Week 5  

Oh the shame! I know that Alison had warned me, but he did show me up yesterday. It was our first puppy class.

It all started so well. The puppies all arrived and had brought their humans with them. They were a mixed bunch, a gigantic bouncy German Shepherd, who rather frightened Lewi, a beautiful little grey indeterminate puppy, who was so calm and greeted everyone (human or canine) so politely, an excitable spaniel and so on. We all got to know each other and sat in a circle. While the trainer was introducing us to the course, she was quietly training one of the pups to lay down with a clicker. Most of the pups were still excited at the new experience. About 20 minutes in, when every other puppy was learning sit and down, Lewi got singled out and told he had to sit next to the teacher, he’d been yapping at every other puppy, demanded play, tried to catch a fly, got his nose into a lady’s bag where she kept her pack of treats… He did respond quite well to the teacher in the end, but… Playtime was good. The trainer had brought her three very calm and well-behaved adult dogs to help in the socialisation phase. It was nearly 10 pm by the time we all left and headed home, he was travelsick on the way back! When we got home, and he’d toileted, he settled down next to my chair while I fetched his cage in and changed the bedding. He refused to go through to bed, and when I tried to pick him up to put him to bed, he went for me. Threatening noises and mouth gestures. He got a good telling off for that, only to repeat it when I tried again. Well I got him to the kitchen, but he refused to go to his bed in the cage, so I left him. I did creep down a couple of times in the night and peer through at him and he was just lying there. This morning, he went to the loo again and unusually just came back in and curled up by my chair and went to sleep. It was 10 am before he was back to normal. He had just got so over tired – perfectly normal now, but we have had as calm a day as possible.

His highlight of the week was an attack on the BT socket. Leaving me with a day without phone or Internet, a bodged repair and a fire screen in the hall to prevent further incidents. (Oh and a bill from BT when I get it fixed)

He has become much smarter in his little escapades. It is funny to see just his head peep round the door to check that I am not looking then sneak back to play with the doormat. He looks so innocent when I call out ‘Leave’ and he comes trotting back “Who? Me?” He has also discovered the front door stop. A spring device fitted to the wall so that when the door opens, it does not bang against the wall. He has found how to flick it to make a twanging sound, that can be a bit annoying.

He continues to grow and can now climb on the settee and has learnt a new command as a result – Off! Health wise, he has started to be travel sick – well more a sort of slobbery dribbling really, he’s had all his injections and seems to be thriving, even though he doesn’t want to eat the quantities that the food manufacturers recommend! The teacher used him to show how to feel the ribs and spine to check that the pup is neither overweight nor too thin. She also commented on the way that he tends to lay with both back legs out sideways at 90 degrees, saying that it shows very healthy and flexible hip joints. He may be a naughty pupil, but at least he’s a healthy naughty pupil. Right, time to get him to bed to recover from yesterday’s excitement.