Saturday, December 24, 2011

I Am Exhausted! #SAGApupVolt

This puppy raising business is nothing to be sneezed at! When he's awake, he is constantly throwing himself around, he doesn't walk anywhere! I'm sure you've seen how puppies do that? How they throw themselves around? And they're all adorably clumsy? Aeroplanes flying overhead catch his attention!
And he is getting taught not to bark at or chase the cats - who are still very wary of him but getting braver.
Magic checking out a sleepy puppy from a safe vantage point

His training starts as soon as he wakes up! He gets taken outside to his potty area and as he does his business he is told "busy busy", so that he associates the words with the action.
And he wakes up shortly before 5am too!
Then he's awake for about thirty minutes and goes back to sleep for a little while.
Then its breakfast time for him, and he has to sit until I have put his bowl down and I am no longer touching it, and I have said he may eat.
We're still working on this of course.
:)
And when he's awake he has to be watched constantly because if you blink he will chew something he's not supposed to! I have to say "No leave it" and give him his rope to chew.
He already knows "No", and he listens!
:D
And I now know exactly where the saying "follows me around like a puppy" comes from! Wow! If I move he's between my ankles!
We are progressing well with the crate training. He runs straight for the crate if Thelma snaps at him for getting too close, or if I tap his nose for chewing or jumping. Tonight is his first full night sleeping in the crate in my bedroom. When he wakes up we'll go out for busies and then its back in the crate. I try not to play in my bedroom as I want him to associate the space with calm and quiet.
He spent his first full night in the crate last night and he was so good!
asleep on his back in his crate

When he's outside he's allowed to be completely puppy and run and bounce, he's just not allowed to chew anything except his rope. And once a day we do a little leash exercise so he gets used to it.
Thelma and Louise are still adjusting but we're making progress.

the girls are relaxing slowly but surely

They are hanging around longer and longer when he is awake, and I never leave him with them unsupervised. He just wants to be with them! He gets so excited when they come in the house and he runs and bounces and yaps at them! Its adorable.

click on the puppy to make a donation to SAGA

Don't forget to check out the Twitter hash-tag #SAGApupVolt to see regular updates on my puppy raising adventure! 

1 comments:

Gina said...

Adore the pic of the cat on the stool :) Classic :)