Remus is 13 weeks old already! Where has the last month gone? The summer is flying by, especially since bringing Remus home.
I have been keeping up with Rem's ongoing socialization. Yesterday we had Puppy Kindergarten, Rem was in a class by himself: the other puppy couldn't make it :-( It turned out to be very good for us, though. We were able to try out the A-frame, walk across the dog walk and the teeter (see-saw). After we explored those surfaces outside, we went into the basement to walk across an ex-pen that was laying on its side, walk across a round sled, a round balance circle with traction brushes, step onto an aluminum crate pan and on a foil and tarp shade cover- Rem had trouble offering a sit and down on the ex-pen and crate pan. Next we were able to "play" with some motorized children's toys- the dinosaur was Remus' favorite, he was worried about the police car and thought the "spider" was interesting. We practiced fetching a metal and a leather obedience dumbbell, he was initially resistant to picking up and carrying the metal one but was happy to after he had carried around the leather one. Before we left, Katrin demonstrated with Remus how I can teach him to sit straight and not back into it. We are practicing it and will be for a while...
Today, we had a busy day! This morning we got up around 6:45, went to breakfast with Gary (my brother-in-law, my sister won't get up early to go for breakfast), then we drove to the Jenny Grist Mill and walked through Bradford Park and just past Plymouth Rock- Remus did great. He needed to take a few "sniff breaks" then he would happily come back to work with me. After we walked back to the car we drove to pick up coffees for Gary and me, then we went home and I put Remus in his crate for a nice nap. (Ryan and I went back to Plymouth and walked the waterfront and to the end of the jetty and back, we stopped at Pebbles to get some water, then walked the rest of the way to the car. We were soo hot! I had to turn the a.c. on in the car when I would normally have had the windows open.) After we got home I put Remus on the tie-down in the living room so that he can learn that he doesn't need to be at my feet all the time. Initially Remus did not like being tethered, (I don't know that he ever really enjoyed it), but by the time I let him off of it Remus was laying on the dog bed chewing on a toy. (He chewed on some of the door molding, I thought he was chewing on a toy, hmmn, I was wrong. OOPS! Gotta sand and repaint it.) Tonight, Remus and I went to the elementary school to take a walk, play on the playground equipment and for me to feed him his dinner. We were able to walk on the sidewalk without any fear of the cars or noises. Then we walked past the gym where some men were playing basketball, I think Remus wanted to play with them (or the ball). We finished playing on the playground- Remus walked across some benches, went up some stairs, through a tire a few times AND down the slide! He walked up to a bouncy horse (supposed to be a rocking horse?), he walked right up to it, (though, he was a little nervous) sniffed it and turned to walk away and did a whole body shake- Good Boy!
After we got home I let Rem and Ry out in the back yard to run for a minute when much to my shock and surprise the gate was wide open!! I called Ryan with as little fear in my voice as I could manage since my heart was in my throat and I really wanted to scream "RYAN COME HERE NOW!!" but called "Ryan Come :-)" and he immediately turned around and came running into the backyard with Remus happily on his heels. PHEW! That could have been a disaster, no collars/ tags, it was completely dark out and our street has very few lights on it. The boys have been reminded to make sure the gate is always closed.
9 weeks
I'm so cute!!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
July 19
Remus is 12 and a half weeks now. This week has been probably the most boring one since bringing him home. This past weekend was too hot and uncomfortable for me to take him on any socializing field trips, and it didn't help that he was having a problem with an upset stomach- too much string cheese at puppy class. He was acting like his normal silly puppy self so I knew it wasn't serious.
Today, he seemed a little fearful. I realized this when I was taking him by the doctors' lounge at work and one of the dogs inside was barking- not an unusual occurrence, but Re was worried about it. His tail went down and he started sniffing. I did my usual "good boy" and actually had to lure him away from the area, that was very different since I have been getting an immediate response of "ok, I'm coming" from him.
I have been bringing him to work so all hasn't been lost, socialization speaking that is. No photo opportunities, well I haven't taken any that is, this week. Remus did meet an older gentleman today who absolutely loves dogs- he actually knew that Remus is a Vizsla!! I am always amazed. I usually am asked if Remus is a Rhodesian Ridgeback, a bloodhound (that was the other day) and when Ryan was a puppy someone thought he was a lab/ boxer mix. I did want a breed that is less common- I got what I wanted!!
I'd like to touch on some of how Re's training is coming. He is getting very proficient at responding (and performing) when "asked" to sit, down and come. Out of the three, come and sit are probably the most important to me at this moment, we still practice down, of course. He offers great eye contact, seems to know his name and the mini BAT sessions are paying off. My nephew was placing a ladder and was doing some hammering to stabilize it when Remus became startled and scared, really, of the noise. When I praised him, he immediately came running to me (*I am safe with Lisa and she will take care of me!!*) and we walked away from the noise happily as a team!
I have not taught him that "no" is a word, it truly will not be part of the vocabulary that he is learning. "NO" does not give a dog any useful information as to what he should do, in my humble opinion. My favorite thing to do is spread information. If we (and our dogs) are well-informed we can make good decisions. And, because I get to give Remus all of the information that I think he needs to know, that will be one thing he won't learn. If he jumps on me and I look at him and yell "NO!" one, I am likely to scare him (not what I ever want!), two, I have just given him my attention which is what he is looking for in the first place, if I didn't scare him and three, I have not given him a clue as to what would be better for him to do than jump up on me.
Alternatively, if I am paying attention and see that he is about to jump up I can instruct him to sit instead (head off the jump if you will). If he is too excited to sit, I can cross my arms and turn away from him so that one, he slides off of me, two, he is unable to get my attention because I have turned my face away from him (though I am watching him out of the corner of my eye) and three, I can give him the opportunity to figure out a better way to get my attention (which is really what he wants, anyway) and when he does sit I can tell him "good job! :-)"
I am so very happy to have gotten Remus, thank you Patsy!! Life could not be better or happier. Ry is enjoying having a puppy to play with and Clara is finally starting to accept that he has moved in, permanently.
Today, he seemed a little fearful. I realized this when I was taking him by the doctors' lounge at work and one of the dogs inside was barking- not an unusual occurrence, but Re was worried about it. His tail went down and he started sniffing. I did my usual "good boy" and actually had to lure him away from the area, that was very different since I have been getting an immediate response of "ok, I'm coming" from him.
I have been bringing him to work so all hasn't been lost, socialization speaking that is. No photo opportunities, well I haven't taken any that is, this week. Remus did meet an older gentleman today who absolutely loves dogs- he actually knew that Remus is a Vizsla!! I am always amazed. I usually am asked if Remus is a Rhodesian Ridgeback, a bloodhound (that was the other day) and when Ryan was a puppy someone thought he was a lab/ boxer mix. I did want a breed that is less common- I got what I wanted!!
I'd like to touch on some of how Re's training is coming. He is getting very proficient at responding (and performing) when "asked" to sit, down and come. Out of the three, come and sit are probably the most important to me at this moment, we still practice down, of course. He offers great eye contact, seems to know his name and the mini BAT sessions are paying off. My nephew was placing a ladder and was doing some hammering to stabilize it when Remus became startled and scared, really, of the noise. When I praised him, he immediately came running to me (*I am safe with Lisa and she will take care of me!!*) and we walked away from the noise happily as a team!
I have not taught him that "no" is a word, it truly will not be part of the vocabulary that he is learning. "NO" does not give a dog any useful information as to what he should do, in my humble opinion. My favorite thing to do is spread information. If we (and our dogs) are well-informed we can make good decisions. And, because I get to give Remus all of the information that I think he needs to know, that will be one thing he won't learn. If he jumps on me and I look at him and yell "NO!" one, I am likely to scare him (not what I ever want!), two, I have just given him my attention which is what he is looking for in the first place, if I didn't scare him and three, I have not given him a clue as to what would be better for him to do than jump up on me.
Alternatively, if I am paying attention and see that he is about to jump up I can instruct him to sit instead (head off the jump if you will). If he is too excited to sit, I can cross my arms and turn away from him so that one, he slides off of me, two, he is unable to get my attention because I have turned my face away from him (though I am watching him out of the corner of my eye) and three, I can give him the opportunity to figure out a better way to get my attention (which is really what he wants, anyway) and when he does sit I can tell him "good job! :-)"
I am so very happy to have gotten Remus, thank you Patsy!! Life could not be better or happier. Ry is enjoying having a puppy to play with and Clara is finally starting to accept that he has moved in, permanently.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
11 and 1/2 Weeks
We are over halfway done with this week, each one seems to go by faster than the previous. Work has been extremely busy! Some days I can't seem to find the time to take 20 minutes at lunch to play with Remus, never mind actually being able to eat.
Which brings us to today, it was much better at work, not nearly as busy as it had been! Remus and I had lunch together, went outside to run around and play fetch and have a good time! We came home from work early, let Clara and Ry out then I had some quiet time on the couch after I ate dinner. At 7, Re and I drove to the elementary school for a walk and to my (happy) surprise there was a baseball game going on!! A super great opportunity for socialization- I really was delighted. While we walked behind the school, we met several moms, dads and a 2 year old while a baseball game was being played down the hill from where we were. Re was super happy to meet them (I was feeding him his dinner during all of this); we also practiced sit, down and walking on leash. I realized that Re can perform obedience behaviors with distractions, he does need higher value rewards to though, usually at work and home when it's quiet Re will work for praise and toys. We walked past the front of the school to leave (we need to walk the reverse route the next time we go), through the parking lot and in front of the gym. There was a basketball game playing in the gym, the outside doors were open, and we could hear the sound of the sneakers squealing on the floor and the basketball bouncing. At first, Remus was a little worried (not nearly as noise sensitive as I had previously noted) but when I started praising him he started wagging his tail, his facial expression relaxed and he acted more curious. I offered to him for us to walk away which we did. After a few seconds, I asked Remus if he wanted to check out the gym again, which we did, and he was interested to watch again. Yes, I "asked" Remus; I took a few steps towards the gym and waited to see what Re's reaction was: he started walking with me towards the gym so we went together.
Katrin has asked me if I have been leaving Remus home alone, which I have been. It's difficult during the week to leave him home alone; sometimes after work I just want to wind down and do something with the dogs or watch t.v.. Tonight after our walk, my nephew and I went to Wal-Mart and the grocery store. Remus was exhausted and stayed in his crate in my room while Clara and Ry were downstairs. I had to wake him up when we got home to take him outside to go to the bathroom, sleepy head.
And, no pictures tonight. I'll have to remember to ask Katrin if she has gotten any nice photos of Re during puppy class (she has a mentor student who takes photos during class).
Which brings us to today, it was much better at work, not nearly as busy as it had been! Remus and I had lunch together, went outside to run around and play fetch and have a good time! We came home from work early, let Clara and Ry out then I had some quiet time on the couch after I ate dinner. At 7, Re and I drove to the elementary school for a walk and to my (happy) surprise there was a baseball game going on!! A super great opportunity for socialization- I really was delighted. While we walked behind the school, we met several moms, dads and a 2 year old while a baseball game was being played down the hill from where we were. Re was super happy to meet them (I was feeding him his dinner during all of this); we also practiced sit, down and walking on leash. I realized that Re can perform obedience behaviors with distractions, he does need higher value rewards to though, usually at work and home when it's quiet Re will work for praise and toys. We walked past the front of the school to leave (we need to walk the reverse route the next time we go), through the parking lot and in front of the gym. There was a basketball game playing in the gym, the outside doors were open, and we could hear the sound of the sneakers squealing on the floor and the basketball bouncing. At first, Remus was a little worried (not nearly as noise sensitive as I had previously noted) but when I started praising him he started wagging his tail, his facial expression relaxed and he acted more curious. I offered to him for us to walk away which we did. After a few seconds, I asked Remus if he wanted to check out the gym again, which we did, and he was interested to watch again. Yes, I "asked" Remus; I took a few steps towards the gym and waited to see what Re's reaction was: he started walking with me towards the gym so we went together.
Katrin has asked me if I have been leaving Remus home alone, which I have been. It's difficult during the week to leave him home alone; sometimes after work I just want to wind down and do something with the dogs or watch t.v.. Tonight after our walk, my nephew and I went to Wal-Mart and the grocery store. Remus was exhausted and stayed in his crate in my room while Clara and Ry were downstairs. I had to wake him up when we got home to take him outside to go to the bathroom, sleepy head.
And, no pictures tonight. I'll have to remember to ask Katrin if she has gotten any nice photos of Re during puppy class (she has a mentor student who takes photos during class).
Monday, July 9, 2012
11 Weeks Old
Yesterday Remus turned 11 weeks old. He is doing well, everyday is still a new adventure. It was extremely hot, about 100 degrees out. I decided to bring Remus to the school to check out the playground. When we got there, we watched a softball game, walked behind the school and looked at Remus' reflection in the glass doors.
We found a play set that has steps and 3 yellow slides. Remus jumped onto the lower end of the slide which I rewarded with tossed pieces of treats. We climbed up the stairs and looked down the slides. Remus put his front feet onto the top of the slide so I started tossing treats onto it. He decided to explore the slides and slid down it twice. I ended up getting off the play set and picking up Remus' toy. We climbed back on and when the toy went down the slide, Remus decided that he had enough of sliding and went down the stairs to go get it, LOL.
Today, after spending the morning at the house we drove to Duxbury to go play in the ocean. While playing in the sand, we met 2 nice women who were taking their kayaks out in the bay. Remus and I started wading in the water when he decided that he wanted to check out the kayak. He climbed into the kayak and sat in the front of it for a few moments, long enough to get a few photos of him.
We found a play set that has steps and 3 yellow slides. Remus jumped onto the lower end of the slide which I rewarded with tossed pieces of treats. We climbed up the stairs and looked down the slides. Remus put his front feet onto the top of the slide so I started tossing treats onto it. He decided to explore the slides and slid down it twice. I ended up getting off the play set and picking up Remus' toy. We climbed back on and when the toy went down the slide, Remus decided that he had enough of sliding and went down the stairs to go get it, LOL.
Today, after spending the morning at the house we drove to Duxbury to go play in the ocean. While playing in the sand, we met 2 nice women who were taking their kayaks out in the bay. Remus and I started wading in the water when he decided that he wanted to check out the kayak. He climbed into the kayak and sat in the front of it for a few moments, long enough to get a few photos of him.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Friday and Saturday Field Trips
We've had a busy weekend so far. After working my shift on Friday, teaching my class (and being up since 5:30am) we were off to Plymouth with my sister. We went to the park on the waterfront, met some very nice people and kids (varying in age from about 1 to 10 years). Remus did well, he did get startled and worried about some men coming up behind us laughing and coughing. They were very nice and stopped to say hi and comment on how cute Remus is! He was also worried about a small child and dog walking past us. I happily led him off the path and rewarded him every time he looked at the people and dog then back at me. Yeah! That was the "look at that" game! He is very good about changes in the environment- wooden bridges, rushing water in streams, statues, garbage cans- those things don't bother him. Carol took some photos of him for me but, they are a little blurry- see for yourself:
Today, we drove to Mary Lou's to get my coffee, then decided to visit the ladies at the Healthy Animal. Remus had fun checking out his reflection in the glass doors! The girls loved him, of course, and Dianne (the owner) gave him a chewie. What a great first experience at a store! He laid on the floor to chew his treat, the girls scratched his ears and had a good time playing with him. Remus loved it, visiting them with his chewie in his mouth and his tail wagging happily :-)
After lunch and a couple hour nap in his crate, we went to the bogs. The poor guy would love to keep up with Ry, but not yet. He ventured into the water, ran through the grass. I was able to get a few nice photos of him.
Back home, he walked into the pool! (Finally.) It was extremely hot out.
Today, we drove to Mary Lou's to get my coffee, then decided to visit the ladies at the Healthy Animal. Remus had fun checking out his reflection in the glass doors! The girls loved him, of course, and Dianne (the owner) gave him a chewie. What a great first experience at a store! He laid on the floor to chew his treat, the girls scratched his ears and had a good time playing with him. Remus loved it, visiting them with his chewie in his mouth and his tail wagging happily :-)
After lunch and a couple hour nap in his crate, we went to the bogs. The poor guy would love to keep up with Ry, but not yet. He ventured into the water, ran through the grass. I was able to get a few nice photos of him.
 |
| Look at Remus' front right and left rear! |
 |
| This is good. |
 |
| I'm coming as fast as I can! |
 |
| Where's Ryan? |
Back home, he walked into the pool! (Finally.) It was extremely hot out.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Up Early
 |
| How absolutely adorable is he? Beyond beautiful! |
 |
| Ryan and Remus, the little guy. |
 |
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
The 4th of July
It's Wednesday, July 4th; we had a slow start to the day. Up at 6 to potty and have breakfast, played for a little while- about a half hour or so, then back to bed for a nap. We rested until 8 when Katrin called to see if I had recovered from some stress and frustration at work on Tuesday, talked about Remus and his ongoing socialization and her plans for the day (off to look at "Berner" pups- so cute!!). Katrin reminded me to keep up with taking Rem to new places, practicing obedience and having fun. I kiddingly said that if she had been reading my blog she would know what we've done so far. The first part of the day was rainy so we stayed at home so I could do some chores, namely clean the cat litter boxes and do some laundry. It started clearing after lunch and by 3 I was able to make plans for us.
On to the fun- We left around 3:30 to go to Mary-Lou's for coffee- a great coffee shop with a lot of choices if you enjoy flavored coffees. My usual is an Almond Joy (Hawaiian Chocolate Nut coffee with mocha mixed with milk= super chocolaty!)
Okay, so after I got my caffeine fix, I had to decide where to go and what to do with Remus. I eventually decided to go to the Plymouth waterfront. I had my treats and my puppy and a positive attitude, what else could I need? (I could have remembered to grab a poop bag or 2; thankfully a nice woman gave me a bag and a "wet one" to wipe my hands with when Rem had to go. That was a little embarrassing, though everyone had a good laugh when Remus tried to grab the filled poop bag from me, LOL.)
So, we arrived at the parking lot to pay for the hour we'd be there (BTW, it's a dollar/ hour during the summer- Memorial through Labor Day). We started to walk towards the jetty, said "hi' to a lot of people which Remus seemed to enjoy, he even was able to meet some polite children. It's really nice how most people are so interested in such a young puppy, though he does rank high in the cute department!! We avoided a boxer who was tied to a tree across the walkway from his family (that was a good decision, after we walked past and were about 50 feet away the dog was staring at Remus). We met a nice couple from R.I., two nice families in town for the fireworks and a youngish couple on mountain bikes. The whole experience was extremely positive, except for the man who was somewhat intoxicated. In a good spirited way (he wasn't being malicious) he came over to see Remus, was wearing a ball cap and sunglasses started tousling Remus' head and ears (and I'm not sure if Remus didn't like the smell of alcohol on his breath). Remus didn't appreciate the rough handling, so I started feeding him treats and changed what he was concentrating on (note- meet lots of appropriate men in hats and sunglasses). We walked on the rocks leading out to the jetty, when he's bigger we'll venture out to the end. Went down to the water to put our feet in then off to Carol's for a quick visit, then home to have dinner and take a nap! That puppy was tired after his outing!! And, during all of this there were cherry bombs or something going off intermittently.
Where we are at for socialization-
On to the fun- We left around 3:30 to go to Mary-Lou's for coffee- a great coffee shop with a lot of choices if you enjoy flavored coffees. My usual is an Almond Joy (Hawaiian Chocolate Nut coffee with mocha mixed with milk= super chocolaty!)
Okay, so after I got my caffeine fix, I had to decide where to go and what to do with Remus. I eventually decided to go to the Plymouth waterfront. I had my treats and my puppy and a positive attitude, what else could I need? (I could have remembered to grab a poop bag or 2; thankfully a nice woman gave me a bag and a "wet one" to wipe my hands with when Rem had to go. That was a little embarrassing, though everyone had a good laugh when Remus tried to grab the filled poop bag from me, LOL.)
So, we arrived at the parking lot to pay for the hour we'd be there (BTW, it's a dollar/ hour during the summer- Memorial through Labor Day). We started to walk towards the jetty, said "hi' to a lot of people which Remus seemed to enjoy, he even was able to meet some polite children. It's really nice how most people are so interested in such a young puppy, though he does rank high in the cute department!! We avoided a boxer who was tied to a tree across the walkway from his family (that was a good decision, after we walked past and were about 50 feet away the dog was staring at Remus). We met a nice couple from R.I., two nice families in town for the fireworks and a youngish couple on mountain bikes. The whole experience was extremely positive, except for the man who was somewhat intoxicated. In a good spirited way (he wasn't being malicious) he came over to see Remus, was wearing a ball cap and sunglasses started tousling Remus' head and ears (and I'm not sure if Remus didn't like the smell of alcohol on his breath). Remus didn't appreciate the rough handling, so I started feeding him treats and changed what he was concentrating on (note- meet lots of appropriate men in hats and sunglasses). We walked on the rocks leading out to the jetty, when he's bigger we'll venture out to the end. Went down to the water to put our feet in then off to Carol's for a quick visit, then home to have dinner and take a nap! That puppy was tired after his outing!! And, during all of this there were cherry bombs or something going off intermittently.
Where we are at for socialization-
- lots of women
- some more men
- some nice children
- more time in/ at the ocean
- listening to cherry bombs or fireworks (not sensitive to them)
- walked on boulders (not sensitive to heights or "broken" surfaces, spaces between rocks)
No opportunities for photos :-( didn't bring a "photographer" with me (had to concentrate on my little guy!)
Though I did get a picture of a deer in my backyard while I was cooking dinner.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Monday, July 2nd
We had a busy weekend! Saturday evening we went to Powder Point Bridge in Duxbury to play in the ocean. We had a lot of fun, met some nice people including a child and watched and listened to the cars drive over the bridge. (And, Remus was so tired that he SLEPT through the fireworks!! That was not what I expected.)Sunday morning we were up early, went to breakfast and visited Jenny Grist Mill in Plymouth. There we walked underneath the overpass, next to the stream going into the ocean. Met some more people, watched a few ducks in the water and walked over the wooden bridge. Teaching (or desensitizing) Ry (and any puppy really) to different places and walking on different surfaces is such a positive thing. I often see dogs who are afraid to walk on our blue floor at the veterinary hospital, it would be so much better for them if they learned they could walk on different surfaces. In class, I will put different materials on the floor for the pups to walk on- a wooden expansion gate spread out flat on the floor, a metal crate pan, a tarp...
Another early morning today, we drove to Plymouth Beach- Dog Friendly!! Yes!!
We spent about 40 minutes there listening to the waves (Remus is a little noise sensitive), met more people and played in the sand (I brought Ry's water toy- an orange fish). Remus likes to carry it/ or something so I encourage that. I remembered to bring my camera and was able to document our field trip. And, we went up and down the wooden ramp.And, late this afternoon we went to the bogs again- Ry went swimming (really he was chasing the ducks). Remus had fun trying to keep up with Ry, well, I think he did. I did get some nice photos of him.
 |
| Uncle Ryan at about 4 months |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)