Thursday, March 27, 2008

March 24-27 - First Work Week

Well we wanted to make sure that Kodo was acclimated to his new world, so we decided that one of us should stay home with him. I decided to work from home on Monday, while Becky took vacation days for Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Monday, we started the routine that we will eventually follow on a regular basis. Since our schedules are so different, it helps us get Kodo his breaks with minimal adjustment to our own. Becky woke up earlier around 5am, to feed and take Kodo out. I woke up just before 8am to take him out again. Kodo continued his good streak from the night before showing us that he knows the command "Come". I barricaded our morning room, set up my laptop there... and let Kodo wander the area. He didn't have any problems, and in fact, he pawed a bit at the back door, which I took as his way of telling me he needs to go...definitely a good sign, 'cuz he wasted no time.

The kitties were still curious about him, and our middle cat, Pippin, decided to come up to nuzzle him again. I think Kodo wanted to play with him, 'cuz he let out this cute little (deep) bark. This was actually the first and only bark we've heard so far. I'm sure more will be coming, but he's definitely more laid back than your typical pup.

I gave him a bit of a walk during lunch and then let him continue hanging out in the area...trying to hold off on Outside until mommy got home. Even though he was under constant supervision, this was his first day of no accidents!!!

3/24 - Kodo sleeping after a long day


On Tuesday and Wednesday, Beck was on puppy watch. I was at work, so I may just have her post something to the blog. We had a few people coming to the house to do work in the yard and all went smoothly. Beck was even able to run a few errands, leaving Kodo at home alone without any problems. One thing that we've introduced the pup to was "Easy". Easy was our command for Kodo to relax. In the morning, Kodo is so happy to see us and so excited to get out of his crate that he goes nutso. He puts both paws up on the crate and gets all antsy. Before we open the crate, we make sure to tell him "Easy" and then wait until he's calm and not pawing the door. Usually, when Kodo hears "Easy", he sits and doesn't paw...but if we don't get that door open within 3-seconds, he like, "that's enough Easy, I'm bustin' out!" and starts his rant all over again.

3/25 - Kodo with his new extra large rawhide bone

On Tuesday night, I decided to expand my earlier success with the "Come" command. This time, I decided to work on his habit of going crazy whenever he sees a treat. As soon as he sees it, he starts jumping and getting all feisty. Again, Berners are prone to hip displasia, so jumping is not a good thing for him to continue doing. So I started teaching him the word "Stay". I would first have Kodo sit...and then while he's sitting, I would set the treat down in front of him, telling him to "Stay". It only took 3-4 tries before he started actually listening to me. Methinks our pup is a smart one!

Check out the success below (done in one take!):


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