#he spent most of sunday night/monday in varying levels of tantrum

[wyrddogs]

For those of you who enjoyed my notes on what I did with Kermit, here are some things that Zaku has been working on in the three days I’ve owned him:

- Baby impulse control stuff, including:

~~ The crate door will never open until you are quiet and all four feet are on the floor.

~~ I will set you down when you are done wiggling.

~~ Crate door will not open until you are quiet and all four feet are on the floor.

~~ Did I mention the crate door?

- Lots and lots and lots of driving time. He rapidly became a very good traveler.

- Experience staying in a hotel. Lots of elevator rides. Exposure to a wide variety of people and dogs in a wide variety of daytime and nighttime clothing.

- So far of the six dogs I’ve owned/raised, his potty training is coming along the fastest. Warp speed, basically. He came to me litter-trained, and instantly grasped that outside is the potty place. He keeps his crate clean as long as there are no blankies. He can earn back a crate blankie once he figures out they are not for peeing on.

- Integration into the pack is going well. He is extremely brave and is not at all intimidated by the older puppies. He is very good about paying attention to dogs telling him to leave them alone...

- ... But he still has baby brain, so sometimes he says “but I WANT to play with you” and is then removed from the other dog.

- We are learning that grabbing the dachshund and thrashing him is never acceptable behavior. Respecting dachshund and chihuahua personal space is paramount.

- Some fun baby tug and fetch games. Really good handler engagement.

- He’s still small enough that I carried him while taking Kermit for a walk. He’s very good about being carried.

- Trips to two different Petsmarts.

- Introduction to brushing, collar grab, and feet handling. Introduction to laying upside-down in my lap, which is my preferred position for nail trims.

- Need to work on putting his collar on and off. It’s a struggle because he gets very excited and then gets very bitey. Want to officially introduce his harness rather than just shoving it on him. Also need to see if I can get him to stay in the little backpack I’m borrowing. He’s currently Kermit-sized but won’t be in a week.

- Vet visit is tomorrow, and we’ll hang out at confo class tonight. Baby “agility” class starts next week-ish.