Innlegg
My deprivation of sleep was due to our new family member Buddha, he arrived yesterday!
Buddha with his breeder Guri
We drove off to pick him up at Guris' in the afternoon, and when we arrived, the puppies were everywhere, playing with the cat, the chickens and all the other animals on the farm. Talk about being socialized from the very beginning!
Buddha was in great shape, and after watching him play for a while we decided it was time to bring him home. It's always sad to take the puppy away from it's familiar surroundings, but since Guri is keeping two of his siblings, Fjell and Vidde, we'll be hanging around a lot. The plan is to start training them to pull sleds together when they're old enough. Ooooh, the future fun!
Petter the cat and Buddhas brother
The drive home was less fun, Buddha became sick and threw up before we got home. Scott did exactly the same thing when I picked him up as a pup, poor thing. No good for a confused little furball, but when we got home and let him play at the lawn, it looked like he'd been living there forever!
We were amused to see that he was not afraid to do his business out in the open. For a little puppy, peeing outside is almost like hanging up a big sign saying "Hey all predators, I'm super-tiny and edible, you can all come and find me HERE!". That's why most puppies prefers to pee inside. On your carpet.
But thanks to good training from Guri, he didn't worry at all. So no accidents inside the first day!
Ronny with Fjell, one of the other brothers. How can a girl resist a sight like this?
Oluf was big time confused when we came inside with a little bundle of energy. He was more like "hey, that toy of yours...is it squeeky? Can I have it?!", and paid no attention to the newcomer at all. He is used to be with puppies from when I was working as a dog trainer, so for most of the time he doesn't care about them. But this one was a stayer...
Buddha (right) taking a nap with his brother
After sleeeping, playing, sleeeping, playing, peeing and playing some more, it was time to go to sleep. We wanted him to be able to sleep in a cage, and he was used to it from his breeder. But the first night alone is always frightening for a little one.
We found out that if he was already asleep, closing the door to the cage and go to bed was no problem. But if he was awake, seeing us leave was too much. We were just three metres away, but for a puppy, out of sight means abandoning.
But he slept as a student during morning class, until it was time to wake him up at 03:00 am to take him outside. It is better to set your alarm clock and plan to take them out, than waiting until the puppy is yelling because he REALLY have to go. If you respond to whining and yelling, the puppy has already trained you to react on his command. And that means you'll have a whiny dog for the rest of your life.
Instead, schedule a trip outside in the middle of the night, just in the beginning to make him houseclean.
Two of the cubs napping
Taking him outside at 03:00 was a good idea, he did his business right away. But making him sleep afterwards was not the easiest thing. We had to sit by the crate and just be calm with him, talking in a sleeepy voice and cuddle until he fell asleep. When we got to bed, he slept for about an hour before he woke up again. Same procedure, being careful not to show up when he was whining, but rather as a reward when he kept silent. After that, he slept as a baby again, until it was time for me to go to work. Yaaay! We're VERY proud of him, handling his first night so incredibly well!
Oluf was very worried when he didn't sleep, he is already taking part in the raising! (^.^)
Fjell, one of the brothers
This morning, he didn't eat much because he was sooo tired, but as soon as he came outside, he was super awake and started playing with Oluf. Kyooot!
Ronny is watching him righ now, and I just got this adorable pic:
Aaaaaw! How cute can you be? I bet these guys will be best friends by the time I get back home. Ronny was set up on conditioning the clicker and starting the sit- training while I am at work, so I'm eager to see the
training in progress when I get back home....This will be the slowest workday everrrrrr!
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