Bucky: Aug 1, 2015 - notes

This past month Bucky received a couple of new toys.
Both had small squeak elements built in that clearly fascinated him.
From the moment he heard the sound in each, he seemed determined to incapacitate the sound generator.
And he was sufficiently determined that he became near obsessed, chewing and plucking and tearing till eventually the squeaker was disabled, or swallowed.
While in some respects the toys were still recognizable, sort of, after his intense mastication, they held little interest for him without the sounds.

Compare this with an event earlier today.
I decided to quiet his mania with an ice cube.
He mouthed it intently. And flung it, and retrieved it a few times.
Then he chawed down on it, till it was crumbs, and he was momentarily sated.
A much less expensive alternative, if only slightly less long lasting.

Also today, the first neighbour complaint about Bucky.
The complaint came by way of a phone message to the office phone from an anonymous female living close by.
Her pitch: please don't put the dog out so early in the morning. His barks are disturbing my sleep.

Bucky was out early. He had been sick the eve before, throwing up. So I put him to bed early, and when he was whining at 5am put him outside till I finished my sleep, and had my morning routine.
He does have a rather severe big dog bark when he senses trouble, or an anomaly, or something he does not understand. It could be a leaf blowing in the wind, or simply lying still on the grass. Not easy for me to predict. Though one pattern that is emerging is that he is much quicker to bark when he is not getting attention from me.

I am learning I may have been giving him more attention than I should.
This is a self perpetuating cycle.  The more I give, the more he expects.
The new norm has to be less attention for him, and while there may be a little push back, he will come to recognize and accept the new norm.

Went swimming with Bucky at 5pm at 351 Walford - PCH's under construction place.
His swimming is improving. And he likes it. And it gives him a bath which is probably a good thing.