Ferd Sees Tank, Meets Stout and Gets A Present From the Easter Bunny

So, we took Ferdinand to the vet last Thursday for his shots and what not.  Last time we visited the vet, he was very timid and wasn't sure what to think of the place.  Not this time.  He marched right down the street to the vet and I could hardly get the door open before he went charging in, looking for Tank.  

Tank didn't greet him at the door, but when Ferd saw that we were going in to the same room as before he got even more excited.  We picked him up to put him on the scale and he weighed in at 22 pounds!  They said he was gaining weight fast, but he was very healthy about it!  

He took his rabies shots like a champ and enjoyed his oral heart meds.  You could have probably cut an ear off and he wouldn't have cared as long as he had time to play with Tank.  

Here are some pictures from their escapades.  

Tank tried to play tug-of-war with Ferd.  Ferd didn't get the concept.

All Ferd really wanted to do was lick Tank's manhood.  It was embarrassing.  haha

Ferd constantly tried mounting Tank.  He's got the idea, just the wrong dog.

They were giving Tank treats for sitting and they were surprised that Ferdinand was already getting "the sit," now staying is a whole other ball of wax.

Look at that mug on Tank.

The vet said that Ferd would get pretty sleepy after getting his rabies shots, I was grateful because he can be a major handful in the car.  I didn't think that she meant he would pass out in whatever position he was in.

I stopped at a red light and this is what I see.  How is that even comfortable?

It didn't last long, this is how he ended up the rest of the car ride.

Now, he's way too big to be doing this.  Although he still tries.

A few days after I took him to the vet, I was out and my husband called to tell me that Ferdinand made a huge mess in the bathroom, then when he took him out, he found a blue highlighter and started to eat that.  So, when I came home, I had to give him a bath.

To me, there is nothing cuter than a dog all wrapped up in a towel like a baby.  He loves his bath so much.  I couldn't get him in the bathtub quick enough.  And if it was up to him, he would spend all day in the water.

This was perfect timing anyway because Easter Sunday was coming up.  We decided we were going to try to take Ferd to as many places as possible so he can get used to people and riding in the car.

We stopped at my friend's parents house.  Stephanie has been my best friend since I was like 10.  She was home with her husband, Kerry and their dog, Stout. I wasn't exactly sure how Stout and Ferdinand were going to be, only because I know Ferd can try to be the Alpha, but they got along so well.  It was fun watching them play.  

Ferd attempting to hump Stout.

Ferd and Stout playing so well together.

After we left Steph's house, we went to my Grandma's house where Ferdinand and Honey Bear got along splendidly.  Then we left and went to Derek's parent's house where things with Joey didn't go so well.  Joey likes his house and doesn't want any other dogs in it.  We made Ferd's playpen smaller and kept him in the sunroom during dinner so Joey didn't get angry, but tensions got a little high when we let Ferd out.  Thankfully, it was nice outside and Joey likes being out, so things weren't bad with him outside and Ferdinand inside.  

Since Ferdinand seemed to enjoy Lily's bed so much while we were in Florida, the Easter Bunny brought him one.  He wasn't sure about it at first, but now he has taken a liking to it.  Only after he peed on it twice!

He looks like he is overwhelmed by the bed in this picture, but honestly, within the week that he's had it, he has grown so much that he completely fits in it.

Doakes was a little bitter that her and Dexter didn't get presents from the Easter Bunny.  We spoiled them the first year and we are doing the same for Ferdinand this year.  Next year, they will all get gifts.  

On a side note, Ferdinand has becoming a big time humping machine.  Here is proof.

He just goes to town on this thing.  It's kind of weird, but then it's hilarious when we catch him humping the Penguin's face.  

But still, Ferd's favorite thing to do is curl up with his Daddy and watch his favorite hockey team, the Pittsburgh Penguins!

Doesn't he look excited?

This was him watching the game tonight with me.

Well, he wasn't really watching as much as he was going in and out of sleep.  He's getting a little big for this.  

He's still a big cuddle bug and he loves it.  He will sit next to the couch and cry if I don't pick him up and hold him.  It's too cute!

It's almost Ferd's bedtime, so I have to get him ready for that.  He is like a baby when it comes to bedtime, he fights it so much.  

Ferdinand Misses Out on Wrestlemania

My middle sister, Lindsay, came over to visit and meet Ferdinand.  We had a really great time and she had fun snapping pictures of Ferd.  Here are a few of him just enjoying being outside.

He's a model.

She gave him her car keys to play with.  She almost didn't get them back.  He had fun chewing on them.

He also likes to chase the cats around the house.  Normally, they will run under the bed.  While he was under there, he would poke his feet out and try to catch my feet.  Or he would try to bit my feet.  So, we started to play (which is why my face looks so dumb in this picture).  Doakes (who is watching from the safety of the bed) was saying, "Mom, you're crazy."

This was our standoff.  I was trying to get him to come out the whole way and he was not having it at all.

Here's a video of Ferdinand being a typical crazy puppy and how he will go after anything.

He was pretty dizzy.

Basically, after this, Ferdinand became a hot mess.  Derek and I were getting ready for our trip to Miami, Florida to go to Wrestlemania and Ferd was just a terror.

We had arranged it that Derek's parents would come to our house to feed and check on the cats and we would leave Ferdinand at my parent's house.  The 2 weeks before we left for the trip, Ferdinand was just a mess.  He had me at my breaking point.  He was constantly biting us, destroying things in the house and peeing every chance he got.  

We would be outside with him for 15 minutes, he'd go to the bathroom twice, we'd bring him back inside and then he would look at you and pee.  I mean, I felt like I could have killed him.  I basically had to come home every day at lunch because if I didn't this is what I came home to.

If you can't tell, there is a huge pile of pee next to his cage.  And normally, his playpen would be against that orange wall.  Yeah, he moved the whole thing and peed next to the kitchen table and then in the center of the kitchen.

Finally, the day came that Derek and I had to pack our suitcases.  Because he was driving me crazy and I couldn't trust him to not try to eat the cats, I had him on the guest bed while I picked out my clothes.  As angry as I could get at him, these faces just make me melt and think, he's only a puppy. 

This is that look where he is saying, "What the heck are you doing?"

This was the point when he was trying to help me pack my clothes in the suitcase.

And this was the point when he was saying, "Okay.  Nothing is going in this suitcase."

Ferdinand wasn't the only animal in our house that wanted to help me or didn't want me to leave.  Dexter immediately jumped inside the inner pocket and decided that she was going to nap and not move.

This was funny because when you stood at the foot of the bed you couldn't see her in there.  When she moved it was kind of creepy.  Because of this, I called Derek in the room and decided to pretend I had no idea what was in the suitcase.  He literally grabbed his shorts and pulled them up, pushed me toward the bed and ran out of the room.  If I would have known that was going to be his reaction, I would have video taped it.  It was unbelievable.  

The night that we went to my parent's house was just awful with Ferdinand.  He was just so bad in the car. I don't think I had ever sworn so much in my entire life.  By the time I got to my parent's house, which is less than an hour away, I was on the verge of tears.  I had just had it with him.

Derek and I filled my parent's in on his routines and how bad he had been.  While we talked, we let Ferdinand and Lily play.  

Ferdinand was smart.  He would hide under the dining room table and mess with Lily from there.  She couldn't get under the table, so he was good with messing with her.

We set up Ferd's playpen in the bathroom and that's where he was going to stay while he was there, in case of any accidents, especially since he had been so bad about them before.

Before we left for the airport, I stopped at my Grandparent's house to say hi.  I took Ferdinand with me and got this awesome picture of my Grandfather with him.

As a matter of fact, my Grandad just turned 75-years-old on April 10.  

So, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDAD!"

Derek and I boarded our plane later on that day and had a great flight.  We arrived at the Bahia Mar hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Flordia.  This was our view.  

Partial beach view.

Partial marina view.

So, as we enjoyed our vacation, my mom would send me videos of Ferdinand.

Here is one of him playing on Lily's bed.

Apparently, he took over her bed and had a blast with it.  Guess we need to get him one.

She also sent me this video of my Dad playing tug-of-war with him.

They seemed to have a good time and Ferdinand didn't even miss us.

So, while my parent's enjoyed having Ferdinand, we enjoyed the break.  Wrestlemania was AWESOME!  Here was a picture of where we sat.  

The palm trees got in the way of seeing part of the ring, but it was still an awesome experience.  

One of my favorite's is Randy Orton.  Here he is looking so hot on the big screen.

And here he is in the ring.

I took lots of pictures on my phone, but they didn't turn out so well.  

Here's a picture of Derek and I that his Uncle Phil took of us.

When we got home, we asked how many accidents Ferdinand had had while we were gone.  I almost died when I heard how many.  2...and they were after he had played really hard with Lily.  He made it all day long without an accident while my parents were working and no accidents at night.  I was stunned.

My mom said that she thought that he was having the accidents during the daytime at our house because the cats were messing with him.  And the more I thought about it, she could have been right.  I've seen Doakes tightrope walking the playpen when he's in there and it drives him nuts.  

We didn't get home until almost 11:30pm that night and we were exhausted.  I figured I would come up with a new plan for keeping him penned up while we were gone for work in the morning.  We did our normal routine of Derek getting up, taking him out, getting ready for work, taking him out again and putting him back in the playpen until I get up.  Well, I woke up to the dog next to my bed and pee on the kitchen floor.  I immediately called my mom telling her she was a liar.  She suggested moving him into the bathroom since he had done so well at her house there.

This is my new set up in the bathroom so that he can't chew on the vanity, garbage can or toilet bowl cleaner thing.

Ferd now has the full bathroom to himself and I leave the radio on for him in the morning.   So far, we haven't had one accident while leaving him home for a full 8 hours.  I've never been more happy in my entire life.

His attitude is so much better, he is calmer, he is happier to have space away from the cats and he isn't as chewy.  He's just so much better.  Thank God for my mother.  

Tomorrow, we go back to the vet for his check up.  I can't wait to see how much he weighs.  He's so heavy that it is difficult to pick him up!

And just for fun, here's a picture of the audience I had tonight while writing this post.