JJ: Today, I met one of my grandmothers and my aunt! From the stories I have been told, his aunt is the one who made this all possible!
Alanis: Meanwhile, I had to stay home in an empty house. My parents told me to “hold down the fort.” Ummmmmm…no. If you leave me behind, I am not holding down anything. Free cookies for anyone who wanted to come into the house!
JJ: Stop whining! I once again threw up in the car during the ride 🙁 I have yet to take a full round trip in the car without throwing up at least once. I am a puppy, so I still am getting used to riding in a car.
Alanis: You better get used to it before I start riding with you in the back seat! I am a diva dog – and I will not appreciate you throwing up on me! This “I am just a puppy” stuff can only last so long before it becomes quite annoying.
JJ: But I am just a puppy…
Alanis: You love to work that angle, but you aren’t a puppy forever!
JJ: I will always be a puppy, sister. Amazingly, I didn’t make any messes at grandma’s house.
Alanis: You would rather just make them in this house. Your act is getting old, dog. Everyone compliments you on how good you are when they see you. When you get home, you turn into a terror, ripping apart boxes, jumping on the table, and acting like a complete lunatic. When are people going to understand what I already know? You are bad news!!!
JJ: But you love me…
Alanis: Of course. Now my little annoyances are nothing compared to the stuff you get into.
JJ: But I am just a puppy!
Alanis: Grrrrrr. So how is training class going?
JJ: Last week was class #3! It is so much fun. I get to play with other puppies outside the training facility. I go inside the facility, and it is instant FUN! I have learned “sit” and “down.” I am learning how to go for walks. I love learning new things. This place is a happy place.
Alanis: And it knocks you out, as an added bonus! This puppy sleeps more on Saturday afternoons than he does the rest of the week, I swear!
JJ: Learning and eating cheese is hard work!
Alanis: I know, I experienced it. So tiring. These humans have no idea what it is like to work hard like we do. They sit in front of computers for hours on end, likely doing nothing at all important. Meanwhile, we have to actually WORK for one hour a week, having fun while eating cheese.
JJ: I wonder what we are going to learn this week. Last week, we played “switch the dog”. Daddy had to give me to another owner for a few minutes. It was so much fun being without that klutz.
Alanis: He is a klutz, isn’t he? He has no idea what he is doing half the time.
JJ: You are being generous with “half the time.”
Alanis: I love this new treat ball the trainer lent to Daddy.
JJ: Yep. We received a package from Amazon Prime today – he ordered two of them because we were enjoying it so much!
Alanis: Well, I am glad you had fun today with grandma and your aunt.
JJ: Meeting as many people as possible is great for my development.
Me: JJ’s journey is going well. His housebreaking is close to being complete, but we still don’t have a puppy who is running to the deck door when he has to go out. That connection will come soon enough, and once he does it once, he will never stop doing it.
He is going on very short walks now. I take him down the street and have started to “turn the corner” to go on to the next street. I have yet to take him all the way down that street, however. My Runkeeper app shows that I am walking him for five minutes and 0.25 miles. The goal is to eventually build him up to 40 minutes and 2.00 miles. We aren’t going to be reaching that point anytime soon. Goldens grow QUICKLY, so you have to be careful with how you exercise them as they are growing. You don’t want them to be slugs, but you also don’t want to overdo it.
He is doing very well in class, and his afternoon naps after class are peaceful and long. That is OK – having a tired puppy after a class is normal. I remember Jeter having the same reaction when he was a puppy, though his puppy classes were on a weekday evening. All the excitement with being around other puppies along with all the new things we teach them is a recipe for a tired dog. Let them recharge their batteries for a while if needed.
Today was the first time he traveled to meet my mother and sister – the drive is an hour and ten minutes or so. That is a long ride for a puppy that is still figuring out rides. The fact he is throwing up during these rides is not much of a concern. Puppies grow out of this as they become better acquainted with the car. He did not throw up on the ride home, which is a good sign.
As for the treat ball referenced, they are cheap toys that dispense kibble as the dog rolls them around with their nose, or swats at them with their paws. If your dog is a “guzzler” when it comes to eating a meal, these toys can slow them down. Even if that is not a problem, dogs have a natural instinct to hunt for their food – you are actually playing into their instincts by playing games like this with them. That is why they typically are enthusiastic about games like this, or “hide the treat”, etc.
JJ is acting like a normal Golden Retriever puppy, which means a lot of activity, a lot of yelping if he feels he has been away from his pack too long, etc. Puppies will be puppies, after all.