Ok so, since we got Nico we've kind of slacked of on the blog, but trust us, Nico has been eating up SO MUCH of our time it makes sense. While we don't regret, even for a second, rescuing him, he is a handful and a half. So, an update about Nico and Snickers.
The two dogs are now getting a long the majority of the time, with only a few growlies here and there from Snickers when she is protecting something that she views as hers (mostly food). Nico has successfully destroyed one crate, about 1/4 of our bedroom carpet, a baby gate, the bottom of our bedroom door, a Washington Nationals Hoodie, a bathroom rug, and his face (multiple times). We finally figured out a way to keep him from Houdini-ing out of his crate and Hulk-destroying it. After he destroyed the first one- which was also the same night he destroyed the carpet and the bottom of the bedroom door, we got smart. We got a new crate, zip-tied ALL the edges together, and zip-tie the door shut when we leave so it has no give when he pushes against that. Once we did that, he focused on moving the crate, with him in it, and destroying the plastic tray within the crate...this is when he destroyed the Washington Nationals Hoodie that I loved so much. So next up we got a piece of plywood, cut it down to size so that it's about 2 inches bigger than the bottom of the crate, and used u-nails to nail the crate onto it. We also cut a piece of plywood to size to fit inside the crate, wrapped that with a stapled down blanket and replaced the plastic tray with that. Since we've done that he hasn't moved the crate or destroyed it any more than he did before we started that. Granted, we're not sure if we fixed it, or if it's just a matter of time before he figures out how to Houdini or Hulk-Smash his way out of the fortified crate.
Also, yesterday was Nico and Snicker's Good Manner's class graduation. We're happy to say that both dog's have improvement, but Nico still has a LONG WAY to go before he'll be ready to take the classes for his CGC (Canine-Good-Citizen) certification... the next step in getting him ready to be a therapy dog that kids can read to! Our biggest struggle with him, other than him either not knowing his name or having selective hearing, is his undeniable urge to chase Gypsy, the cat. She is NOT amused, ends up fluffy and has scratched his nose up more times than we can count. We're hoping we can fix it before he loses an eye. He's pretty good at sitting on command in the house, again not perfect, not doing it EVERY time, but getting there. He really is great at walking on a leash unless his sister, Snickers, starts getting him riled up.We just have to keep telling ourselves, he is better than he was when we first got him.
As far as the house goes, we really haven't done much. We finished our front flowerbeds, but haven't gotten around to ripping up the bushes and haven't done anymore painting or updating on the inside. We'll get there. So yes, after a couple months of unexpected hiatus, we're BAAACCCKKK.
