Starting this Aug 25, but will I finish it the same day? We shall see.
Yes, you would think with a puppy that I would have tons to write about. I do actually, but the problem is in finding time to do it.
A few weeks back we made the decision to "cut back" on how often the dogs go to play-care a week. Financially speaking, by doing this we can stretch the 10 day visits so we're paying right around payday. Play care for 3 is expensive. For 4 it's going to require some finagling. When we had Duchess & Athena, they didn't go all the time, so it was easy to do back then. Duchess chose when she wanted to go & Athena depended on how she was physically. This is also when we had M, W, F daycare days.
Currently they aren't open on Wed. Adding in our cutting back, I now have the dogs with me Tues & Wed. Normally it's crazy, but adding in the pup just adds that much more to it. There is an extra "intensity" to my days home. I really wish it weren't that way, but nothing I can change about it.
Which one to start with? We'll go oldest to youngest....
Dude has completely come out of his shell. He's more confident in his place within the pack & has no issues demanding what he wants. He wants Mommy to pay attention to him? I'll climb right up on top of here. This floor is annoying, he climbs up on the bed (dog/human).
He engages more when I'm downstairs playing with the Heelers. He gets involved in his own way. It's really a joy to see. It really makes me smile when he's in the middle of the floor playing in his own way with the others. He is such a happy boy.
Lada & Him have been a bit "left out" as Rich walks Ziva & Peryn together. TO make it up to them, I took them to Petsmart the other day. Volos enjoys it as the toys are at his level & he always gets to take one home.
We found him a long floppy stuffed horse with squeakies. He took it and carried it around the store. Everyone that saw him started smiling, laughing , or had to say something about him picking his toy. He wouldn't let it go even when it was time to check out. I had to rip the cardboard label off it so they could ring it up.
He doesn't run from Ziva anymore. He doesn't engage her either. However, they are usually side by side. He doesn't snap at her when she goes into is stash to take something (usually). It's like he won't admit it, but he's fond of her.
Currently he has an issue with his front left leg/paw. He started limping last night & still has it this morning. I laid on the floor with the dogs a bit ago & gave his shoulder, leg, & paw a massage. I think he wasn't limping as much after, but he only walked from the house to the outside, so I need to see him walk further.
Volos' relationship with the other 2 is still the same. With Peryn it's very adversarial with toys & with Lada, he's gentle around her. They still occasionally "air fight" (don't know what else it's called) with their mouths. Pretty much he's a pretty happy & loving bear.
PERYN
Sigh. Right now he's not really one of my favorites. His A*H*ishness has intensified. He's been getting yelled at more & more. He snarls & snaps at Ziva quite often. He's still a BIG JERK with Volos & toys.
Actually the dog is insane. When it comes to taunting V with toys, he uses ANY MEANS NECESSARY to escape when V comes at him. This includes ducking under the open recliner, jumping over & on the recliner (in which we are on-therefore on us), over the couch (back behind us on the couch). He's just a big jerk.
He injures me, he's injured my Mom, & I'm sure someone else will get hurt if they're here when he tries this.
Otherwise he is the same old cattle dog he usually is. Wants to play ball/fetch ALL.THE.TIME. Went to my BFFs house this weekend & her dog is just like Peryn with fetch. Would not stop. Barks when you ignore him. Throws it down when he wants you to throw. Definitely was interesting to see it from another side.
He's still very affectionate when he comes home from play-care or when it's lighting &thunder..otherwise no changes.
Occasionally when we are outside playing fetch, Ziva likes to run along with them. He ignores her mostly then, but that's the extent of her playing with him.
We're not sure, BUT he might be trying to play with her a teeny bit. We'll catch instances where he's tempting Volos, but if she is near he tends to get in front of her. Not sure if it is coincidental or not, but we're still unsure.
LADA
Crazy girl is still crazy. She's been feeling left out as Daddy does not take her when Ziva gets walked. Lada isn't a consistent walker, so for training to walk on a leash, she's not the best candidate. She has at least 3x that I have witnessed attempted to engage Z in play. Lada's ways are subtle, so I don't know if Z didn't recognize it for what it was or not. However, I have hope.
Lada doesn't snap or growl at her too much. I think she understands that I will not have that unless it's because Z nipped at her wrong. But if Z approaches me & Lada growls, I shut that down.
Ziva has become fixated on Lada a bit. Whenever they play fetch now (especially in the basement) she is always running right next to Lada & trying to engage her in play. Lada ignores this mostly either by ignoring or avoiding her. Ziva really is taken with Lada when they play with the ball.
I am trying to give her my extra attention so she does not get jealous or hateful towards Z. No need to start another fight if we can help it.
Lada puts up with a lot of Ziva's actions quite well. I really am hoping they can be friends one day soon.
ZIVA
Vet update: At last visit she was 27.3# & her heart murmur is almost completely gone. Vet said it was very faint. Yay for that. She is HUGE. I remember Lada as a puppy, her growth wasn't so discernable. I guess the same with Peryn. It felt like they were taking time to grow. Maybe because their sizes between puppy & adult weren't so significant.
Ziva however is BIG. She's bigger than Lada & almost as big as Peryn. Every morning it's like she either grew out length or height wise. It's a jolt seeing how she changes from day to day. Her back legs are long, they seem to grow quickest so she's always hitched up in the back.
She makes lots of noises when she lies there trying to sleep. I think it's her growing pains.
She is a beauty though & we love her so much. She has a pretty chill temperament. She takes most things in stride. When she isn't being chill, she's acting like a puppy. Going from toy to toy. Picking up everything she isn't supposed to. Biting with those puppy vampire teeth.
She is ...wary of the vacuum & rug cleaner. I don't know if she's scared exactly, but she does move away from them when they are being used.
House training is still going on. It's a bit of back & forth. One or two days she'll go completely outside. Then the next day she pees all inside (on the puppy pads). We're going longer at night in between outings, so that is good. Our biggest (or I should say HER) issue is not alerting us that she needs to go outside.
I need to keep reminding myself that she IS A PUPPY, so this is not unheard of. Peryn & Lada were having issues in their later months, so if she doesn't have it down at 3 months..that isn't unusual.
We've begun training. The past few days we haven't had much time & I avoid training around the others. They get a chance to get a treat & it's chaos. I will just keep re-iterating the commands as much as possible. We've got sit, paw, crate, come. I've attempted stay....and that's definitely a work in progress. I also need to work on down, off, up, & leave it.
She is very engaged when we train, so that is encouraging.
She loves toys & most recently has begun to play tug. She's pretty strong for her size (or I am that weak). She also likes taking toys & "whipping' her head around. She seems likes she most wants to play physically, like wrestle. None of mine have done this in some time, so I know when the time comes she is going to LOVE play-care.
She loves lying on top of A/C vents. Definitely a Berner trait--not liking being hot. She loves to get into stuff. The worst was tearing up my baby blanket. My Grandma crocheted each of us a baby blanket that I still use. It needs repairing or some work to stop the fraying.
If it is in her reach & not for her, she will take it. If it is in her reach & FOR HER, she ignores it. You know, typical puppy behavior. She likes to mirror her siblings, so having them along for our routines has been helpful.
A perfect example is bottles. She is very much like Galen was when it comes to plastic bottles. She loves to work the caps off & she loves to chew on them. Even when there is still stuff in them. Made the mistake of leaving a Gatorade bottle of fruit punch with a drink or two left. Found her chewing the bottle & I had to clean up the spilled FP on the carpet.
Another favorite thing she loves are the landscaping rocks around our patio. She loves to lie in them, roll in them, dig in them, & chew on them. Don't know what it is about them, but she is fascinated with them.
Took her to meet my BFF this past weekend. She had a BLAST. Between my friends dogs, daughters, & the other guests, Z was quite busy. Her one daughter went outside to run around with Z. By the time we went to leave, Z wouldn't even lift her head. She was T I R E D. She was carried out to the car.
It makes me sad watching the others ignore her when she wants to play. Along with what I saw this weekend, I can't wait until she's fully vaccinated to be able to send her to play with other dogs. My biggest fear is she won't be completely house broken & this will throw it off--but girl needs this. She is a young pup with lots of energy that she is unable to expel on her siblings.
I can tell you what is going to happen when she goes though. She will find friends & begin to play & Lada will come in & interrupt like she does with all her other siblings & like she did with Duchess.
Finished 8/27
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