Ludo's First Week Home

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

Ludo has been home for just a little over a week.  He has settled in beautifully and he seems to have really bonded to me. I know I've bonded to him. We had quite a busy week and we fared splendidly. I discovered later in the week that he's a total lazy bones!  I found out about six weeks ago that I have autoimmune hypothyroidism which historically has made me really tired and one morning he got me up at 6:15 instead of the normal 6:45 so I took him and then decided he could wait for 30 minutes for breakfast to hopefully not start an even earlier routine than the 6:45 one.  Well, he ended up sleeping until 9:00 am and I finally dragged him out of bed because his stomach was rumbling in his sleep! We've been happily getting up at about 6:45 every morning now and going back to bed. :)

We had a little bit of growling (directed at people) but with the help and advice from some great people here at DK, we haven't had another incident in a few days and I think I'm setting him up for success a little bit better.

He had his second set of puppy shots.  Everyone at the vet absolutely doted on him (of course!) and aside from one of his shots really stinging, he did really well!  He's one chill pup!! He also came home with one super sharp claw that had been slicing me up all week so on Friday, I called the groomer who groomed my last dog and took him in for a quick file.  While we were there she trimmed the pads of his feet and his bottom too.  Again, super chill and passed with flying colors!

I think the most notable parts of the week were introducing him to puppy montessori and puppy preschool.  Since I work from home, I have alway been really invested in making sure that he's fine to be without me and I want him to be very well socialized.  I found that the people I am doing puppy preschool (the precursor to puppy kindergarten) with also facilitate a daycare/montessori just for puppies under 20 weeks at a vet clinic in a town about 20-30 minutes away.  When you signed up for the daycare, you got the kindergarten free.  So I decided I would go ahead and just sign up for 15 sessions.  Boy am I glad that I was given the option to wait until the end of the day to sign up and pick a package. We arrived at 9:30 am and he was scheduled for a half day, so I was allowed to drop him off and pick him up at 2:30.  Being the puppy stage mom that I apparently am, I packed my computer and planned to stay and watch through their tinted windows all day just to be safe. He played with a super cute puppy named Jackson for about 35 minutes and then went in a cage for over an hour.  I voiced my concern... I was paying for him to be playing and socializing, not barking in a tiny cage.  They said they do 30 minutes of play, 30 minutes of rest.  Suffice it to say, I let him stay for the second play session and then I left. When they asked me what session I wanted to sign up for, I told them that I was not going to sign up because it cost $270, we were there for 2 1/2 hours and he spend over half of that time in a cage barking. Their explanation "oh well, we had three new puppies start today so it was really hectic." Sorry but no thanks.  Funnily enough, I met the the other puppy family on the way out and they asked me what breed Ludo was.  To save myself the "He doesn't look like an Australian shepherd" when I say he's an Australian Labradoodle, I just said Labradoodle.  They replied "Oh!  Our's is an Australian Labradoodle!!" Crazy!! They're the first ALD owners I've met in my area. Too bad Ludo won't be back to play.

Saturday though, we went to puppy preschool which is just a precursor to obedience school.  There were three other puppies and we worked on desensitizing them to handling like they'd receive at the vet or the groomer.  The rest of the time was monitored free play.  And you guys!  Ludo was a butt biter! He was a butt biter with Jackson too! He got one time out, but otherwise, the trainer wasn't concerned about the butt biting or anything else and thought he was coming around nicely.  The other puppies were in their 3rd and 4th weeks of the 4 weeks class so Ludo had some catching up to do.

He's learned 'sit', 'walk with me,' 'leave it,' and 'look at me.'  For some reason, laying down is tough for him... like he just doesn't understand what I want him to do. I got him to do it once, but I'll probably have to catch him and clicker him and tell him what he did to get him to come around.  

And finally today.  Today we through an early Halloween party for my mom's side of the family.  It was about 25 people with tons of kids of all ages and lots of noise and commotion.  He was BRILLIANT.  He was gentle, unfazed by the kids in costumes, actually took naps just in the middle of the floor, played fetch.  I was one proud puppy mom and totally happy to show him off. Even my aunts and uncles who believe dogs belong in outdoor kennels and should only be used for hunting were impressed with him and could see he was something special.

I had read somewhere that puppies should meet 100 people by the time they're 12 weeks old. I think we actually hit that mark this week.  We went on lots of outings (don't worry, I carried him everywhere unsafe) like the elementary school where my mom works.  He actually really liked the children which is awesome because I am hoping to train him to be a therapy dog at some point.

Onto a new week.  My biggest goal this week is to work on helping him like his crate more.  He still cries if he's in the crate and people are home (like if I am in the shower or something like that) but he doesn't make a peep in his car crate.  Otherwise, just more outings and more meeting people and more working on good behaviors.

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

oh he just sounds so adorable! I'm so happy you guys are having a good time together!

[DJ & Chance]

Wow, congratulations--the two of you are coming along splendidly!

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

Thanks Linda!  I too didn't think 30 minute play, 30 minute rest was a bad idea and now that I'm reading it back, I don't think I was clear.  That was what they said they did, what they actually did was bout 35 minutes of play 1 hour and 15 minutes of rest (our barking and crying in Ludo's case). Then another 15 minutes or so of play before I took him home. 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Ludo is doing great and so are you.  Neither of mine have ever been crazy players, even as puppies.  Both were very laid back and really very calm.  They preferred playing ball together rather than wrestling and running with other dogs or each other.  I think maybe the 30 minute play and 30 minute rest might not be a bad idea.  I will be watching this to see others opinions.  I am all for socializing, the more the better, but I am not a fan of dog parks.  Love the photo of Ludo in the cart.