Having a puppy in the house again has been an awakening experience. I got both Duke and Pixie when they were much younger than Iggy, 16 and 12 weeks respectively, but it was a long, long time ago, and oh how much we forget!
Things are going quite well, really. Iggy is having less and less accidents in the house, chewing on less and less things he isn't supposed to, learning the commands we are trying to teach him (so far we only have "sit" down pat, but we're working on "on, off, down, drop, leave it, wait", and the real toughies - "stay" and "come".
He is adjusting to the rhythms of our lives, adapting to our little pack, and just thriving in the freedom of our house and the attention and love he is getting. He now very rarely looks scared that he is going to be hit, we are trying very hard to remember that for him a raised voice isn't just "trying to get your attention", it triggers a whole different set of emotions/reactions.
He is a seriously mischevious little guy, the kind of dog who will grab the ball of yarn you are currently knitting out of because you are paying more attention to it than him, and run sneakily away, all the while watching to see if you are going to chase him and then wag frantically when you come to retreive it from him.
Also, I believe he is what would be labeled a "heavy" chewer, he is going through a crazy amount of toys - if he is awake, he is eating/destroying/chewing something. I hope he's still teething, if he's going to stay like this we are going to need to buy stock in a company that makes rawhides.
What would be awesome is if he would SLEEP. At night, I mean. I have had no more than 7 hours of sleep/night (sometimes significantly less) since we brought him home, and I have to tell you, it's adding up. I am short tempered, bleary, and I have the attention span of a gnat. It's super adorable when he wakes up at 5 a.m. and wants to play, but FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE the dog needs to sleep through the night.
So, enough about my puppy woes, he's a doll, and he will slow down, and sleep, and that will be FABULOUS. For now, the cute will have to make up for all the puppy issues.
He and Pix are getting along reasonably well.
He likes her a lot more than she likes him, but as with many things, the puppy attacks should calm down as he grows up.
Even with her keeping her distance from him when he is in high crazy mode she is more active than she was before we got him. She is barking again (she stopped barking when we lost Duke), she is staying up with the rest of us instead of going to bed immediately after dinner, and when given the option to stay home for one of the 18 gazillion walks we go on, she would rather be out. She also goes looking for him when she loses track of him, so even if he assaults her regularly, they are bonding.
We got him a backpack to try to drain some of his extra energy, so far we only have 1lb total in it, but based on his weight we can go up to 4lbs if it seems necessary. We'll go up to 2lbs next and see how that goes over. We don't want to strain him, just drain him.
He's a little...unsure...if the backpack is something he should really cooperate with.
And last but not least, he cuddles, OH does he like to cuddle. I was napping on the couch yesterday and woke up to find myself being used as an Iggy armrest.
He's a bitty thing, only up to 21lbs, but his legs are soooooo long, he is very pokey with his feet. I don't think that is what is meant when the book talks about the Pokey Little Puppy.
Ah, and of course, he needs a sweater.
So, so cute, esp. in his little sweater! I think the progress with Pixie sounds very promising. Even if they're not best buds, Iggy's keeping her busy and active. I've never heard of the puppy backpack before -- fascinating!
Posted by: Jodi | January 28, 2013 at 02:39 PM
They are so incredibly cute together!!!
Posted by: Kerry | January 28, 2013 at 06:08 PM
Congratulations! I am very behind the times, but I backed up and read the previous post about deciding to get Iggy (is that short for anything?). I'm so glad that he and Pixie are working out their relationship so well. And boy do I sympathize about the sleep! I remember that from getting Tilly - knowing intellectually that we lost sleep when we got Kia, and remembering what that really felt like after 11 years, those were two different things. It goes more quickly than with kids, though :)
Posted by: Jocelyn | February 03, 2013 at 09:39 PM
I love the doggie pictures, and especially the partly knit sweater try on. we used to have dogs, and I miss them.
Posted by: Cindy Heineman | March 02, 2013 at 12:33 AM