SHS-Solace Grand Noble Tymothy

This is too good not to post. When mom was at the hospital recovering from surgery last week, my brother took care of Ty while I stayed with mom overnight and through the following day. My brother had gone to the hospital with mom the morning of the surgery and stayed until 11pm that night, when we traded off and he went home. After mom was released and we were all back home, my brother told us about something Ty had done while I was away.

The night my brother was home, he had fixed some home made french fries as a late night snack. Later he took Ty out before going to bed and on their way back in, Ty decided to snatch a piece of potato up off the floor from under the dining table and run off to his crate with the loot. Unfortunately for Ty, my brother pulled him back and retrieved the potato from his mouth. Poor boy couldn’t get a break! Haha!

Well, what makes this story so much funnier is what happened just earlier this after noon. I reheated some left over manwich to make myself two sloppy joe sandwiches and brought them into my room to eat while Ty was in his crate sleeping. I finished one and was waiting a bit before eating the other. After several minutes, I left the room to talk to my mom about something. I was gone literally no more than one minute and walked back to close Ty’s crate so that I could fix my mom something to eat without the worry of Ty getting up and getting into anything while I wasn’t able to watch him closely. When I got back to my room, I caught Ty trying to snatch my remaining sloppy joe! When he saw that I had caught him, he tried to carry the sandwich to his crate but I grabbed his scruff and when he dropped it, I put him in his crate while I cleaned up the mess from the carpet.

After everything was cleaned up, I opened his crate again and left the plate in the floor while I left again to fix my mom’s lunch. I checked on him several times to see that he was leaving the plate and food alone. Later, when I settled back into my room again, I continued to leave the plate in the floor and any time he even looked at it, I told him to “leave it”. He made no other moves for the food but I will be setting him up again many times to teach him not to grab food from any plate under any circumstances, ever- with or without me in the room or near by.

Still, I thought it was pretty funny how quick and sneaky this pup is! I really didn’t let my guard down and was not gone for more than an actual minute. He just simply is that fast and that sneaky about seeing and taking opportunities when they present themselves! He’s just too dang smart for his own good! But so far, he still gets caught. LOL

I have not been able to update in a while but I am trying to catch up. My mom needed surgery to repair an injured rotator cuff and there was alot of Dr. appointments to get medical clearance and all that sort before hand. Surgery went well on Tuesday, thankfully, and mom is back home for what has been estimated as a 6 month full recovery. We also had company visiting us for the last week so that added to the stresses keeping me busy.

Ty will be 14 weeks this coming Monday and he is growing like a weed! I’ve already updated the growth chart on the right side bar so you can keep tracking his progress. Let me tell you, he is already one very strong puppy!

He recently started pulling on the lead and although it wasn’t really bad, it was more than I was ok with. So I’ve been working with him on slowing down and not pulling. I was able to get out a harness we had used for our oldest cat when we moved. Tigger is a large cat so his harness is actually for a medium sized dog and when I adjusted it to the biggest size it would reach, it fits Ty just right (for now). This has really helped slow Ty down and he is beginning to walk better with only a few challenges left to overcome. He now walks on my left side about 99% of the time and only crosses in front of my maybe 1% or no more than 5% of the time.

We have mastered stopping and sitting down when going through doors, whether going in or out. There are still a few times that he has to be asked twice to sit down, but otherwise, he’s very good at it and knows what is expected of him. He is also pretty good at responding to “come here” when there are no distractions and sometimes when there are minor distractions. We will work up to responding to this with any kind of distraction once he is ready to move forward in this area.

He pretty much knows his name, both the short version and long version (Ty and Tymothy) but is still not yet responding to the sound of his name every time. We are working on this with few or no distractions and will also work our way up to responding to his name with distractions. This also involves working to get his focus and attention on me more of the time than it is, so I have my work cut out for me on this one but I am up for the challenge!

As far as walking, we have worked our way up to exploring more of the apartment property and our total distance is up to approx. 1/2 (half) mile each walk. He is getting at least one walk each day with two walks as often as I possibly can. Some days have been pretty busy lately though so he is only getting the second walk about 3 times a week or so. This is also in addition to play time inside both with me and with his toys. I am trying to find as many ways as possible to keep him exercised and busy/occupied inside so that he doesn’t get too bored in between walks and outside play times. This has proved to be a bit of a challenge as nothing seems to really hold his attention for very long. Even if it’s edible, such as peanut butter in his kong or a bone. It lasts maybe half and hour and once the peanut butter is gone or he can’t reach any more, as far as he’s concerned, he’s done. I’ve tried a frozen carrot and that will last between 30 minutes to an hour. We are working to find other things that will occupy him both with and without my attention being needed.

Another thing we are working on it not biting/chewing on the leash. This is something he’s done since coming home at 8 weeks and though it has gotten better for the most part, he still has his moments and will escalate to more unacceptable behavior. This has gotten very challenging to correct as most traditional corrections (ie: scruff shake, firm “NO” or “Leave it”, squirt from spray bottle, etc) only seem to encourage him and the behavior continues. I am still trying to find a good way to interrupt him and correct him for this. Giving him a time out is also challenging because he tends to do this mostly when we are outside for potty breaks and/or walks.

We also have started a new thing while on walks. I am getting him used to hearing and responding to directional commands. When we stop at doors and I am ready to continue, I say “let’s go”. Once we’re moving, I say “forward” and repeat it from time to time as we walk forward in direction. When we need to change direction, I am having him stop completely by saying “stop” as I stop moving and stand still. Then I say either “left” or “right” or “turn around” and we move in that direction. For now, I am occasionally using my hand/arm to point or gesture in the direction we are changing to while also leaning or pushing my left leg against him as we turn left or pulling him closer as we turn right. My goal, is to have him recognizing and responding to these words at least 50% of the time (or more) within a months time and then we will work up from there. Once we have gotten good at this, I will add another dynamic and have him also stop at curb edges, both when stepping up and when stepping down.

Over the last few weeks, Ty has meet some of the neighborhood kids and visited with them. We have also encountered several adult neighbors and the mail lady a few other times. I still backs away from people at first but is getting better at staying by me and sitting down regardless of whether the person is paying attention to him or not. When my mom is recovered enough from her surgery to drive again, we will be making a trip to the mall to people watch and also work more on walking. In the mean time, I’m getting him out and around the apartment property every day both with and without other people around outside.

Yesterday, Ty met a nurse that does home care for people that can’t get out of the home and need medical assistance. While mom is recovering from surgery, we will have a nurse come in once or twice a week to assist mom with anything she needs. After filling out paperwork and getting mom all set up, the nurse encouraged me to bring Ty out (when she found out I had a puppy). So I moved the small crate from the doorway of my bedroom where I had Ty contained and let him come out to visit. He was so good and though was very shy, he did eventually go up to her for a sniff and hesitant hello.

This afternoon, on our way back home from a long walk, we encountered an inflated beach ball that belongs to some kids from another building than ours. Ty’s reaction indicated fear of the object so I spent several minutes playing with it and kicking it around while encouraging him to follow me until he would walk with me and not try to run away so much. We will try to have more encounters with this object in the future and I may buy one of our own to work with until he no longer shows any reaction to it. Then, I will try to find someone with a bike, skate board, and roller skates, so that he can get used to those objects as well.

Anyway, that is pretty much our update for now. Once everything is back to normal, I will try to stay on my normal weekly updates as usual. Unfortunately, the recent stresses have left me with a puppy with too much built up energy and an apartment that looks like a hurricane has been through and I am already very exhausted. I imagine it may take me a full week just to get mostly caught up and then possibly another week to recover from all the hard work but I am getting there, ever so slowly.

As of Monday evening, Ty’s current weight and height is 26.4 lbs and right at 17 inches at the wither. His coat is already getting a bit thicker and darker with more brown and black than before. Both of his ears have been up now since the second week he was here. He is finally eating his full meals (after I add a few things for encouragement) and is beginning to want more after each meal so I may be increasing his food just a bit in the near future.

He will now “sit down” almost every time he is asked to and has learned to “wait” when going in/out of doors. He is beginning to respond to the sound of his name and is starting to walk better with me by staying on my left side most of the time. We are still working on not crossing in front of me when he wants to go a different direction but he’s getting better. We’re also working on not pulling when he gets excited about going a certain way. Our next goals are to master complete “heel” with loose lead and to pay more attention to where I am going and not so much to where he wants to go. He has also learned to “leave it” when he sees something of interest that he might want to pick up off the ground and he is doing very well with this. Earlier today, he picked up a leaf on the way back inside and was very quick to “drop it” when told. I am very proud of him! We are now working on “leave it” for things in the floor inside.

He’s using the bathroom outside all the time with only a few occasional “sprinkles” inside that I belief are more behavior issues than house breaking issues and I am working on this. He understands “stay off”, “get off”, and “don’t bite” or “no bite” as well as leaving my belongings alone (most of the time). We visit and “greet” the stairs at least once each day as we come inside from going out. He will place his front paws up onto the second step most of the time and we have gone ALL THE WAY UP the stairs one time when he volunteered on his own. When we got to the top, he stopped just two steps short of the very top and decided to turn around. I moved to his right side so that he was on my left and held his collar carefully helping him as we both walked back down together. There were no slips, falls, stumbles, or splats and it was a really good experience for us both, I think, though he hasn’t yet volunteered to go up them again. We will continue visiting them as he grows until he can/will go up/down them with ease and comfort. Then, we will move on to another type of stairs with different surface feel/texture. These are carpeted stairs. He will eventually be introduced to stairs that are: wood, concrete, metal, plastic/rubber coated, and possibly tile (if I can find some).

Speaking of different surfaces, he has currently walked on carpet and linoleum indoors as well as grass, mulch/wood chips, gravel, concrete sidewalks, and asphalt parking lots outdoors. He seems to have no major preference as to what we walk on or what he uses as his bathroom. He is very good about “doing his business” right away when we first go outside and I am working with him to do each “on command”. He’s getting 2 to 3 walks per day with a total distance of just under .1 mile (one tenth of a mile). This is the distance of  walking around two apartment buildings in our complex, part way around a paved circle in the middle of the buildings, up to the leasing office building, and then back to the door into our apartment building (which involves going part way around the circle again) and doing this 3 times each day. Some of this is on grass though alot is on the sidewalk. He is very good about following the sidewalk and once he is better about walking “with me”, we will work on walking in a more straight, direct line (in general) on most any surface.

One of the not so good habits he has picked up is jumping and trying to climb up onto people (mostly me and my family). So we are now learning better manners when greeting other family members so that he learns to keep his paws on the floor/ground unless asked to do otherwise. Each day for the last several days, I’ve been working with him for a few minutes at a time, to learn to “sit down”, “lay down”, “sit up”, and “stand up”. Once we master these, we will work on “speaking” and then “being quiet” as well as “offer paw” and “high five”. We are also going to work more on getting down a good “recall” or “come” when called over the next few weeks.

He is pretty bullet proof when it comes to most strange noises. We’ve had our smoke alarm go off several times (after someone takes a hot bath/shower and leaves the door open without venting, as the smoke alarm is just outside the bathroom. I know, strange place but not our choice.) and also someone’s car alarm has gone off outside a few times. Neither of these bothered Ty and the only reaction he even gave at all was looking up as if simply wondering what the sound was. We also had a fairly nice, active storm earlier today with plenty of lightning and heavy rain. Other than being a little restless because I was out of the room, he seemed rather oblivious to what was going on outside and even went into his crate to take a nap during the storm. All this, while I have the blinds on the window open for him to see outside.

Keeping him off my bed was a bit of a challenge when he wanted something like my jacket or house robe or when I wasn’t feeling well this past weekend and he wanted as close to me as possible. I had to get creative and think of something that would discourage him from getting on my bed or getting anything off my bed. The idea was something that would be an immediate “reaction” when he put his paws on my bed or started to pick up something that is/was on it. While talking to my mom about it, I remembered that I have a silly prank app on my iPhone that is a fake car alarm. The way it works is you tap the button to “activate” the alarm and set the phone down within so many seconds. After the few seconds, it is activated and if/when the phone gets moved/bumped, the alarm goes off and makes quite an annoying sound. This was also going to be an attempt to discourage Ty from playing with or chewing on my phone as he has gotten it a few times and left some bite marks. Not only do I not want him to accidentally eat part of it, but I also really can’t afford to replace it if he damages it. Plus, it’s just the principal of the fact that the phone is MINE and he needs to learn to respect my things no matter what. So, I decided to try out this app and see if it would do the trick. IT DID! Within a matter of hours, he was listening so much better about staying off and getting off my bed. I would “set” the “alarm” any time I left my room for a moment (my door stays open during the day) and would hang around the living room with my mom and/or brother, checking on Ty every so often. If I heard the alarm, I walked back to see what Ty was doing. A few times, he set it off just by bumping my bed accidentally while playing with a toy. He simply looked up at me for those times. But a few times, I caught him either about to get on or having gotten on my bed and as soon as he saw me walking into the room, he got off and headed right into his crate, knowing he was going to get lectured about being on my bed and/or messing with my stuff. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I ended up also using it to discourage him from putting his front paws up on my mom’s bed that is also in my room. Pretty soon he will be big enough to climb onto it and I want him to stay off.

Our other battle has been keeping him blocked off from a side of my room where I can’t see him well and can’t monitor him as easily. It is on the other side of my mom’s bed and I did not want to get up every 2 seconds to see what he was doing. So, I’ve placed two plastic boxes, stacked up between the wall and the foot of the bed to block off that side. It didn’t take him long to figure out he is still small enough to squeeze ( and  I really do mean SQUEEZE) under mom’s bed to get to the other side where I can’t see him. After some creative collaborations with my mom and brother, I wedged two small suit cases under the edge of the bed at the foot so that he could not slide under that corner. This worked until he decided to go under the bed from my side. I pulled out our last small suit case and two cardboard boxes that something I’d ordered online were delivered in and placed them in a line under the edge of mom’s bed on my side. Finally! I had him completely blocked off! Right? NOPE! The smart bratt figured out how to squeeze (yes, again, SQUEEZE) under the bed at the very small opening left at the very head of the bed! How on earth was he fitting under there?! I still really have NO IDEA! But, out of desperation and with no other options, I finally removed the bag from my small trash can in here and placed it sideways under the bed to block that last little spot. So far, so good. He hasn’t really tried to push anything out of his way yet. Soon, he will be too big to fit under there anyway so it won’t matter. Then, I will have to figure out how to keep him from going OVER the bed! Haha! I am still not sure how I’ll do that yet.

Anyway, that’s pretty much the update for this week. I’m a bit late with this one but at least I finally got it done. There are no new pics or videos right now but I will eventually get more pics up and all the videos uploaded. There are quite a few videos if I can ever get them uploaded to YouTube.

Ty was 10 weeks old yesterday and it is amazing what he has learned in just two weeks! I’m gonna try to detail as much as I can remember.

Since arriving two weeks ago, Ty has made several trips to the store with us, has heard many sounds, and seen many sights. He has met many different kinds of people already and continues to meet others every day, even around the apartment. Just earlier today, he met some golfers that were out just behind our apartment building. We live next to a golf course and there’s a fence that runs along the property line dividing the complex from the course. We’ve also observed several different neighbor dogs being walked around by their owners. Ty did not meet them up close as I don’t know these dogs and he has not completed his puppy vaccines yet anyway. Instead, we simply watch and walk along as if they are not there at all. They seem to make him a little nervous so I’ve been making a deal of distracting him so that he learns not to even worry about them in the first place.

We’ve had a few random storms over the last several days and some rain here and there. Neither of these had any direct impact on Ty as he didn’t even acknowledge anything was going on. He did see the lightning and hear thunder, but gave pretty much no reaction at all. I’m hoping to expose him to more active storms than these to be sure he won’t freak out if they are louder.

Sometime during the last two weeks, there was a group of guys outside trimming trees and running the parts they trimmed off through a mulching machine. When I heard them out, I took Ty outside to pee and we sat down several yards away to watch and listen to the men work. The constant hum of the mulcher wasn’t too bad, but when they put a limb into it and the noise got louder, Ty decided he had enough and would be happier inside. No bucking bronco, but definite discomfort with the noise level. Once inside, he acted as if there was nothing going on outside.

Yesterday, while riding out to pick up vaccines for his next two puppy rounds, a fire truck pulled out of a station we were stopped by (at a traffic light) and was blasting their siren. The only reaction Ty gave was to sit up from laying down and look in the direction the fire truck was going. He watched it until he was out of sight, then laid right back down again. I intend to take him to our local fire station and police department later for a visit with people in uniform and to expose him to more of the sounds associated with them.

Last night, when taking him out one last time for the night before putting him to bed, I took a bag with me to pick up from the last time we’d been out. Since it’s cooler at night, I spend more time out during that time and we walked out to the dumpster just yards away from the building to toss the bag away. When we approached, the dumpster was closed but we both heard chattering sounds of raccoons inside it. Ty was curious and listened for a minute or two before I took him back inside so that I could run back out without him to open the dumpster up. I did not want him coming in contact with the raccoons in case they might be carrying parasites or disease that Ty would be exposed to. He has not been any closer than about 3 feet of the dumpster as I have him sit a distance away and wait for me to walk back to him from throwing things away. We also stay on the front side of the dumpster as I know the raccoons walk mostly along the back side of it. Still, he got to hear the sounds they make even from a distance.

Ty has also seen lightning bugs and was very fascinated by them when they lit up. He watched a few before losing interest and focusing on something else. It seems that his attention doesn’t stay on any one thing for very long time.

One day, it was a bit windy or breezy and our neighbors have wind chimes that we heard as we walked by. He stopped for only a second to see where the sound was coming from and after that, he hasn’t paid hardly any attention to them. I couldn’t even get him to look and watch them for a few minutes. He had no interest at all and looked everywhere but at the wind chimes. It’s as if they don’t exist anymore. I think he tunes the sound out now. He seems to do that after initially hearing/identifying a sound, he acts as if he is tuning it out from then on.

I have alarms set on my phone for when it’s time to take him outside, feed him, go for a walk, etc. Each type of “event” has a different sound for the alarm. For example: Meal times are currently bells like what you might hear from a big town clock. Outside times are currently the sound of a door bell. Evening walk time is currently the sound of crickets chirping. I went through some of the other sounds one day just for fun and he sat in front of me just watching and listening. Every time I played a new sound, he would tilt his head and look at me. It was pretty funny! I’m going to play more sounds for him at random times to get him used to them.

Ty is a bit of a lazy puppy. I have learned that it’s best NOT to feed him when he is sleepy but instead to wait until he is wide awake after his nap. Otherwise, he is not interested in the food and just wants to sleep. I’ve been having to really coax him to finish his meals though. He is eager to eat at first, but after about half way through, he doesn’t want to eat anymore. Most meals, he leaves about 1/4 cup out of 1 cup each meal. I’ve mixed in small spoon full of vanilla ice cream which worked twice except that the second time, he didn’t really chew his food but instead swallowed the pieces whole. I really prefer he chew them, so have decided to deal with him taking 30 minutes to eat until I find something I can mix in that he won’t swallow whole bits. I intend to try yogurt, ground hamburger/turkey, rice, oatmeal, cottage cheese, tuna- just to name a few ideas I have in mind. Ultimately, I want to feed Ty a completely raw diet but there will be a challenge storing raw food while we are in Kalamazoo, so I’m feeding him kibble until I finish the program I will be going through there. After we are back home, I will switch him over to raw.

The other night, after I had already put Ty to bed, he seemed very restless. So I grabbed the lead and opened his crate to take him outside. Silly boy didn’t even want to wake up long enough! I ended up having to pick him up and carry him outside to go pee. When I put him down on the grass, he walked out about a foot or two away from me, peed, then walked back and flopped down right at my feet! He expected me to carry him back inside too! Haha! Sadly, I did exactly that. I think someone is very SPOILED! LOL

Today, Ty received his 2nd round of puppy vaccines. I thought that getting my brother to help me would make it easier since he would keep Ty occupied and hold him still while I injected the vaccine. WRONG! Ty absolutely adores my brother and lately wants to do nothing less than PLAY with him. This meant that no matter how much my brother tried to help, Ty would NOT hold still and was constantly wiggling around. After probably 10 minutes of moving around the living room floor, I finally got him still long enough that I got the needle in just under the skin of his neck/right shoulder area and before he could pull out of my grip, I quickly injected the full contents of the syringe. Job FINALLY done! I felt around his neck and shoulders and massaged to be sure there were no “lumps”. At first he seemed slightly itchy around his neck but after massaging for several minutes, he was fine and I have observed no reactions otherwise. His next (and last) round of puppy vaccines will be done around August 17 and then about two weeks after that, I will be taking him in for his rabies vaccine. I haven’t decided where that will be yet as I still need to call around a few vets and the local humane society and animal groups to find the best deal for a decent vaccine.

Training wise, Ty’s progress includes learning what is his and what his mine, learning to walk nicely on lead (which he does until he decides he’s ready to go back “home” or inside), learning NOT to bite/mouth on people, learning now to ignore the cats since he’s “discovered” how fun it is to bounce and bark at them when they hiss/growl at him, learning NOT to ring the bell unless he actually needs to go out (he likes to ring it any time I leave the room), and many other things. We are working on going up the stairs but so far he will only go to the second step. I am debating on two methods of proceeding with this. I will keep everyone posted on how this works out.

I have added a growth chart to the sidebar on the right. The first part shows his weight and the second part shows his height. I forgot to measure his height until this week so I don’t have that info for the last two weeks but will post it each week from now on.

So, anyway…that should pretty much get you all caught up so far. I have uploaded some new pictures and I’m still working on getting more videos uploaded. I’ve edited the picture page to show slide shows of all the pictures that have been posted or linked in previous posts. The link for new pictures can be seen below and I will also post the slide show on the picture page later. Check back next week for another update.

http://picasaweb.google.com/SouthernBelleShilohs/TyS2ndWeek#

At this point, Ty is fully house broken and now rings the bell at least 75% of the time and the other 25% of the time, he will come sit in front of me and stare at me like a little kid might do to their parent when they want something. In the last few days, he has found out just how fun the bell can be. He rings it when he needs to go out to pee, when he needs to go out to poop, AND when he simply just wants me to come pay attention to him. He seems to ring the bell most when I leave the room. My door stays open during the day and I’m using the plastic crate that he was shipped in as a make shift “gate” to keep him in my room when I am busy. I check on him every so often and talk to him frequently as I do. I make sure his water bowl is not empty, offer him his toys which are usually scattered around my floor, and also make sure he is not getting on my bed or chewing on anything that is mine. When he wants my attention, he will ring the bell, knowing that I usually come to see what he needs.

The other day, I had taken him out to pee and we came back in after a few minutes. Less than 10 minutes later, he rings the bell AGAIN and I’m thinking “you just went pee, you shouldn’t need to go out again yet”. But, just to be safe, I grabbed his leash and clipped it to his collar and out we went… turns out, he needed to poop this time and had figured out that if he rings the bell, I’ll take him outside. What a smart boy! He learning so fast!

Another thing we are working on is the rule that my bed is currently OFF-LIMITS with NO exceptions. This rule is because right now, he’s still very young and will soon be teething ALOT. I prefer to not let him on my bed at all until he is older, not teething, can be trusted not to chew my things or bed, and also understands that he must first ask and receive permission before getting on my bed- or any other furniture for that matter. This helps prevent big problems later with him chewing my things or deciding that my bed is his since I share it. Later, he will be more mature and probably more trustworthy and better behaved about it.

To help him learn to stay off my bed and leave alone anything that is on it, I have been leaving the room while he is loose and coming back to check on him from time to time. If he is anywhere but my bed and is not bothering my things, I make a big deal of telling him what a good boy he is and offer him a toy of his to encourage him. If I catch him on my bed, starting to get on my bed or with anything from my bed such as my house robe or jacket, I tell him to get off and take away whatever he has gotten, telling him that it’s mine and not his. Then I show him his bed and his toys, explaining that he can lay on his bed and chew his toys but he must leave mine alone and stay off. Sometimes I can simply tell him to get off and he goes right into his crate. Sometimes I have to take his collar and lead him off my bed. Sometimes I have to raise my voice with a more firm, “HEY! GET OFF MY BED!”. Every time, he gets off and goes to his crate which is his bed. He clearly understands at this point that he is not allowed on my bed or to take anything from it. He also understands what is his bed and his toys. But he LOVES to push my buttons (and I’m stubborn enough to push back, so it really doesn’t bother me that much).

So, tonight…I did the same thing as always. I was cooking dinner and had Ty in his crate for most of that time so I didn’t have to worry about him and risk burning the food. When everything was almost done cooking, I came back and opened the crate to let him out. At that point, I didn’t have to be quite as focused on the food and could go back and forth between cooking and monitoring Ty. Of course, the normal events occurred. I’d check on him and he was being good and chewing his own toys. Then randomly, I’d catch him on my bed and have to make him get off, reminding him what is mine and what is his. Next time, he’s a good boy and then again he’d be back on my bed for another round. Finally, I caught him and this time instead of getting off when I told him too, he continued to grab at my house robe. So I walked over, picked him up and carried him to his crate putting him in it and telling him that was his bed and the other was mine. I gave him his toys, closed the crate door, and left the room for 2 or 3 minutes. When he was quiet again, I walked back into the room opened the crate and left the room again after telling him he was a good boy, chew on his toys, and enjoy his bed but leave mine alone.

Well, a few minutes later, I walked back again to see what he was doing this time. My mom peeked in on the way down the hall and said he was in his crate (the door was open). So when I looked in, what do you know but he IS in his crate BUT he also has MY jacket which has been on MY bed. The look on his face was classic! If I hadn’t been somewhat irritated that he was being persistent, I would have seen the humor in it sooner and gotten a picture as it was the most perfect sight! It was almost like he figured he was doing just as I said and staying off my bed, he just got the jacket and took it to HIS bed, so therefore, he was behaving. Haha! Yea right! I walked over to him and said, “Excuse me, that is mine.” as I picked up the jacket and handed him one of his toys while saying, “This is yours.” I held my jacket and repeated again, “Mine”, showing him the toy and said, “Yours”. Then I tossed my jacket back on my bed again where it was. Needless to say, I think he has given up for the night because he hasn’t been back on my bed since. I am sure we will have many more nights of this before he gets bored and decides the game is no longer fun for him. That is my goal, to make it much less fun until he gets tired of trying. But I still can’t help but laugh and his intelligence and humor, thinking he was escaping my “wrath” so to speak by taking his “loot” back to his bed. Tell me this pup don’t know exactly what he is doing! LOL!

Ty took the bell thing to another level already! We had to run to town to get quarters from the bank for laundry and then pick up a few groceries. Of course, Ty went along and I took a spray bottle with cold water to keep his mouth and face cool, also spritzed his back so the air from the open window would feel cooler. So we get back home and he goes pee before we walk in the door. We hang around in the living room, give mom puppy kisses, then play a short game of hide and seek around a small dividing wall between the kitchen and living room. I looked around at him one way, then when he started walking toward me, I went around to the other side. He followed until deciding to just meet me around the other way and cut off my path. LOL It’s so funny and lots of fun. Will try to get a video of it soon.

Anyway, after our little game, we went back to my room to relax and cool off some more. I placed the big suit case in my door way and was talking to mom in the living room (was standing near the hall way) when I saw Ty’s head peering over the suit case. He whined a few times and I insisted he leave the suit case alone and I would be there in a few. He got quiet a min then went for the bell and nudged it. So, I gave in and hooked the lead up to him and we went back out (although I wasn’t totally convinced he needed out again since we just got home and he’s just gone pee. But, just in case…I took him out (and he was a bit reluctant too). He sprinkled a little but it wasn’t enough that he should have been desperate. We went back inside and as I’m unhooking his lead, I realized that his water bowl was empty! Now I know why he wanted in the bathroom! The toilet has water in it! Duh! LOL! He was trying to tell me he needed more water!

Again, I knew these dogs were smart…but WOW, I was not at all prepared to experience it like this! It’s so cool! It’s not quite 5pm and Ty’s napping now while what looks like a possible storm is brewing up outside. No lightning or thunder yet but it sure is looking awfully dark out. He’s seen lightning and heard thunder already but it was not very serious storm. So we will see how this one plays out. He’s pretty solid for the most part and I hope to keep him that way.

Oh, btw…his other ear has been going up off and on all day. It’s not staying up just yet but sure is getting there! Also, I stepped on our scale to check my weight and then picked him up. If it’s close enough to accurate he’s already at 20.6 lbs! I believe it too as he feels heavier when I pick him up. Pretty soon, I won’t be able to. LOL

Ty has amazed us in so many ways over the last week, since he arrived from Washington. He’s by far the easiest puppy I’ve ever known. A little stubborn streak, sure…but I LOVE it! He challenges me just enough that I can’t possibly get bored with him but not so much that I want to pull my hair out (yet…LOL). Housebreaking him has really been a piece of cake, except for me being able to decipher his non-verbal cues when he’s NOT in his crate. And also, I’m still learning to move faster! lol At this point, when he’s in his crate his whines and is very vocal that he needs to go out. I keep his normal walking lead hooked just on the outside of the front door on his crate and lay it up across the top of the crate (cause he chews on it if it hangs down). He has taken to looking up at it when he whines, signaling me that he needs to go out. This was an EASY message to understand!

But, during the day when he’s not in the crate…he’s so quiet and the only cue I’ve noticed at all is him lifting his tail a bit. It’s hard to know when he’s squatting because I’ve observed him stacking many times (though never seem to have the camera handy to snap a shot) and to my eyes, it looks so darn similar to when he squats that I can never tell and I’m constantly getting up or walking over to him, only to figure out that he’s usually NOT squatting.

I’ve been so busy trying to rush him across the apartment: from my room, down the hall, through the living room, and then out two doors that are approx 10 ft apart or so…that I’ve not had the chance to really show him the bells. I have two and one has been hanging on the front door for a while, I just keep forgetting to ring it.

After getting a tiny frustrated that I’m still not able to tell when he has to go (and I’m taking him out after every nap, meal, play time, etc), I finally put the second bell on my bed room door knob. I decided that each time I hook the lead to his collar to take him out, as we leave my room, I’ll ring the bell. Now, I did this right about 10pm (EST) or so and although knowing these guys are smart, I expected it to take a day or two for him to really get the hang of it.

At around 11pm, he woke up from what I will call a nap. So I took him out just to be safe and as I did, I offered him a treat and jingled the bell several times. Then we moved on through to the front door and I rang that bell, but he wasn’t looking and I chalked it up to him simply not being interested in paying attention. BOY WAS I WRONG! LOL

Right at midnight, which has become his set bedtime, he started going to the open door way and whining. I don’t have a baby gate yet but want to keep my door open during the day so we’re not totally isolated from the rest of the apartment. So, until I can get a baby gate, I’m using a large travel suit case that I’ve placed sideways in the door way to sort of block the door a bit. Ty could technically knock it over or jump over it but so far has not tried to. I really though he was just wanting to go into the living room to visit with mom or something and each time he went to the door, I insisted to him that we’d been out there already and he didn’t need to leave the room again right now as I wanted to settle in for bed.

After doing this two or three times, he finally nudged the bell with his nose. THAT got my attention and I started to jump up to grab his lead to take him out. The only issue this time was he didn’t give me enough time to get to him before he squatted but still- HE RANG THE BELL! LOL I knew these guys were smart, I never doubted it…but I honestly didn’t think he was paying attention to me yet! I mean, it only took maybe an hour! Now, I’m curious to see if he does it again tomorrow. I sure hope so! He’s already proven that he now understands what it’s there for and what to do with it and when…so now, we see if he will continue using it. I am just so excited and shocked!

I interrupted him and snapped the lead on his collar to go out. We rushed out as quickly as I could move and he went pee outside. Then we came back inside and I explained to mom what just happened (she had though I was the one ringing the bell as I was trying to teach him to use it before). We were so excited, Ty obviously caught on and got the zoomies, bouncing around with a big grin on his face, wagging his tail as if to show that he was super proud of himself. It was so funny! For the record, we are also super proud of him! I so can’t wait to see what he has for me tomorrow!

I’m gonna crash now but will be updating his blog very soon with more info that I’m not posting here (mostly cause there’s just so much and I don’t have the energy…plus, I will be up at 6am taking my meds and then taking him out).

Oh, and my brother got a video earlier and uploaded it to his account on youtube…I haven’t posted this one yet either:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySLTdLFLN_0

There will be more to come later. I LOVE this puppy! He’s too cool! Thanks, Jessica and Laura for everything you’ve done along the way! And Thanks, MaShiloh (Tina Barber) for sticking to your guns all this time…so that someone like me could have the coolest dang pup in the universe! (Btw, Ty is already becoming famous! Everyone that has met him so far just adores him…even our landlord or rather the leasing agent!)

Ty was 9 weeks old yesterday. Today is one week since we picked him up from the airport. He came to us weighing about 18 lbs and almost immediately bonded with my brother, then with me, and slowly warming up to my mom. He has been so much fun and has kept me very busy over this first week.

The day he arrived, was a busy day with many errands to run. We have a new case worker at DHS and had alot of things that needed to be straightened out. Then we had to stock up on groceries as our food stamps were finally in and our cabinets and fridge were almost empty. I had to go along so didn’t have the option of staying home and keeping Ty home. I didn’t want to leave him home alone, esp on his first day, and not knowing how long we would be gone. So, we took him along with us and kept him on a blanket at each place we went to. He did so well! We were all amazed!

At the DHS office, he actually fell asleep and napped for the 2 hours we were there dealing with paperwork. We were shocked when we realized mom was stepping on his tail as he had not even fussed! Once we were ready to leave, I took him to a grassy area outside to pee and then carried him to the car. We realized the bottle of water we’d brought along for him got accidentally left in the car while we were inside and was now hot. So we stopped by a Wendy’s and got 4 cups of water, one for each of us. He lapped up some from a bowl and then laid in the rest, getting his front paws and whole face wet (along with me and part of the seat in the car).

Some of the things mentioned above may be repeated but to save time and energy, I am going to copy and paste posts I’ve made on the Shiloh forum throughout the week, after Ty arrived.

He is here and safe! He’s pretty restless but I’m sure he’ll be settled in very soon. He already adores my brother. LOL And is warming up to mom. He has become my shadow (when he’s not Jon’s shadow). He didn’t even pay attention to the cats until our Torti, Candy, growled at him from the hallway. Then he barked at her a few times but then went on his way into my room. It was so funny! It was almost like he was telling her he was here to stay and she best just deal with it.

Anyway, I didn’t sleep at all last night and only got a few hours in this morning before we left to pick him up…so I am extremely sleepy right now BUT, I can’t even take a nap yet because we have an appointment with a new case worker at DHS and I have to go get mom up. I did get some pics and there’s also videos. The pics are uploaded already but the videos may take longer since I have so much else to deal with today. I will try to get them tonight.

For now, he’s keeping me running! lol We’ve made several trips outside already and he’s learning fast! He’s gone pee now at least 3 times and finally went poo when we were out the last time. He’s already learning to walk beside my instead of between my legs! LOL He seems to prefer my right side but I’ll let him get the hang of things before I try to bother getting him to walk on my left side. I have bells to help house break him but I’m not even using them right now as everything is just so hectic. But I do hope to get him in the habit with them because I think it would help alot.

So, I have to run but here are the pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/SouthernBelleShilohs/TySFirstDayHome#

He is such a good boy! I could not be happier!

Will post more when I have the chance. Oh, and he gets to meet the closest vet tomorrow at 1pm. We’re just gonna say hello and get established this time around.

Boy am I exhausted! I actually fell asleep just as my brother was done cooking dinner. Ty has made himself cozy on a soft gray blanket beside my bed. He does have a kennel which he is sleeping in tonight. He fussed for the first few min but has now gotten quiet. I will be getting up at 2am to take him out and then again at 6am when I am up to take my morning meds.

I’ve kept him on a lead most all day except a few times when I closed my bedroom door to let him roam without total freedom just yet. We’ve made many trips out side and so far only one accident and as Ma says, I’m the one who should be whacked with the rolled up news paper. LOL But I got to him very quickly and the poor boy was so apologetic, and I didn’t even fuss at him! Awww! I just simply interrupted him and moved him to a towel that I have in front of his crate, so I could quickly clean up the little mess. He was so sweet! It was like he felt bad for me having to clean up after him. Got him to lay down while I used a dirty towel (it was the closest thing I could grab) to soak up what I could, then I used a carpet cleaner (will get specific enzyme cleaner tomorrow while we’re out). Anyone have a good home remedy that is at least decent temporary? I know the enzyme cleaners are ideal but at the moment, I don’t have any. It’s one thing I forgot to get. lol

Soon as I had that cleaned up, I hooked his leash to his collar and we happily took a walk outside to finish going potty. We walked around the building here (there’s 8 apartments in each building) and he did both. What a good boy! He has a really funny habit though when he pees. I totally have to get a video to post because it’s just too funny! He doesn’t wait until he’s done to start walking again. A few times, he didn’t even stop walking but just sprinkled as he walked. It’s the funniest thing and even mom is amused. I just LOVE the way he stretches himself out though when he goes. He’s so cute! I am amazed though, he seems to have NO preference as to what type of surface he pees. I am very glad to see this! So far he has gone on grass and wood chips and with no protests. He seems to clearly understand that when we’re walking around at first, it is his chance or time to go potty.

We had a crazy day today. Had our appointment at DHS, which I also had to be there because they messed up my medical coverage and I had expenses to turn in for our food stamp recalculation. I didn’t want to leave Ty home because I had no idea how long we would be gone and didn’t want to risk him having any problems while we weren’t home. So, I grabbed a soft gray blanket that I bought for him and took my six flags bag packed with supplies I might need: baby wipes, treats, small bag of food, bowl, chew toys, poop bags, his grooming brushes and things, and a 2 liter bottle of water. Right now, he’s just a bit small for his vest and training harness but they will fit him within a few months. So for now, I’ve pinned his patches on a headscarf I have that I can tie around his next. When we got to the DHS office, I carried him in as it was much too hot to stay in the car (we have no A/C and have to ride with windows down) and once inside, I placed his blanket down for him to lay on. We got sat down to talk with our new case worker and at first, Ty was a bit restless wanting attention but after a few min, while I was filling out a new application for state medical assistance (found out why they canceled it), he settled right down and actually fell asleep! He was so quiet that mom even forgot he was there until I realized she was stepping on his tail. Poor boy…but he never even moved or fussed! Laura did tell me this boy had high pain tolerance but WOW! He was so good and it made me feel better about taking him with us. He slept pretty much the whole time we were at the DHS office (it actually took us 2 hours to get all the paperwork sorted out). Then we left and I found a grassy area for him to go potty, which he went right away.

When we pulled out of the parking lot, I realized the water had fallen out of Ty’s bag before we went inside and now was hot from being left in the car. It was hot for us, so I knew it was hot for him. So we pulled into a Wendy’s and got 4 cups of water, one for each of us. I poured a little into a bowl for Ty and he lapped up some of it, then decided to climb into the bowl- getting his feet and face wet (as well as the seat and me). LOL Silly boy! But at least it helped cool him off. I made sure to give him water but not too much. After that, we headed back toward home and stopped by the store to get some food as our food stamps just came in. I put Ty’s blanket into a shopping car and then placed him in the cart on the blanket and pulled him around with us as we gathered the things we needed. We still have lots to get but at least we have enough to get through for a bit. He was so laid back and just took everything in. The most I got out of him was he wanted out of the cart to walk but after several times of insisting that he stay in the cart, he settled down and slept off and on while riding in the cart. Many people observed and commented, and a few walked over to ask about him. Out of 10 brag cards that I printed out, I gave away at least 4 or 5 of them! (I will upload pics of those too. I’m just using a preliminary design for now and it’s really simple/basic) The store employees were so impressed with how mellow he is! Almost nothing fazes this boy! He just soaks it all up like a sponge! Sounds, sometimes interest him enough to look around or listen but then he’s like, “ok, whatever”. It’s so amazing!

His only true complaint was having to go out in the heat when we left each place but I gave him little water to drink each time and let him “swim” in what he didn’t drink. I have a rice bag that I keep in the freezer that I think I’ll use to help keep him cool on hot days and for here, we may get a toddler pool to play in. He really seems to like water, except when he’s getting a bath. Silly boy keeps putting his feet in his water dish and even sat in it several times. LOL I also need more chew toys for him. He needs a few slightly softer ones and different shapes and sizes. I have two good ones but it’s not enough. I just haven’t gotten any others yet.

Anyway, there’s so much more but I’m sleepy and want to get as much sleep as I can. One last thing though…the cats are NOT happy about the new addition in the house. They aren’t at all afraid, but they’ve made their protests very clear. Poor Ty is unfazed, except when he hears our older cat, Tigger, growl at him. I think he is feeling a bit intimidated and he pricks his ears back while brisk walking back to my room. I don’t really want him to invade their space, but I don’t want him thinking that he can’t be in any other part of the apartment besides my room. So, when we came back in from being out and Tigger growled at him…I noticed his reaction and decided to show him that he is welcome in all parts of the place, not just my bed room. I followed him down the hall and called him to come back to the living room with me. It took a little bit of coaxing but he followed and we spent some time in the living room with him laying in the floor (made himself very comfy) and me sitting in mom’s recliner. He was sleeping so well that the cats both walked by (both on alert and staying as far away as they could) and Ty never even noticed. Mom and Jon were in there hanging out and talking and at one point, I mentioned to mom that one challenge I’ve noticed is that Ty really wants something cool to lay on in my room. When I said that, Ty almost immediately sat up whining. I thought he might need to go out so quickly snapped his leash on and started happily calling him to the door. He wasn’t having none of it and I attempted to coax him but he walked back to mom’s chair and proceeded to lay back down in front of it in the floor looking at me. So, putting two and two together, Jon pulled my rice bag out of the freezer and laid it down on the floor in front of Ty. Right away, Ty laid his head and paws on it and fell asleep again! Now I know they are smart, but MAN, I didn’t expect him to connect that so fast! He has laid on my rice bag twice now and seems to really like it. Hasn’t even tried to chew it! It’s like he understands what its purpose is. Big Grin Needless to say, mom and Jon and I were all amazed at how quickly he connected what I was saying with the feel of that rice bag.

I am also amazed at how well and fast he’s picking things up. The idea that my bed is currently off limits has already been clearly established and he is even respecting it when I leave the room for a moment or two! I’m giving him few minutes here and there when I leave the room so he is able to handle me being out of sight without freaking out. He really doesn’t like being left alone and his job won’t force him to be in most cases, but you never know when I might have to be away from him. He’s so good! I walk back in just moments later and he’s laying on his blanket or a towel I put down (to catch the water he spills out of his water bowl). I can’t believe how laid back and calm he is! Charlie is a good dog, always was when I had him…but he was never this calm and mellow! Ty is just the kind of boy that will simply roll with the punches. Whatever is asked of him. Although, he definitely has some spark! He cracked us up earlier by snatching up one of Jon’s dirty socks out of the living room floor and when I got up, telling him ” I don’t think so”, he made a calm but swift prance off to my bed room with his “prize” only to drop it on the floor when he got in here. Didn’t really try to chew it (although I’m sure that was his idea) but he just seemed to enjoy the little chase. He has already started showing signs of “puppy shark” but I’m working to curb it already. I need some good ideas to engage him without wearing him out too much. I don’t want him to get bored which he seems to be most mouthy when he wants attention and is acting a little bored or frustrated. But I don’t want to do too much with him and overdo it. Charlie was 5 months old when we got him so I’m learning a few things about handling a younger pup. Any ideas would be great! He likes his toys, but is not overly toy oriented. He only seems to want it when I have it and it’s pretty short lived too. He seems to like treats but again, is not overly interested. He will eat it and is amazingly gentle…but unless he’s real hungry or I put the treat in front of his nose, he hardly notices it’s around. He does seem to like being talked to and is already picking up ALOT. It’s really cool!

So anyway, I’ve added some more pics to the album above. I have to admit, I still feel like I’m dreaming! lol I’m in heaven…and yet still a little overwhelmed by the reality of it. I still haven’t gotten any videos uploaded but will get to them soon.

Btw, I’ve uploaded more pictures! Will work on the videos in a bit. I have at least 3 or 4 videos already…just haven’t gotten them uploaded yet. I also haven’t updated his blog yet since he got here. Here’s the new pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/SouthernBelleShilohs/Day2#

He’s doing so good already. This is day 2 and so far, no accidents! He’s started to squat a few times but I caught him faster and got him outside to go pee. Except that it’s hot and he definitely does not like the heat, he is getting more excited and enthusiastic about going outside when he needs to go. I found an enzyme cleaner at Walmart as well as some more chew toys that are a bit softer and smaller. He esp likes 3 of them so far.

We missed our vet appointment yesterday. Slept too late and woke up just 30 min before the appointment. We’re only about 10 min away but it was just not possible to get out of the house and on the road in a timely manner so I called and moved the appointment to 3pm today. His poops are good. Soft but formed and fairly solid. No problems really at all. But I’m gonna go ahead and take a sample in to the vet, if only to establish his health. Otherwise, all I’m gonna have them do is a standard checkup and just get acquainted. I will be carrying him in and taking a towel with us to lay down under him in the office.

Anyway, he’s napping again and we still have an hour before I will give him lunch so I think I’m gonna sneak a little nap myself. lol

Quick update, and I haven’t gotten more pics or the videos uploaded yet. He’s definitely settled in now and puppy shark is making frequent appearances! He’s still such an easy pup though.

After missing our first vet appointment, we tried again the next day…only to end up changing it again to yet another day because our car wouldn’t start- no power! What on Earth?! We still don’t really know what happened other than the battery was dead, but it’s a new battery and we are sure no lights were left on. We finally got someone to jump us off, which thankfully worked and then we headed straight to Walmart (where we bought the battery last year…even though in a different state) and they ran tests for us to see if there was a problem with the battery, alternator, or starter. All tests ran fine and showed no problems. Strange, but at least the car started when we left and so far has not acted up again. While we were out, Ty was such a good boy! Fell asleep in the shopping cart and got lots of looks from admirers.

On the way home, we stopped by the library and sat inside for a few min watching people and kids while my mom found some books to read. He settled down so quickly and easily! The only thing I’ve noticed that he has a problem with is when someone approaches us. When they get close enough to reach him, he gets up and moves away from them. I’ve been very selective about letting people touch him. I want him to be comfortable with being touched by people in case I ever can’t take care of him, or so the vet can handle him, or just so he doesn’t freak out if someone touches him regardless of the reason. I don’t care if he doesn’t ask for the attention since his job will require him to pretty much ignore other people…but I want them to be able to approach us with and/or without paying attention to him without it making him uncomfortable.

So, from time to time, I’m letting someone pet him and when he backs away, I am gently encouraging him to say hello. Strange enough, when he’s in a shopping cart or when I’m holding him, he hardly reacts to the attention. It’s really only when he’s down on the floor that he is acting uneasy. I wonder if it has to do with them being higher/leaning over him? He has also acted the same with my brother when he’s standing up but then is different when Jon is sitting down. Any suggestions to make these encounters more enjoyable? I’m not totally forcing him, but at the same time, I’m also not letting him put alot of distance between himself and the people. He has met our repair man as well as seen many people of different sizes and colors and shapes. Several kids- he is a total kid magnet! I’ve heard so many high pitch voices call out- “Look! Puppy!” than I ever heard before! lol Nearly every kid within 5 feet from us has noticed Ty and got excited at the sight of him. None have run up to us yet though but a few have approached us, asking about him or asking to pet him. Even heard a toddler, probably about 2, calling out the other day…”Puppy!” or “Doggie!”

We finally made it to the vet yesterday afternoon. My brother went in with us…one of us carried Ty inside and the other carried his towel, which he laid on inside. They have a round booth like seat and we sat there while waiting for them to call us back. Ty was between me and Jon, on his towel, and fell asleep while waiting. LOL So Jon and I sat there, listening to the office staff coo over how cute Ty is and watched parts of Finding Nemo which was on the TV in there. Once we were called into the exam room, I placed the towel on the table and then laid Ty on the towel, where he fell asleep again! When the vet came in, Ty hardly even woke up. We talked a bit and she checked his temp which was normal, then his ears, and tried to see his eyes but he was so sleepy, she didn’t get a good look. It wasn’t until she looked at his teeth that he woke up enough and she then checked his eyes. He didn’t care for that but was well behaved anyway. She listened to his heart and we discussed many things in general. We also discussed that Ty would not be neutered until he’s older and it’s been determined whether he will be qualified to breed or not. She was pretty nice and didn’t even bother lecturing me about not having plans to neuter him. She did annoy me a bit though by not asking if I was familiar with caring for a canine and acting as if I knew next to nothing, even after I let her know I did have a dog not too long ago so am familiar with alot of what she was talking to me about. She also seemed skeptical that Ty would remain so laid back and mellow as he gets older. I just sort of laughed and told her, “You never know. These dogs are pretty amazing!” She did however, seem to understand that he is/will be a BIG dog. We discussed what rate he will likely grow and I think I surprised her by commenting that the average for Shiloh pups seems to be right around their age in months times 10 (for the first several months)…such as 2 months weighing around 20 lbs (give or take some), 3 months weighing around 30 lbs (again give or take some), and so on. She agreed that was likely to be expected. I was a bit surprised she didn’t automatically think he would follow the same growth pattern as GSDs, which of course are not this large.

Anyway, I also took in a stool sample which tested negative (no surprise really). He weighed in at 19 lbs even (and is already feeling heavy to me!). The vet stated she could not see ANYTHING that was not normal or was any reason to be concerned. She did give me a weeks worth of Fortiflora to give him as his poop is a bit soft though still formed and no diarrhea. They also gave me a free starter tablet of HeartGuard. They have two different kinds but I am not familiar with the other, so I opted for the HG. Overall, it was a decent visit…I nearly choked over the total bill though. $67! OUCH! Not quite what I was expecting! I misunderstood that the free exam was 100% dependent on getting vaccines so was in shock to find there was a $39 exam fee! The stool test was $21. The cheapest thing was the Fortiflora which only cost me $7 for a weeks worth. I told mom, I don’t really think that HG tablet was free, with the exam fee alone…I pretty much paid for that and then some. The exam was thorough…but I don’t think it was $39 worth. *shrug*

Oh well, it had to be done and at least Ty is confirmed healthy and now has established records. I don’t think I will use this vet regularly though, even if they are closer. They are aware of but totally disregarding that he’s already had one round of vaccines and want to give him 3 more rounds total not including his rabies. They want $25 for a DHPP next weekend, then $37 for a DHLPP August 7, and then $60 for DHLPP & Rabies on August 28. YIKES! I’ve been in touch with Jessica and Laura about what is best for him so we’ve figured out our next move and how to handle this concern. The last thing I want is to over vaccinate him or pay that much for something that in my opinion is much too simple to cost as high as those. Still, this has been quite a learning experience!

Our carpet is a cream or tan colored and MUST have some kind of stain resistant treatment or something because mom was able to even clean up a spot of dried blood that she got on it some time before. So far house breaking is going great! He’s already picked up the general idea and is having few accidents at all. The problem remains during the day when he’s quiet and is still not yet giving me any verbal cues that he needs to go. He has a nice stack that looks so similar (to me) to when he squats that right now, the only tell-tell cue I’ve noticed is him raising his tail a bit before he pees. I’ve managed to catch him many times before he starts, but still not quite as fast as I want to be. Late night and early morning, though has been so easy as he’s in his crate and will whine and look up at his leash (which hangs at the top over the door). This is an EASY cue to interpret. LOL I just wish he was so obvious when he’s NOT in the crate but we’re getting there. When I can get more relaxed and think to actually use it, I’m gonna start working with the bells and see if that helps any. I just haven’t gotten it yet because it’s been too hot out to make many trips (esp long ones) outside and when I am taking him out, I’m trying to get him out before he starts to pee inside. I think having to go out two doors before getting to the grass outside isn’t helping so much in that area.

He’s also still intimidated by the cats, when they growl at him and he’s not wanting to walk down the hall or anywhere they are, have been, or are near by. So I’m having to make many trips down the hall with him to get him more comfortable with this. Last night, I brought him into the living room to hang out with us while we ate dinner. He laid right down and stayed until I had to get up for something. I sat back down and waited for him to settle down and relax again before I let him leave the room and brought him back here so I could finish eating. So far so good.

Another cool thing is his ears are coming up! His right one will go up from time to time for a few seconds before going back down…but, it’s trying to stay up! Big Grin

Anyway, I’m gonna go try to get those pics and videos upload and will post again with the links later.

Here’s some more pics and 5 of the videos I have. There’s 6 more videos to upload but figured I would split them up. Smile Enjoy! He’s a silly pup!

http://picasaweb.google.com/SouthernBelleShilohs/EndOfWeekOne#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4oroPAoY44

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nem9F4dJPC0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhrAFf8nqno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SGzsBJF9g4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4b6EyqM38k

Part two of the LER is the extensive temperament test that determines which pup is best suited for which family or lifestyle. This part of the LER tells the tester and breeder many things about each pup, such as:

• Human Interaction
• Submission/Dominance
• Degree of Dominance & Trainability
  
• Degree of Accepting Dominance While in a Position of no Control
• Degree of Sensitivity to Pain
  
• Degree of Sensitivity to Loud Noises
  
• Degree of Intelligent Response to Strange Object
• Degree of Intelligent Response to Strange Environment
• Prey Drive
• Retrieve Drive
• Play Drive

As well as many other things not listed above. Sometimes the LER takes only one day for a small litter or up to two days for a larger litter.

Once the LER is complete, the breeder then goes down the list of people on the waiting list for that litter and contacts them one by one. First in line is anyone who has sent a full prepayment for their puppy, in the order they were received. Then, if there are any pups left, the breeder contacts anyone who has sent in a deposit for their puppy. During each phone call, the breeder and puppy buyer discuss which of the pups are best suited for them and their home. Many components of the test are brought up, based on the puppy buyer’s specific wants and needs. Sometimes there is more than one suitable pup and sometimes only one is a perfect (or close to perfect) match. The puppy buyer then decides if they want to go ahead with getting their puppy or wait for another litter. Sometimes the suitable puppy is not quite exactly what they want or maybe some things have come up in their life that may force them to wait a while longer before getting their pup. Once a decision is made, the breeder and puppy buyer continue with whatever plans they discussed.

In this case, I had prepaid for my pup and was first in line to make my pick. When Laura called me on Monday morning (July 5) to discuss which pup(s) were best suited for me, she asked if I liked a certain pup in particular. When I told her yes, we then discussed everything there was to know about this pup. The more she told me about him, the more I agreed that he was definitely THE pup.

The pup in question would now become Ty. She told me that he was submissive, gun sure (not afraid of loud noises), had high pain tolerance, no prey drive, would be very focused on “his person”, was willing to please, did have a slight case of separation anxiety (which can be worked on to overcome), had good conformation with only a few slight “concerns” to watch as he grows. He’s pet upgradable meaning if he passes all requirements when he is older, he may be upgraded to breed quality. He’s confident, laid back and mellow. Pretty much an all around dog for the most part and very much a thinker.

So, which pup did we decide on? Well, I will tell you. Drum roll please………. Light Blue Boy is now Ty!

It is now time for the LER (Litter Evaluation Report)! Yesterday (July 3) was part one of the LER. This involved conformation tests to determine which pups are pet quality, which are breed quality, and which are show quality. Their quality determines which homes they go to and what their prices are. For example, someone just wanting a pet and paying the price for pet quality, will only get a pup that is rated as pet quality. Someone wanting to show and has paid the price for a show pup will get a show quality pup.

Anyway, it is still to soon to know the results of any part of the LER but there were many pictures taken and shared on the Shiloh forum and with the puppy people. They are all so cute and HUGE! Mom and I have gone through the pics and decided our top  4 favorites out of this photo set. Our choices are: Red, Orange, Lime Green, and Light Blue! So far, Orange is still my most consistant favorite. I just LOVE how he shows off for the camera!

The second part of the LER is being done today. That is the temperament part. I will make another post about that later, when I have received information and possibly pictures. Jessica and Laura will be going over all of the results soon and then tomorrow, will call the people on the waiting list for this litter to see who gets what puppy. I couldn’t be more excited to find out which boy is Ty! I’ve shared the link for the pictures below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/solace_shilohs/sets/72157624291800533/detail