Little Big Man

My (not so) little Simon was born December 7, 2009. He weighed 18lbs when we brought him home.


At 6 months old today - he is now 65lbs



Owning my very first dog has been both a challenge and a joy. It was very difficult when we first brought him home as I was never sure of what he needed or what he wanted. Is he hungry? Does he have to go out? Why is he barking? Why is he not barking? Why won't he sleep? What is his fascination with biting my feet?

Brian would constantly reassure me that it gets better, and more importantly, it gets easier. These comforting words usually came as Simon was latched onto the bottom of my bath robe, yanking and pulling and tearing at the delicate fabric.

When does the easy part come?




I would say "easier" came around the beginning of May. Simon had graduated from puppy kindergarten with a set of basic commands. It's amazing how these commands make owning a dog 100 times easier. The best, most useful command he learned is "trade." Trading has been a life saver. No matter what he is doing (running at the cats full speed), or what he has in his mouth (oh, no, no, not Mommy's work heels) if you shout out TRADE, he will stop in his tracks or drop what he has in his mouth and come to you for a treat.

Best. Command. Ever.

I discovered that he understood this command when one day he had Ebenezer pinned in a corner. I knew he wouldn't respond to "SIMON" or "NO." I watched as he raised his heavy furry paw and was about to slam it down on poor little Ebenezer's whiskered face.

"TRRRRRRRRRRRRADE," I shouted. He whipped his body around, trotted over to where I was standing and plopped at my feet. He looked up at me as if to say, "this is the part where I get a treat."

"Holy Sh*t," I thought to myself, "he understands English."