Fritz at 5 Months

Seems like yesterday that we brought home a 10 lb puppy from a farm in Audubon, Iowa.  We could hold him with one hand and did not need to guard our food when we ate.  Nor did we need to protect the food of the cats when they ate.  And he grew and grew.  January 1, 2014, he weighed in at 71 lb.  I recommend Solid Gold Wolf Cub Large Breed Puppy Food for canines of this size.  He goes through a 15 lb bag in less than 2 weeks.  His growth appears balanced and healthy.  Boulevard Sports in Des Moines, Iowa, is a great small business to purchase Wolf Cub and other healthy and holistic dag and cat food.

The day we brought him home.  Fritz at 5 weeks.

He has grown mentally as well.  He now understands our sleep cycle and habits.  For his first month or so he would sleep in the kitchen, mainly because we blocked him in there.  But He was rather nocturnal and demanded to go outside 2 or 3 times per night.  If we had to get up at night we had to do it very quietly as not to wake him.  No joy.  Eventually he grew big enough to climb over whatever we used to fence him in.  Then he'd sleep where he crashed, literally.  Eventually, he realized that Mary and I have a bedroom and so he moved into that room, ready at a moment's notice to wake up when we woke up.

Couch hog!

Today he can sleep on the bed if he likes.  Not always so.  We tried getting him on the bed when he was little but that never worked out.  Too playful and then teething set in.  Much later he learned how to climb up on the bed himself.  He likes to sleep between us.  His large paws smashing into us like clubs.  He still on occasion will chew on our skulls.  His stay on top is never very long.  And if Mary and I do not leave him a space between us for him, Fritz will walk up to the headboard and make a space.  Painfully make us give him room.

He's discovered human food.  Still immature about it.  Instead quietly sneaking under the table and waiting for something to fall or hand outs, Fritz will whine and beg and bark and be a nuisance.  He is getting better.  For Thanksgiving and Christmas we got him large bones from B&B Supermarket and tied him outside with them.  Distraction at its finest.  Win/win.  But his size and lack of maturity is the issue.  Now he can get his front legs firmly on the table or countertop or stovetop and reach whatever he sees and smells.  We must guard food.

For example, he ate 2 bananas last week.  Two days ago on Taco Monday he got the container of sour cream and cleaned it out.  Right before Christmas Dora and Mary chased him around the house because he had a raw potato in his mouth.  I keep the lid on the grill whenever I cook with it but he loves to stick his snout in the ash bucket.  One time, right before Thanksgiving he singed the fur on his head going through the ashes.  Had some grease on his head too!

His food thievery is not limited to food.  Over the holiday break he ate Timmy's toothbrush 4 times!  You think that Timmy would not store it in his bedroom but he continues to do this and Fritz finds it.

The second snow of the season.  Dora used Fritz to pull a sled.

We take Fritz for a counter clockwise walk around the block.  I am amazed that he seems to reserve enough urine to mark the same spots over and over again.  He always stares at the same dogs that bark at him, wagging his tail and wanting to be released so he can play with them.  Friendly dog he is.  Never mean.  I think we socialized him well.  His eyes light up whenever we grab his leash and he is very disappointed if we do not leave the yard or curtail the walk short.

 In our backyard Fritz has his areas.  One area is scattered with dog toys and things to chew on.  This is where we occasionally chain him up.  Yes, we do that.  We cannot always get the gate closed and especially during winter have little desire to be outside.  We are not double coated.  I usually give him 20 minutes of playtime when I return from work plus a walk.  Our favorite game is soccer.  We have a flat soccer ball that he can pick up and run with.  I kick it and he chases it.  Fritz also has a game which is like basketball without a ball.  He acts like a defender, lowers his head and growls and jumps up.  I have to encroach on him and herd him to the door.  To strangers this looks dangerous but it's his way of playing outside.

Another year of growth I suspect.  I think we have a possible 150 lb dog on our hands.  Last night as he laid under the Christmas tree we thought that he grew greatly in the month after Thanksgiving.  He weighs now what Heidi weighed on the day she passed away.  If he gets the long coat he will look absolutely huge.  As it is now, at 5 months, he is the size of a labrador.   Another year of growth.  He will mellow and mature.  We have seen that.  Eventually his pleasant demeanor will change a bit and his natural guarding instincts will kick in.  I can already hear the barking that will ensue when there is a knock on our door or a stranger outside or an argument 5 houses down that human ears cannot detect or a low flying satellite flying overhead.  That is what the breed is known and loved for.  Big size, big bark, big heart and big protection.

December 22, 2013.  The truck has large mudders for tires and I am 5'4" on a good day.