WELL, I have failed at this whole blogging thing. I would say I've been pretty busy (which is mostly true), but mainly it's just because I couldn't think of anything worthwhile (or exciting) to write about. Bloggers block?





NOW I DO! Get excited, because I am.






We have FINALLY found out where we're going after N graduates in April. We were supposed to find out in December or something, buuuut that didn't happen haha. So it's been kind of stressful not knowing where we're going in less than two months, but God has his reasons for everything so we were being patient :). Turns out we're not going anywhere! N and I will be staying where we are right now in Georgia. The only downside --to me-- there's no traditional Mass. There are so many plus sides though :)  Like I said before, and N completely agrees, God has a reason for everything and we need to trust him. Things can obviously change at any time, but as of right now we know where we'll be at :).






Next on the list -- Puppy training!






OH MY GOODNESS. There are times I want to pull my hair out, sit down in a ball and just plain ugly cry. I can't even count the number of bruises on my legs and arms from Barley jumping and trying to grab my clothes. I do have to admit he has gotten a lot better with mouthing and nipping though. He still jumps on me a lot, and snaps his teeth when he's mad at us for saying no to something, but there is a definite difference when he mouths us. He starts to, then you can tell he realizes what he's doing (most of the time) and he slowly softens his bite or lets go. When he's going for our clothes he tries to pinch just the clothes, but of course he accidently grabs our skin. SO PROUD of his accomplishments so far though :)






There is one thing he has picked up...pinching my bottom. Yes, you read that right. For the past couple of weeks when he gets really excited and jumps on me, I've been turning around to ignore him and he doesn't like that. He loves attention. So he gets frustrated at me, and with his very front teeth, pinches my bottom...hard...until I turn around. If I try and leave he just keeps grabbing me or jumping on me. I. HATE. IT.






 The only other thing I'd like to change is his listening to us when we call him, especially from outside. We haven't quite mastered that yet, which I feel like we should so I get more frustrated than I probably should. We can't leave him in the backyard by himself, since he likes to dig, eat rocks, and pull grass by the roots then eat the dirt. Yep. Special. We stand out there until he does his business, sometimes play Frisbee (there's a funny story to that I'll get to in a bit) and when he's done some running around we call him in. There have been times where we call him in, then he runs off and starts digging. When we try and get his leash on him or tell him no he starts running around us and then grabs grass or digs. SUPER ANNOYING. I'd like to point out he's freakishly large size for a 5 month old dog lol. He weighs over 60lbs for sure, and I'm guessing over 70 now but not sure. So when I try and get him in, all he does is pull and I fall or something like that. There are times where I have gotten so mad at his nipping and running and jumping that I HAVE to pull him in by his legs. Sounds SO mean, but seriously y'all, there is no other way and I'm really gentle and I'm pretty sure he thinks its a game. Sometimes he jumps up and I grab his front two paws and we "walk" together to his kennel lol. Anyways, I'm pretty sure our neighbors probably think I'm so mean to our dog by what I say to him when he's being a jerk in the backyard lol. Swear I'm not!






We have tried countless ways to teach Barley different things, but the only thing that has worked so far is his training collar. I have never liked them, and if there was any other way I would do it, but we seriously have tried everything else! He instantly listened when we first tried it with a trainer since he suggested it. It worked wonders for a bit! It still does, and there are times where he doesn't even need to wear it :). The only other thing that works with me when he gets too rough is a spray bottle. Its not often, but I try and use that more than the collar. N is good at showing Barley who the alpha is, but with my size and tiny voice I stink at it lol. Good thing he listens to the water bottle. He knows now when I pull it out to sit down and relax. Since he's better at listening, I've been able to work with more clicker training. I had tried before, but like I said...nothing worked. His new favorite game is "Find it." I take a small treat, tell him to sit and stay, then I hide it (while he watches) and he stays until I tell him to "find it." He's pretty good at it! He gets so excited when I tell him we're going to play it. He shakes because he can barely handle the excitement! The next game he likes is "fetch." He LOVES his Frisbee and has started to bring it back when you ask, BUT his game is he'll come right up to you and then run away so you can't touch it. I've started kneeling down for him to get closer, and if I don't grab for it, he'll walk circles around me and even rub the Frisbee on my back or arm to entice me haha. It's pretty funny. Overall he's a really sweet dog :) He's perfect at "sitting," almost perfect at "laying down" and we're half way there to "stay" haha. He stays, but only for a short time. He's getting it though!






Easel, our three legged kitty is doing wonderful when Barley isn't trying to lick him haha. He (and I) have enjoyed sunny warm days the past few days! It makes me so excited for summer time. Hopefully we can make it to the beach at some point! I am so over the cold! We had a snow storm a couple of weeks ago, then a huge ice storm where trees broke and power went out last week and an earthquake on Friday. It was so crazy! I give mad props to all the people who worked for the electric company and their families. They worked so hard to get all the power back up and running.





I tried posting some pictures of the storms but for some reason it won't upload




Until next time y'all :)