Puppy Bumps

Finally made my puppy bumps today and gave Zeke a little shot at three in a row this afternoon. I still need to watch my Puppy Jumping DVD to get the whole theory behind starting to work with them down pat, but I was curious what Zeke's reaction would be to them.

After he tried to eat them (what doesn't this puppy want to eat?) he went out of his way to run around the outsides of them. I got a couple of really good reps and we ended after the best one and had a tugging party, so I think with a touch more work he'll get over this skirting around them and we'll make a bit of progress with that.

I'm actually planning on teaching him how to jump and going through the Susan Salo jumping work as he gets older (and I get more cash to get more of the DVDs), which is going to be interesting since I didn't do any- and I mean nothing- jump work wise with Charlie. He was running low jumps, then up to 500, 'cause that was the height everyone thought he'd be, then after his first comp and official measure he was running at 600 and that was it. He has a really solid style, though, and takes off and lands pretty much exactly equal to each other and isn't too shabby when it comes down to form either.

So, like always with Zeke and Charlie, I'm hanging out to see the differences in how I bring them up.

It strikes me a little more every day how totally different the two of them are. They're completely chalk and cheese and I love that, I really do, but it makes it so, so hard to not compare them- and comparing leads to frustration and unrealistic expectations. Like, last weekend for instance, at the Pet Expo when Zeke was being a fruit loop and while he was really well behaved for being Zeke I was getting a touch frustrated with him because I was looking at Charlie (who's been the same angelic creature in all of those types of situations since he was nine weeks old) and thinking, "God, puppy, I can't take you anywhere. Why can't you just sit the fuck down for two seconds?" And then I'll be training Zeke and he'll be throwing behaviours at me and bouncing back from mini failures, and I'll then go and work Charlie who's liable to have a meltdown if my mood is slightly of or he's struggling to get the behaviours right, and I'll be thinking, "God, dog, I can't do anything with you. Why can't you just be a bit more gutsy and secure able to deal with very normal situations?"

So in that instance, I don't like having them so different. Zeke's been such a learning curve for me because while people tell me regularly that Charlie is "high drive", he isn't really. He's got good work ethic towards agility because it's something he enjoys and the reward is the activity itself and he's very sure of what he has to do. He has moments where I would consider him to have "high drive", but he isn't like that consistently and he has such a super built in off switch he could not have a sport outlet and be fine.

But Zeke. Looking at the two of them, Zeke's high drive, Charlie isn't. He's high energy, high drive, and most certainly needs to be taught how to have an off switch. Chalk and cheese again. I love Zeke. I really, really love him, and after the intial "OMFG what the hell have I just bought into the house, what have I got myself into and how do I send it back" first few days I'm finding him a real joy to live with.

It's a different joy to living with Charlie, because you can take that dog anywhere and he's such a "pet"; he's easy and breezy and he won't mind if you've only got time for some cuddles and nothing else because he just craves being with you. He doens't necessarily have to be doing something, and he'll happily spend the whole day just lying near to where I am. Quite happily. He'll go and do things if you're doing them, but he won't demand the need to do them. He's convenient. He fits into the schedule. Even as a puppy he was exactly the same.

Zeke needs the schedule to be fitted around him. He needs his running. He needs his playing. He needs his training sessions. He needs his time with the hose and the dirt clods. He can't just be left out to his own devices- or even left out and casually supervised. I have him crated for the majority of the day and he's only out if he's doing something with me directly, or he's learning how to be calm on the couch- which means as soon as he wriggles he goes away. Our cuddle sessions are very short at this stage. If he was out all day, he'd be going all day. No one would get a moments rest and he'd end up collapsing from exhaustion before he willing stopped. He can't necessarily be taken everywhere and do everything because he's a basket case and hasn't quite the training or manners for me to trust him (or find his company enjoyable) but he wants to go everywhere and do everything- and I love love love that about him. He's so engaging and makes you want to be with him because he's just so much fun and a bit of a nutbar.

Admittedly, epecially since my next dog will probably be coming not very long after I've moved out of home, I don't know if I want another Zeke-type dog until Zeke's a lot older and calmer, but I wouldn't want to wait that long for a third dog. As much as I love him, I find him a bit much some of the time, and while I know some of that is all of the puppy in him, I think a lot of it is going to stick. And two Zekes... Oh boy. I'd end up being committed.

I'm picky. I'd want another Zeke, but with a bit of Charlie thrown in to just even it out a bit. And that's what's making me think dog number three could be a sheltie. Maybe. Just tossing the idea around and seeing how I feel about it. If I do feel okay about it all, it'd be in probably three or four years, and I'd ideally want a Scotsdream, 'cause I'm still in love with their dogs and the breeder herself is really lovely and helpful.

And how a post titled Puppy Bumps ended up with rambles about my third dog in four years is beyond me. Just to make it completely disjointed...

Gold Coast tomorrow!

Fucking excited. There'll be video, and photos. Can't wait, so I'm off to bed in a very short while since it's an early start for an early vetting.