3 Months Old

The pups are 3 months old. Doesn't seem possible. They do look their age though. Suddenly their legs are as big around as a full sized greyhound's only a bit shorter. Miles feet are about the same size as his mom's. They still have puppy bodies and heads with these huge strong legs that are so out of proportion to their bodies. The pups grow so much every day you can see the difference. Their heads are larger than the whole pup was when I first met them at 10 days old. Their second round of shots was today and Miles weighed 22lbs and brother Otto was 19.2lbs.

Miles got to play with his other smaller brother this week, who has yet to be named. The smaller brother was 12lbs at his vet visit this week so had put on 3 pounds in a week. He looked much better! He had definitely grown and wasn't as scrawny as he had been. His skin was better and his hair is starting to grow back. He is such a cute little guy! Boy can he jump. He is more finely boned than his big brothers and looks and leaps like an Italian greyhound. He can bounce up about hip high. He seems like he might be a little more energetic than his larger brothers.

From what people have told me about greyhound pups the first 12 weeks are the easy weeks. From now on they are wild and are big enough to do damage. So far they really have been good little pups. Today at the vet's office I got comments on how well behaved Miles and Otto were. My mother commented when visiting that Miles was so much better behaved than the Guide Dog puppies (yellow labs) we had raised at the same age.

Miles has learned everything we taught the Guide Dog pups and then some. The biggest difference between Miles and the those pups is that he doesn't naturally bring the toy back to you when you throw it like they usually did. Miles is perfectly happy to chase the toy or ball then carry it around and play with it by himself and doesn't seem to need someone to throw it for him. Instead of being a retriever he is a "carrier". Loves to carry his toys around. Miles doesn't tear up toys just throws them up sometimes and pounces on them. Occasionally he stalks them. More like watching a cat play with a toy than the way most dogs play. He learns tricks as quickly and cooperates just as well though.

So far the pups have just been pups. No worse or higher energy than any of the puppies I have had really. Miles is better trained than my previous pups because I have been training dogs for longer and spend more time training that I have with other pups. The pups do need to be watched most of the time or they are likely to put something in their mouths that shouldn't be there. They need exercise and much more of it than an adult greyhound. When tired they sleep so it has been pretty easy to prevent trouble with just a little work on my part. I use the crate when I can't supervise to prevent damage but I am home most of the day so it is mainly just used for nap times.

I do correct Miles for chewing on my things and offer something that is OK to chew on. I don't put things up or take things away from him. I use Cesar Millan's method of having the pup drop items then back away from "my things" rather than prying them out of his mouth and putting them out of reach. I leave the thing on the floor and watch it. Miles gets corrected again with an "ACK" if he tries to get it until he "gets" that it isn't something he is allowed to touch. I purposely leave chargers on the floor, fun items on low tables and tempting items laying around. Miles does very good at leaving my stuff alone and playing with his numerous toys. The hardest thing in the house to resist are cheap bamboo coasters in the living room. If that is the only thing I lose to him that will be great.

Miles sleeps alone in his crate all night. His mom, Sara, is in the same room with him in another crate. He and his crate will probably be moved into our bedroom once Sara gets adopted. He crates on command and is good all night. He has a door going out to an Xpen with some newspapers that he uses if he has to go potty at night. He usually doesn't use the newspapers during the day and goes outside. We have taught him "hurry up" as the command to relieve himself like we did with the guide dogs.

Twelve weeks down and a big adventure still ahead!

Wheelbarrows and Chainsaws

While preparing for a snowstorm the other night I had a great opportunity to work with both pups. My husband, Roy, had the chainsaw out cutting some fallen trees so we would have a good stack of firewood if the power were to go out. I took one pup at a time outside. At this age they are still programmed to be glued to my side and were more afraid to leave me than of the chainsaw. Perfect opportunity to show them that loud scary noises were no threat. We gradually worked our way closer and closer to the scary noisy chainsaw. The pups did it on their own by following me and weren't forced with a leash. They could move away or closer as they felt more comfortable. They each followed my lead as if I was their mom trusting that I wasn't leading them into danger even though they were very afraid of the noise.

The chainsaw that was very scary at first became just another noise by the time we finished the exercise. Within minutes the pups were confidently sniffing around, ignoring the noise. My pup even went up to it while it was off and cautiously sniffed it. Wish I had photos of everything but it is hard to take pictures and haul wood. The cutest thing was when my pup, who was watching me carefully picking up wood and stacking it picked up a small stick and brought it over to the stack.

They also got exposed to the wheelbarrow and both got several rides in it when we went to refill it. Pretty scary at first but they adapted quickly and were soon riding in it like they had been doing it forever. They learned another lesson from the wheelbarrow and that was to pay attention to where they were walking. They had to pay attention to me and the big wheelbarrow. I only had to stop a couple of times to keep from running one over. They quickly learned to follow instead of trying to get out in front. Riding in wheelbarrows is not something they will need for their life in the future but but each time they conquer something they develop confidence in themselves and trust in the human who kept the safe in a slightly scary situation.

Learning Fast

My pup still has NO official name! ACK! Trying to come up with something that fits him. Right now he responds quickly to Poo Pah which is something all the pups were called all along. They answered to it when they got to me. Got to find something better to call him when he is grown up.

OttoBahn had his first sleep over with his new family a few nights ago. He did great but his brother and mom were sure glad to see him when he got back. The pups went nuts running, fighting, growling and barking at each other when he got back. They get wilder by the day. They are calmer by themselves but when they get together they are flying through the house at top speed. They are getting so big it is getting hard to carry both of them especially when they squirm.

They are both eating their raw food great and have plumped up some. Otto is still the smaller and more wiry of the two with shorter fur. My pups is larger and fuzzier. Otto still has a shorter nose but it is starting to get longer and more greyhound like. He is really cute with white socks on all his feet.

Have been working on teaching them to walk on leash and they are getting better at it. They are programmed to stay so close at this age I can drop the leash and they just follow along. They are used to wearing collars now but don't like the feel of the collar tightening up on their neck so I give them treats while pulling just a bit on their collar to associate the feeling with something good.

My pup is learning his obedience commands and has sit and front sit down perfect. He does down but has to be lured into position with food still. His recall is good if he is paying attention. He is learning to finish both directions and is pretty good at the longer right finish but keeps trying to sit facing me on the left finish instead of turning around. He loves to sit and is offering it all the time in hopes of getting something yummy. We have also been working on scent discrimination. Plastic cups with meat hidden under one. If he finds it he gets it. Fun game. He has to know tricks too - sit up and crawl are the ones we are working on first. Pups are so easy and fun to train at this age but I have to keep training sessions really short and frequent.

Momma Sara is down to nursing once a day. Not because she wants that but because she is scheduled for her spay on Thursday. The pups will be 8 weeks old this Wednesday so it is time for them to get weaned. Tonight when the pups tried to nurse there was nothing there and they gave up after a minute or two and started playing. Success!! Sara is getting more playful and I got to watch her running and playing with both pups tonight. Really sweet to watch her carefully playing with them. They figured out that she couldn't get under the futon or the table so would hide from her under there. She is a great girl that will make someone a fun pet. She is still looking for a family.


Working on training my boy to stay in a small crate - My Italian Greyhound's crate. They sleep in a large greyhound size crate now that is attached to an Xpen so they are used to being in a crate. Just need to get him used to being in a small crate that will be easy to transport to Sandy Paws - a greyhound get together at Jekyll Island Georgia that starts on Thursday. His first big trip other than the move from Alabama where he was born to my house in South Carolina. He is learning to take naps in the crate and has only howled once so far.