stealthq

The funny thing about that last picture is, he's not asleep (if you look really close you can see his eyes are open) and not worn out. What happened just previous to that picture is this (and the two of them play this game a LOT):

The two pups started with a game of 'chase me'. As usual, Tucker held the toy 'cause he's bigger and faster. Tucker slowed down and let Kohl grab it and the two tugged for a bit. Then Kohl planted his feet and pulled with ALL his might. Yeah, that's a no go. Kohl's 11.5 lbs, Tucker's 30 lbs. So, as Tucker pulls, Kohl turned into 'dead puppy'. All four legs go out from under him, he dropped to the ground, limp but still grabbing the toy and Tucker dragged him around as dead weight. He looked like the rag-end of a mop :rolleyes:. Eventually his grip gave out and he's left behind. He lay there for a couple of seconds looking annoyed (*snap* there's my picture), then jumped up for another game.

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Nicole

Rowan

They grow up ssssooooo fast! He's adorable, which is like stating the obvious. Have you introduced him to the Kool Dry yet?

stealthq

Oh, yes. I used it for both baths. The noise doesn't bother him in the least, even turned most of the way up. He does not like the cool wind, though. I try to keep the parts of him I'm not working on under a towel so he doesn't get so cold, but he ends up curled up in my lap shivering anyway. Fortunately it doesn't last long - he dried in about 15min from towel dry.

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Nicole

stealthq

Poor baby. When I went home for his lunch walk, Kohl's left lower lip was swollen - looked like he'd stuffed an acorn between his gum and lip. I was pretty sure it was a spider bite or some such but didn't want to take a chance. This pic is that night after a Benedryl and some Clavamox - the inside of his lip is a bit lacerated. The swelling's almost down, but Kohl's a little sleepy from the Benedryl and the evening walk we took to make up for the ruined afternoon.

This week was our first puppy class. I'm not training the way they instruct - they're positive trainers but I'm using markers and they don't. Plus, they have different commands for some things I've already taught Kohl. But, it'll be great socialization and I'll teach him the same actions. I'll just do it an alternative way. Tricks we've learned in the past couple of weeks:

Sit
Down
Stand
Off
Leave It

Paw (Shake) - likes this one a lot. After he understood what I wanted, he started flinging his feet at me every time he sees me reach for him. Whether I'm asking for his paw or not. Strangely enough, my mother's Sheltie does the same and I was the one that taught him Paw as well. Maybe it's something I'm doing?

Speak - he LOVES this one. I waited until he was barking for attention, said "Speak", marked and treated when he did. That was all it took. He does Speak correctly 100% of the time and will offer it 1st every time he messes up another command (ex. Down instead of Stand) and realizes I'm waiting for him to try something else. I suspect teaching him Quiet will not be so easy.

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Nicole

sgeorge

Oh no! I'm glad Kohl is alright! There's nothing worse than an emergency visit to the vet.

But it sounds like your training is going very well. And Kohl is so very handsome

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stealthq

More training this past week - we've picked up three more commands.

Place
Rollover
Come

He's been coming when I called him before, but I wasn't using an official command. Now I am, and he still gets it. It's funny, but when we go to class Kohl barrels into me whenever I call him. Nearly knocked me down this week. He's not nearly so enthusiastic at home, but he doesn't laze around either.

One big problem we're having is that Kohl does not like being put in his crate or ex-pen when he doesn't think he should be there. If he's put up on a schedule in a place he's familiar, he's golden. Totally silent. But put him in a crate at my parents if he isn't bone-tired or put him up at my house at an odd time (say, when I want to make dinner and don't want to risk dropping boiling water on him) and he's a total lunatic just like the 1st night I got him. Howling, growling, barking, etc.

I'm mostly OK with it - I ignore him and let him out when he's completely quiet and relaxed again, usually signaled by a big sigh and thump when he lies down. I've seen improvement at my place and I believe that he will eventually stop this behavior there. My hope is that he will also stop at their place. My dad is not so patient. He is convinced that if I just went and yelled at him, shook a can of pennies at him, something along those lines that he'd quit. I don't think so. Yelling hasn't worked to quiet their dog when he barks, which isn't often.

Problem is that he's already 'suggested' sending Kohl back to the breeder because of the screaming and I know that if I cannot get Kohl to be reasonably quiet, I will no longer be able to bring him on visits with my parents. That's unacceptable to me - if I can't bring him I will only get to see them for a couple of hours on the weekend and I moved back to DFW expressly to spend time with them and I WILL not give up on that because of a noisy dog. I just hope we can get past this in the next couple of months or I'll have to board him on weekends.

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Nicole

stealthq

Nothing much to report this week.

Finished the parvo/distemper but am holding off a few weeks for rabies.

Got Crate Games, finally. Am up to stage 3 where we should stay (per instructions) for a while. Need to build enthusiasm for getting in the crate. He's getting in it willingly now and not charging the door when I open it.

Was a star at puppy class this week - Kohl has a superb recall from puppy play. Not surprising - he kept swinging back to my side to check in on me every couple of minutes, then racing back for more fun. Restrained recalls are becoming a bit hazardous for me - he does his darndest to bowl me over every time. Velcro, much?

Finally got a pic with everybody in it.

Oliver, blue traditional burmese, 2 yrs. old
Raina, red european burmese, 14 yrs. old
Kohl, black spoo, 16 wks. old

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Nicole

petitpie

What a cute picture and that expression on Kohl's sweet little face!

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ArreauStandardPoodle

Your little Kohl is just tooooooooo cute! He has so much character in that little face! Makes me want another black!

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stealthq

No pic yet, just wanted a record. Kohl's first baby tooth came out last night, an upper front.

I'm so excited that in another month or two I won't have to deal with crazy-sharp puppy teeth anymore! Hurray!

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Nicole