Waiting for Mommy to Come Home

Mocha’s sleeping by the door, waiting for Mommy to come home.

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Struggling to Stay Awake

Mocha struggles to stay awake in the car after a good, long & exhausting day. Fight it, boy, fight the sleep! Fight it! Awww…

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The Mocha Marathon

A romp at the dog park and a three-mile run didn’t do it. A two-hour uphill hike didn’t do it. So we decided to take drastic measures.

We decided to take Mocha on a Mocha Marathon. Run three miles to the dog park, then the usual fetch, followed by a three-mile run back home. And lots of water in between, of course. That oughta tire him out once and for all!

To be totally honest, the runs and hikes do tire Mocha out. As soon as he gets home, he collapses to the floor and sleeps for a good hour or three. But then he’s up and active again, as if he’s been sleeping for days. I blame it on his damned Jack Russell Terrier half.

We could also be a victim of our own doing. Perhaps we’ve been exercising Mocha so well that he’s a mass of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle now. Damn.

So how did Mocha do from his Mocha Marathon today?

He slept pretty much the rest of the evening. Not a peep from him. I had to poke him to make sure he was still alive. Success!

Except… next time, we’ll probably have to do eight miles to tire him out. Greaaat…

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Wake Up Daddy, Wake Up!

Bark bark bark! Roof! Woof woof woof. Bark bark bark!

Woof woof woof? Bark woof woof! Woof woof woof. Roof. Woof woof woof? Rowr? Bark bark bark!

Translated from Dog:

Wake up Daddy! Wake up! Look, I brought you a ball. Let’s play Daddy, let’s play!

What, are you still tired? It’s already 6:00 AM in the morning! Don’t tell me you’re going to sleep the whole day away. You slacker. Don’t you want to get up and play ball with me? Puleeeeeze? C’mon Daddy, wake up!

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A Doggie Nap with Cabbie

After a day at the dog park, Mocha curled up to take a nap with Cabbie. Awww.

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Mostly Crate-Trained, Mostly

We’re so happy Mocha likes his crate. I wonder if his previous owners crate-trained him. At night, he walks into his crate on his own to go to sleep. I know it takes months for some owners to crate-train their dogs, so we’re damn thankful that Mocha appears to be comfortable with his crate.

However, he doesn’t love his crate. Not yet. He prefers to chill out at our feet or in his favorite corner. So I’ve been trying to complete his training. And with our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy! Uh… Ahem.

So I was saying… I’ve got to continue his crate training. With plenty of treats, hopefully it won’t be too difficult.

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Oh, How I Love My FURminator

Rowr woof rowr! Woof woof woof. Bark woof woof. Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Rowr rowr rowr!

Translated from Dog:

Oh, how I love my FURminator! Daddy used it on me today. At first, I was scared. But once he started combing it through my fur, I fell in love. The long strokes scratched all of my itches, unhooked the knots in my hair, and gave me a nice massage. I even fell asleep while Daddy was using it. Oh I love it so!

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First Visit to the Dog Park

Today was a big day for Mocha. Today was the day we went inside the dog park.

We tried to get into the dog park yesterday too, but Mocha seemed too timid for that social interaction. As we approached the park, he began barking wildly at the other dogs. This incited them to bark back. It was a total bark fest. A bark orgy. Barkstock, sans hippies, and lots of barking.

He seemed so uncontrollable that we ended up walking over to a patch of open grass elsewhere. With the leash still on, we ran him around in circles. The big goofy grin on his face told us that he loved that.

So today, I tried again. This time, I discovered that there are two dog parks – one for big dogs and one for small dogs. Yesterday, we were at the big dog park. The small dog park seemed like a better place to acclimate Mocha. So onward we went.

Mocha’s verdict?

He loved it. Parkstock, sans hippies, and with all the love.

There were just a few small dogs there. One of them loved to run as much as Mocha did. And boy does Mocha love to run.

He was apprehensive at first. His tail was tucked between his legs and he wouldn’t leave my side. There was lots of nervous barking too. But once the atmosphere calmed down, he started to socialize. Then he started to run. And run and run and run. Run Mocha run!

I imagine this is how parents feel when they see their kids at the playground, playing with other kids. A rush of pride swept through my bones. My grin matched Mocha’s. “Damn, I’m a good parent,” I thought to myself humbly.

As soon as we got home, Mocha conked the heck out. Collapsed right on the floor. Too bad I didn’t have my camera at the dog park. At least I got a shot of him sleeping blissfully, with happy dreams of running at the dog park.

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Road Trip

We love road trips. But we weren’t sure how Mocha would handle them.

After having him for just a few days, we didn’t want to leave him in a kennel or someplace alone. He still needed medication (antibiotics) for the stitches from his neutering operation, as well as plenty of tender loving care.

However, we had planned a road trip for this past weekend from Southern California to Northern California. It was to see some friends & family and wasn’t a trip we could post-phone. So we decided to take Mocha along and hope for the best.

I lined my car’s seats with water-absorbent pads and towels. We had ample dog food, water, paper towels, cleaning products, and medication on hand. Though the road trip was usually six hours, we planned for eight or more hours so we could stop often and let him out. We weren’t sure strong his bladder was and I’ll be damned if my car is going to smell like a NYC subway station (read: urine-infused).

My job was to drive there without killing us and being ready to pull over at a moment’s notice. Mia’s job was to watch Mocha and warn me of impending pee or poop.

So what happened?

Mocha was totally awesome in the car. Totally awesome. (Unfortunately, we didn’t take any pictures. Sorry.)

He slept most of the way there. We stopped roughly every two-to-three hours, which was enough for him to take his potty breaks. He ate heartily when we fed him, and peed & pooped when we stopped. Thank fricken goodness we have a car-friendly dog.

We listened to an audio CD of Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope. Mocha curled up in the back seat and passed out as soon as we popped in that CD. Perhaps Obama’s soothing voice put him to sleep? I guess Mocha is a democrat.

Surprisingly, he didn’t seem to like sticking his head out the window, even at slow speeds on side streets. (Try saying that three times fast – “slow speeds on side streets, slow speeds on side streets, slow speeds on side streets…”)

We’re now back home and sleeping in our own beds. It’s great to know that we could take off for another road trip someday and bring Mocha along though. We’ll just make sure we have another Obama CD for him.

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