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52 Weeks of Sperry

12K views 147 replies 18 participants last post by  Asta's Mom 
#1 ·
Hi everyone, my name is Sperry! I am named after Sperry Glacier and Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park - my humans' favorite place in the entire world! I hope I grow up to be as beautiful and majestic as my namesake. I was born on December 7th - that means I'll be 8 weeks old tomorrow. Yesterday was a big day - I came home in the car to live with my new family! I am currently catching up on sleep in my crate to give my mom a chance to brag about me.

Yesterday we got up very early in the morning and drove north to Washington. We met my husband's family for his birthday breakfast, then headed to the breeder's house. After playing with puppies for an hour, we loaded Sperry in the car and met our families (who live near the breeder) so they could all say hello. Sperry was friendly but very quiet, presumably because he was tired. We got back in the car and started the four-hour drive home. Sperry almost instantly fell asleep in my lap and only woke up when we stopped the car. No car sickness, and no accidents! Woo-hoo!

When we got home, Sperry was great and peed and pooed before we even got inside. He and our cat, Rhubarb, had a very smooth and easy meeting. Thank goodness for easy-going felines! We then played with all his toys, which he really does seem to know are for playing. He got a little excited and had his first (and only so far) pee accident on the carpet. He had a bit of a hard time falling asleep in his crate, but eventually did. He quietly woke me up for a few potty breaks overnight.

Today I think his true personality is coming out a little more! He is a sweet guy and loves to be held and brushed, but his favorite things so far are: pant legs, socks still on feet, trying to chew bark outside, spinning in circles and then plopping down, and not being interested in any of his treats! I'm going to attribute that last one to a bit of a nervous tummy, but we're also going to try plain chicken and see if that helps get his attention. I am trying to get him to like his crate by giving him food and treats and things to chew on in it, but he doesn't really seem interested. Maybe he's still just getting used to us and his new home.

So, that's Sperry's first day at home! We are very pleased with the little guy and are totally in love. This week we will just be getting acquainted, working on positive feelings about the crate, continuing to go potty outside, and seeing how he does alone for a few minutes at a time. We have our first puppy play group scheduled for a week from today, so we will let you all know how that goes. Here are a few more pictures!
 

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#28 ·
Thanks Charmed! They are allowed together when Sperry is tired, but he is usually unable to reach her. Rhubarb (the cat) will not stand up for herself, just runs away which makes Sperry want to chase her. So they are just very slowly getting to know one another. I hope for them to be friends one day. Thanks for your kind words!
 
#29 ·
13 weeks old and 20 pounds!!! Sperry is really getting big.

We had a pretty low-key week; we had a few small adventures but nothing crazy.

We went back to the tennis court we found a few weeks ago, and it is quickly becoming Sperry's favorite spot. I still keep him on the long line because it is only mostly fenced, but it is a nice big place to run around and practice some training and try to learn to play fetch. He likes to chase the ball but has only begun to pick it up and carry it and sometimes brings it about halfway back to us. The tennis court is shared between a gym and a high school, so there are people going by but nobody ever seems to use it. Sperry saw his first skateboarder while we were there and was calm but was sure wondering what he was seeing!

There are lots of nice parks in town and since it was rainy this weekend, we found one with a totally abandoned playground with a cool structure that had lots of ramps and tunnels and stairs. We don't have stairs in our apartment, and the ones that lead to the upstairs neighbors are very steep with tall steps that have no backs. Sperry will go up to the second or third one but I think they kind of freak him out. So we have been seeking out some easier ones for him to try. He tackled the playground ones with no problem and I was pretty proud of him. He did get worried that day when we took the car through the automatic wash. He must have felt threatened, because he never quite calmed down while we were in there. We will work up to going back someday.

We started the second series of socialization classes yesterday, in the same place but with a new group of puppies. Sperry was wild, easily the noisiest and most distracted puppy there. The trainer says she likes his enthusiasm :wacko: I think he knows that class ends with playtime and he just can't wait. I have yet to find a treat that is better than other puppies and people!

Today we went to a nice big open park where we threw the ball and got lots of running and playing in. We have had such nice weather the last few weeks which has helped me get motivated to take him places. We also went to a local pet supply store and Sperry met some new people. He did well walking with me and not eating all the chews sitting out. He is getting better at "leave it". He also hasn't cried in his crate at all in a few days and has been sleeping through the night every night for at least 3 weeks. I don't remember an accident in the house in the last couple of weeks either (and has never done #2 indoors). My boy is growing up!
 

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#31 ·
I have found playgrounds to be great for exploring new, weird things. Sperry was interested in wood chips at first, but since we're in an apartment that's his primary surface to go potty on. He's basically lost interest. But when we see grass, oh boy! Must try to eat it all and dig it all up!
 
#33 ·
Thanks Bigpoodleperson! He really is doing well. There is a story for his name! I worked a few summers in the backcountry of Glacier National Park in Montana, at Sperry Chalet near Sperry Glacier. It's my favorite place in the world. My husband and I actually got engaged there at the end of my last season. We couldn't have named him anything else!
 
#35 ·
What a handsome guy! It always makes me happy to see people really investing time in their dogs to make them good doggy citizens!! Good job on your beautiful guy!
 
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#37 ·
Thank you so much you guys! I am trying really hard to start off on the right foot with him. It's been a goal of mine to have a polite dog I can take anywhere, so I am just trying to expose him to different stuff. The big news this week is that Sperry passed his first puppy class "graduation test" on Wednesday! He pleasantly surprised me with his focus and most of the tasks were pretty easy for him. Even the one where he had to sit and wait behind a mark on the floor, and stay there while I would toss balls into a basket and do a little bowling game. He watched but didn't even try to get up and chase the balls. I was so proud. He can also sit or down and wait while I turn my back and walk across the room, then come when called and sit at my feet. It's amazing how he really understands what he should do (most of the time). Here is a picture of his down/stay/leave the cookies on the certificate. Tomorrow we are going to a puppy play group and stopping by a trainer-recommended groomer (trainer has a poodle too) to get a treat and say hi. I'll let you know how it goes!
 

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#38 ·
From the looks of that picture and your description of the graduation test, you and Sperry are off to a flying fabulous start. Congratulations. Keep up the good work.
 
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#40 ·
So Sperry is now 14 weeks old, a whopping 22 pounds, and if I am correct in my measurement, I think he is approaching 18 inches tall!
He looks like he has grown all in the legs. I'm not worried because he has a great appetite and keeps gaining weight and growing, but every time I touch him he feels so bony! I can very clearly feel every one of his bones and it's kind of creepy! But he gives every indication of being healthy so I guess it's just poodle leanness combined with puppyhood.

We stayed around home this week and I have just been focusing on trying his training in different locations and also starting to crate him for slightly longer periods of time. He can now be alone in his crate for 4 hours as long as he's tired out first. We have gone to new parks, taken different routes for our short walks, and gone in a few stores.

I was so proud of Sperry when he passed his class last week. We signed up for the next class too. When we had our weekend class we went to the tennis court to wear him out beforehand. It worked a little, but we got "individual homework" to work harder to find a treat he can't refuse.

Yesterday was my birthday and I couldn't have spent it with a better buddy. I cut up some cheese in the morning and took him around town with me. He was a STAR. We went to the local "dog emporium" where my birthday present to myself was a new collar for Sperry (crazy dog lady much?). My husband and I went to Hawaii the week before we got Sperry and went snorkeling with sea turtles. I brought him back a sea turtle stuffed toy. And this collar is sea turtle themed. We joke that these things remind him of his time in Hawaii! The collar looks pretty cute on him. Anyway, with bits of cheese in hand he calmly walked in, followed me around, did sit/wait while I browsed around, opted to lay down for a few minutes, great "ready" (look at me), and did a very good "leave it" when we were shuffling through the noisy doggie rain jackets. He stayed in his down and just tilted his head at a dog-in-arms that was barking at him. He didn't even excited pee when he met a nice lady. We also stopped at petsmart for poop bags and he just gave me more of the same. We then went for a little walk and left a tired, silent puppy to go out to dinner.

I don't have many pictures this week but here are a few.
 

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#45 ·
Omg, that would have been amazing! We did a whale tour while there and actually saw several whales while out! I so wish that we could go back! I would in a heartbeat!!! It was the best vacation I have ever been on! My family actually took us (my parents, two brothers, husband and myself). We had such a fabulous time and have such great memories!!
 
#46 ·
It was so cool. We were just on a snorkel boat, but there were whales 20-30 feet from us and coming up and slapping the water. I've never been much for warm weather vacations, but I seriously loved it. I would go back in a second. My husband was doing a work project there and we might have to go back in the summer. Haha. Too bad Sperry can't come, he would love the swimming and hiking.
 
#49 ·
Sperry is now 15 weeks old. Time flies! We had our socialization class on Sunday and he really impressed me with his focus and willingness to at least try to relax. Haha, that is still pretty hard for him. But he does try and is doing really well. We have been taking him to the tennis court to run around before class, and also discovered the magic treats: a mixture of plain cooked chicken and a little plain steak, and cheese! The cheese is his favorite part, so we limit it. He only gets this mixture when he's at class, or working on walking or commands in a pretty distracting environment. I figure that it's worth it if he can focus and learn something, and we will taper off using it eventually. I want him to learn, but I want him to be healthy too. He's great in the apartment, around the complex and at parks, but at class and in stores it really helps.

We went to a new place to walk this week, a trail around a nature preserve in our town. Once he's all grown up, we will walk all around it but for now we just do 10 or 15 minutes and call it a day. There is one section with cars going by, and he definitely noticed them but was okay with it. We will do more work with walking around moving cars. There were also people talking to him from a distance, which he really loves. I managed to get him to "leave it" the people and continue our walk and sits and downs. He is a little weird about "down" on concrete, so we are practicing this.

Sperry also got another full groom this week. It is crazy how fast his hair grows! He is pretty good about his body being shaved, but still needs some work when it comes to his face/head and legs. We go slow, take breaks, and give lots of treats. We configured a grooming table with our coffee table and a bath mat, and it did help keep him still. I will have to think about getting a collapsible one to use at home. Our apartment has a big bathing room which I used for the first time. Much easier than our bathroom tub. I trimmed his nails with zero problems, and he's getting better about brushing and combing. He loves his toothpaste and doesn't mind his teeth being scrubbed. I am trying to teach him "teeth" as a command to open up and show me the pearly whites.

We were supposed to have our Puppy II class start tomorrow, but due to lack of enrollment I think the class is being postponed. I will just have to keep up proofing what he already knows. I have started teaching him "speak" so that I can also teach him "quiet" which he needs because he likes to bark at all the neighbors and dogs he sees in our complex. He is catching on, and I hope it works!

Maybe the highlight of the week was when we took Sperry on his first outing to a local brewery. The only thing that didn't go super well was when a nice server came over and Sperry loved him and peed on his shoe :argh: He's started excited peeing when meeting new people, I think it's something he'll grow out of. But he was polite, quiet, sat or laid down most of the time, and was pretty relaxed. He didn't even get too riled up about the toddler carrying toys all around. So far he gets waaaaay excited about small kids. He really impressed me with his self control. He is a wonderful puppy.

Because we want to take Sperry hiking and camping in the future, we actually got a bigger tent this week (gotta love those REI dividends). The one we have barely fits two people, so this will be good for the three of us. When we can trust him a little more outside his crate, we will take him camping and when he's old enough he will go on backpacking trips with us. So we joke that we bought Sperry a tent!

Anyway, here are some pictures of him for the week. I have taken some videos, but don't have a youtube account. Does anyone know if there's a way I can put them in the thread?
 

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#51 ·
Sweet little Sperry :) I love the hairdo while he was getting a bath :p

You probably already know this but what helped us with the excited peeing was not allowing people to pet Flynn until he calmed down a bit and then they would just lightly pet the top of his head without saying anything. (Bending down, loud baby voice, etc. was what caused him to pee)

I can't wait until you can take him hiking! You'll get some amazing pictures. :D
 
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