Polo's New Outfit

Polo the mini schnauzer got a new shirt for the holidays. It's a blue and yellow rugby style shirt. It was on sale from Polo.com -- they have a "For the Pup" section.

He is so handsome!

Polo

Polo, our Miniature Schnauzer, got groomed today. He is always extra cute when he is freshly groomed. Miss Claire gave him a cute Halloween bandanna. She is so sweet to him and always does a great job. When Polo went in, there were two other schnauzers waiting for Miss Claire too!

Precious!

Polo had his picture taken with Santa at the humane society last weekend. He was a good boy and Santa was so sweet to him.

Polo's Memorial Weekend

My friend Todd had a pool party and cookout this Memorial Day weekend. Polo got to spend the afternoon outside in the sun. He had a good time. (See the picture of him "smiling"!) It was really fun. I did have to give Polo a bath when we got home though since he had dirt and pinestraw and pieces of leaves in his beard and skirt. Afterwards, he fell out on the couch. He was tired!

Let's go for a ride!

Here's Polo getting ready to go home after being examined by the doctor and getting a fresh haircut! Cute!

Me and Polo

Polo and I cuddle up for a picture taken on my Treo 750.

Polo

Look who got groomed today!

Merry Christmas

I got Polo to sit long enough so that I could take his picture in front of the tree.

The Dog Park

Today we took Polo to the dog park. At Ronald Reagan Park they have big fenced-in dog park areas for dogs to run around and play with each other off-leash. They actually have three areas, one for small dogs (20-pounds or less), one for big dogs, and one long one that runs along the other two for things like running or frisbee. Polo had such a fun time. He wore himself out! Polo napped for pretty much the rest of the night. We are going to try to take him there on a regular basis so he can exercise and have fun with the other dogs and puppies.

Here's a picture of Polo enjoying the car ride on the way to the park.

Here's a link to the Ronald Reagan Park website.

Polo Update

Well, Polo is no longer "broken" -- he has been fixed! Last week Polo had his neuter surgery. The doctor called and said he did very well and was very good. He was so happy when we picked him up the next day and he couldn't wait to get out of there and go home. I was surprised that he recovered so quickly. It was like nothing had happened at all. He got his stiches out today.

He loves to go for rides in the car now. If you go into the garage, he will run in after you and put his feet up on the runner and look back at you. He does really good getting in and out also and is not at all scared anymore.

Tomorrow we start an 8-week beginner puppy training class. I'm very excited for him to go and learn new things, and also for me to learn new things and be a good daddy.

Here's a picture of Polo doing his schnauzer pose on the back of the couch. Cute!

Polo

Polo is getting to be such a big boy! He is almost 15 pounds. We think he's pretty much potty trained at this point. It's been weeks since he had an accident in the house. He is really good about going to the door when he needs to potty. We've been letting him have a lot more freedom when we're home.

He met his "cousin" Monster last week. I don't think Monster was ready for a playful 4 month old puppy and I don't think Polo understood that Monster is an "old man" at 10 years old and was not in the mood for playing!

Here's a picture of Polo in his bathrobe. I had just given him a bath and put him in his robe. He kept trying to grab the hood, but he didn't mind it too much!

Polo's Christmas

Our miniature schnauzer, Polo, had a very good Christmas.  He got a new toy. It’s a round ball-shaped toy. One side of it has round holes in it, the other is solid and it has little nylon strings hanging out so that he can grab it. You put treats inside it through the holes, and your puppy then goes crazy trying to get them out. He is so funny when he plays with it. He gets his face into it and grunts and snorts and rolls around with it. By the time he gets a treat, his little beard is so wet. He looks like a mad dog...but cute!

We also got him a little Ralph Lauren Polo shirt, which he wore on Christmas. They are available at http://www.polo.com in the “For the Pup” section. He looks absolutely adorable in it. He doesn’t seem to mind wearing it at all. I know some dogs (*cough*Miss B*cough*) just hate wearing any kind of clothing item.

Polo is getting to be a big boy. I guess he’s going through a growth spurt. He’ll be four months old next week. We’ve been giving him a little more freedom in the past week. He’s only had one accident in the house in the past three weeks, and that was two weeks ago. Yesterday, he was upstairs with me, playing with his new toy while I was working on the computer. Suddenly, I noticed that he was gone. I got up and looked around, and he was downstairs patiently sitting on the rug in front of the door. I went down and let him out to go potty. He is such a good boy!

Polo's First Grooming

Polo got his third set of shots on Saturday. He was a very good boy with the doctor this time. He didn't cry once. He also had an appointment with a groomer and I felt so bad leaving him with her. He got his first schnauzer cut and his silver coloring is much more evident now. He doesn't have that curly puppy look anymore, but he is still adorable! His fur is so soft. The groomer said he did fine, but he seemed nervous when we picked him up. Once we got him home, he was back to his normal happy self. Doug took him for a ride this morning when he went to get breakfast and he said that Polo was shaking like he was nervous the whole time. Maybe he needs to get used to going to good places in the car, instead of only to the vet and the groomer!

His potty training is going very well. He hasn't had an accident in about a week.

In all of the pictures, he has blue eyes... I guess for dogs that is like "red eye." It gives him a wierd look.

Polo Update

We’ve had Polo for two weeks now; this is the start of his 3rd week with us. He is such a good boy! He is definitely getting bigger. He only had one or two accidents in the house this past week. I think he’s getting the hang of the potty training. He is so smart. He seems to be starting to understand that “go potty” means to run to the door so he can go outside and potty. I don’t think he likes going outside in the rain, though. Not that I blame him, since I don’t much like standing out there either! He also is getting to know “crate”. When you say it, he runs to his crate and sits down. Usually he gets a treat, so he is happy to go in there. He really likes the bacon and cheese twisty treat. Doug has been reading Puppy for Dummies and it has a lot of good information. He has also been trying to teach him “sit.”

Cindy came over on Thursday and Polo loved her, of course. I think she wanted to trade him for her miniature dachshund, Miss B. Hell to the no!

We spent some time yesterday cleaning up the yard… it was becoming like a mine field! We noticed a couple of “mines” that were clearly not left by our puppy. Yuck!

Polo Update

We’ve had Polo for over a week now. He is such a good puppy. The last two days he didn’t have any accidents in the house. Of course, Doug watches him like a hawk for his “potty signals” and then takes him outside. He’s getting very comfortable in his new home with his new family. He stopped crying at night after about the 3rd or 4th day. We have a radio on for him at night time so that he has some background noise. We’ll probably set that to a sleep mode soon and see if he is okay with it, then try no radio and see if he’s good with that. He doesn’t fuss when he goes in the crate and he will even go in there and play with his toys or his blanket. I think I feel sadder than he does when I have to leave for work and put him in there!

He had an appointment at the vet last Friday and he checked out okay. He was very good with the people and the other dogs there. He did cry a little when the doctor wanted to get in his face and look at his ears. But then, she had just violated him with a thermometer, so he was probably a little nervous! Everyone at the office thought he was adorable.

This past Saturday when I woke up, Doug and Polo were coming inside from going potty. Polo saw me at the top of the stairs and just ran right up them without stopping! He used to be scared to death of the stairs. We were so proud of him! He is still a little scared going down them, though, but I’m sure he’ll be over that soon.

Polo the Puppy

We got a puppy this weekend! We named him Polo and he is just adorable. He is a miniature schnauzer puppy, just 11 weeks old. He has a silver coat, but he looks salt and pepper. He's cute and playful. He loves his toys and the blanket we handed down to him from the couch. I was surprised that he took to us right away, after being a little nervous on the car ride here. He seems very happy. When we come home, he wags his little stumpy tail and it is so cute. Potty training is going okay. We have to keep a good watch on him, though, and if he starts to squat, run him outside! I look forward to the long weekend coming up, because I'll get to spend a lot of extra time with him.