Ash is adjusting well and seems happy!

The past couple of months I have been traveling more, and because David also travels during the week Ash needed to spend some time with family. It was heartbreaking for me to leave him behind, but as is clear in this picture he is too big to travel in the cabin with me:

When we bought his crate they also gave us a travel bag and a dog bed - he clearly doesn't fit in this travel bag, and needless to say, he absolutely hated it.

The first time I was gone he spent one week with my mom, the weekend with David at home, and then the second week with David's mom. This past time he has spent the whole two weeks with my mom. Luckily for us, Ash LOVES being with Coal, and Coal loves being with Ash. This means that, while I know how happy he is to be back at home with me and David going about his normal routine, he doesn't seem to mind being with my mom  because it means playtime with his brother (and he quite enjoys snuggling with her and Tommy). He also loves David's mom and both of our sisters, so spending time with them is also a treat for him. The weekend I was in London he drove to VT with my dad - happily co-piloting the whole way! My dad isn't really a dog person, but since he was getting home so late he offered to let Ash sleep with him and then go to my mom's house in the morning. I was shocked that Dad offered, but very happy! Ash had met my dad before and seemed comfortable enough with him, and Dad said things went fine, Ash slept curled up on his bed all night and even put his paws on his shoulder once to say hi and see what was going on.

We have actually found that the more Ash spends time with other people and then comes home, the better adjusted he seems to be. We are hoping this means he is finally feeling more confident that David and I are taking care of him in life, and that he has a forever home. He certainly loves to be at home with us - anytime we walk in the door he bounds about super excitedly! He is following me around less at home, and will stay sleeping or playing when people walk by or if I move to another room. Previously, he tagged along everywhere like my shadow. He is much less jumpy, and seems to be more independent - a transition we are very excited to see! I've recently started playing hide and seek with him, which is an absolute blast. I'll run around the house and hide behind doors or in corners, and I can hear his nails clicking on our wood floors as we wanders around looking for me. When I know he is close I jump out and yell "boo!" and he bounds about the house letting me chase him and chasing me back. We also took Ash and Coal to one of the Somerville dog parks for the first time the other day. Coal wasn't as good with the bigger dogs (liked to bark at them) but Ash got along pretty well. It was clear he was a little bit nervous, but he was still interested in what was going on and went around sniffing all of the other dogs :)

I've posted a bunch of pictures and a couple of videos below, with captions. Enjoy!! He's an awesome little guy, and we can't imagine life without him.

He quite likes the snoopy bed David's grandfather got him, particularly when it's located close to one of us! 

He often sleeps on his back

He has learned to enjoy peanut butter from his kong

We have been working on a "haircut" we like, and in this picture I trimmed his face and ears myself to get it right. He looks so cute! 

This is one of our most favorite pictures. Every time he is left alone in the house, he rearranges our shoes and laundry. Then, each time we get back, he is SO happy to see us (look at his face and tail!!). This picture was taken just as I walked in the door one time. I can't help but laugh when I imagine him carrying one of David's large hiking boots around. 

I also love this picture. He has become very tolerant to us holding him, and he'll fall asleep in our arms. Here, he is on his back in the crook of my elbow and he was snoring. 

The yard is one of his most favorite places to be.

Sometimes while I'm working he likes to sleep in my lap or on my shoulder. It makes typing a challenge! 

He loves looking out the window even more now that its warmer. I made his perch a bit more comfortable in this photo.

An adorable picture of Coal on the way to the dog park.

The dog park was very dusty, so we gave both of them a bath when we got home. They look so cute together! 

 

Coal was a bit more worried about having a bath in a strange place.

He usually loves to chase after this green toy, but today he was more interested in why I had the camera out. 

I tried to capture a video of him doing some of his tricks, but it wasn't as successful as I hoped. He normally does wave much better, but I because I had the camera in one hand I was waving with the "wrong" hand and so it took him awhile to catch on.