Sorry this is a long one!...
[SIZE=14pt]YAY!!![/SIZE]We're so happy!!! (w00t)
We've had Blue for about six weeks or so and he really is part of the family now. We all love him to bits! :huggles:
Unfortunately the poor lil' fella's had a bit of a rough start in life and is having to learn lots of new things.
Until 5 1/2 months he was with his breeder & presumably his mom, he then went to a new home for six weeks and then came to us in April.
At first he was very clingy and painfully shy of other dogs and people, was petrified of being seperated from us and he didn't seem to know any commands.
We have got over all of this very quickly, he's learnt so much, sleeps in the kitchen at night, leads the way on walks and loves to meet new people and dogs - he gets more like Ten the terror every day :wacko:
We've been taking him to socialisation classes for the last four weeks which are a great help - he went for the first time without Ten (Ten was helping his daddy build a fence
), this week and handled it brilliantly! :thumbsup: he even made it around the little obstacle course
One thing thats really bothered me though, is that he doesn't know how to play!
He play fights with Ten, which is great unles Ten's tired - if thats the case he just comes and stares at us and looks so sad :unsure: i've tried allsorts to get him to play! if i run about he chases me. if i offer him a toy he won't even touch it, if i throw a ball he wont chases it (he will chase ten if he's after a ball though), he has a teddy bear that came with him which he doesnt even go for...
It makes me so sad he's obviously had other dogs to play with as a young pup, but has no human given him any attention when he was a baby!?! all the signs would suggest NO!
Those first weeks of a puppies life are such an important time, they learn things they'll never forget and use for the rest of thier lives - how can someone have a baby puppy about the house and not play with it! it feels unforgivable to me!
Anyway...rant aside... Blue loves food more than anything - and yesterday, i remembered the wonders that are Kongs! (Tens got flushed down the loo just before we got Blue - but thats another story :blink: ).
I went to the dog shop - bought two new kongs filled them and Ten showed Blue how it was done, rolling the thing around the floor etc... He loved it and even picked it up in his mouth and carried it around a bit.
Later in the evening while Ten was having a snooze, i took Blue and his empty Kong in the garden and started to chuck it about - the first load of times i had to fetch it myself , but Blue was looking more & more interested (at the same time my neighbours were looking more and more concerned for my sanity!), Then just all of a sudden he went for it! (w00t) picked the thing up in his mouth and went zooming round and round the garden!! I swear he was smiling his head off! he brought it back after a while for another go - he goes wild if i bounce it on the floor, the kong bouces off randomly and he tries to catch it with his paws - when he gets it he does a few victory laps of the garden
I'm so proud! :wub: Its like he's just ridden a bike for the first time! :cheers: All the weeks of work have finally paid off! :thumbsup:
I feel so stupid for not thinking of the kong sooner :wacko: think i've tried everything else along the way though!
Well i've finished jibbering on now! - i'll try and get an action shot later!
Emma
[SIZE=14pt]YAY!!![/SIZE]We're so happy!!! (w00t)
We've had Blue for about six weeks or so and he really is part of the family now. We all love him to bits! :huggles:
Unfortunately the poor lil' fella's had a bit of a rough start in life and is having to learn lots of new things.
Until 5 1/2 months he was with his breeder & presumably his mom, he then went to a new home for six weeks and then came to us in April.
At first he was very clingy and painfully shy of other dogs and people, was petrified of being seperated from us and he didn't seem to know any commands.
We have got over all of this very quickly, he's learnt so much, sleeps in the kitchen at night, leads the way on walks and loves to meet new people and dogs - he gets more like Ten the terror every day :wacko:
We've been taking him to socialisation classes for the last four weeks which are a great help - he went for the first time without Ten (Ten was helping his daddy build a fence
), this week and handled it brilliantly! :thumbsup: he even made it around the little obstacle course One thing thats really bothered me though, is that he doesn't know how to play!
He play fights with Ten, which is great unles Ten's tired - if thats the case he just comes and stares at us and looks so sad :unsure: i've tried allsorts to get him to play! if i run about he chases me. if i offer him a toy he won't even touch it, if i throw a ball he wont chases it (he will chase ten if he's after a ball though), he has a teddy bear that came with him which he doesnt even go for...
It makes me so sad
he's obviously had other dogs to play with as a young pup, but has no human given him any attention when he was a baby!?! all the signs would suggest NO!Those first weeks of a puppies life are such an important time, they learn things they'll never forget and use for the rest of thier lives - how can someone have a baby puppy about the house and not play with it! it feels unforgivable to me!
Anyway...rant aside... Blue loves food more than anything - and yesterday, i remembered the wonders that are Kongs! (Tens got flushed down the loo just before we got Blue - but thats another story :blink: ).
I went to the dog shop - bought two new kongs filled them and Ten showed Blue how it was done, rolling the thing around the floor etc... He loved it and even picked it up in his mouth and carried it around a bit.
Later in the evening while Ten was having a snooze, i took Blue and his empty Kong in the garden and started to chuck it about - the first load of times i had to fetch it myself , but Blue was looking more & more interested (at the same time my neighbours were looking more and more concerned for my sanity!), Then just all of a sudden he went for it! (w00t) picked the thing up in his mouth and went zooming round and round the garden!! I swear he was smiling his head off! he brought it back after a while for another go - he goes wild if i bounce it on the floor, the kong bouces off randomly and he tries to catch it with his paws - when he gets it he does a few victory laps of the garden
I'm so proud! :wub: Its like he's just ridden a bike for the first time! :cheers: All the weeks of work have finally paid off! :thumbsup:
I feel so stupid for not thinking of the kong sooner :wacko: think i've tried everything else along the way though!
Well i've finished jibbering on now! - i'll try and get an action shot later!
Emma
