Where’s the peanut butter?!

Io, the fourth largest moon of Jupiter and my first dog. If you’re ever lucky enough to take care of him - here’s how it goes…

Food - Io is very skinny but he loooves to eat! For breakfast he gets one scoop (cup) of dry food (Wellness Super 5). At dinner he eats one scoop of dry food with about a third of a can of wet food (Wysong beef). He basically inhales whatever he’s fed, so don’t expect it to last. Usually after his morning walk he likes to get a frozen kong treat. These are usually packed with a coating of peanut butter and a combination of dry food and chunks from Natural Balance’s rolls. During the day, he sometimes gets more of his dry food inside treats, commensurate with how fussy he seems.

Water - Io’s usually goes through his waterbowl daily and he likes having a good supply of fresh water.

Affection - like Jupiter, Io is incredibly affectionate and craves human interaction almost as much as he craves bones with raw animal flesh. He loves to go for walks, short runs (under 4 miles and preferably not on pavement), and to chase sticks or wrestle. He lets you know when he needs affection and can sometimes be persuaded to leave you alone but usually it’s easier on one’s conscience to just give him the small token of your affection that he’s asking for.

Commands - Io knows many commands, including:

• sit - to sit down (note, the command is not “sit down” since that confuses “sit” and “down”)
• down - to lie down
• on your side / roll over - actually he doesn’t know either of these but sometimes he does something that looks like he might understand them
• stay (commanded when showing him an open palm) - to stay where he is
• find it - a game. You can play either by putting both hands behind your back, putting food in one hand, and extending both arms out with closed fists telling him to “find it!” and giving him the treat when he pokes at the correct hand. Or you can play by commanding him to “sit”, “stay” and then putting food somewhere in another room and when you get back, point to approximately where the snack is and telling him to “find it!”
• hug - a new command not that well understood, but this gets Io to hop up in a loving embrace
• go to your bed / go to your crate - to get him to go to his bed or crate (these only really work when he has an incentive like if you’re about to give him a Kong).

Personal matters - Io “takes care of business” a couple times a day. Usually once in the morning and again later after dinner before bed. This schedule is highly volatile, though, oftentimes with longer periods with business not being attended to after extended sessions eating sticks. Accidents in the house may be cleaned up with the Bissel Spot Bot, which should be standard issue with any puppy.