The Evolution of Nicknames

I am sure everyone has nicknames for their pets, and most people do for their children as well. Seeing how many nicknames Danny and I have for Charlie, I am becoming concerned for our future children. I tried to put together a list of nicknames and how they evolved for Charlie, here goes:

Charlie, Charlenton, Charleston, Chartonian, Chartastic, Charnuggett, Nugetonian, Nugs, Nugtastic, Nugalonian, Nuglovin, Stinky Bubbie, Bubs da Buds, Budsta Budsta.

I am sure there are move to come! I leave you with a picture of my two men.

Charlie Goes to Tampa

Charlie went on his first traveling adventure. Let's just say Charlie meets the maximum capacity for carry-on luggage. Lucky for me, he loves small spaces. Him and I tackled the airport together, I pulled him in his rolly carry on bag and he was content as a clam (where did that expression come from and what makes people think clams are happy?). The only time he misbehaved was when I was rolling him down the aisle of the airplane, he let out one very LARGE bark. After that he was good to go. Once in Tampa little Charlie had the time of his life. He got to ride in the car, go to the dog park, tour Hyde Park, go swimming for the first time (of which he did not like), see the entire family, and meet his "sister" lucy. Let's just say Lucy being pretty old, didn't take to Charlie too well, but he still had fun. All-in-all Charlie loved Tampa, and I am pretty sure he misses it. I hope to bring him back soon, if only the cost of flying a dog was cheaper...

Here is a picture of Charlie in Tampa, gaurding my luggage, hoping we can stay in Tampa just a little longer.

Just Kidding

I had done everything necessary in order to prepare little Charlie for his big day. He didn't have any food or water after midnight. I packed a overnight bag for him filled with food and toys. As we were walking to the vet I received a call from Danny in desperate protest for me to re-think this decision. What was I to do? I knew it needed to be done but I couldn't go through with it unless Danny was on the same page. I called the vet and canceled the appointment for now. Charlie is now perfectly content chewing on his bone on the floor next to me completely unaware of how much we love him. We can't imagine how difficult decisions like these will be with our children one day.

The Day is Here

Tomorrow is the day that little baby Charlenton gets neutered. Danny has been battling with me to post pone it for weeks. The vet and Cesar Milan advise to have it done at 6 months. If it is not done the dog (if not bred) can develop many health issue down the road. Cesar Milan's dog, Daddy, developed cancer from not being neutered. His previous owner, rapper Red Man, did not believe in it. A lot of people do not believe in it. I am determined to keep Charlie happy and healthy and to do so feel that this is a necessary procedure.

I have heard a lot of tales from the neighbors about how difficult the 10 days after the surgery can be. The vet said that we can not allow Charlie to run or jump...these are his two favorite things to do besides eating, sleeping and pooping. It will be a challenge I'm sure.

In an attempt to make up for what I will be putting him through tomorrow, I took Charlie to his favorite place this evening, Petco. We picked out a toy and treats. He chose a stuffed carrot that is filled with a plastic bag so that it makes a crumpling noise when he plays with it. We then went to Barnes and Nobles which is another place that he loves. I feel that he enjoys the smell of the books. Charlie also get's a lot of attention at Barnes and Noble which is another one of his favorite things. We have since been playing all night and feel that it was overall a very good day. Hopefully good enough to get him through tomorrow.

So please pray for Charlie tomorrow and for Danny and I for the days after! I leave you with a picture of Charlie on top of Danny's suitcase, which I feel was an effort to keep Danny from going to Florida.

Charlie Goes to Camp, We Go to DC

Don't worry, I will back track along the way and fill you in on the past 2 months with Charlie, but I also want to blog about events as they happen while they are fresh in my mind.

Danny and I decided to go away for a romantic weekend for President's day holiday. As much as we love Charlie (whose newest nickname is Charlenton) he sort of keeps the romance at bay. Finding a place for him to stay was pretty difficult especially since we are over protective parents. We finally found a place on the UES which offered an indoor/outdoor set up which is unique to find in NYC. The only reason I felt comfortable leaving him at this kennel was that they had webcams set up inside and out so that we could watch him at all times. Call us crazy but we spent a whole romantic brunch in DC watching Charlie play on our Iphones!

Danny and I had one of the most amazing weekends to date and that is saying a lot considering we have had many in the almost 7 years that we have been together. We booked a stay at the Mandarin Oriental which was simply amazing! It had a spa complete with sauna, steam room, rain forest shower, hot tub and relaxation room. When we were not at the hotel we were wandering around Georgetown. It is such a charming town! We ate dinner at what is suppose to be the best Italian restaurant in DC but we both feel there HAS to be something better! They brought our $40 bottle of wine to the table already opened! Anyone who loves wine as much as we do knows that this is a major faux pas. The second night made up for it however, it was this really fun tapas restaurant where we had sangria, tapas and squid ink paella! A Danny and Brittany trip is of course never complete without some shopping and we did just that. What was great about this trip was that since we had already visited all of the monuments in the past we could spend our time just enjoying DC as a local would. We of course found a Chik-fila on our way in Maryland. We have been eating Chik-fila for as long as we can remember and somehow have never experienced the Chik-fila sauce until now. Let's just say it changed our life. I regret not asking for a handful to bring home.

Watching Charlie from a distance proved our hypothesis about him correct. We knew he was extremely hyper and could play all day long. He constantly tried to get all of the other dogs to play, even when they were napping. We drove back to the city and could not wait to pick up little baby Charlenton. When we arrived, the receptionist paged him over the loud speaker saying "please bring hyperactive Charlie to the front!" He was pumped to see us of course but crashed as soon as he got in the car. Best thing about day care is that the pup comes home exhausted!

NYE & Potty Training Secret

Danny and I got stuck in Florida due to a blizzard until New Year’s Eve. We were aching to get back to Charlie and begin training him with all that we learned from our research. Our flight got back in to NYC around 6pm in which we rushed back to our apartment because we were having a party to celebrate the New Year (which was arranged prior to Charlie coming in to our lives). Our good friend offered to pick Charlie up and bring him over. It was so great to see the little guy! He was as cute as ever and strutting his red pajamas. Charlie loved all of the friends that we had over, and they all loved him-except in retrospect, having a New Years Eve party with a puppy who is not yet housebroken is not the best idea. Charlie peed a few times and dropped a poop that smelled like the sewer. Lucky for him he is so cute that people excused this behavior. He was so worn out from all of the attention that he crawled in to his crate (which we call his den) on his own. Potty training really took a turn for the better once we figured out two important factors. First, crate training is a must. He really does love his Den and will never relieve himself inside. This teaches him to hold it which is extremely important. Second, when not in the crate, it is imperative to let him outside as often as possible, which though extremely inconvenient for those of us who live on the 5^th floor of a NYC building, means as much as every hour. The only accidents that Charlie has had in the house since we figured out these two important factors were because we did not take him out as often as we should have.The picture above is of Charlie and his Uncle Nick resting after a fun but exhausting NYE night.

The First 24 Hours

I knew having a puppy would be a tremendous amount of work but I felt I was prepared for what was to come. I had been reading extensively on how to train a puppy for quite some time and was determined to have the “perfect” puppy. Cesar Milan’s book told me it was possible and I believed it.

It is generally a mistake to go against your gut feeling and this was not any different. The pet store had persuaded me in to buying an exercise pen which could turn in to a crate instead of the crate I planned on purchasing. This crate had no top and no bottom. Charlie HATED being in there with a passion and would either scoot it around the apartment or attempt to knock it over. I had no choice but to leave him for a few hours so that I could go to work. I had knots in my stomach the entire time I was away. A puppy cam would have been clutch at that moment! I never could have foreseen what I experienced when I came home. Charlie had pooped (very softly I might add since he was on wet food) and then moved the crate around the kitchen; successfully smearing his poop all over the floor, himself, and the crate. There was no possible way for me to get to him without walking on poop. Of course out of excitement to see me (I am sure it could have been anyone at this point) he jumped up and placed his poop covered paws all over my work dress. I grabbed him and ran him to the bathtub where I spent 30 minutes trying to rid him of poop. Once he was clean I walled off the kitchen as best I could and placed him in the living room so that I could clean the kitchen floors.

In .5 seconds Charlie had successfully managed to tackle the barrier, run through the poop and hump my leg. My breaking point was met at this moment and I broke down in tears. Who was I kidding to think I could handle this? Was everyone right in telling me it would be too much? No, I was not going to let them say, "I told you so" especially not within 24 hours. I regained composure, bathed him once again, cleaned the kitchen floor and ran to Petco in my poop covered dress. I purchased the crate that I should have to begin with along with odor killing spray, chew toys galore, grooming wipes, dog gates and found a little bit of composure along the way.

Getting Charlie in the new crate was extremely difficult at first but I knew that once inside I had to teach him that this was his space and place of comfort. I would put him in at small intervals and not let him out until he stopped whining so as not to enforce the behavior. He successfully slept a solid 4 hours before waking me up.



In the remaining hours before bringing Charlie back to Le Petit (the store we purchased him from) for his Christmas stay he did a complete 180 flip in behavior. Somehow in a matter of 12 hours he had completely stolen my heart. I dropped him off at Le Petit (in his new Pajamas (seen above) which I spent way too much money on but was frantic in an effort to keep him warm) with tears in my eyes. Parting with him was difficult but I also felt fortunate for the time away. I needed the time to regroup and game plan for his return; so I grabbed my Cesar Milan book and headed off to Florida.