Back Home Where We Belong

Rhett and I just got back from vacation yesterday, which was WONDERFUL. It's always so nice to get out of town for a few days and not have anything to worry about besides eating and sleeping. I did have one little worry while I was gone though: my Chipper baby. This is the first time we've left him, and I missed him so much more than I anticipated! He was in great hands with Rhett's aunt and uncle, but I was still worried about him. I know, I know...he's a dog. He's pretty much happy with anyone who gives him food. I'm sure he didn't even notice we were gone.

 alien ears

I will admit that it was really nice being able to sleep a little later in the morning and walk around without wondering if he's chewing on something important. He's still quite a handful, so the rest without the responsibility was much-needed. I'm SUPER glad to be back home with him though! I thought he was going to explode when we picked him up yesterday. He was so excited to see us, which made me really happy.

ooooo what's that?! camera! lick! 

As a side-note, We got our last groupon Bark Box earlier this month! I went to cancel the subscription because I really don't need to spend the money, but I ended up just leaving it. He just loves getting the toys and treats, I couldn't stand to take that away from him! I was able to use a coupon for the next few months though, so that helped.

I hope you all are enjoying a nice week! The weather is decent today, though a little overcast. I'm hoping to get a run in this afternoon. I've got a few months to get my weekly mileage up before I start training for the marathon in December! I'm telling you guys that I'm running it so you MUST hold me to it. Don't let me back out.

Dog Spoiling 101: BarkBox

I feel kind of bad, but we spoil Chipper WAY more than we've ever spoiled Dudley (the cat). I think it's because Dudley doesn't get excited about anything that way Chipper does. It's just so fun to see him go crazy over a tennis ball or pretty much anything else that you're holding out to him! When BarkBox ran a Groupon deal, I bought one so I could see what it was all about. I had heard of it before, but this was shortly after we got Chipper and I hadn't thought to sign us up yet. Basically it's a monthly subscription box that usually contains a couple of toys, a food item and maybe another miscellaneous dog-related goodie. I signed us up for 3 months, and this is Chipper's second box...

I'll take this...

...and this.  

And then I'll just chew on the tags until you cut them off.

He has a thing with paper, which I've heard about other dogs too. I have to keep anything paper out of his reach or he will hide it under the couch and snack on it when I'm not looking! Once I cut the tags off the toys, he actually did run around and play with them for a while. He's already eaten a huge hole in the bone, so all the stuffing came out and that mouse is made of felt so we've got gray felt all over the house. The toys this time weren't my favorite as an owner (messy!) but Chipper loved them! The treats we got were awesome though, the Teeny Treats in particular. I definitely recommend those. The other snack item was a bag of peanut butter cookies that are supposed to be for humans AND dogs. I tried one, and I can't say I would ever eat another one. It wasn't repulsive but it wasn't tasty either. It's a cool idea though, and I'm sure it definitely tastes better than generic dog biscuits!

Now here's a video of him with his box, because why not? I know...I'm crazy and obsessed but I DON'T CARE. Have any of you tried BarkBox? If you're wanting to sign up, here is my referral link: https://barkbox.com/r/OvDI5Y1TKV/ and if you use that when you sign up, I get a free month! Win/win.

Chipper

A few posts ago, I mentioned that Rhett and I had gotten a puppy. That's part of the reason I haven't been blogging as much! We spend all of our time hanging out with him, so I haven't been doing blog-worthy things. Even if I were doing blog-worthy things, I probably wouldn't have time to blog about them. Ok, that's an exaggeration...I could probably blog more. But why would I do that when I could be looking at this face?!

UGH, HE KILLS ME! I'm so glad Rhett decided he wanted a beagle, because holy moly are they cute. I have a hard time letting him run around and play because I just want to squeeze him and kiss on him all the time. We named him Chipper after Rhett's baseball hero Chipper Jones, who is a recently retired Atlanta Braves player. If any of you guys are looking at getting a puppy and have questions, feel free to ask. The biggest thing I can tell you is that it's a lot of work!

The potty training part was probably the hardest, but luckily it didn't last long. He quickly realized that he got praised lavishly when he did his thing outside and scolded when we caught him doing it inside. He also caught on to the bell training really quickly! We hung a bell by the door, so he can ring it when he needs to go out. He rings it when he wants to play too, but I don't mind letting him play outside. He LOVES it. There is so much to get into out there :)

I've been working on walking with him. He does pretty well about 70% of the time. Beagles have incredible noses so keeping him from getting distracted by every little thing is challenging. He walks around with his nose to the ground pretty much constantly. It's adorable. I should probably stop gushing about him now though, and just wish you guys a very happy Friday!

I will be shooting a wedding all day tomorrow, then just relaxing Sunday before watching the Oscars. Who are you guys rooting for to get Best Picture? I'm personally rooting for Argo! While I loved Zero Dark Thirty, I just think it is too controversial to win. I guess we'll see on Sunday.