Puppy Blog 3

Puppies are hard work. I had forgotten how much energy they have, and how much they suck out of you. Finn has been here 4 weeks now and is 5 months old. He has tested me and my other two dogs to breaking point. This is a good thing for me, because I can relate better to people with new pups and the absolute chaos they create.

A lot of critical things are happening at the same time. Now that Finn has been with me for over 3 weeks, he is settling in and making himself at home. He has "unpacked" a few behaviours now and we are addressing them. The jumping-up is what I'm mainly working on. It's a pushy behaviour plus I prefer a minimum of paw marks on my clothes and scratches on my arms. Finn and I have also had a few conversations about mouthing and biting. It's not acceptable at all. He's starting to get the message, but still forgets his manners when meeting new people.

The second thing we are working on is his Socialization. As I missed out on his Critical Period (ages 6 to 16 weeks), we have ramped up his experiences to help him become comfortable in new situations. I took him to Lake Wendouree last week and we spent some time just looking at the surroundings and absorbing the information. I then worked on a few Sit and Stay exercises so show Finn that he will be asked to work wherever we go. Then we went to the cafe and Finn learned about just calmly being with me when there's not a lot else going on. I brought Finn to my group classes on Saturday and now think that it was a bit too much for him. He was somewhat overwhelmed, and absolutely exhausted afterwards. Sorry little dog, we'll wait a few weeks before trying this again.

The third thing is that Finn is galloping into adolescence and is already showing some attitude. Dogs generally reach teen-hood around 6 months of age. Some are quicker than others. I have realised that I need to train him a bit harder now so that we are ready for the teenager months. We have about 3 weeks. Yikes!

Meanwhile, Finn is living his best life. He plays in the back yard and has some sticks, some balls, a pair of garden clogs, and sundry other items to enjoy. There are some lovely holes in the ground, a couple of pot plants were freed from their pots (they have been repotted and have survived), an old cobweb broom has been de-bristled, and I had to buy a new floor mop. This morning I watched Finn play "poo hockey" which is an apparently delightful game involving a lump of poo, throwing it across the yard, and chasing it, pouncing on it, and repeat. Yuck. A few indoor toys have met their doom as well.

An absolutely delightful outcome is Finn's affect on Indie, my Border Collie. Indie is notorious for disliking other dogs, including those she lives with. I had some concerns about bringing in a new puppy, but it's been great. After some posturing and putting him in his place (all fully controlled and supervised I might add), Indie suddenly decided to play with Finn. They now herd each other around the yard, play keepings-off and chasey. Indoors we have tug-a-toy games and bitey-face. I do have to limit the indoor play because it can get very rambunctious and Finn becomes over excited and it's all a bit much.....for me.

As for obedience exercises, we have worked on the following: Sit and sit-stepaway (stay), Drop, Heel, coming when called, and boundary setting. Finn has to sit calmly before I feed him. If he is barking and jumping up he doesn't have dinner served until he calms down. As he is still on 3 meals per day we have ample opportunity to practice this. Each sit is in Perfect Position and has to be held until the release command is given. Today we managed four sits-on-first-command in a row. Until now Finn has needed prompting each time. This may sound minimal, but every time there's an improvement, this is progress. Every time Finn is brought indoors he has to wait to be invited through the door. Each time we repeat this, he gets a little better.

The obedience training isn't just about commands. Finn is also learning to listen to me rather than ignore me when something else is going on. He is learning some impulse control. He is learning that there are a few rules to obey. And Finn is learning that when he focuses on me and does the things I ask, he is showered with attention and affection which is what he loves.