Our little puppy isn't so little these days. At almost 20 lbs and nearly 8 months old, Flutie is officially "not quite a puppy" anymore. I know this because when I called to enroll him in obedience classes yesterday, the trainer said he no longer qualified for "Puppy Kindergarten" at his age. He is getting thrown in with the big dogs. Flutie himself is not exactly "big", even for a Puggle we think he'll be below-average size. But to us, he seems huge. I remember cradling him in my lap like a tiny butterball on the ride home from the kennel his first day with us. There is no way I could hold him in the car now, he has to sit in the back seat like a big boy.
For all the post-puppy depression I've had since we brought him home, I can joyfully report that Flutie has come such a long way. He hadn't urinated in the house in over a month - until Sunday night when he had, what I hope was, a freak accident on our little sofa downstairs. There were a bunch of people over to watch the Celtics v. Lakers and he'd had about 10x his normal water allowance due to the heat wave, so my hope is that the distractions and unusually large bladder had more to do with the slip-up than Flutie simply not knowing better at this point.
Flutie can now "sit", " go potty" and "go to [his] bed" on command; somehow he learned the word "treat", but I didn't teach him; probably the dog-walkers. We're working on "stay", and its coming along very slowly. But this Sunday morning we will start the first of a six week series of obedience classes. I am remaining skeptical that they will help him much, but know we have to give it a shot. A friend of ours has a 2 year old Puggle and the first time she called a trainer about lessons he told her flat-out, "I have to warn you up-front, I have never had much luck with Puggles". Dan and I are always half-joking that Flutie isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, and I'm not sure if its more to do with simply not being that bright or his incredible stubbornness. It's likely both in combination. I'll report back after a class or two and perhaps there'll be some progress.
Speaking of dog behavior, I recently read this Wall Street Journal article about the boom in business for new parents' "baby-proofing" their dog. My first thought was "Those crazy yuppies, what won't they spend money on?!"; then I remembered that, oh yeah, I kind of am one of those crazy yuppies. Not that there will be a baby to anything-proof Flutie for in the foreseeable future, but one day I hope there will be and I do wonder how he will react and behave. I'd hate for the dingo (one of Flutie's nicknames) to, uh, actually eat my baby.
The first time Flutie saw a toddler he stopped dead in his tracks when this teeny-tiny two year-old toddling down the cobble-stone street. He was immediately suspicious and curious. It wasn't another dog and it wasn't quite a person- what was it?! We were still living in Beacon Hill at the time, which they ought to rename Bugaboo Hill, due to the proliferation of babies in high-end strollers. The toddler's parents asked if we could let their child pet the doggy, and we cautiously obliged, not quite knowing how he'd react and keeping a firm grip on his collar. It was an incredible relief that given the chance, Flutie was unusually calm and gentle with the tyke, even if he did try to sneak in a few licks.
We have made a conscious effort to socialize Flutie as much as possible, with other dogs and people and babies. There aren't a great deal of infants/children in our life right now (most of our friends are still in the dating/marrying, not procreating, phase), but Dan's cousin and his wife, who live nearby and are also good friends, recently had their first child. Nolan and Flutie were, in fact, only born about two weeks apart. They were first introduced at Easter and it was pretty much love at first lick. As anyone who has ever seen a baby double-over in a fit of laughter can tell you, it is the cutest thing. Nolan couldn't get enough of the puppy. Luckily, when it comes to Nolan, Flutie alternates between ignoring him or snuggling his feet and calmly licking his fingers.
Here are a few pictures of the two 7 month olds "playing" at a family party last weekend:
For all the post-puppy depression I've had since we brought him home, I can joyfully report that Flutie has come such a long way. He hadn't urinated in the house in over a month - until Sunday night when he had, what I hope was, a freak accident on our little sofa downstairs. There were a bunch of people over to watch the Celtics v. Lakers and he'd had about 10x his normal water allowance due to the heat wave, so my hope is that the distractions and unusually large bladder had more to do with the slip-up than Flutie simply not knowing better at this point.
Flutie can now "sit", " go potty" and "go to [his] bed" on command; somehow he learned the word "treat", but I didn't teach him; probably the dog-walkers. We're working on "stay", and its coming along very slowly. But this Sunday morning we will start the first of a six week series of obedience classes. I am remaining skeptical that they will help him much, but know we have to give it a shot. A friend of ours has a 2 year old Puggle and the first time she called a trainer about lessons he told her flat-out, "I have to warn you up-front, I have never had much luck with Puggles". Dan and I are always half-joking that Flutie isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, and I'm not sure if its more to do with simply not being that bright or his incredible stubbornness. It's likely both in combination. I'll report back after a class or two and perhaps there'll be some progress.
Speaking of dog behavior, I recently read this Wall Street Journal article about the boom in business for new parents' "baby-proofing" their dog. My first thought was "Those crazy yuppies, what won't they spend money on?!"; then I remembered that, oh yeah, I kind of am one of those crazy yuppies. Not that there will be a baby to anything-proof Flutie for in the foreseeable future, but one day I hope there will be and I do wonder how he will react and behave. I'd hate for the dingo (one of Flutie's nicknames) to, uh, actually eat my baby.
The first time Flutie saw a toddler he stopped dead in his tracks when this teeny-tiny two year-old toddling down the cobble-stone street. He was immediately suspicious and curious. It wasn't another dog and it wasn't quite a person- what was it?! We were still living in Beacon Hill at the time, which they ought to rename Bugaboo Hill, due to the proliferation of babies in high-end strollers. The toddler's parents asked if we could let their child pet the doggy, and we cautiously obliged, not quite knowing how he'd react and keeping a firm grip on his collar. It was an incredible relief that given the chance, Flutie was unusually calm and gentle with the tyke, even if he did try to sneak in a few licks.
We have made a conscious effort to socialize Flutie as much as possible, with other dogs and people and babies. There aren't a great deal of infants/children in our life right now (most of our friends are still in the dating/marrying, not procreating, phase), but Dan's cousin and his wife, who live nearby and are also good friends, recently had their first child. Nolan and Flutie were, in fact, only born about two weeks apart. They were first introduced at Easter and it was pretty much love at first lick. As anyone who has ever seen a baby double-over in a fit of laughter can tell you, it is the cutest thing. Nolan couldn't get enough of the puppy. Luckily, when it comes to Nolan, Flutie alternates between ignoring him or snuggling his feet and calmly licking his fingers.
Here are a few pictures of the two 7 month olds "playing" at a family party last weekend:
Flutie: Yo, baby!
Nolan: What up, dog!
Nolan: I would like to pull your ears, please.
Flutie: Um, no thank you.
Flutie: [nom, nom, nom] So sweet potatoes for lunch, eh Nolan?
Nolan: They're crazy delicious.
Flutie: [nom, nom, nom]
Can we be serious, isn't Nolan the most handsome baby boy on planet earth?
So suave, so debonair! 
Speaking of adorable, here is Flutie again.
Aaaand The Longest Tongue Award gooooes toooo ..... the exhausted Puggle!
The family party proved to be another successful meeting between baby and dog. I am looking forward to Nolan and Flutie "growing up together" and seeing the two interact at different stages. I hope my hesitations about Flutie's formal training prove unfounded. All I really want from him is a solid grasp of "sit", "down", "stay", "come" and "no barking". Is that too much to ask? I'd love to be able to take him off-leash at the park someday, but am more or less resigned that that may never happen; he's too fast and distractable. But who knows? Maybe after a few classes with a trainer who (I hope) knows what they're doing, we'll discover that Flutie is a secret Mensa Puppy and I just don't know it yet? To be determined ...
1 comment:
Goodluck with training. I took Deuce when he was 7 months old or so and he did great. He picked stuff up way quicker than other dogs. He totally got it. Now, the problem lies in the fact that he will only perform for a treat....the dog goes insane following commands when there is a treat involved. Don't have a treat? Forget it. He just stares at you looking as if he doesn't have a clue. The trainer told me that he would transition. He wouldn't always need a treat to perform. Well, it never happened. I hope that Flutie is more responsive to commands when there is no treat in sight.
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