My puppy is 19 weeks, we got him at 11 weeks old. He is a high energy northern special. I’ve complained a lot on here 
so I thought maybe it’s time for an update since he did so well this weekend. For some background - aside from adjusting to the crate, he was great the first week or two honestly, for a puppy, but he is my first dog and I have been very spoiled with complete freedom for about a decade which I utilized fully. So, the shock of having to make my life revolve around someone else hit me very hard. Didn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, constant anxiety, so much crying. I do get hit with these feelings still honestly, but not nearly as often or severe.
In hindsight, we had it pretty good. As he got older, he quickly went from a perfect angel to wanting to test our boundaries (and he’s not even in adolescence yet
). He would demand bark. Occasionally bites your face. He will hyper fixate on other dogs and sometimes people. He’s banned from greeting strangers now since he just jumps on them. He shows possible signs of resource guarding with the couch (that he’s now banned from) and with food around other dogs. He cannot self-settle despite us doing a relaxation protocol that he aced, and capturing calm. He used to come hangout in my lap for a minute or two on his own terms, now he never does which sucks because I want a cuddly dog. He’s a rescue, and after adoption I found out he’s a mix of rather difficult northern breeds.
So, yeah… it seems that he thought if I was going to complain without something to complain about, he might as well give me a reason. Several reasons. I felt, and sometimes do still feel, like maybe I fucked up along the way and ruined my previously perfect pup.
All of this being said, he did pretty great these last few days. He is in truffle hunting training and out of his class, he did the best when it came to the newest exercise they gave us, grasping things the others couldn’t. At his puppy obedience class, he learned his tricks faster and more consistently than the others, moving onto harder steps the other dogs didn’t (we put his front paws on a stool which most dogs did, but then we also got him to move his back legs 360° while doing that, as well as sit/stand in that position). The classes are outdoors and the next group was waiting around a corner we couldn’t avoid. I put a treat to his nose and HE BARELY EVEN LOOKED AT THE OTHER DOGS WHEN WE WALKED BY CLOSELY. Not to mention he was the only puppy that chose to lay down towards the end because he was so tired.
The next day, when we met up with a friend to meet her dog for the first time, my puppy did so well with her and mostly ignored the other dogs and people on trail (I’m just going to brush off the fact that he seemed way more interested in my friend than me during this play date though
). Later, when I was “forcing” him to cuddle me (aka. get him to hangout in my lap while I feed him treats), he willingly settled his little head on my legs. And sure maybe he was just bored waiting for the next treat. But he didn’t stare at it and took the moment to just be with me.
He also hasn’t had an accident inside in weeks. He sleeps through the night and doesn’t whine with his 2hr in/1hr out crate schedule. For a puppy with many sled dog breeds, he almost never pulls and will usually come back to me if he does. He learns everything so fast, although he can get frustrated quickly haha. He has no fear when he’s romping in the forest and will hop from log to log.
Anyways, just wanted to share this in case anyone else is struggling and needs some hope, but also just want this out there for me to look back on during the inevitable hard days. I honestly fear adolescence way more than everything else up to this point. Hopefully he’ll be one of those magic dogs who barely changes for the worse during this time but… I will expect and plan for the worst, and enjoy these wins when I get them.
so I thought maybe it’s time for an update since he did so well this weekend. For some background - aside from adjusting to the crate, he was great the first week or two honestly, for a puppy, but he is my first dog and I have been very spoiled with complete freedom for about a decade which I utilized fully. So, the shock of having to make my life revolve around someone else hit me very hard. Didn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, constant anxiety, so much crying. I do get hit with these feelings still honestly, but not nearly as often or severe.In hindsight, we had it pretty good. As he got older, he quickly went from a perfect angel to wanting to test our boundaries (and he’s not even in adolescence yet
). He would demand bark. Occasionally bites your face. He will hyper fixate on other dogs and sometimes people. He’s banned from greeting strangers now since he just jumps on them. He shows possible signs of resource guarding with the couch (that he’s now banned from) and with food around other dogs. He cannot self-settle despite us doing a relaxation protocol that he aced, and capturing calm. He used to come hangout in my lap for a minute or two on his own terms, now he never does which sucks because I want a cuddly dog. He’s a rescue, and after adoption I found out he’s a mix of rather difficult northern breeds.So, yeah… it seems that he thought if I was going to complain without something to complain about, he might as well give me a reason. Several reasons. I felt, and sometimes do still feel, like maybe I fucked up along the way and ruined my previously perfect pup.
All of this being said, he did pretty great these last few days. He is in truffle hunting training and out of his class, he did the best when it came to the newest exercise they gave us, grasping things the others couldn’t. At his puppy obedience class, he learned his tricks faster and more consistently than the others, moving onto harder steps the other dogs didn’t (we put his front paws on a stool which most dogs did, but then we also got him to move his back legs 360° while doing that, as well as sit/stand in that position). The classes are outdoors and the next group was waiting around a corner we couldn’t avoid. I put a treat to his nose and HE BARELY EVEN LOOKED AT THE OTHER DOGS WHEN WE WALKED BY CLOSELY. Not to mention he was the only puppy that chose to lay down towards the end because he was so tired.
The next day, when we met up with a friend to meet her dog for the first time, my puppy did so well with her and mostly ignored the other dogs and people on trail (I’m just going to brush off the fact that he seemed way more interested in my friend than me during this play date though
). Later, when I was “forcing” him to cuddle me (aka. get him to hangout in my lap while I feed him treats), he willingly settled his little head on my legs. And sure maybe he was just bored waiting for the next treat. But he didn’t stare at it and took the moment to just be with me.He also hasn’t had an accident inside in weeks. He sleeps through the night and doesn’t whine with his 2hr in/1hr out crate schedule. For a puppy with many sled dog breeds, he almost never pulls and will usually come back to me if he does. He learns everything so fast, although he can get frustrated quickly haha. He has no fear when he’s romping in the forest and will hop from log to log.
Anyways, just wanted to share this in case anyone else is struggling and needs some hope, but also just want this out there for me to look back on during the inevitable hard days. I honestly fear adolescence way more than everything else up to this point. Hopefully he’ll be one of those magic dogs who barely changes for the worse during this time but… I will expect and plan for the worst, and enjoy these wins when I get them.
