Growing Pains

Vader and I finished our last puppy class this past Wednesday. Only his friend Suki the 4 month old red Doberman puppy showed up besides us. They got to play in the big ring off leash before class. We worked on tippy boards and fit ones and paw pods. We worked on tunnel and fetch. He is learning fiend! He wants to train and learn and play, it’s awesome, amazing and a little scary! Lol

Scary from the standpoint that he always wants to be doing something and typically only rests a short time. He and Suki ran around chasing each other for 10 minutes before and after class. We spent 45 minutes of class working on stuff with only a couple short play sessions of tug. He was on the go! Then an hour ride home and he played chase with Twitch for several minutes too!

He has quite the repertoire of tricks and behaviors now. He doesn’t have any of them reliably on cue but we will get there.

One very important thing I noticed recently is his staring at my hands where the cookies come from. So I have been hiding them and trying to not pick up the cookie until I click or mark the behavior. I really wish I had a savvy clicker trainer to watch my timing and help me see where I might be making it harder on myself.

Vader has lost so many teeth! He lost a tiny one at class last night and tonight he made the football bloody. When will it end?! 🙂

He turned 5 months old this week. He’s growing up!

  

16 Weeks Tomorrow!

Its hard to believe we have had him for three weeks and he will be 16 weeks tomorrow! Time is flying by and it has been super busy with the new pup discover here.

We had a set back last week when puppy ended up with diarrhea. ? He appears to be better now and we can carry on with training, etc.

So far we are working on Sit, Down, Port, spinning on an upside down bowl, side legs and body handling. I even got a couple nails dremmeled tonight!

Still no name yet.

He is fun but a lot of work! ?

The Joys of Puppyhood

The middle of the night potty breaks. 

The screaming and barking when puppy can’t see you from his crate.

The sharp needle like teeth.

The diarrhea… Wait what?! Yeah puppy has diarrhea. Pretty bad too. No parasites or known causes so it’s suggested it’s the Canidae for we were switching him to. Started Tuesday night and Thirsday afternoon at 4 he was still shooting liquid out of his butt. Luckily no blood and no vomiting, so not a blockage either. So now he is on probiotics, antibiotics and an anti-diarrheal to help firm things up a bit.

I weighed him over the weekend and the scale said 14 pounds. Tonight he is 12.2. So he has not gotten a lot of nutrition the last two days but so far his bland wet food hasn’t come out.

Ah yes, the eating everything.

The cute puppy pounces.

The insatiable desire to play.

The puppy grunts and growls as he finds his voice.

His love of play with Twitch or me.

Ah the joys of puppyhood. 🙂

  

Weekend one done!

We are half way through week two with puppy. The first few days were rough as we all settled into a routine. Trying to figure out puppy’s cues he needs to go has been a challenge. Which means we go out way more often than he actually goes but we have been two days accident free which is great. He seems to be getting it but I’m not ready to trust him yet. Plus he still eats everything! Tonight he ate a rock. A rock!! What the frick? I mean that could become a problem if they don’t pass. 

So far we are works by on body handling, such as teeth, ears, eyes and toes. We are working on brushing too as he is not a fan. Then there is basics like sit and down. I’m trying to get him to doing in place around an upside down bowl for hind end awareness but he’s having a hard time with it. I’m sure my timing is off and causing problems.

Then we are still playing with toys and I’m introducing a toy as reward for a sit. He seems to switch between good and play pretty well. Oh working on fetch too. He doesn’t want to bring the ball to me but likes to chase it. 

He and Twitch are playing together pretty well. They both try to hump each other but we redirect when we see it. Puppy is now 14 1/2 weeks old and weighs 14 pounds. Last week on Tuesday at the vet he weighed 11.8. We are going to take pictures of him in front of this jump with the bar are 16. 🙂

  

Week One Done

We made it a week! I go back to work tomorrow. I can’t wait to get away from puppy for a while. That sounds terrible but I’m tired. I need some bark-free time. Chewbacca is getting better but still not great. Needs work!

He has had accidents every day so far and that is super frustrating.

He is however fantastic in the car. And in a crate if you’re in the same room. He is a handful!