Life with a 8-12 week old puppy turns out to be enjoyable, but also very tiring. Zelda was certainly a cute little furball during that time, but we definitely had to re-order a lot of our routines to make her fit well into them. Everything had to be re-organized to fit in with Zelda’s bladder control. (or lack thereof)

Crate training helps teach little pups not to use the house as a bathroom, so we spent most of the first few weeks putting her in for a nap, taking her out to pee, getting a little playtime, and then back in the crate. She also got to eat, drink, and do obedience work. As an added bonus, this cycle sometimes got to be repeated at 1, 3, and 5 am.

Although there were a few accidents, Zelda did seem to quickly adapt to the idea that she really ought to be going to the bathroom outside, but you really have to interpret her wishes to figure this out. She does not bark and rarely whines unless you are leaving her. She thinks that barking is a sign that one is too upset.

We’ve seen her try to calm down other very “barky” dogs. She just looks at them like, “Are you sure that’s what you should be doing right now?” Hell, we’ve only ever heard her utter one real bark when she was in guard dog mode, and she looked kind of sheepish about it. Very odd, but an interesting personality quirk. The owners with “barky” dogs all tell me they are quite jealous.

One other thing we discovered is that our pup really loves to do obedience work. She learns quickly, pays attention, and keeps coming back for more. She was certainly very calm compared to other puppies at her “puppy kindergarten” class and really picks up new commands quickly. Of course, after class, she is completely exhausted!

So far so good. The puppy keeps growing and shows signs of becoming a very good dog.  At the rate she is growing, we’re expecting her to hit 65-75 pounds.