Tag Archives: Zodiac

Zodiac’s New Jacket

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Zodiac in his new jacket

Zodiac got his official puppy in training jacket this week. It is a big milestone in a little puppies life. The important thing is to start socializing slowly and carefully, paying attention to how the young puppy is handling new situations and places.

Our first official outing was to the library to pick up some books and audios that I had on hold. With all the craziness around here lately I haven’t worked with Zodiac adjusting to his head collar like I should have. We started out with just his flat collar but he got way too excited before we even got up the library steps. So we stopped and worked on putting on his Gentle Leader using food rewards to make it more positive. With that accomplished we made it up to the front door. Our library has automatic doors and Zodiac didn’t know what to make of those. He stood on the threshold for several moments, not sure he wanted to go in. Then he saw a woman inside. I explained to her that it was his very first outing. When Zodiac saw her he decided that going inside would be a good thing after all.

Things went much smoother after that. In some ways it is too bad that Yakira is still on “house arrest” (she has 7 more days) because she is in season. I’m sure that with Yakira along Zodiac would have waltzed right into the library without a second thought. At the same time it is good for him to do things on his own. Yakira won’t always be there.

Today Zodiac went with Bill to work, just for the morning. He did just fine, though he still needs some more work on adjusting to his head collar. We worked on it this week but that work isn’t done yet. By the way, doesn’t he look so cute in his jacket. I don’t think there is anything cuter that a young puppy in a training jacket. And when you see them walking through some public place it is the cutest thing. They are so tiny and so curious about the world. Plus there is a bounce to their step that is most adorable.

Z’s First Week

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Zodiac

What a difference a week can make! Zodiac has made so much progress in the past week. The first few days were really rough, especially on the relieving.  But the first few days Zodiac peed and poop more in the house than he did outside. One thing he catch on to really fast was peeing in the kennel. He only did that once.Zodiac is now fairly reliable at relieving when you take him outside. He only has a problem when he doesn’t get taken out often enough or gets more freedom than he is ready for.

Zodiac in an x-pen

I like to use x-pens with puppies. They are bigger than kennel so pups are more likely to have accidents in them and we have carpet downstairs so we have a piece of plexiglass that we put under the x-pen to help with clean-up. I hate to haul kennels up and down the stairs so we use x-pens downstairs where I spend most of my time during the day. I like the x-pens too because it restricts their activity but given them a bit of freedom. I know they can’t get into anything and I can step out of the room for a minute and not worry. When they are older we use the x-pens restrict their access to a room or area of the house. I took Zodiac out before I started this post and he relieved perfectly. Now I want to give him some freedom but not too much so I’ve blocked off the area around my desk. He enjoys have more space and I know where he is. With each puppy we have found more ways to use the x-pens. I’d really like to find a couple more panels.

Actually relieving covers most the challenges were are having with Zodiac. Which is really good. He does struggle with whining and barking but as long as you don’t reward it that stuff takes care of its self. The first few days its was whining. Then when that didn’t get him what he wanted he tried barking. He started to bark saying, “hurry up with my food, I’m starving”. Each day it gets better so no real worries there.

Zodiac and Yakira playing in the backyard

We are really pleased with Zodiac. I think that Yakira has been a good mentor and he is learning the rules quickly. He seems to have a good middle of the road temperament and his stubborn side has not been a problem. We are looking forward to raising him and seeing how he grows up. At this early stage it looks like he will be a great dog.

50 for 50 #19 – A New Puppy

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All four of us on Zodiac’s puppy day – photo by Lisa Monson

My plan was to get a new puppy in August but when the opportunity came to get a “Z” boy this past Friday I somehow couldn’t say no. So the 19th thing that I did to celebrate turning 50 years old is getting a new puppy.

Zodiac is a fun mix of stubbornness and adventurer, with a bit of unexpected caution thrown in. He is happiest when he gets some freedom to explore his surroundings. Most of his complaining has been about being kept from learning about his surroundings. I told you about his stubbornness in last Friday’s post introducing Zodiac. Then there is his fear of his food bowl. It is stainless steel and when Zodiac is about 3/4 of the way through eating he has a tendency to step on the edge of the bowl, which flips it. This scares him so he backs off from the bowl. It is funny to watch him. He wants to go back to his food but he doesn’t trust the bowl to stay put. It helps to understand that in the puppy kennels they eat from a doughnut-shaped dish that they can step into. If you we hold the bowl he comes back to finish his meal. Such a silly boy.

puppies from the Tito/Denisha litter – Guide Dogs for the Blind flickr site

The first few days with a new puppy are the hardest. The whole relieving outside is new to them and puppies don’t have a clue what you are trying to teach them. But it gets better quickly once they start to catch on. In the meantime, I am getting up several times a night and making lots of trips out during the day. And there are still more accidents to clean-up than it seems possible.

A really bright spot is how well Yakira and Zodiac are getting along. She is being a good mentor and learning to play to his level. They are so very cute together. What a fun way to celebrate turning 50!

Welcome Zodiac

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Zodiac coming of the puppy truck

Meet the newest addition to our family, Zodiac! He is adorable of course, aren’t most puppies. He has kind of mid-range temperament, not too shy and not off the charts confident. He picked up his stainless still food dish and then dropped it and the clang scared him a bit. He got over it in a few minutes.Then while he was eating dinner he tipped his bowl and then he thought it was some strange thing and didn’t want to eat his last couple of kibble.

He enjoys exploring the house and sticking his little nose into the shoes in our closet. I got to see his stubborn side today. As he was exploring he headed into our spare bedroom. I grabbed the leash to stop him because we don’t let puppies go in this room by themselves. Our cat has claimed this room so we keep the door ajar. Well Zodiac had a fit! First of all he backed to the end of the leash. When I wouldn’t let him go any farther, he planted his feet and wouldn’t move. I just help firmly on the leash and waited to see what he would do. Zodiac stood there with his head down looking at me for several minutes. I didn’t move. Next he tried laying down. When that didn’t work he escalated things by whining. This went on for several minutes. He has amazing determination. Finally he decided to move out of the room and continue his exploring. The good thing is that he didn’t try to go back into the spare room.

We are going to have lots of fun over the next few days. I hope I get some sleep tonight.

Yakira and Zodiac