The 10 Week Old

I promise this won't become a weekly feature, but here's a few new shots of Rocky from this past week.  Today, he is 10 weeks old... and its been 2 weeks since he joined us!   It is a bit hard to tell in these pictures, but he is definitely growing and his ears are starting to "pop" up.

Just so you think it's not all sugar and cream (which it's still largely been), here's some other "real world" stories from puppy-ville:

Housebreaking has been more "luck" than "progress."  We managed to get through last weekend without even one "inside" accident.  I predicted my overconfidence would lead to lower vigilance... and, well... that's what has happened.  So I have to be better... as any dog expert/book will tell you, anything a puppy does wrong is your fault. I have to watch him more closely and go out back and give that praise when the right thing is done in the right place.

Believe it or not, we have already had some success with the walking on the leash.  I tried last week with little success. Todd attempted it last weekend and did quite well... and inspired by that, I managed two "real" walks with Toby and Rocky earlier this week.  It was a bit stop-and-go, but I was just proud that I was able to have both dogs on the leash and forward movement (for the most part).  But yesterday, I go another "no so fast" lesson as Rocky just "shut down"... the canine equivalent of "And I Am Telling You, I'm Not Going"... butt firmly planted on the ground with that "I hope animal control doesn't pass by" look on his face as it looked like he was being choked and dragged across the pavement. While I should have been persistent and patient, Rocky ended up being placed in the backyard while Toby and I did our usual tour of the neighborhood.

UPDATE:  Well, as Cesar says, I guess dogs do live "in the now"... just got back from a pretty successful and extended group walk... again, I am sure Toby wasn't thrilled with stuttering (that "stop and go") along the way or that it was shorter than usual... but just trying to get working on that "pack mentality.

This week, we had our first food-related fight. Toby continues to be totally weirded out at meal time.  It generally takes him anywhere from 30-45 minutes to eat his meals (if he eats!)... most of the time is spent guarding his food bowl.  So, after about 20-30 minutes Toby joins Rocky (and me) in another room.  A few minutes later, I leave the room to pick up Toby's food bowl in the kitchen and he has hardly touched his food.  At about the same time, Toby goes into attack mode and there's a squeal from the baby.  No one was hurt, Rocky was probably just playing around... and had no idea that merely leaving the room was viewed as a threat to Toby's food (which was at least 50 feet away from  the incident).  So we went in Cesar "serious correction" mode... getting Toby down on his side, and applying "bites" to his neck until he calmed down.  It seemed to work... and later the dogs played very nicely together... but nevertheless it was still a bit disappointing that it got to a fight.

Like I said, things are pretty darn wonderful but it's not always easy that's for sure. 

Scott & Buckaroo visited last weekend and Rocky was quite friendly meeting "new" humans (and the guys can attest that he is even cuter in person, if that's at all possible!).  This weekend Todd's parents are coming up for a visit with Lucy the Pug.  So we'll see how Rocky reacts to a new dog, though I have a feeling that Rocky and Lucy will be fast friends.

Stay tuned, I have yet another milestone to share with you later today... 

Comments

[Scott-O-Rama]

Wow! It looks like he's growing... but in his case, that's not saying much! Another millimeter perhaps?

Still cute as ever though!