Growing Confidence

Ok, I've been with my humans a few days and so it's time to begin training them. At first, I had to stick nearby when we went out for walks, so they wouldn't get lost. Now I feel like I need to venture a little bit so they can get some more exercise. This should teach them that they will need a cord to tie themselves to me so they don't get lost.

Also, although they made an effort to set up my kennel with my bed next to it, I've had to show them that no cage can hold me with a couple of Harry Houdini routines. I just slip out through the gaps and go for a little walk until they realize their mistake.

Mainly, these days I am enjoying getting my bite on. Play-biting is of course old hat to me, so when my humans play with me I typically try and see what's available to bite. Fingers, toes, you know how I roll, whatever's available. Last night Charles went away so Sarah played with me a long time and I got super excited and gave her a good nip. That led to a lot of "no" and the end of play time. So here is my latest note to dogs: I don't think humans like biting as much as we do. I know, makes no sense to me either. Whenever I try and bite my humans they keep trying to put a rawhide bone in my face. Which is delicious to chew, by the way, but still.

It's not all bad news. I have got my humans partially trained so that when I get restless or make a certain noise in my kennel, they take me outside to do my business. This also helps me keep my area clean. It's important to train your humans to let you out like this. Charles does especially well, because when he and I go out into the night air and he sees me peeing, he often decides to do the same. Sarah for some weird reason doesn't seem to ever pee in the backyard the way Charles and I do, but hopefully she'll notice what I'm doing and catch on eventually. You have to realize that humans look up to dogs and will often try and copy them, but some humans are naturally slower than others.

Getting Charles moving has helped him lose another pound. That's 2 so far in less than a week, so he's doing pretty well. I'm trying to encourage him so he'll play more often. It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it, so I guess it's up to me. All in a puppy's day's work.