What a great day!

Although the weather here in San Diego was pretty gloomy all day (May Grey is not going away without a fight!), it also made for perfect marathon running weather.

I didnt run the race this year but had a few friends who were running so I decided to go out and cheer and turn it into a socializing event for Murphy & Kona. Both of them did awesome! Nothing really scared Murphy...not the noisemakers, the clappers, the screaming or the yelling. He met all kinds of dogs and was very well behaved, putting up with all the pets, pats, hugs and kisses from his many admirers. I was so proud of him. :)

After the race we met Billy for lunch in OB at Tower Two Cafe.

Billy & his "hairmet" (a helmet with a wig glued on)

They have great fish tacos and even better a big deck overlooking the ocean where the doggies are allowed to hang out. Murphy did great at his first restaurant experience, no beggin' allowed and since he doesnt really know people food yet he complied by the rules.

After lunch, Jen and I took Murphy and Kona to the Laurel street dog park. It was his first visit to a dog park and I wanted one that was fenced until I knew I could trust him offleash. He had a blast! He was a little shy at first with the other dogs, but quickly warmed up and made a few new friends. He was more confident with the little dogs and puppies than he was with the big dogs, but I think he'll outgrow that when pretty much everyone else around is little. :)

I was able to get this picture of Murphy at the park...and it totally reminded me of one that I had of Tyler. I think they are around the same age in the pictures. Murphy definitely has the goofy ears going on.

He met all kinds of dogs today!

Maltipoo
Great Dane (2 beautiful Blue Merles)
Neopolitan Mastiff (HUGE!!!)
English Mastiff (HUGER!!!)
Rottweiler puppy (3 months)
Labradoodle
Cava-doodle (Kings Charles/Poodle mix)
American Bulldog
Pit Bull
Puggle
Pug
Shepherd
Boxers (2)
Doberman puppy (5 months)
and a number of other various mixes

There was lots of playing, lots of chasing and lots of rough housing.

By the time we left both dogs were pooped and promptly crashed out in the back of the SUV. All in all it was a great way to spend a Sunday!

Trouble with a capital M!

Apparently the garden needed the soil turned.

Either that or Murphy heard about the benefits of a mud mask.

17 Week Measurements

Here he is...17 weeks old. Growing up so quickly. Training is still going well, although we wont be going to class for about 3 weeks due to the holiday and then being on vacation. Hopefully he wont forget everything while he is at Casa de Tierney!

17 weeks, 53.3 lbs, 24.5"

Murphy's latest thing is to hop in the shower after I get out in the morning, and play around for a few minutes. He likes to lick the water off the floor and the walls, and I think he just likes being silly.

I think I can! I think I can!

As most of you know, Murphy has been completely spoiled since I got him and has been sleeping in bed with me. Some people co-sleep their kids and since I wont be having any...I co-sleep my dog.

That's not going to last long though if he doesnt learn how to get on the bed by himself. He's over 50 lbs now, and either I need to start doing some weight lifting or he needs to do it on his own. Its about to the point where I cant lift him anymore! My baby's growing up too fast!

We tried a bit the other night with no success. I guess he got the idea though, so tonight he was galloping (yes, GALLOPING!) in circles around the house. As he headed from the office to my bedroom I think he decided to try and use his momentum to see if he could get on the bed...this was the result.

There's always tomorrow.

A New Crate

Murphy is growing like a weed! He's been with me for about a month and a half now and in that time has pretty much doubled in weight.

He's been using Hannah's old crate during the day, and I'd been planning on getting a new one for him but thought I had at least a few more weeks. Then last night I realized his back was already really close to touching the top of the crate! Yikes! Guess its time for a new one....NOW!

Here's Murphy checking out the new crate...."Helping"

Lots of room to grow!

only problem is, the crate is HUGE! (and its not even the biggest one you can buy!) and my house is small. So, I had to do a little rearranging. The cabinet and scratching post that was by the front door was moved to make way for Murphy's new home. It'll work for now...and hopefully he wont outgrow this one and need the next size up. If that happens, I might just move in there with him.

16 Week Measurements

I cant believe Murphy is already 16 weeks old. He's growing by leaps and bounds, and starting to test his limits. He knows what he should and shouldnt do...and enjoys doing what he shouldnt do MUCH more than what he should!

He's on his 4th week of puppy school, and now he is much more confident and has a few best buddies in class so getting him to pay attention is more of a challenge. All he wants to do is play with Pippin and Trinity. I am looking forward to next week when he gets his last series of puppy shots and is cleared to go to dog park and burn off some energy!

16 weeks, 48.6 lbs, 23.5"

Road Trip

This weekend Murphy went on his first road trip. He was such a great traveller! Even when we got stuck in traffic on Friday afternoon, he just lounged in his crate...content to sleep the gridlock away. Wish I could have done the same.

All weekend Murphy did great. He's been potty trained for about 2 weeks now, and proved to be reliable. Of course that sometimes means waking me up 1-2 times a night to go outside, but I'll take a little lost sleep over the alternative.

Grandma & Grandpa got him some fun toys to keep him busy over the weekend, and Murphy go to meet an adorable 17 month old who loved to give him hugs and kisses. What a lucky boy!

All in all it was a fun weekend, but boy was it exhausting. :)

Small Jobs

Murphy is in charge of the small jobs around the house. Mainly these include subtle reminders for me to do things I should be doing automatically.

1. He reminds me to pick up my shoes (by bringing them out to the living room when I leave them on the floor in the bedroom)
2. He reminds me to fold the blanket and put it on the back of the couch (by dragging it thru the house)
3. He reminds me to empty the recycle bin (by shredding the newspaper and ads that I have stuffed in there)

Today, he was also decided he needed to help me change the kitty litter. He had to wrangle to litter box lid. Apparently it was trying to escape.

Training Update

Murphy's training is going well. We started a clicker puppy class 2 weeks ago, and so far he has gotten pretty good at 'sit', 'down', and 'kennel'. I used a clicker off and on with Hannah, she was super smart and picked up on things immediately. Murphy seems to be quick, but not quite that quick. It was pretty cool though to see him thinking, I could really tell the moment he 'got it' and realized what I wanted him to do when I asked him to 'lie down'.

Sophie was also helping last night, and by 'helping' I mean lying on the book so that I wasn't able to read it. What I really think she is trying to say is 'maybe if he never learns anything, she'll send him back'.

Speaking of training, I've decided to sign up for another "Team in Training" event. It was a tough decision between the century bike ride (Tour de Poway) and a half marathon (Nike Women's Half). The century had a lower fundraising amount ($975 for alumni) and since it was local there would be no travel, but Nike has a lower requirement for training (since its only a half marathon) and there are hot firemen in tuxedo's at the finish line handing out Tiffany finisher medals.

In the end, Nike won out. The race is October 18th. Tracy, Mike and 'The new Kennedy' as Jen calls Tiny Dancer, have already promised to be there to cheer me on. Sheesh...the kids not even born and he/she already has an event on his/her social calendar!

Our first session is May 16th...which I will be missing for T's baby shower. Guess I'm off to a good start. ;-)

So, on that note...let the training (and fundraising!) begin!!

14 Week Measurements

I found a website that has growth information for Great Danes.

HEIGHT & WEIGHT DATA FOR DANES (http://www.chromadane.com/ht&wt.htm)

When reading the below, remember that all pups follow their own guide, and grow at their own rate--other guides (listed below chart), are better for knowing what is "right" than just ht/wt data.

That said, Here is a general guide:

Birth weight: 1-2 lbs

Week 1: 2-3 lbs

Week 2: 3-5 lbs

Week 3: 4-7 lbs

Week 4: 5-8 lbs

Week 6: 10-20 lbs

Month 2: 15-30 lbs (13-17")

Month 3: 30-45 lbs (17-22")

Month 4: 50-65 lbs (21-25")

Month 5: 65-85 lbs (25-30")

Month 6: 70-100 lbs (27-32")

Month 7: 75-110 lbs (27-33")

Month 8: 80-115 lbs. (27-34")

Month 9: 85-120 lbs. (28-34")

One year: 90-135 lbs (28-36")

Full grown: 100-190 lbs (28-38")

For males: 140-170 lbs. & 33-36" is typical.

For females: 110-140 lbs. & 30-33" is typical

Its inspired me to try and keep track of his weight and height (at the shoulders) as he grows. I'll be taking pictures every once in a while in the same location (or at least as often as he'll sit still for me!), hopefully similar poses so you can get a good idea of how he's changing.

14 weeks, 38 lbs, 21.5"

Egg Muffins

This has nothing to do with Murphy but I found this great recipe and just wanted to share. Super easy make ahead breakfast. I LOVE breakfast, but often run out of time in the morning. These were delicious!

EGG "MUFFINS"(makes 12)

10-12 eggs
2 T fat free half and half
1-2 tsp. Seasonings (I used Salt, Pepper & some Garlic Salt)
1 1/2- 2 cups diced meat: canadian bacon, ham, cooked turkey sausage or cooked veggie sausage
1 1/2- 2 cups grated low fat cheese (I like sharp cheddar or feta)
Optional, but highly recommended, 3 green onions diced small.

Preheat oven to 375.

Use regular or silicone muffin pan, 12 muffin size. If using silicone pan, spray with nonstick spray. If using regular muffin pan, put two paper liners into each slot, then spray liner with nonstick spray. In the bottom of the muffin cups layer diced meat, cheese and green onions.

You want the muffin cups to be 3/4 full of 'stuff', with just enough room to pour a little egg around the other ingredients.

Beat eggs well with the half and half (you could use milk).

Pour egg into each muffin cup until it is full to the brim, nearly overflowing.

Bake 25-30 minutes until muffins have risen above the rim of the muffin cups and are slightly browned and set.

These freeze well.

Videos of Murphy

Here are two silly videos showing how much of a goof Murphy can be.

Its an Ice Cube!

A new toy (courtesy of Jen & Mike!)

Pool Party

Sunday afternoon was a lazy day spent at Jen & Mike's by the pool. They are my wonderful friends who volunteered to dog sit Murphy while I am in Vermont for a week in June, and we wanted to get the dogs all together to meet before that week. (Plus Jen & Mike hadn't even met the new addition yet!)

Kona became the big boss immediately, barking and yipping at Murphy whenever he did something Kona didn't agree with (which at first was pretty much everything!). Soon Murphy realized this noise was nothing more than noise and he began loping around the yard, running and playing. He had a great time egging on Lucy and Kona...running back to the "Safe Zone" when things got too outta hand.

Murphy eventually ended up in the pool. The "Shamu Shelf" was the perfect depth, and he was immediately comfortable. He got a little too confident though and took one step too many and ended up going for a swim! In the end, Kona and Murphy became great friends...in the way doggies become great friends, by gnawing and pulling on each other's cheeks.
It was a fun day, especially since Murphy was pooped and slept for the rest of the afternoon!
This last photo is courtesy of Jen and a fun website called "Picnik". Check it out. (http://www.picnik.com/)

The Family Tree

I was able to contact with the breeder the young couple bought Murphy from. Melanie had told me about some videos of Murphy's litter that were posted on YouTube, so I did a search and found them and just used the link to contact the breeder. Pretty simple stuff.

Her name is Paula and she lives in MA. She was kind enough to send me pictures of both Murphy's Mom & Dad, as well as some very cute baby pics of Murphy!

Murphy's dad is named King Tao. A beautiful black male, weighing in at a measly 180 lbs! His mom is a more petitie Harlequin at just 130lbs. I dont know Mom's name.

Paula also sent me some of Murphy's baby pictures. I think these are from when he was about 1-2 weeks old, and again at about 4 weeks.