Amateur Parenting

They have their moments of boneheadedness, but yesterday the dogs convinced me that I haven’t been giving them enough credit.

They were running around like nuts, so I put them out in the back yard, where they have about an acre of land surrounded by a 6-foot solid wood fence. They don’t jump out, they don’t dig out, and no one else comes in, so we feel safe letting them play outside as long as we’re home and can check on them periodically to make sure they’re drinking enough to stay hydrated in the heat.

Usually they bark and yip and run back and forth across the patio sounding like a herd of elephants until they decide it’s time to come in and start throwing themselves against the door. But yesterday, things went suddenly quiet. And just as I got up to see what was going on from my office in the front of the house, something caught my eye through the window to the front porch.

It was Murphy. Murphy, who was supposed to be confined to the back yard. Continue reading →

Name: Murphy King (original name “King Kong” but we had to change that because otherwise he’d be King Kong King, and it would be a problem if we ever wanted to get something monogrammed for him)

Birth date: February 4, 2007

Breed: English mastiff

Distinctive feature: Clumsiness

Favorite color: I don’t care what color it is as long as I can eat it, lean on it, or knock it over.

Favorite treat: Ice cubes

Favorite toy: Anything Pickles is playing with.

Favorite pastime: Chasing kitties and stealing socks

Least favorite thing: Sitting still while Mommy and Daddy get my dinner.

We were walking Pickles and Ty downtown when a passerby mentioned to us that her friend was seeking a home for a 10-week-old English mastiff puppy. Uh, okay! But when we talked to his owner, we found out that he was actually 6 months old and almost 100 lbs. And we were already in love with him even before we met him, so the day we went over to meet him, we were sold.

He and Pickles hit it off right away, and then we brought Ty over the next day to make sure they were good together. That same night, he came home with us, and it’s been dog central ever since. Murphy is a sweet, floppy goofball who trips over himself with every step and adores his new brother and sisters. He was an outdoor dog before, but he’s doing awesome with the potty training — only about 3 accidents and all on the runner in the hallway that Jesse hates anyway. And so far, the only thing he’s irreparably destroyed (that we’ve found, anyway) is a marker he stole off the coffee table. Though I do keep finding shoes in the yard…

He’s a little underweight but otherwise in great shape, so right now we’re just trying to fatten him up and keep him off the furniture. According to his original mom, his parents were close to 300 lbs each, so we’re expecting him to be BIG boy. What’s cute at under 100 lbs definitely won’t be in a few months…

Friend Murphy on Dogbook

So I leave the living room to check my e-mail while waiting for the dryer to finish, and when I come back not only has Ty turned the TV on, but he’s navigated to Animal Planet.

With his butt.

By lying on the remote.

And he was actually staring at the TV like he was watching the safari show he tuned to, which he usually only does with The Dog Whisperer (which generally leads to frantic barking). I left it on for a while to see what he would do, and he just kept watching and watching until I changed the channel. Then he went to sleep.