The Dance of Puppy Poo

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Zeus has some unusual behaviors, but one of the most frustrating and funny is his "Dance of Puppy Poo." In this, he has two versions... the "must poo must poo must poo" dance, and the "I pood I pood I pood" dance.

The pre-poo dance is one where he dashes back and forth like a ping pong ball between two irratic players until he's worked himself into a poo-frenzy. At that point, he's built up enough internal inertia to expel his waste products with gusto.

Once he has freed himself of the weight and discomfort of poo, Zeus must run about in circles in exaultation. Apparently the great relief and sense of accomplishment is more than his poodle-self can contain and he must run in random directions at full speed and intensity to dispel the excess energy.

Frankly, I could do with less dynamic pooing... just go out, walk around for a bit, squat, then step away to allow "Dad" to clean up. That's what I want.... not some modern dance version of "freak out"!

29 lbs of fuzzy luv!

picture from http://www.firehow.com/

Zeus made it through another vet visit being admired, fauned over, and generally pampered. He was very well behaved and has a clean bill of health!

At 16 weeks he's 29lbs... that's 10 lbs of weight gain in one month! EEEP!

Our little boy is growing up so fast!

What a difference 4 weeks make!

Nothing shows off how much someone has grown by photos and marking on the bathroom door frame. As the whole doorframe thing is passe for dogs, we decided to do photos on the same park bench, about once a month, to show Zeus' growth.

That is a lot more than just "foofie hair" in size difference :)

Loose Leash Training



image from http://www.encyclopedia.com/video/fuuYTY0DTOk-dog-training-how-to-loose.aspx

Last night the new training we were given for the week was "Loose Leash Training". This involves walking with a large quantity of tiny treats, your hand down so that your puppy is nibbling at your fingers while walking beside you. If you can keep his attention on the reward, he doesn't bound about. Eventually, you can use fewer and fewer incentives until just walking with you calmly is incentive enough.

I tried it today on our morning walk. Zeus was fairly receptive to this technique (he is very food motivated). 80% of the walk went very well, though did make the tips of my fingers sore (those baby teeth are sharp). That last 20% (as it was mostly at the end) was not so successful, but for 8/10ths of a mile the boy was very well behaved and pulled very infrequently.

I am encouraged!

Rooting for the Relatives!

We will be recording the Westminster Dog Show this Monday and Tuesday to see Zeus's sire, London (MBIS, BISS Ch. Jaset's Satisfaction), compete for best in breed, best in "non-sporting" category, and possibly Best in Show!

Sitting Pretty

There is no denying it... we have a BEAUTIFUL poodle. He is truly growing up fast and becoming a stunningly striking dog. We have people calling from across the street with we're out with him to tell us we have a beautiful dog.

15 weeks old, just from the groomer

My vanity is a bit bruised by the fact that the dog is far more striking and beautiful to the general public than myself. Playing 2nd fiddle to a dog is not something I'm used to.

He is learning "the walk", though he can't seem to manage it more than 5 minutes at a time, and he is still a bit obtuse about acknowledging his name. Still, he's improving... and too damn smart... and completely convinced of his own right to be catered too (trying to break him of that).

All in all, I'm quite enamored with our little black sheep... and I know he won't be "little" that much longer!

Walkies!

Zeus is finally learning the subtle secrets of "the walk" -- that is, he gets a lot farther if he isn't spinning, pulling, darting off, turning around, crossing in front of me, lagging behind me, and in general not acting like a wild animal. The secret? Clicker and a pocket full of tiny treats. Oh, the difference a treat makes!

He is still a crazy dog going in and out of the house. Yesterday he half-pulled me down the stairs, much to the detriment of my knee, but we are beginning to work on that. We've had two long walks now that went fairly well, so he's catching on. In a month or so, I think he will be a pleasure to walk. We have to try it in different areas -- we have one local neighborhood that we are using which provides about a mile of walking (about all I can currently stand, and just about enough for the beast). Dogs being dogs, however, it takes them a while to connect the dots that rules for walking in one place are rules for walking in ALL places.