Almost there...

 Yesterday as I was watching Jack and Bear eating their food, I noticed that Bear seemed almost as tall as Jack. So I went and weighed them both:

Bear chilling on the couch

Jack and Kitty also sleeping

Bear sure is getting big and cute as ever

Jack wanting some jerky at my office desk.

Bear looks bigger here

Jack was 45 pounds (hasn't changed in a couple months), and Bear was 43 pounds.  Wow!  In about a week, Jack will no longer be the literal big brother.  Bear is gonna pass him up.  

I'm still sleeping on the couch with the dogs.  Last Sunday Bear was given a bit too many turkey bones and it was a throw up fest that night. Grateful to have wood floors for him to do that on, rather than carpet.  Thus I'm stuck sleeping on the couch with him and Jack until we can get some reasonable confidence that he will be able to go through the night without any accidents.

Last night he slept through the night without issues. We have been taking them on walks every day mid day when the sun is out and it feels great.  They love these walks. 

As far as the pulling goes with Jack.  The Shock collar no longer has any effect with Jack any more.  He just does a little twitch and continues to pull, or if he's off leash, just continues to run and do his thing.  So unfortunately that was a short lived method of getting obedience.  I've tried a new method (which I tried earlier but have gotten away from using), is this way of leashing Jack up. And this works great.  When he starts to walk even a foot ahead it puts pressure on his muzzle and he backs off to where I like him directly to my left.

Check it out.  This works:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 Christmas this year was such a great event.  We went down to St. George the day after Christmas and really enjoyed being together playing games, going on hikes, bike rides and pickleball.  The dogs loved being in the back with the birds, and the large area to run, climb and play.

I had to sleep with the dogs in the craft room near the entry,
since it was on tile, and not on carpet.

Bear looking for a handout near the pool.

Jack got a little wild on the walk running off.  

What wonderful weather.

Spending New Year's Eve with the sleepy jack.

I broke down and bought a shock collar on Amazon.  During our trip to St. George Jack ran off so far in the field I couldn't see him.  I whistled and yelled for him, but with all the bush, he could see me.  So I got a collar which provides a beep, vibration, and finally a shock which can be controlled by remote control.  I've taken it on a few walks since then and he responds so well I don't really have to use it.  He usually knows the threshold of distance I'm willing for him to take and he'll typically stop and come back within that range.  I also got a training harness for Jack so he doesn't pull on the leash.  It tightens up around his chest as he applies pressure to the leash.  It isn't a sure solution, but helps more than without it. The choke collar wasn't really making a difference for him. But the harness is a big improvement.

Bear is only 8 pounds away from matching Jack as far as weight.  I can tell he is really just taking off on growth.  I think Bear may be allergic to something.  Sometimes he'll itch his feet and sometimes whine as he's scratching himself.  We need to see if we can figure that out.  He gets his second set of shots this coming Thursday.  

	Jack (12/6/2019)	Bear (9/18/2020)
Weight	45 pounds	38 pounds
Neck circumference	17.5 inches	16 inches
Chest circumference	26.75 inches	23.5 inches
Body (Neck to tail base)	27 inches	24 inches
Age in weeks	56 weeks	15 weeks

Hiking Antelope Island

 This last weekend Cathi and I took Bear and Jack out to Antelope Island for a hike.  It was lots of fun. We climbed to the top of a hill and when we got up there a couple of Bison were up there and we didn't notice until about 30 yards away.  They were running and I told Cathi who was a few yards ahead of me to stop and walk back towards me.  

The dogs had fun, and we saw a couple coyote up close too.  

Bear is getting big.  He is up to 33 pounds and closing in on Jack as far as size.  We had a good snow storm last week and they had fun playing in the snow.  Bear seems to really like it.  He'll lay down in the snow like it's no big deal.  That fur of his makes him look like a Bison.  It's awesome.

We are getting excited for Christmas. 

Saw this cute video of a dog hugging his brother:

Jack's 1 year Birthday

 

Jack turned one today!  We had a little birthday celebration for him today.

He has learned so much this past year.  And his impact on my life has been extreme.  When I leave the room, he immediately perks up and follows me.  If I go into the garage without him, he starts to cry.  If I run an errand without him, his heart is broken.  It feels good to have him love being with me every minute.

Buddies

Play fighting

Jack loves teasing his little brother.

This past week we have taken them nearly every day on a walk.  They love it.  Bear can't stand it when Jack pulls slightly ahead, so he'll go up and start biting Jack's ear. Jack tries to ignore him.  It's funny.

Bear threw up a couple times this past week.  Maybe we overdid it giving him tiny pieces of turkey.  After he threw it up the first time he immediately devoured the pile.  The second time he threw up, I pulled him away and we scooped it up.  No more human food for him for the time being. 

I'm just glad he didn't eat a toy and throw it up like this:

Cathi swears she is seeing Bear grow right before our eyes. He gained in every way:

	Jack (12/6/2019)	Bear (9/18/2020)
Weight	45 pounds	25 pounds
Neck circumference	17.5 inches	13 inches
Chest circumference	26.75 inches	20.5 inches
Body (Neck to tail base)	27 inches	20.5 inches
Age in weeks	52 week	11 weeks

Happy Thanksgiving!

 This last week I've been working on the following:

Jack:

• 

  Bear napping with Kitty after a walk to the park
  

  No barking when Brutus (the neighbors dog) retrieves a ball for me that I throw in the neighbors back yard for him to retrieve for me.  Jack gets really jealous and when Brutus fetches the ball and returns it to me at the slot in the end of the fence, Jack goes nuts and starts to bark.  So I'm working on telling him to obey the "Don't bark" command.  And he's starting to do well when I'm firm with him and command right before the ball is returned so he doesn't forget.  
• "kiss" - I'm trying to get him to give me a kiss on command.  This works best when I have beef jerky which he absolutely loves.



Chilling with Jack

Bear:

• Sit is 100% and he does it without even being commanded.  He knows that'll get him a treat every time.
• Lay down - He's getting better at this, but still not without me reaching down to point to the ground.
• He's showing an interest in the squeaky ball and will chase after it and put it in his mouth (unless Jack gets to it first).  So we are working on just getting him to chase it every time.  Once that's solid we will work on bring it.
• His sleeping is better this past week.

Thanksgiving at our house was so fun.  We had Lucy and Cody join us on Thanksgiving day and we had a good time.  Then on Black Friday, Austin and Jacob and their wives joined us. It was quite the enjoyable long weekend.

The dogs have really enjoyed all the ham and turkey bones and it was cool to see Jack and Bear get along during all that bone crunching time. Once Jack finished his bone and came slowly in for Bear’s bone. But Bear wouldn’t have it and knew what he was going for and jumped towards him with a little snarl. He kept it that time. 

Cathi and I have done good this week taking these dogs on walks.  I used to take Jack every single day, but in the summer time gave up on it as it was too dang hot.  With Bear we've picked it back up. and we've gone on about 4 walks this past week to Jensen Park and back.  Today Bear crossed the stream with Jack and me without hesitation.  Granted the water is extremely shallow, but fun to see him enjoy the water.

Jack and Bear love their walks

Kicking off the Christmas season!

I got Jack a Christmas outfit.  A Santa figure riding on his back.  Here's some fun video.  And I didn't notice at the time, but when I told Jack to lay down, little Bear did too.  What a sweet little cub.

 

In terms of growth, not a ton of changes from last week. Jack was the same, but Bear gained 2 pounds and got a little longer.

Check out this old. An old man in Florida saved his puppy from a baby alligator that snatched up his puppy while out on his walk!  Conservationists are like "We need to coexist and live alongside wildlife." Umm OK, well this is what happens. This dude is a stud. Nothing is going to have my dog for lunch! 

Our vocal, energetic Bear

This last week I had an appointment to take Jack to the clinic to get neutered.  I did one more burst of research on the topic:

• Top 10 reasons to neuter your dog

• Top 10 reasons to NOT neuter your dog

I found the reasons FOR rather weak.  While I don't plan on studding Jack, I haven't noticed any aggression on his part, nor a desire for him to break out of the yard.  He can't stand not being in the same room as me.  The medical reasons for neutering didn't out the medical risks that seem to be listed for dogs that are neutered.  

So Cathi and I discussed it and we cancelled that appointment.  We are going to let Jack keep his manhood until we see any real reasons to consider otherwise.

Our little Bear has had another week at the Gridley house.  He's got sit down really well, just as good as Jack.  We are working on "Lay down".  He gets it pretty well if I bring the treat down to floor level, but I'm trying to get him to lay without having to bend all the way down to touch the ground.  That's the next step.  He's more vocal about things. He barks more than Jack ever did as a puppy. Not an annoying constant barking, but when he wants a treat after sitting for a while and you are too slow giving it to him.  Or when he hears another dog in a yard barking while we are on a walk, he will answer with a single bark which is cute.  

He also is more whiny at night than Jack ever was too.  He's having a hard time staying asleep throughout the night on a consistent basis.

Bear, enjoying a beef steak bone

I've been spending the nights on the main floor in the front room with Jack and Bear.  Some nights he whines and we take him out and he gets a drink and goes to the bathroom, only to have him struggle getting back to sleep.  Which affects my sleep too.

Bear does really good on a leash
and stays with us, whereas Jack
is high energy and wants to go!

I need to make sure he gets a decent drink later in the evening and then put the bowl up high so he doesn't get any more middle of the night drinks. I'd like him to be able to sleep through the night without having to go out, or to wake up for whatever reason.  He sleeps alot during the day, but he also gets a lot of exercise playing with Jack in the back.  

Jack and Bear do a lot of playing together and it's fun to see that.  Jack is getting way more steps in a day the past couple weeks since we got Bear. And I can tell he greatly enjoys the company.

Updated Stats:

	Jack (12/6/2019)	Bear (9/18/2020)
Weight	45 pounds	20 pounds
Neck circumference	15.5 inches	12 inches
Chest circumference	26 inches	20 inches
Body (Neck to tail base)	24 inches	16 inches
Age in weeks	50 weeks (11.5 months)	9 weeks (2.25 months)

The cat from day 1 hasn't had a single issue with Bear. She hasn't even arched her back once.  It's nice that he's coming in to our family as a puppy, because I don't think she'd be like that if he came in as an adult.  It would take her a long time to warm up to him.

Jack's little brown furry brother, Bear

Isaac, probably the least dog-loving
boy in the family enjoyed a moment
of Moose sleeping on his lap.

 So yesterday evening we went down to Orem and picked up our new family member.  Bear is what we are calling him. It's funny how Mom and Dad have a name, and the kids override simply by calling him that and forcing us to go with it for the sake of the puppy to not get him confused with two names.  

Jack did just as I thought, he was overly excited about the whole situation.  To the point of probably overwhelming the little guy.  Jack is so happy, and little rough in his play.  Before we know it Jack will be the smaller of the two.  

Here are some pics and vids:

Chasing Jack around the back yard.

It has begun. His poop is already
bigger than Jack's!

Jack constantly sniffing, and playing with his little
brother.  It's like teaching a toddler to be gentle
with a newborn.  It's a struggle to make it clear
that he isn't really a peer just yet. Got to be
a little respectful of the little guy's space.