The Puppy Days: Growing up

Rosewood Luxury Leather Soft Touch Red Leash and Collar

Guess who has been doing a lot of growing since my last post? Lux. The rate in which this boy is growing up is just astounding, and he is now proudly reaching the work tops and all of the things that I have had to keep pushing back. My Mum had him for the day the other week for me, and it was around the time of my brother's birthday so there was of course cake in the house. When I came to pick him up, Lux was very quiet... The kind of quiet where you know he is up to something before you even see him...

I walked into the kitchen and there he was licking the cake board clean, as the there was no cake on the board I left him occupied and asked my Mum whether there was any cake left... She excitedly told me that if I wanted a slice of cake then it was on the cake board in the kitchen... It was round about here that I dropped the cake bomb on her and told her that if there had been cake left, then Lux had polished it all off while he was in the kitchen. She couldn't believe it because she had pushed it so far back, but the devious puppy of mine had persuaded it onto the floor with those long paws of his.

I really feel that we have bonded now, he really is my dog. He loves a cuddle and is well and truly a large lapdog (Which I wouldn't have any other way). Training wise he is doing great in the house, and we have even managed to get him to sit and wait for food, which if someone had told me was a possibility a few months ago, I would have laughed whole heartedly in their face! 

We haven't been to the puppy training class I picked out for a good few weeks now, I didn't feel that her set up was working for us. She didn't want the puppies mixing at all, which to me just seemed odd because surely getting them socialized is a rather important factor. The last time we went along she gave everyone homework at the end of the session, she got to Lux and I and said 'Well Laura... You just get through the week!'. I was pretty stunned in all honesty, how is that constructive? I was there with my cheeky pup wanting to learn. 

I am looking at a couple of our other local training facilities and plan on going else where. I think to start with we will be better off inside to get the basics and then progress it outdoors. Lux is a completely different character inside in comparison to outside. Indoors he will listen and for the most part comply, outside you might as well just be talking to your self because he will literally put his nose to the floor and go off on his own, dragging you along in his wake. 

Lux pulls like a train, we are doing lots of heel work at home and while we are out and about, but so far he's still pulling like he's dragging me along on a sleigh. He is a coach dog after all, so pulling and sniffing are all completely within his nature and breed. I am looking at no pull harnesses at the moment, as a traditional lead and collar is proving to be a real full body work out, and every so often he completely catches me off guard and I find myself hurtling away in the direction of his choosing. I am hoping that a no pull harness will be a way to correct the behavior before he gets even bigger.

We have had such a lovely month, and now he is getting bigger we have been able to venture that little bit further with him. I am still taking things slowly with him, but we have been starting to do some alternate walks/jogs where we speed up for a little and then slow it back down again. Lux loves this, and when he runs along side me that pull disappears (I guess because he is going at the speed he wants!), we have been trying out Lishinu which is a really cool hands free retractable leash! You strap it to your wrist using the velcro and then your good to go. It's absolutely fantastic if you enjoy running with your dog, as Lux pulls it's not something I have been using in replacement of our usual lead on the walks that take us along the side of roads, but when we have been out in the field or on the walk we took up Bredon Hill it has given us a lot more flexibility.

Lux seems to really enjoy the Lishinu as it gives him more flexibility to roam around. We had such a great walk on Bredon Hill. I drove pretty high up and parked the car so that it was not such a long way for him to go (He's still only little at 5 months old and you aren't really meant to walk them to much at this age), but he was in his element chasing leaves and enjoying the great outdoors.

As it has got so much colder recently we have been really loving his Luxury Night Bright Jacket, it's thick and fleecy on the inside and the outer body is water resistant, so it keeps him lovely and warm and even stops him getting completely soaked by the rain. I think even Lux has been thankful for this because it has come to light that he really is a princess! In a morning he sticks one paw outside as if to see whether he can brave the elements or not, if it's wet he recoils back inside! I have to physically pick him up and put him outside in order to insist he goes for a wee! 

I had to giggle though, during our last session with the trainer. She asked me why Lux was wearing a coat, which to be honest I thought was a pretty stupid question. Why does anyone wear a coat? Usually because they are cold right? So I reminded her how cold the weather was now, I pointed out that Lux also has very short fur and that if she thought thus was weird, she should wait until I purchase his Winter Jumper! She pretty much told me I need to tougen him up, but I don't really think I do. He's a domesticated dog, he lives in a house, and there's absolutely no need to toughen him up. He's with a family who love him and want him to be comfortable in every weather and eventuality.

Lux finally grew out of his dog bed this month, so we need to add that to the purchase list for this month as he's currently sleeping on a blanket in the kitchen and now it is getting colder, I want to ensure he will be warm enough through the night.

I wonder how much growing he will do over the next month? One thing is for sure, he is going to be a giant!