It’s been just over a month since we collected Duggee from the breeders. It’s been a fun journey so far. It’s fair to say he’s very settled here, and he’s getting used to us, as much as we’re getting used to him! He had been sleeping from when I go to bed, till about 6.30am, however the past few days – it’s been nearer 8am. I’ve enjoyed having a little buddy with me during the day, and having breaks from work taking him in the garden for a play.
I’m getting him used to being left alone by putting him into his crate with a Kong filled with treats to keep him occupied. He does whinge a bit, but he’s slowly learning that I’ll always come back! On the subject of training, we take him to puppy classes each week. He’s picking up everything very quickly, he knows ‘sit’,’down’ and ‘paw’. One of his favourite commands is ‘touch’ where he will run over and tap the palm of your hand with his nose (in return for a treat in the other hand!) Duggee is very switched on and is picking everything up very quickly. He knows his name, however sometimes he likes to pretend he doesn’t! I think we’ll definetely keep up some kind of training or perhaps agility as he grows up. He really enjoys it.
We’re getting him used to other dogs too with Puppy Hour at our local ‘Pet’s Corner’. There are puppies of all sizes and energy levels, and they have an hour to play together. They have puppy experts on hand to keep an eye on how they are all behaving. He really enjoys it – he was a bit overwhelmed in his first week and wasn’t feeling very brave. On his second visit he was a lot braver and played with some of the other pups, and went to the different owners an let them fuss over him. He’s also met my Mum’s toy poodle twice now – Ricky wasn’t overly impressed with Duggee’s puppy style of play and put him in his place a few times. I’m sure they’ll get used to each other in time!
Wherever possible we’re taking him out and about with us, we want him to be used to a variety of people, situations and other dogs. So many people like to stop and talk to us (well mostly him) and have a chat. He’s getting used to the attention and relishes a stroke or pet from someone new! We’ve taken the opportunity to go to the many dog friendly pubs around us. We went to the Galvin Green Man at the weekend and sat in the garden enjoying a drink and food. Duggee loved having a little sniff around the grounds, and then sat happily under the table in the shade with a bowl of water. We went inside after a while and Duggee sat nicely under the table on the stone floor.
We’ve got a trip to Bluestone coming up in September, and sadly Duggee can’t come. So the next ‘mission’ is to find somewhere for him to stay. We’ve going to visit a nearby doggy day care and home boarding place to see what they offer. It will also be handy to have somewhere nearby to take him to if I need to go out for a day to work, or perhaps a theme park trip. We’re also looking at getting him to the groomers for his first ‘Puppy Groom’ – we actually have one on our road, so that’s super handy! He doesn’t really need a trim, but we want to get him used to it all. It’s scary the speed in which he is growing too, we’re forever adjusting his harness to fit his growing frame.
So yes.. It’s been a busy month with lots of learning, and new experiences – however it’s lovely how well he’s settled into our home!
