Beau was 13 weeks last Friday and measured 18.50 inches at the withers, and weighed 32.5 pounds. He is definitely all puppy but seems to be sweet. He is responsive and will come when called (even when the other dogs are into something), sits nicely 9 out of 10 times he‘s asked, and is giving me 4 to 5 hours each night of uninterrupted sleep; he sleeps on a blanket at the foot of the bed – in fact, I have to wake him up to go outside.

He is doing well with housebreaking – or rather I AM doing well with housebreaking. 😁He has very subtle cues for needing to pee that have finally gotten through my thick skull (he hasn’t figured out the bell just yet) and he is very obvious when he needs to poop (he whines and dashes about with a look of confusion). When he has been good, his little nubbin wags furiously as he trots over for cuddles and praise.

I contacted the local kennel club today and they recommended a dog training club about 2 hours away who only offers puppy/beginner on Tuesdays which won’t work given the distance and my west coast client calls so the search continues for training classes near me so the search continues. In the meantime….

We had an adventure yesterday (car trip, airplanes, chickens) and then, did a short walk today up the street. Beau was curious but reserved (just what I wanted) as we walked past houses. He stopped when he saw a grounds crew making noise and throwing leaf cans off the truck. He just stopped, stood, and watched until I turned around to walk home. So, little by little, I am exposing him to new things from a distance since I don’t want to lose valuable time at his impressionable age.

I still struggling with him being left in his crate or me walking out of sight. Screams, cries, yowls. I can handle crate training – build up the time he is in there gradually – but the carrying on when I walk around the corner and he is behind a gate has me stumped. In fact, I was in my father’s office (at the house) for 3 minutes to help him box up some of my mother’s belongings and Beau was screaming. I called to him that I’d be right back and the next thing I know, Beau was at my side. I believe he jumped over a 28 inch hinged gate (used to contain the other dogs in the kitchen when necessary). That’s not possible at 13 weeks, is it?

After 10 days, I am completely smitten and don’t regret chosing this breed to share my next chapter!