Training Hodi

I’ve been finding puppy training both easy and very stressful. An combination, I realise, but here we are.

Hodi seemed to “get” sit and come almost immediately and can do it both inside and outside (garden only at the moment).

Down on the other hand is taking a substantial amount of time. He has the mechanics of the movement and will follow my hand, with treat or empty, down to the lying position (elbows and belly on the ground), but he does not respond to just the command.

Hodi sitting in closeup

I think I am just being impatient and need to get rid of that as it will be affecting Hodi as I try to train him. He is only just over nine weeks old, so I should not be expecting a miracle overnight.

Hodi Had First Vet Visit

Hodi had his first visit to the vet this morning, for his first vaccination. Apart from the major “A” road to town being closed with no warning and no diversion, the visit went well. Hodi was checked out and given a clean bill of health by the vet; with a little food to eat he didn’t even notice when the vet administered the injection.

He cried in the car both ways, mainly when the road was bumpy, and with the main road closed I had to use the back roads, some of which are single track lanes and not well maintained. When we got home, he made a dash for the utility room to use the puppy training pad (I was impressed as I’ve never put him on one before, but he got the right spot).

Afterwards, we went to the living room which seems to be his favourite room, and I gave him a treat ball loaded with some of his food.

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Hodi Is Quite Fast

I’ve been getting Hodi out into the garden quite often so he can go to the toilet outside; he’s actually surprised me by asking to go out for the toilet, rather than my having to watch him closely and grab him if he looks like their is going to be an “accident”.

He’s only just over 8 weeks old and asking to go out. Impressive in my opinion.

I also discovered when out in the garden that he is already quite a fast runner.

This makes it all the more urgent that I start off lead training him as soon as he has had his first two injections.

Hodi’s Second Day

Well, after our first night, we were up fairly early on day two. He seems to be eating pretty well. When you first bring a puppy home, you are advised to keep feeding them the same food the breeder is using; the breeder should also give you a supply of food so that you can buy a supply before you run out.

The breeder had told me which food they were using when I viewed the puppy’s a second time (I’d already reserved Hodi, I just didn’t want to wait to bring him home before seeing him again) and had sent me a picture of the bag:

Skinner's Field & Puppy Trial

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Hodi’s First Night

Well, Hodi actually slept pretty well on his first night here. I set up his bed with a cardboard box in front of it so he can;t roam around the entire room.

I thought it might work quite well to keep him contained to a small area; he seemed happy enough in his bed with the blanket his mother had slept on and a soft toy Elephant; the only one which I could find that didn’t have a squeaker.

He cried once during the night, but settled down a little when I spoke to him (I tried to avoid going to him as I fear that might encourage more noise at night). We went to bed at 2230 and he seemed to settle, but his crying spell was about 1130, after which he pretty much slept through from 1200 to 0545, when we got up and I took him into the garden.

All in all a pretty good first night.

Hodi Is Home

I brought Hodi home with me the other day. When I arrived at the breeders we needed to sort out some paperwork and other things.

We then waited for him to settle down before leaving in the hope he would settle in the car.

Unfortunately, he did not. He cried all the way home.

Once here, though, he actually settled down quite quickly and seems to particularly like the living room, which was the first room I took him into and where we spent most of the day.

Hodi peeking out of the carrier

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Night’s Out for Hodi

OK, so I’m not talking about entire nights out for Hodi; for most of the night he’ll be tucked up in bed inside the house, but for when taking him outside for going to the toilet in the evening, I decided that I needed something to keep him in a small area.

It’s still dark at night for quite awhile and Hodi is a small, mainly, black dog so would be hard to find if he escaped my view at any point.

So, how to limit him to an area? I could put a lead on him and control him that way, but thought it might be better if I could pen him to an area without a lead.

Metal pen

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Bringing Hodi Home Safely

Well, it is only a few days now until I shall be bringing Hodi home with me. I’ve been thinking about how to do this safely for both him and me.

It is a legal requirement in the UK that dogs be secured in a vehicle so that they are not able to jump or otherwise move around and interfere with the driver, but beyond this I want him to be safe while I am driving and not at risk of being hurt.

He is only a small, although growing puppy, at the moment so I needed something which would work for his current size and will look for a long-term solution as he grows larger.

I didn’t want to shut him away in the boot of the car as I’ll have just separated him from his dam (female parent) and siblings, so don’t think it appropriate to shut him away for an hour by himself. Having decided this, I took at a look at the options for transporting a small dog; cheapest option would be to use a cardboard box (with the top cutaway and a blanket for padding, but thought this might not be the best option.

I did a little exploring and found a number of “transport boxes” on Amazon, most of which are intended for cats, but should work just as well for a small puppy.

Pet Transport Carrier

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Quick Visit to See Hodi

It’s just a little under two weeks before I can bring Hodi home.

I saw him when he was a day shy of three weeks old and I thought I’d like to see him before he comes home, so I arranged to pop up to see him yesterday.

He was two days over six weeks and has grown quite a lot between visits; he is still very cute though.

Part of the reason to go back was to let him get my scent again, so that when he comes home, he will, hopefully, recognise my scent. To that end I asked the breeder if I could leave an old T-shirt with him, which I had worn for a few days and used as a pillow case. This will allow him to have my scent for the next two weeks until he comes home with me and I am hoping this will help him settle into his new home.

The breeder was happy to accept, so he has the T-shirt with him (it is an old one which I regard as disposable; after all it is with Hodi and his six siblings, so will get well-chewed by them all.

We’ll see how well he settles once he is here, but the wait can’t end soon enough.

Walking a Dog Safely in the Dark

I’ve been thinking forward to when the puppy is old enough to take for walks.

I live in rural Northumberland so much of our walks in the morning and late afternoon/evening will be along unlit roads. When I walk by myself, I either wear a jacket with fluorescent stripes or a vest over my coat with the same; I also use a head lamp and sometimes ankle straps with lights to make sure that I can be seen.

As Hodi is a, mainly, black dog he is going to be impossible for drivers to see when we’re out walking in bad light.

To that end I’ve been looking into what I can do to make him more visible; you can get jackets with fluorescent stripes on them, but I also found some collars with LEDs:

LED Collar

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