Duncan is making good progress

[davemize]

Duncan will be 11 weeks old on Saturday & he continues to impress us. He now sits and stares at us when he has to go out. Sometimes, he goes to the French doors of my den and stares at the front door, where we usually take him out. Trots in and out on his own with no problem.

Duncan has always slept through the night. He started at 7 hours and is now up to 8 hours. Talk about your happy campers... He sleeps in his crate and seems to enjoy it. While in my den during the day, he often goes into his crate to nap.

He still hates loud, sharp noises... motorcycles, loud cars, the trash truck. We're hoping he'll become more acclimated to them with more exposure. He's gone on a couple of long-ish walks with us and enjoys them. He tolerates the leash, but doesn't love it. Barking dogs cause him to pause. We still have work to do in those areas.

Puppy class is coming up on June 2nd. We're really looking forward to showing him off there, and hoping he doesn't show us up.

We're heading to Virginia this weekend to visit family, with Duncan... about 7 hours in the car. He tolerates short rides well, and has ridden up to 3 hours with us. We take him with us everywhere we can, since we want him to love riding in the car. We have lots of stops planned for his comfort & we expect him to do well.

He's off to the vet tomorrow for his second visit... hope he still loves us after the shots. And... Oh, boy! Time for a poop sample! Ah, the joys of owning a puppy...

 

[Aztec]

As crazy as it sounds...that training is something I miss the most in a puppy. I love teaching them all those new things! (About 1-2 years old they become smart-alecky teenagers and forget everything you have taught them )

Sounds like he is learning quickly though - and in class usually the only dogs that can keep up are other shelties. I remember an obedience class that had husband and wife. She had a sheltie, and he had an irish setter...her dog did everything she asked and beyond. He had an impossible time trying to get his over-exuberant setter pup to do anything

Some dogs however are show offs, and only behave well in class. That would be Laika. I always got a million comments at how beautiful and well behaved she is, how perfect her stays and finishes were. But take her to the park and she is an absolute beast.

 

[Ania]

Sounds like he is doing so well! I am sure the classes will be great and he will shine. Shelties are such fast learners too.

 

[labgirl]

She had a sheltie, and he had an irish setter...her dog did everything she asked and beyond. He had an impossible time trying to get his over-exuberant setter pup to do anything

Yep, that's a gundog for you. But they all get there in the end with patience and love.

Good luck with Duncan at your puppy classes, remember that a lot of it at this age is about socialising your pup with others and the serious obedience stuff occurs much later on - though I'm sure your boy will shine.

 

[BarbV]

Yep, that's a gundog for you. But they all get there in the end with patience and love.

Good luck with Duncan at your puppy classes, remember that a lot of it at this age is about socialising your pup with others and the serious obedience stuff occurs much later on - though I'm sure your boy will shine.

Totally agree that puppy school is mostly about socializing. I managed to get myself frustrated at puppy school for a while. Bacca would do all his little tricks at home, but as soon as we got to school, it all went out the window. And of course, that damn pug pup was so perfect!

I finally got over it and learned to chill. I had nothing to prove to anyone there anyway!

(Besides, Bacca had the most beautiful trot in the class. When doing recalls, and Bacca strutted his stuff, some people actually clapped! No pug pup can move like Bacca can! )

 

[Chris]

Duncan sounds like such a dear! He's going to have a great time in puppy class!