Gosh, only a week and we’ve come so far!
Zeke is eleven weeks old now, and he’s grown so much already. He’s got long gangly legs, lovely floppy ears, and big paws. He needs to grow into them all!
Toilet training overall is going fantastically, if I’m not tempting fate. Overnight Zeke wakes me around 2am to go out. Thankfully the last couple of nights there’s been a bright moon to light the dry garden. Zero accidents daytime too. Long may this continue.
Have I mentioned that Labs are renowned for using their mouths? Given their working background it’s not really a surprise. I know puppies need to chew, especially as their new teeth are growing in, so I have lots of puppy suitable chew toys.
Having said that, I had a terrible scare with a piece of water piping left by the plumber. It was a stolen prize and there was no way I could catch Zeke as he charged around the garden chewing it. Since then, we’ve been working on “leave” for emergency situations. All good so far.
I’ve also been working on recall. Zeke is perfect in the garden when I have treats, not so much when he doesn’t want to come in the house and is quite happy charging around. I find walking into the house and going to the fridge works. But I really need to proof his recall with distraction, and we have time on our side.
Today we went to see James our Vet, for Zeke to have his second puppy vaccines. So… in a week we can set foot outside the garden! Obviously, Zeke’s exercise and activity is limited until he’s 12-18 months old because of his growth plates. Currently his limit is 5 mins of play in the garden, followed by lots of sleep. When we do get out and about, I’ll continue to concentrate on socialising him before he hits his fear period. The more experiences we can get in the bank before then the better!
Zeke’s breeder raised the puppies using ‘Puppy Culture’, so I’ve continued with gradual and controlled exposure to new sights, sounds and smells.
Until next time
Jen
