Puppy Fun

Today Rundle was the most playful he has been since he has arrived here.  There is nothing like a puppy to keep you laughing.  Rundle likes to run and was doing laps in the yard as fast as his little legs could take him.  He loves toys and is happy playing with me (he loves to chase and tug) and he is also happy playing by himself.  He chased a water bottle around for about 10 minutes tonight - batting it, pouncing on it and chomping it.  He is a very entertaining little guy.

Playing Tug With The Camera Strap

Besides all the fun, puppies are a lot of work.  You really can't take your eye off of them for a second - I don't want any potty accidents or any inappropriate chewing.  Rundle is getting pretty good at running to the back door to go outside to potty.  I still make sure I am taking him out lots and watching for signs that he might have to go - it will be a while before he is reliably letting me know he needs to go out, but he is catching on.

We continue to carry on with normal household activities and Rundle got to help with the housework.  He chased and barked at the vacuum and tried to catch the mop.  He thinks that anything that moves is a lot of fun.

We did some more socialization stuff too.  Nail trimming was on the agenda, which didn't phase him at all.  Rundle also got to run through the agility tunnel - he didn't hesitate to chase a toy though it and later ran though on his own.  He has been for several car rides to see new faces and things.  This weekend he should be meeting more new people as I asked everyone to let Rundle settle in a few days before he had a ton of visitors.

As for more formal training, we worked on 'sit', 'no mugging' and 'recalls'.  Recalls with a puppy are fun and generally Rundle just follows behind me anyway, so I am adding in his name as I run away and then we play when he catches me.  I am just trying to make coming to me as fun as I can.  We practice this every time we are out in the yard.

We also did some crate work.  Rundle is good in the crate at night and in the car but he needs to learn it is okay to be in the crate when he is alone.  So, I am working on making the crate a good, safe place where he can relax.  He gets put in his crate with a stuffed kong and I leave the room.  I am only leaving for a very short time then I go back to tell him what a good boy he is and let him out.

Rundle was introduced to the metal scent articles today.  I want him to be fine picking up metal articles so I brought one out for him to play with.  He picked it up, carried it and chewed on it without a second thought.  Metal objects can be difficult for some dogs to want to pick up, so if Rundle is fine with metal as a puppy, hopefully it won't be an issue as he gets older.

Playing With The Metal Dumbbell