A Month

They say time flies when you are having fun.... well we must be having a ball with Zeus because I can not believe it's already been a month since we brought him home! Things have been going really well over this last month and I am still surprised with what an easy going puppy Zeus is. Training is an every day activity that carries on throughout the whole day. It's constant reminders of "Don't eat that!" and "Don't bite clothing, have this toy instead" or "Be nicer to your brother". I honestly forgot how much work a puppy is and how very tired I get by the end of that day. But in the back of our minds we know it's all worth it when we have a dog with good manners. And Zeus is trying very hard to please us and understand what we want from him.

Trying to understand mom

We are still working on perfecting our potty training. I have to say that the Danes got this way faster, but little Zeus has been trying very hard. He does have excited piddles if he's been home alone for too long, but he does know he has to go outside for the most part, he just has to figure out a way to tell us. Most times he just sits by a door or gate hoping we notice. I am thinking of looking into the bells that hang from the door handle to see if we can teach him that method. Just a little noise to remind us humans to help him open the door. This is the info I liked:

https://www.rover.com/blog/bell-training-dogs-really-works-heres/

Training with socializing is coming along well too. We have been meeting all kinds of people in the hopes he will get used to them. The elderly with canes or walkers, small children running and screaming in delight, adults of all ages both men and woman, and even babies in strollers. Zeus has loved meeting them all! I'm pretty sure he thinks everyone is outside just to enjoy his company. We are so happy he loves people and being social as I really want to take him to stores and festivals with me when he's a bit older. We just have to work on his pulling on the leash when he sees someone. He gets so excited to go meet them and I am working hard to teach him he can't just run across a road or park to see someone. We are also trying to socialize him with other dogs which is a little trickier. Some dogs just don't like puppies and I've noticed that when some dogs bark Zeus gets very nervous and tries to run away. We had a good meet up and walk with our best friends and their dog Archie. Zeus didn't run or play as much as I had hoped but he is still little and Archie the Goldendoodle is pretty fast when he runs. I think once Zeus gets a bit older they will be good friends as there were lots of tail wags and interest when Archie stayed still. We also had the two Dachshunds, Latte and Abby, on the walk with us which Zeus really wanted to be friends with. They still aren't too sure of him, but again, in time I'm sure they will learn to love each other. While on the walk we met another puppy, about 5 months old, a Miniature Aussie Shepherd and that meeting went very well for two pups with lots of tail wags and sniffs which gave me lots of hope for puppy classes. There has only been one mishap meeting that was between Zeus and a little French Bulldog named JP. We had walked over to the park and saw Ares friend JP in the tennis court. I thought this might be a good opportunity to introduce Zeus since JP was behind a fence and has always been ok with Ares. So I waved to the owner and we went over to say hi. The owner greeted us, and Zeus was very excited to meet her, however, JP and Zeus did not hit it off. JP barked at Zeus and that set Zeus off and the two bulldogs just started barking at each other causing such a fuss. JP's owner apologized and asked to came out of the tennis court to meet Zeus, which went great. Zeus loved saying hi and getting some pets but what neither of us noticed was that the tennis court gate didn't latch right and JP got out and came right for Zeus. Poor Zeus was so scared he went back at JP then ran to me. JP's owner and I picked the two dogs up and stopped any unwanted behaviour and gave them space. Once we had a good threshold between us and the two dogs they calmed down and we were able to talk about what happened. This whole incident had me very worried because I didn't want Zeus to take that one meeting into account when seeing other dogs and have a bad reaction towards other dogs the same way. Thankfully, so far he hasn't. And both the owner of JP and myself are still on good terms, some times dogs just don't do as we expect them too, but it doesn't mean we can't try again later on in the future. But all of this has made me all the more excited for puppy classes to get Zeus even more socialized.

Our socializing walk

Enjoying all his friends

Speaking of, we have officially signed Zeus up for lessons! We decided since he was just a puppy and we really wanted to focus on leash walking and socialization that we would just go with the basic PetSmart training instead of a private trainer like we used for Ares. A six week course cost us $129, another expense to consider when bringing a new puppy home and one I feel is very beneficial. At home we are working on Zeus' "Sit", "Stay", "Wait", and "Come" commands. He is responding very well for the most part, especially if you have a treat ready for him. We are also trying to teach him "Spin" and "Paw", both a work in progress. I had researched that puppies can be trained as early as 7 to 8 weeks of age, so I have been working for short periods of time every day to get Zeus trained with his basic commands. This website has some great info:

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/puppy-behavior-and-training-training-basics

It also amazes me how much can change in a month. Zeus and Ares are getting along much better. They still aren't bestest friends in the whole world, but Ares is engaging him in play and sharing toys. They are even sharing the back seat in the car now and keeping each other calm while driving. Ares even lets Zeus use him as a pillow after a long walk, like a good big brother should. I couldn't be happier with the progress they are making as they strengthen their bond. Zeus has also fallen into a great routine that matches Ares. They walk together, eat together, relax afterwards by chewing on a bone together, and then have an afternoon nap together before repeating the fun process with Mike. Ares does still have moments where his jealous side comes out but he is getting better about sharing his mom.

Sharing the back seat

Falling asleep on his brother

Sun tanning together

Walks to the park together

Waiting for lunch together

Sharing mom

We also have been meeting more friends (who are really more like family), so Zeus has been able to start bonding with his other Aunts and Uncles. We had a girls day where Amanda, Julie, Heather, and Ireland came over. It was hectic but lots of fun, and Zeus did great! He loved the little girl Ireland who he kept giving kisses to and she seemed to really take a liking to Zeus as well. She kept laying down and wanting Zeus to cuddle her. Ares wanted to get in on the cuddles too, but at 180 lbs I had to put a stop to that. He also did great with his Aunts and gave out lots of kisses and cuddles. Everyone seemed very taken by him and I know Zeus is in for a lifetime of love and being spoiled by the whole family.

A cute new friend

Zeus has also had his first babysitter experience. We had a wedding to attend and lucky for me my sister lives close by so she was able to come and let the dogs out and play with them for a few hours. Apparently both dogs did very well, but I was so pleased to hear that Zeus was well behaved and easy going with her as well. He kept to his routine with no issues and I feel much better about leaving him in the care of my family when needed in the future. A big shout out to my sister Julie who I am so grateful for and appreciate so much for putting my mind at ease when it comes to the new fur-baby.

This last month has been keeping us busy, the whole family, but it's been fun so far. I can't wait to see what the next month will have in store for us and what adventures we will have next!

Big Brother and Little Brother Bandanas made by the talented Kelly

Practicing our "Wait" command for a photo