Look Who's One!!!

Yesterday was Bernie's first birthday! Raise your hand if you did not think we would have this dog long enough to celebrate a first birthday. Go ahead, I can't see you. This dog dang near killed me so surviving dog ownership for a year deserved a celebration. Okay, so we will not have actually had the dog for a year until 8 weeks from now but we thought we would celebrate on his actual birthday instead of his coming home birthday.We are so happy that he is one. When we got him the breeder told us that it is worth it to get them as puppies but that no dog is worth owning until they are two. So only one more year until he is worth owning.

It has been an interesting year filled with lots of learning and lots of hard work. It took 6 whole months before I could wake up in the morning or pull in to my driveway without sighing and bracing myself to go get the dog out.

Here are my most valuable tips in case you ever get crazy enough to go down this path.

1-Potty training sucks but they do eventually get it. Bernie only pooped in the house twice before he got that part of it and once was Seth's fault. Bernie was by the door but Seth wouldn't let me get up to let him out because I had just let him out to pee. He wanted me to stop being so jumpy so I forced myself not to get up and Bernie waited a few minutes and them pooped by the door. That accomplished two purposes. One, I realized that Bernie understood where poop was supposed to go and two, Seth realized that I am always right. Pee took longer. He would go on command outside but he had to go so often that is was hard to catch it every time. I learned to give him water only when he came out of his crate and then he would pee every 15 minutes for an hour and then not need to go again until his next crate time. By 16 weeks he was potty trained although he did have a few accidents after that, as do potty trained children. The last one was on the couch and I was so mad that he didn't even ask to get on the couch again for months.

2- Cockapoos are the best breed of dog. Bernie is smart and easy going and everywhere we go people stop to be friends with him and tell me how cute he is. The vets all run out to see him in the waiting room and I know they don't do that with every dog because 7 other dogs will be in the waiting room
with us. The groomers always tell me what a sweet puppy he is too. He is also the perfect size because he can not reach the table or counter tops to steal food. Oh and you won't find dog hair here because he doesn't shed. It is expensive to get him groomed though so that would be one down side of the breed and about once a month he will get poop stuck on his fur and have to be scrubbed which is nasty but he bathes at least every week any way and he doesn't mind taking a bath so it is what it is, I guess.

3- Girl dogs are not better than boy dogs. Everyone told us to get a girl and told us all the reasons girls were better, until the breeder said that she didn't know why people thought that because she thinks boys are better family dogs. I was so scared to get a boy but I am glad we trusted her because all the anti-boy talk was a bunch on nonsense.

4- Give them something to chew on. Bernie gets a bully or rawhide donut every day and he doesn't eat our stuff. He takes our socks and puts them in a pile in the kitchen but he doesn't eat them. I hear that he did eat a flip flop while we were in Mexico though.

5- Walks! I am such a believer in taking dogs on walks so that they get their exercise and behave and because I think it is mean not to.

I have learned lots more things but those are my top five. And what does Bernie love at a year? I couldn't interview him but if I had to guess... He loves to play, to be pet, to take walks, to go to the lake (any lake), to jump the rocks at Lake Michigan, to chase birds, to lay on top of the hot tub, to lay under my bed, to stand and watch me unload dishes and then help me rinse the dirty ones, he likes shade and bully sticks and cleaning the floor after we eat dinner. He loves the kids and Seth but above all else he loves me.

And while I still don't love being a pet owner I will toot my own horn and say that I am a very good pet owner. When spring came and other people started walking their dogs again all the neighbors came out to tell me how amazed they were that I walked Bernie all winter long. We take him everywhere that we are allowed to take a dog. We play with him every day. We bathe him and pet him and groom him and give him treats and he is possibly the most spoiled little furball I have ever known so don't feel bad for him because what he doesn't know is not hurting him. He thinks I live and breathe for him. And truth be told I do care about Bernie. I would certainly be horrified if he met an untimely death but I still stand by my former declaration that I will never have another pet, probably wouldn't have this one if I could go back and do it over again. Although, he does give me another cute thing to chase around with my camera.

For the party, the kids decorated cakes.

 
Chloe finished hers quickly so she could graze on the decorating materials.


 
I did draw the B on Alex's cake but he did the rest himself.
 
I hollowed Chloe's cake so she could make it look like Bernie's food bowl and she frosted it and the candy all around it is supposed to be paws. I don't know why she poses the way she does but I find it entertaining.

 
 
The kids also decorated placemats that we found at the dollar store. They were printed so we just flipped them over and decorated the back. 



 
Their dinner bowls, also from the dollar store.
 
Chili dogs, because Bernie loves hot dogs and because it looked like dog food.

 
Time for presents


 
This is what he ended up with. Canned and bagged food for dogs, not puppy food anymore. Lots of bully spirals and Ringo donuts. If you have a dog and buy bully sticks, they are way cheaper at Menards. At PetSmart or Petco they are $6 each and $2.95 at Menards. I buy out their entire stock once a month. Still pricey for a dog treat, but it is good for their teeth and keeps them from destructive chewing. Anyway, back to the gift list....a ball, mini dog cupcakes, a Brewers jersey, and a Kong gator. This was his first toy but we threw it away recently because he took it outside in the winter and it got nasty. He was so happy to see it again. This is what he cuddled as a baby and the toy he learned to play fetch with.
 
I baked Bernie a dog friendly cake with peanut butter, carrots, honey, and frosted with pureed cottage cheese. 







 
He ate all the frosting and the top half of the cake and thankfully it did not make him sick. 
 
His gator now

 
On day one with us.
 
At 10 weeks old

Bernie learns new things very quickly. We taught him sit a few days after we got him and were shocked that he got it with one treat. He picks up new words very easily so even the kids sometimes decide to teach him something new. Recently Alyssa came in one night to show us two new tricks.

High Five

And Ten.
 
Bernie also chased and popped lots of balloons last night. As you can see, Seth was bored with our party by this time because we just got new phones (Galaxy S4) )and he was playing.
 
Happy 1st Birthday Bernie Pup!  And Happy Birthday to my sis in law Emily, who shares Bernie's big day. I would have totally let you stick your face in that cake too if you had been here.