Bear's Puppy Log

Candy

Biscuit Tin Guardian
So, another Bear update.
At 11 weeks, he was 9kg, so a steady weight gain, around 700-800g per week. All of his litter are progressing at similar rates, in fact, he's at the lighter end, though I'm probably starving him, of course.
Sleeping - he still goes to bed very well, no issues at all, however wakes up much earlier than he did in week one, between 5-6am. And often cries a bit around 305 - 4.15 - when it's staring to get light, I assume. He shouts for a bit, but we ignore him, and he snoozes again until a bit later.
Toileting - I've felt we regressed a bit, with more accidents in week 2/3 than in week 1. Maybe we are less vigilant, but he;s certainly drinking a lot more water. He clearly has a tiny bladder, just a small egg cup full each time, so a long way to go here. He's now banned from the lounge as we had too many wees on the carpet. Oddly enough, poos are only outside or in his pen on puppy pads.
Training - a bit less on sit, lie down, touch etc, and more on skills to transfer outside. Walking round the garden in circles, treating him for staying close (though squeezy cheese is far too tempting - that just means he has to jump up to grab it!). Some tiny sit stays - just one metre, two second stays. Using our recall cue when he runs towards us. And a tiny bit of retrieving with a tennis ball rolled along the decking - he;s brought it back four times out of ten :)

Other stuff - he has some lovely habits. He sits a lot and appears to think - in fact, this might be why he didn't go to the showing family, as sitting is his default position. He comes and lies at your feet a lot, in the most awkward spots in the kitchen, but also when I'm working at the dining room table. He's not super cuddly, but loves to be very close to you.
He adores Monty -follows him, copies him, tries to lie all over him to the point of annoyance. Monty continues to be a star.

The only thing bothering me is his absolute fearlessness in how he flies about. I've mentioned before about the three steps leading up to the lawn (about 14-18 inches high in total). I've trained him to use the ramp, which he will happily use if there's no urgency. However if he and Monty are zooming around the garden, he will fly up and down the steps with no fear, often missing steps on his way down in his rush to get about. I'm worried about the impact on his joints - it's a slightly bouncy landing on loose decking boards, but even so, more steps at speed than I'd like him to take. He has a proper bottom sashay too - I think this is fairly normal, but I'm hyper sensitive about how he moves.
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He's a pebble / rock chewer, but I'm less worried about this now as he really only rolls them around in his mouth, he doesn't seem to swallow them.

Also - he eats bees. Live, stingy, bumble bees.
Joy as a pup chewed pebbles and rocks. It really worried me, but as you say, she never appeared to swallow them, so I calmed down a bit and no harm was done as far as I can tell. I still have to keep saying to her 'Don't bite bees!'
She's still my GoodGirlJoy though!
 

Lab_adore

Moderator
Staff member
Bear is simply gorgeous and I love to read about his (and Monty's) antics and his progress. What a total star Monty is :heart:

Off topic: Is that a Bosch dishwasher by any chance? It looks exactly like ours
 
Oh my , these photos are just divine :heart: I know what you mean about the lack of caution , Reuben was just the same , totally fearless and confident , its a worry on the one hand but better than being afraid of everything , he is a darling little Bear and as for Monty, he is a :star:
 

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Wonderful update, Natalie. Bear is a darling, but those photos just make me want to give that sweet Monty gentle kisses all over his soft head. What a lovely, lovely, boy.

Bear, YOU are a corker. The look on his face in that harness photo. He's a little scary in a completely adorable way.

The bees.... my Mama Jodhi was a bee warrior. All of her collars were bee themed and as I had a bee hive in my back garden in California, she had plenty of fodder for her hobby. I inherited her medical records from the shelter and as a young dog she'd been brought into the vet on numerous occasions when her face swelled up like a basketball from her bee hobby. By the time she got to me at 8 years old she was a complete pro. One chomp and swallow - the bees never knew what hit them and certainly had no time to sting her.

So hmmm...maybe start collecting those bee-themed collars for Bear? 😁
 
Off topic: Is that a Bosch dishwasher by any chance? It looks exactly like ours
No, it's just a cheap Zanussi, it came with the house - annoying as it doesn't match my silver appliances, but it's not being replaced until it breaks
Reuben was just the same , totally fearless and confident , its a worry on the one hand but better than being afraid of everything ,
Yes, maybe you are right - you can't help but laugh, it's just like watching puppy Scrappy Doo (in Scooby Doo) who shouts puppy power! and then launches himself everywhere. He often jumps with all four feet outwards, it's hilarious.
 
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A few other things I forgot (and today he is 9.7 kilos!)

He is sooooo greedy and food orientated. He snatches food and will chase Monty down for his kong. He will even try and get a biscuit out of Monty's mouth. I didn't think Monty had especially good manners, but seeing Bear, Monty looks like a patient gent as far as food is concerned.

He has met my neighbour's dogs this week in her garden, and is not at all fazed by bigger dogs. He's had some car journeys, and settles down well on the back seats with me, just clipped into a seat belt harness clip for now. A bit wriggly and squeaky at the beginning but then calms down, I'm so glad he doesn't get car sick.

Have to say though, none of this is easy. There was one day last week where he seemed to be weeing so much, and everyone got a bit cranky here - and we were back up to wee breaks every 20 to 30 minutes.
 
He's a little scary in a completely adorable way.
:rofl: Totally!!

@Natalie
I know what you mean about the lack of caution , Reuben was just the same , totally fearless and confident , its a worry on the one hand but better than being afraid of everything
I can say the same about Cassie, but although she's had me tearing my hair out (and maybe some other people too) she's been such fun and her joie de vivre at times lifts the spirits.

I can say that now she's 4 and becomingly almost matronly. :wink:
 
@Beanwood Actually yes, you sent it to me while we were still making up our minds, but I'd forgotten about it. It will be interesting to compare in 12 months time :)
 
Bear's first walk was a success, he was much more cautious than I had thought he might be, sticking very close to us. We did a bit of recall between us off lead, with squeezy cheese as a reward each time. He got scared when a pug barked at him and tried to run the other way. 😂. Sorry about the sound quality, the wind really whipped up while we were out.

 
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