Update

Toby is now 19 weeks old and getting big. Last week when we were at the vet he was 30 lbs and 20 inches tall. He is a goof ball and is constantly making me laugh, and constantly getting into puppy trouble (like counter surfing, and trying to chew everything cuz he's still teething).

We have been taking a petsmart puppy class and he is doing well. His list of commands is growing every day. They include: sit, leave it, an emergency recall to a whistle, and drop it. We are still working on down, come, loose leash walking, and wait. These are ones we have covered in class but he is still working on getting. We have 3 more weeks of this class.

Yesterday I got a call from the service dog school, and although they haven't gone through our application in detail, they don't see any reason we cant start soon. They like pups to be 6 months old before they start, but they were going to check with the trainer and see if we could start a little early (their next class starts May 6, and Toby will be 5 months old). If not, a month or so isn't that long to wait and it will give us time to keep working on his basics. Very excited/nervous.

Leash Training and Sit

Yesterday we had a lazy day around the house and decided to work on Toby's Sit. He picked it up right away, figuring out that sitting on command earns him yummies (he's now settled in enough to figure out treats are good)!

Last night we went to Petsmart with our friend Faith and her doggies, the greys, Rocket and Cassie, and our friend the Crested, Stella. We worked on leash walking, our sits, and leave it. Toby did GREAT! I'm so proud of my little man. He is even figuring out that mom wants the leash to stay loose, or he doesn't get to keep moving forward. He's such a smart cookie.

He's here!

On March 22, I brought home Toby, my new pup, who will one day be my PSD. He is an Apricot Standard Poodle and will be 16 weeks on April 4th. I was worried I would have a hard time choosing between him and his brother, but he made the choice easy, he choose me!

He is settling in nicely, we havent had any accidents so far, and he is getting along with his "sister" Zoe just fine. He is learning to respond to his name (the breeder was calling him "Turbo" so its not too far off). He is a very laid back dog, just taking everything so far in stride.

He had a play date last night with my best friend's Chinese Crested Pup, Stella and he had a blast, and this morning he went for a car ride to drop Ninja off at daycare and he was so good and just layed in the back nicely.

I'm still trying to figure out what is going to be the best way to train him and get his attention, as he doesnt seem to be food/treat motivated, and I've never had a dog that wasnt totally into yummies before. He likes praise, but I'm not sure how to get his attention in order to teach the commands...I'm sure we'll figure something out though, he's a very smart boy, and we seem to be bonding well. He follows me around where ever I go, and if we are outside he checks in frequently to make sure I am still "where he left me". Right now he's asleep with his head on my feet.

My goal for this week is to expose him to as many new people as I can, and try to get him used to his leash. He still needs one more round of puppy shots before I take him out to too many places where dogs have been though.