Fall Break

Two weekends ago was Fall Break for me. I always love going home and seeing my pup again. It doesn't take long before I get annoyed with him though...but I still love him to death. This past Sunday was his first session of obedience lessons. I really hope they help him, because he's a real handful. Samson has gotten very bossy since the last time I saw him. He barks any time he wants something, which is basically all the time. He has his sweet moments though. I absolutely love car rides with Samson because he's a huge cuddlebug in the car. The second picture of him was when I first got home. Samson was running around like crazy and jumping up on me. He wore himself out and decided to chill out on the couch. The third picture was taken in our camper. My dad was having a beer and Samson decided he really wanted to lick the bottle after my dad was finished with it. He had a grand old time with that bottle. I can't wait for the next time I go home, because 4 of my friends will be with me. I can only imagine that Samson is gonna have a field day with that! 

Reunited and it feels so good!

Since I didn't have to be at a football game this weekend I had the opportunity to go home for a couple of days. I haven't seen Samson since I left for school, so I was very excited to see him again. He seemed pretty excited to see me too! He looks so grown up, and he has all his big boy teeth. (Yay for no more sharp fangs!) Samson is still as annoying as ever, but I love him to death anyway. He got so excited to see me when I came home from church today that he peed on my foot. I was sad when I had to leave to go back to school today. :(  

Puppy Naps and Baby Teeth

Not much exciting has happened lately, but I figured I would share these adorable pictures of Samson snoozing on the couch. Well, when I say nothing exciting has happened lately...Samson did lose his first teeth yesterday. Actually, he lost two at once! Not really sure if that's supposed to happen (cause they were connected to each other) but it did. Too bad it wasn't one of his sharp fangs. Those are the ones we really need him to lose. They hurt like heck when he bites you! Oh well, it'll happen soon enough.

Vacation Time

This week my parents are on vacation in Ohio to visit with family, which means I have the pleasure of being Samson's caretaker. Taking care of a puppy full time is definitely a challenge at times, but it has been helpful because some day I plan to have a dog of my own. I've had to sleep in my parents' room so he wouldn't get lonely and cry at night. I'm very thankful he let me sleep in the past couple of mornings. :)  He can be crazy, wild, and even mean at times, but we've also had plenty of times where we relaxed and cuddled on the couch. I hate how often I have to keep him in his crate, but it's unavoidable when my brother refuses to let him out while he's home. Luckily, I don't go anywhere too terribly often. I suppose it's a good thing for Samson that I don't have a very exciting life. Anyway...this week has been a trial and a blessing. I think I'm ready for my parents to come back though. I'm not sure I'm really ready to have full responsibility for a puppy just yet. 

Spoiled Puppy

Samson loves chewing on bully sticks. He usually goes through one in about a day. Samson is seriously teething, so we're hoping his baby teeth fall out soon. The bully sticks stink up the house, but they keep him busy and keep him from using us as chew toys quite so much. The only problem is that they are kinda expensive (especially when he goes through them so quickly). We've tried other teething toys, but he just seems to rip those apart somehow. Anyone out there have any suggestions for a teething, biting puppy? Please!

Sick As A Dog

Samson has been sick the past couple of nights because he decided it would be a good idea to get a hold of a catnip filled mouse. However, instead of just tearing it open and eating the catnip he went ahead and ate the whole mouse! You would think this would make Samson realize he shouldn't eat everything in sight, but you would be wrong. He eats stones, mulch, leaves, bugs, and one of his favorites is paper! We're all just hoping he grows out of this. Good news, Samson's sharp baby teeth are supposed to fall out in the next month or two! Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later. He manages to draw blood almost every single day. Oh, the joys of living with a puppy. :) 

Busy Morning = Sleepy Puppy

Samson had such a busy morning. This weekend was his second camping experience. He went for a walk and met several new friends. He got to play with a 3 year old dog who was also named Samson. And we thought Samson was such an uncommon name for a dog! Our poor puppy was so exhausted by the time we headed home that he curled up and slept in my lap almost the entire car ride. I'll be so sad when he gets too big to sit in my lap. I love Samson the most when he's a calm little snugglebug. Most of the time he's a barking, biting fiend. We can't figure out how to get him to stop biting and barking all the time. Nothing seems to work. Hopefully he grows out of it without needing to go to expensive puppy training classes.

My Sleepy Puppy

Samson loves to sleep. When he's not busy terrorizing one of us, or one of the cats, you can usually find him snoozing. My mom spoils him and lets him sleep on the couch, but I have a feeling she's gonna regret it when he gets bigger and starts taking over more than just my spot. He's probably cutest when he's sleeping though. 

We Love The Vet!

Saturday morning was Samson's 2nd trip to see the vet. We decided to go to a new vet because we realized how awful our last one was. Our last vet (we don't even know his name) never really talked to us, didn't seem to like animals all that much, and he didn't tell us that our cat has a tumor. This new vet is fantastic! He's a real talker. He makes you feel welcome as well as your pets. They spoiled Samson so bad. He got so many treats...of course, he also got 3 shots. Life is so much easier when your pets love going to the vet!

Psycho Puppy

I swear my puppy is either bipolar, or just plain psycho. Today he suddenly got really crazy. He was rolling around on the ground, then he jumped onto the couch with me (which he can't normally do cause he's little and can't jump that high yet. But he had a running start.) He kept trying to get me, but I wouldn't let him. After a couple "attacks" Samson jumped down. He made a little yelp, and then bam! He was completely calm. My dad was petting him and he didn't even try to bite him like he normally would. It was one of the weirdest moments in my entire life. 

Camping Trip

This weekend was Samson's first camping experience. Now, when I say camping, I really mean staying in a camper at a campground with running water and electricity. I think he enjoyed it...even though we had to keep him in the camper most of the time. All of the roads and our campsite are made up of gravel. Gravel is a lot of small stones. Samson loves to eat stones. Herein lies the problem. Many stones, sticks, leaves, and ants were eaten by him on this camping trip. He got lots of fresh air and a good workout while my dad and I played with a frisbee. Samson loved chasing after the frisbee whenever it hit the ground, which to be honest, was fairly often. He slept the whole way home today. It turns out that in the car Samson makes a good cuddle buddy. He spent most of the trip zonked out on my lap. 

Stairs are scary

Yesterday we tried to teach Samson how to walk up stairs. He hasn't quite figured it out yet. Today I tried to get him to go down them, but he was scared at first. I put Samson on the landing and he actually came down the stairs! Maybe he's finally conquered his fear. I sure hope so, cause pretty soon he's gonna be too heavy to carry up and down. They grow up so fast!

Bonding Time

Yesterday was the first time I really had some alone time with Samson. We spent all morning lounging on the couch. He's actually pretty darn cute when he's not trying to bite you wherever he can manage to sink his teeth in. The cats feel differently about him. They basically want nothing to do with him. They spend most of their time holed up on the landing. (Samson hasn't learned to climb stairs yet.) If one of them comes downstairs, Samson immediately goes after them. All he wants to do is play, but the cats don't understand that. It is pretty fun to sometimes see them get back at him though.

United!

I finally got to meet Samson. He's even cuter in person. I wasn't expecting him to be so little. It was hard to tell from the pictures my parents sent me. Samson is adorable, but just like any other puppy, he likes to play...this means he likes to bite. It's hard to cuddle with someone who keeps trying to nip at you when you pet him. I love him already though, and I think I'm gonna have a lot of fun taking care of him and spending time with him while I'm home. Samson is definitely a blessing for our family. Even if my brother doesn't see it that way...

My dad posted this picture on Facebook yesterday of Samson and our cat, Smokey. My cat looks so offended by the presence of Samson in his own bed. She believes that if she was there first, it's her spot. Maybe when he's not still practically the same size as our cats Samson will learn to stick up for himself.  

I wanna go home!

It really stinks when your parents get a puppy a week before you come home from college. This little cutie is the only thing getting me through finals week though. I can't wait to meet him!

Our family got a puppy!

This is Samson. He's an 8 week old Border Collie mix. I will try to keep this blog updated with pictures and stories about our new family member.