New Member of the Family

[Spinal]

Just welcomed an unexpected new member of the family today!

His name is ****nio, and while we were told he is a Rottweiler x Husky, I'm not 100% sure of that. He does look like a rottie puppy at the moment.

He's a little scared, but hasn't cried today. He's eaten, slept, eaten some more and slept some more... hasn't really done much exploring of the house.

Every now and then he'll wake up, look around, get up and maybe find another spot to nap in...

He's sleeping behind the sofa on a massive beanbag for the moment...

I've just ordered a new crate, waiting for it to get here... oh no wait, he's now looking around...

This isn't my first dog, and I realise that the first few days are usually quite stressing for a puppy (and he's just peed in front of the fireplace, still house training him) - but he's the most quiet/depressed/lazy puppy I've had!

I'm a little worried as since he's been home about 5-6 hours, he hasn't been to the toilet yet... and has been very un-adventureous!

Admittedly, previous puppies were all born at home and stayed in the family, this if the first time I bring home a puppy born elsewhere and split him from his mother/litter... but when brought into the house/moved they usually explore within a few hours...

Anyhow, he's crying, so going to give some attention... I'll upload pics later!

M.

EDIT: Forgot to press submit... turns out he's now been to the bathroom, and I feel a lot better... it's a little runny, but that's ok for the first day... he's off to the vet tomorrow to get a full checkup, shots and a chip...

Pics to come soon!

 

[Spinal]

He's clambered onto the sofa arm, and has decided that my arm makes a nice warm rest for his head... so I can't move from the sofa as he's falled asleep...

Oh well... pictures as promised!

M.

 

[rascalmaster]

Rotties are the nicest dogs we've ever had
Loyal strong self- assured and noble.
Make sure they know their pecking order in the household though; or they can start getting bossy.
Oh and they take a while to grow up! Very boisterous for the first couple of years... in the nicest possible way.
As with other big dogs hip dyspexia can sometimes be a worry although reputable breeders have striven to remove this..
ENJOY!

 

[Spinal]

We were looking at a rottie for a while, spoke to a plethora of breeders and owners... then, kind of out of the blue this litter of crosses turned up... and they were too cute to say no!

He's getting over his trauma quite quickly, and decided that 4am was a good time to wake up, do his business and then explore... I reckon that there may actually be husky in him, as I've never heard of a rottie howling... he's back asleep now, and so will I be in a few minutes...

1-2 nights more of me waking up and cuddling him until he needs to start learning to sleep through the night. Need to pick up some more food tomorrow as I don't think our current bag will last very long as he starts putting on weight...

Yawn.... nighty!
M.

 

[Spinal]

Today has been a bit less worrying, he's adapting well to being in a house and although he hasn't forgotten his past and is quite scared of any sudden noise or change of wind/height, he is much more playful.

He has made a lot of progress though, and now doesn't mind the dishwasher, washing machine, microwave (including beeps) and telephone... Tomorrow or Tuesday we'll work on the hoover, as well as a car/motorbike... (maybe not the ducati to start with )

He's started tearing up the garden, and has already learnt to use the absorbent mat outside (though he doesn't hit the target each time).

He quite likes the kong, but hasn't totally gotten the hang of it. He seems to think that growling/barking at it will make it release food, so that's something we need to work on.

He's also taken a liking to the laptop power cable, (which is a bit frustrating given the number of chew toys he has!)... I've coated all wires with a bittering agent and turned the power off in the room... once he realises that cables are not good chewing material we can turn the TV back on

He is quite small, and I doubt he has the full 8 weeks as first thought. He sleeps a lot, and his molars haven't even started coming out... vet was closed today, so that'll be done tomorrow

M.

 

[rascalmaster]

sounds like a proper lil rottie!

we found every time ours did a wee; we'd say good dog, do a wee...

sounds silly but as he grew up even if he'd just done one; if we said- go on then do a wee... he'd do a bit again just to please us lol

 

[Spinal]

I was truly shocked... over the years, I've had a few alsatians, a great dane, a ridgeback, and a mix of who knows what (found when we got our house... he "came" with the house so to speak)... and even a basengi at one point... but never a rottie...

He's been the fastest to learn where he needs to pee, I'm truly shocked! If all the training goes this well, he'll be the easiest pup I've ever raised!

M.

 

[Spinal]

Progress is still going fast, as I was slighly moving his toilet pad outside (with the intention of ending on the compost heap corner) he decided that the pad was superflous and decided that another corner of the grass is the best place to use as a toilet.

He was having trouble with his name (****nio, as in ****nio Lupin, the thief) - and the vet pointed out (unwillingly) that ****nio might be misconstrued in the UK... fair enough... (she actually made the mistake while spelling it, then apologised).

The vet didn't have time to do the chip & vaccines, so we're trapped in the house/yard for a few more days. He's booked in on Thursday.

"We" also had a shower... (I say we as like all dogs, you cannot wash them without getting washed in the process). He isn't a fan of water, but as long as the treats kept coming he was happy to sit in the bath and get water (gentle and lukewarm) from the showerhead on him. Didn't get his head wet for today, let's start slowly

Finally, just after dinner we went for a little car ride - he seemed nervous (maybe he thought it was another "goodbye" ride) but when we got home he came back to life and had a browse around the front yard before it was time to go inside (partly because I was barefoot!)

I jumped on a scale with him as well, and if my math doesn't fail me, he's a good 4.9kg (at 8 weeks-ish), which isn't bad

M.

 

[Spinal]

Latest image... taken last weekend at Dungeness

 

[jonnyboy]

Nice pic