Cupcake turned four months old this past Tuesday (the 2nd). She is now 9lbs 7oz. She knows come, sit, lay down, and leash. She is working on stay and trying very hard to learn not to nibble on humans. I am excited at her progress and feel that by the end of this month the Kiddo will be walking her, easily, by himself! Equally important is our observations that she is, even now, incredibly in tune with how he is feeling... I can only imagine how she’ll be once we get a little medical alert training into her.
It’s no secret that we let him choose her (vs choosing for him and then convincing him it was his choice) and that doing so has caused a few problems. In the end we did what was right for him and I know this way he has a much stronger connection with her then he would have… he has never questioned her place in this family, or that she is his. He has never question her love for him (or his for her). It is an amazing thing and well worth it all. Plus I think once she gets that puppy nibbling thing under control she’ll be quite amazing…
So, here’s to the optimistic goal that by this time next month we’ll be able to place her and have her stay till released regardless of what is going on. That she’ll be able to walk OFF leash without running away so that if the Kiddo accidentally drops the leash she stays right by his side. Here’s to a young dog that plays and cuddles without mouthing. And here’s to her learning drop so that when she brings back that fetch toy we can actually throw it again without having to wait for her to remember to drop it.
Here’s to another month of growth, and learning... Earn that vest little girl.
2 comments:
When puppies play with their littermates they do a lot of biting and mouthing. If it hurts the other pup, the hurt pup yips and jerks back away from it. That's part of how they learn the rules of getting along with other dogs.
I've read that people who raise pups away from a litter sometimes have success in stopping nipping by making a high-pitched "ouch" (= a hurt puppy yip) and jerking away when their puppy nips them. (If the pup is persistent, it gets put in its crate to calm down ... but you're probably already doing that.)
The vet said something very similar. The Man and I have done that (in addition to shoving our hands into her mouth further till she gags on them - which I think I heard from you at some point)... she's pretty good with us, but the Kiddo has always been so good with pain (you know lol) and he doesn't know how to pretend something hurts when it doesn't.. we tell him to make believe it hurt really bad but he forgets until quite a bit after lol
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