 

Chris and I are really looking into dog training. Im tired of Mylo barking at everyone as they walk past our house and Mylo jumping up on everyone when they come to visit. Plus it would be nice just to have him learn some manners. 

Labrador Border Collie

So recently we had to take Mylo to the vet. He hasn't been eating and the vet assumed he has stomach inflammation. He's been doing better but we also learned what Mylo is crossed with. Mylo is obviously black Lab, he definitely looks like it but his white patches says he's not pure breed. Mylo is crossed with a border collie. Im not sure if there's a name for it but he's labrador collie. 

Once we found out I thought Id go online and find some interesting facts about both breeds. The collie is where he gets his mischeivious behaviour from.

* Collies are highly energetic and as a result have a tendency towards neurotic or destructive behaviour if not given enough to do.

* Labs are exceptionally affable, gentle, intelligent, energetic and good natured, making them both excellent companions

* With training, the Lab is one of the most dependable, obedient and multi-talented breeds in the world

Ouch!

Mylo so needed to have his nails clipped. They were so long! My sister in law came over to help cut his nails. It took all three of us to hold him. All was good until the last nail. CLIP! just a little to short. Poor pup, his nail was bleeding. It bled for a while, and I made a bandage out of cloth and duct tape. He was fine until the morning when he took it off and ended up banging his foot up against the kennel. 

Once again he was bleeding. So off to the vet where they put some liquid on his toe and bandaged it up with blue gauze.  These pics are from after going to the vet. He's got a little baggy on it to keep it dry as we were getting ready to just go out.

He's much better now. It only had to stay on for a day. But next time I think it'll be less stress to just take him to get it done.

Silly Pup

So Friday morning my alarm woke me up at 6 am. I was wide awake but did not want to get out of bed, So there I laid. Mylo has gotten used to me being up early to walk him before heading to work, so he was waiting for me to take him out. I heard him whining and I ignored it for a few minutes, until he came all the way upstairs and pushed his way into the bedroom. So that of course woke me up. Mylo accomplished coming up the stairs! 

So downstairs we went to go for a short walk so I could get home and ready for work. While I was getting ready Mylo was running up and down the stairs. Then of course it was time for me to leave for work and Mylo was upstairs. Do you think Mylo would come down stairs?

Of course not. He started whining and laying down when I tried to pull him down, he wouldn't follow me, I even tried treats. Finally it was 10 minutes before I had to be to work - I was already late so I figured he'd be fine since he had been going up and down the stairs earlier several times plus Chris would be home soon. I left his toys and treats on the bottom of the stairs hoping that would convince him to go down.

Quarter to 9 I called home to check on Mylo. Mylo was freaking out in the background. Chris said he hadnt come down the stairs and he cut the conversation real short to get back to Mylo. I was so worried.  I guess Chris tried to get him to come down and finally his Step Dad Dave came over and together they got him down. Mylo didnt go back up the stairs at all that day but of course... 

Saturday morning at 5:30 Mylo came running up the stairs to wake us but when we went to take him downstairs he pulled the same stunt. This time though we just pulled him down and he came with us. So that morning since I was up so early - Thanks Mylo. I headed to walmart before work and bought a gate for our stairs. Mylo has not been up since.  

We wont be blocking him from upstairs forever. Just while we are sleeping so he doesnt pull that stunt so early in the morning and lets us sleep in a little bit.

Mylo still has not bothered with the stairs to the basement ... yet.

Meeting Halfway

So yesterday I brought out a new toy for Mylo since he's pretty much eaten through his toys. He loved it. It was a tennis ball on a rope. He had the tennis ball destroyed in less than 10 minutes so all we have left is the rope. Chris threw it up stairs half way up and Mylo took the leap and walked up those stairs! He will still only go half way up, not all the way and he wont go on the basement stairs but he's getting there.. maybe too fast. 

Then last night I took Mylo out before bed and his Halti ripped and came off of him so I had a loose puppy! Luckily it was in the front yard and I found a huge stick so I kept him amused with it then went running towards the door to pound on it to get Chris but I decided to open it and whip the stick into the house. Luckily Mylo came running and I slammed the door closed. Chris later took Mylo out just on his leash. This is the second Halti we have gone through. The first one was a handme down from Carl so it had already been chewed but this new one we only had 5 days and it just fell apart .. it wasnt from being chewed on, just poor workmanship. So we are going to take it back and exchange it. 

Today Mylo was good for his walk with out his Halti. He did find a huge piece of ice which he obsessed over .. silly dog. 

Magic trick

So having a dog is not all fun and games. Although he does love to play tug which leads to trouble with our wood floors but I found this trick and thought Id share it with everyone who may have scratches due to dogs, or just normal wear and tare. Note that this does not work well for deep scratches.


Things You’ll Need:
Walnut, Brazil nut or pecan
Nutcracker
Butter knife
Soft cloth
Step 1:
Buy a bag of oily nutmeat like Brazil nuts, pecans or walnuts. You only need one or two nuts for this project, but they're good to have on hand for cooking and baking, anyway.
Step 2:
Place the nut between both sides of the nutcracker. Squeeze until the shell cracks.
Step 3:
Use your fingernail or a butter knife to carefully remove the pieces of nut from the shell. Try to get a larger piece to stay intact.
Step 4:
Holding the walnut in one hand, rub it into the scratches on the floor.
Step 5:
Watch as the nut's natural oils help hide the claw marks. The oils will fill in the scratch so it doesn't stand out so much.
Step 6:
Use a soft cloth to wipe away any excess oil.

Meet Mylo

A little about Mylo. 

Mylo came from the Humane Society after being there for 4 months. Mylo is 8 months old and weights a whopping 62 lbs. Mylo is afraid of cars, especially when they are parked too close to the side walk. He will not go near them and we must walk across the street just to get by. Mylo is also afraid of stairs, he will not go up or down them which is working in our favour right now as we dont need to worry about him getting into things he shouldnt. 

Actually we still need to worry about him getting into things. For example today Chris received the brand new edition of sports illustrated today in the mail. Chris did not get a chance to read it before Mylo had it torn into shreds. The crazy thing was that the magazine was up and towards the back of the counter where we thought it was safe. We were wrong. That dog will get into anything. 

He's also managed to get out of his collar once which resulted in a 2 hour chase where we finally tricked him into going into the school and managed getting his collar back on. Mylo has also found a way to get out of his harness. He gets it caught up around his neck and then we have to try and pull it off. Very difficult to do.

Mylo can also be a very good pup. Today my nephews came over and he just licked David and Kai instead of jumping and nipping at them which he likes to do to the rest of us. He also loves to sleep and from 6pm on he's a lazy bum.