Raising Kenzo: The Puppy Diaries

I am now entering the fourth week of having a new puppy. A routine is now in place, as much as there can be a routine with a puppy of this age who is constantly changing. I am able to sleep through the night without hearing screaming. That took about a week. I am very grateful for the full nights sleep. I am not one of those people who can exist well on a couple of hours of shut eye! I need real rest or I am a bear!

Crating during the first week was interesting, despite Kenzo having already had crate training in his birth-home. It seems that he viewed the crate time alone there as a vacation from his littermates. Here, he displayed all the traits of a drama king. The variations of tone and pitch in his screams would make any Broadway musical star jealous. Thankfully, that has greatly decreased. I am sure that my neighbors are grateful.

Because of his histrionics, I was crating him in the dog room alone (with music, of course) as I did not want to subject Siri and Trent to the stress of the audio display. I am pleased to say that he is now almost always crated in my bedroom where Trent and Siri typically lounge when I am gone. This is also where he is when “the big dogs” go on their daily outing that includes a hike or walk. He feels safer in there, I think.

It has become an amusing habit that every evening, Siri and Trent, “beat up” the puppy, much to his delight and theirs. As I left off in my last blog, Trent was feeling ignored by Siri when she played with Kenzo. Now they share puppy rolling duties equally. They both initiate play with him. I feel safe leaving the room with all of them playing now, thankfully.

Siri usually takes the lead and rolls Kenzo for a bit, then she takes a break while Trent has a go at him. At some point, they ignore him for a few minutes of beating each other up, and then they team up on him. He lives for the attention they give him. He adores them.

This typically lasts about an hour. Then Kenzo crawls off under the coffee table to take a break. After that and a jaunt into the kitchen to grab a drink of water, Kenzo grabs an old marrow bone or an antler and chews for a bit before crawling onto the stone hearth (cooler on his belly, he is a winter breed) to take a nap while I read or watch TV. The “big dogs” nap then as well.

I like routines just as much as dogs do. They make me more comfortable. So I am glad that things are going well so far. This is only one of our routines. Others include feeding the puppy first because it’s easy and then letting him run around while I prep Siri and Trent’s food. When the puppy gets his lunch, the “big dogs” get cookies so that everyone gets something. I am sure that Siri notices that Kenzo gets fed first but I am equally sure that she notices that during most of their early meals, he gets crated and we all eat together.

I have started Kenzo on being in the room when they eat, so that he can learn that their food is not his, but that lesson will take some time. The leash that holds him then gets a work out! Or my arms get the workout while holding him. These days, primarily, he is present for the evening meal. He has not yet figured out that all the food served is not his for the taking.

I have also started Kenzo on group outings with “the big dogs”. The hot and steamy weather most of the country has suffered had sped that process along. Not being able to take a normal hike or walk on many days, has allowed me to have Kenzo tag along. His leash skills are still atrocious so walking on group walks is months in his future, but toddling after Trent or Siri on a long line while they run around or just walk slowly sniffing off leash at our favorite hang out is beneficial to teaching him to stay with the crew. It has also proofed his outdoor pottying skills as now he grasps that he can potty on a leash away from home just as easily as in our yard off leash. Win/win.

I could fill many pages with the challenges that I encounter having not had a puppy this young (of my own) for almost ten years but I want to save some information for future blogs!

Feel free to share your own puppy experiences in the spaces below. Even “experts” can learn from what others do!