Life with a Side of Bacon

Back in April, I introduced you to the newest member of the Lambson, Junior family: Bacon the dog. A lot has changed since that post, and a lot has stayed the same. Mainly, I'm looking for an excuse to brag about our dog, who is wonderful and superior (other people blog about their kids, I blog about our dog). Also, I wanted to show off the beautiful photos Kirsten took of our pride and joy.

- Bacon still prefers squeaky toys, except now his singular goal on receiving a new squeaky toy is to extract the squeaker as quickly as possible. He does this by tearing through the fabric of said toy like a rabid mongoose into whatever it is mongooses (mongeese?) eat. I've heard they eat snakes, but I wasn't going to go there. Once Bacon has extracted the squeaker (his slowest time was an estimated 1.34236 seconds), he then proceeds to rip out the toy's living guts cotton stuffing. He doesn't eat any of this, mind - he just likes disemboweling his new toys. Sometimes, Tamara will sew the toy back up (sans stuffing) and Bacon will play with it with much less vigor. But his most energetic episodes come when he's got a brand new toy to decimate.


- For chewing, Bacon loves Nylabones. He still chews the Nylabone we got him back in April. Those things get my endorsement 100%. He also (predictably) loves rawhide. As soon as he's done eating, or if he sees me/Tamara going into the computer room, he'll race ahead of us, eyes full of joyous anticipation of our retrieving the huge rawhide bone we keep on top of the bookshelf there. We rarely give it to him - usually it's a way to get him to calm down after a bath or something - but his persistence persists.

- On that note, Bacon is not a destructive chewer. It's been a long time since he chewed on anything we didn't want him to. The biggest scare was when he chewed up the electronic noise device in an "Angry Birds" toy - I was mostly worried that he'd accidentally swallowed a battery, but he didn't.

- If it was possible to hoard proximity even more, Bacon's done it. I can't sit on the couch to watch a movie or play a game without him jumping up right onto my lap and sitting down on my chest. Even if I'm sitting up. Seriously, he'll put his butt on your chest or arm or back and take as much of a sitting position as he can, telling you with his own unique body language that it's time to pet him. Sometimes he settles right down; other times he fidgets and fidgets and fidgets.


- Bacon no longer sleeps on the bed we bought him. At best, it's a place to lay down as he's tearing into his latest toy. Instead, he sleeps (during the night) on our loveseat. If it's summer, he just sleeps on a towel to keep too much hair from getting on the couch. Right now, in winter, we put a comforter on the loveseat so he can nestle in and bury himself under the covers if he wants.

- Bacon has a nighttime routine. Really, he does. I walk him at around 8 or 8:30, then Tamara feeds him and puts him to bed. She'll tuck the comforter around him a little bit and bunch it up, then turn off the living room lights so he can bury his nose under the covers and go to sleep. He's so comfortable, he won't get up of his own volition before 10 or 11 the next morning - it's a pain trying to get him up before that. Wait, is our dog a teenager?

- Bacon still loves walks. Seriously, what dog doesn't? He's still really good on walks, though we've started using a choke collar to keep him from straining too much. He still gets tense and a bit jumpy if he sees a rabbit or deer or something, but doesn't strain too much to get to it. He does lightly whine if he sees another dog, but only because he wants to go over and say hi. The biggest hitch comes if it's raining/snowing/really cold outside. If Bacon sees precipitation, he'll dig his heels in and refuse to go out. When that happens, we have to pick him up and take him through the door. Once there, he's usually okay, though it's clear he wants to do his business and get back inside. Only once or twice has he fought the walk the entire way. We got him a coat to wear on walks, and that helps some, but if it's snowing or raining, he's a real pain.


- Bacon doesn't like baths, but he's gotten a lot better. He takes it quietly and patiently, though when it's done he's wired. That's usually when we'll give him his bone or a new toy, something to help him get his energy out.

- Bacon still doesn't know many tricks, but we haven't been trying too hard to teach him. He'll sit for a treat or food in a heartbeat, and from there he can be coaxed to lay down. But this is all very conditional on you having a treat.

- The best part: Bacon is low maintenance. He is crate-trained and a pro at it. All we have to do is get a treat and say "Crate!" and he goes right in. Once he's in there, he settles down and curls up - that's almost always how we find him when we get back, and sometimes he stays curled up even when we open the door to let him out. We only put him in there if no one is going to be home for more than an hour or so, and that's the best part. Where before I would worry about him being out and about unsupervised while I sleep, I can now take a good, long nap and not be concerned at all. He may wander around or play with toys for a bit, but he usually ends up curled somewhere resting or napping. Come to think of it, we've got a pretty lazy dog.


That's our boy. It's weird that it's almost been a year since we first got him. He's such a part of our routine, though, that it feels like longer. In a good way.

Honestly, aren't Kirsti's pictures incredible?

Comments

Peeser said…
Those are some darling pictures of a sweet dog! I think the next time I'm over for a visit, I'll bring a new toy for Bacon just so I can have the entertainment of watching him disembowel it at record speeds!

Good to know he's integrated so well into your/our crazy family!
Kirsti said…
Glad you love the pictures! I actually took them with you in mind, hoping that you'd put them to good use. Bacon is such a hoot, I love that dog!
Ellaniemae said…
Bacon is an Awesome dog! And Kirsti's pictures are amazing! Such a talented family...
Sarah Lambson said…
You already know this, but I ADORE THIS DOG! How much do you think it would cost to take him to a lab and get him cloned?

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