Stilton the Mighty

MrChew

MrChew

HAH said:
And just like that, Stilton is 6 months old!

It’s more than a struggle at times, and we’re not there yet - but he’s a fabulous soul and we love him enormously. He’s a brave, cautious, hilariously funny and very affectionate little dog, and we feel very fortunate to be his humans.
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I love the look on his face. That's Chewies "my excitement valve is about to explode" face.
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

I can’t believe he is 6 months old already! He’s absolutely gorgeous and you’ve done so amazing with him. Soon you’ll be fully past the puppy stage and looking back and giggling at the hurdles while snuggling up with adult Stilton ❤
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Lab_adore said:
He really is gorgeous 🥰 but I'm sorry he is a handful. It will pass
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It’s more that his teething has been so full on, and getting him and Kipper cohabitating is a long road - particularly given we don’t have much space and only one route to the garden, so it’s logistically challenging at times. But he’s a darling, and I’m absolutely certain we’ll all come good in time!
 
Lab_adore

Lab_adore

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Location
Sydney, Australia
Sorry I just realised I sounded flippant in my post and that was the last thing I meant Harriet @HAH. Maxx was a massive struggle for so long I truly know what it's like. I don't invite my family over normally (we go to theirs) as my niece and great-niece are terrified of dogs and Maxx still completely loses his mind when people visit but they asked to come for our pre Chrissy catch up (my other niece is pregnant and said she needs to be weightless in our pool 😂) and I'm already freaking out about how to stop Maxx barking and lunging. He does calm down quickly these days but I don't want to scar them both further
 
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HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Lab_adore said:
Sorry I just realised I sounded flippant in my post and that was the last thing I meant Harriet @HAH. Maxx was a massive struggle for so long I truly know what it's like. I don't invite my family over normally (we go to theirs) as my niece and great-niece are terrified of dogs and Maxx still completely loses his mind when people visit but they asked to come for our pre Chrissy catch up (my other niece is pregnant and said she needs to be weightless in our pool 😂) and I'm already freaking out about how to stop Maxx barking and lunging. He does calm down quickly these days but I don't want to scar them both further
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Not at all, no apology needed Robyn! I think I’m sensitive about calling it a struggle because we’ve got it easy relative to many others, we chose to put ourselves and the dogs in this position, and I don’t want to ‘blame’ them for the challenging bits. Plus there’s the eternal guilt that I should know enough now to ‘fix things quickly’, even though I know that’s silly. They’re not robots, they’re fabulous, infuriating, living, breathing, creatures just like us and we’re privileged to have them!
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Kelsey&Axel said:
It’s been two months since a proper Stilton update! How are things going these days? Are the teething days behind you now? How are Kipper and Stilton getting on? Are they separated still inside? How are the teen months coming along? Sorry, so many questions :$
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Emily_Babbelhund said:
Ooo, I would love to see a photo of the Little Cheese. I bet he’s now the Big Cheese! ❤😁
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Here’s the boy! It’s been a busy few months to say the least. I’ve never known teething like it - poor wee mite, his tooth discomfort and need for relief was really voracious at times. We’re through it now, with a bit of gnawing on furniture when he’s overtired - but mostly now he chews on legal things like beef skin rolls and hooves.
Adolescence is mostly a joy for now. He’s expanding his world with a huge increase in interest around smells and other living things. So far :fingers: his recall has remained solid and he’s utterly thrilled to run back to us for a lot of fuss and praise. These are his biggest loves at the moment, with sausage a close second.
His character has remained steady but deepened into a lovely little soul. He’s keen and inquisitive but not bold - he loves softness and cuddling up, and is very smell focused. He’s excellent at scent games and loves anything with a bit of rhythm. We often play ping pong when we’re out and about as a settling and reconnecting game after he’s been off exploring.
He’s got an ear infection and an upset stomach at the moment so I’ve had 5 nights of broken sleep, which makes me barely functional at the moment - but thank goodness we’re now on holiday! Hopefully the ear infection is calming down after a vet visit and antibiotic gel last week, he’s stopped shaking his head which is promising.
Kipper and Stilton are still separate at home but we’re walking together every day and making good progress. Stilton stays on the lead but we’re doing small off lead sessions to practice Stilton ignoring Kipper, and Kipper is building confidence all the time. He doesn’t run away now with the odd bit of pestering if we’re too slow to intercept, and rather turns his head away in a ‘Gerroff’ sort of way. It’s exactly where we wanted to build towards. With the next few days off we’re looking forward to making more progress with joint activities, and we have a plan for slow introductions into joint space at home, always giving Kipper an exit or two. It’s a fair effort but I wouldn’t want us to do it any other way.
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here they are in the back of the car 🥰
 
Kelsey

Kelsey

Sorry to hear the poor boy has had an upset tummy and an ear infection! But otherwise sounds like things are going super well now! Glad the horrid teething days are behind you, poor boy and you that it was so awful for him :hug: I am very envious on Stilton’s recall! That is my biggest struggle right now:confused:

He’s so handsome and sounds like he has such a wonderful temperament. Won’t be much longer now until Kipper and Stilton are free roaming inside I’m sure 😍
 
Lab_adore

Lab_adore

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Location
Sydney, Australia
They are both gorgeous and you guys are doing an amazing job with them both. It takes so much patience and you have it in spades. Sorry about the ear and tummy troubles and broken sleep 😞
 
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Stacia

Stacia

Location
Malvern Worcestershire
@HAH, when I introduced Rourke to big Uncle Drift, he screamed (I did it in the garden) at seeing such a big dog and from then on they were fine. I didn't have to separated them. Did you have a problem with acceptance in the beginning, sorry I cannot remember :(
 
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