peregrinesprogress

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Pip saw her park friend Cocoa again (he’s a full husky almost exactly her age) and god, they’re almost the same height but he’s fully twice as wide and three times as fluffy as her!

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Big brave girl weighs 42lbs and does NOT have heartworm or lyme!

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Pip is nine months old today! The reviews are in: “remarkably good dog for a nine month old husky mix”

She started her first class with the local dog training club last week, and has been joyfully experiencing snow for several weeks now. Training class is slightly less successful so far, the only exercise she was really good at was sitting and waiting while I move around, but once we hit on the right treat to use for it I think she’ll do great.

To no one’s surprise, she loves the snow.

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Pip was so good at my parents’ house for Christmas, and even let us put a muppets sweater on her for a bit! (Then she got too warm and it had to come off)

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Yay! Pip finally got into dog school!

There’s another opening for classes with the local dog training club this Friday, so tonight we went in for an assessment to see if Pip could test out of the basic beginner class. She did great! Her focus is good for her age, they liked her leash walk and recall (although I think she could do better with leash manners). She even got a nod for her watch me and touch commands, although her greeting strangers wasn’t great. And now we’re approved to apply for “beyond beginner” as her first class!

I just hope that one doesn’t fill up in under 5 minutes like the basic does.

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There’s another opening for classes with the local dog training club this Friday, so tonight we went in for an assessment to see if Pip could test out of the basic beginner class. She did great! Her focus is good for her age, they liked her leash walk and recall (although I think she could do better with leash manners). She even got a nod for her watch me and touch commands, although her greeting strangers wasn’t great. And now we’re approved to apply for “beyond beginner” as her first class!

I just hope that one doesn’t fill up in under 5 minutes like the basic does.

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Hello, I kind of forgot I had this blog! Pip has been busy growing and chewing holes in blankets, so here’s some photos!

Her six month birthday was spent with her new best friend, Pearl:

She also finally fit into her harness at 6mo! Still loose in the chest, but close enough.

At seven months she learned to take up the ENTIRE couch with her gangly growing limbs, and saw her first snow about a week later! She was exactly as delighted as you’d expect.

And now she’s 8 months and a veteran road tripper - Chicago and back in the car, and she was an absolute champ about it even though we had to bungee a couple suitcases into her spot in the back and her space was more limited!

She now weighs 40lbs and is pictured here next to her cranky, elderly cousin Star, who does NOT want to play puppy games

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Use your own judgement on the line between a nickname and a cutesy version of their name

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Pippin’s Baby Book: 23 Weeks Old

Favorite Toy: Bargain bin camel plush (already destroyed, RIP)

Learning: Jumping up into the car (successful with hot dogs, hit and miss with other rewards)

Pip is starting to grow in fluffy pantaloons! Her tail is a bit more of a banner! But the rest of her coat remains dense yet flat. We’ll see what winter holds.

This week she got to spend a lot of time at the dog park and at the office, and her dog manners are improving a lot - she’s finally learning to back off when older dogs don’t respond to her attempts to play! She has an office friend and is letting more people pet her! She also met two pomskies at the park and adored them both

There was a big street festival in town, so we took her down to see how she would respond early in the day before it got too crowded. She did a really good job! She’s still shy of new people, but she stayed close on the leash, didn’t panic in crowded areas, and laid nicely under the table while we had a snack. I did take her home once the crowd got bigger, to make sure her visit would end on a positive note, but I was really impressed!

This week we also saw some more boundary testing, but nothing too crazy. So far she’s responded really well to corrections on things like counter surfing and nipping at clothes, and mostly doesn’t try it again after a day or two - fingers crossed it stays that way!

Pouting and chewing on her dino blanket because I wouldn’t let her bite my sleeves

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I know I’ve posted about this but I still think about the time I was a dog groomer in the middle of nowhere and that old lady called in and said she had a wolf and we were like whatever and booked her because sooo many people who say they even have wolf crosses actually just have GSD/malamute crosses or whatever so she came in and it was actually a wolf and I was like ma’am idk if I can bathe your wolf actually and she was like I told you it was a wolf and I was like I mean. That’s true you are correct this is on us. However,

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Pippin’s Baby Book: 22 Weeks Old

Favorite Toy: Himalayan yak chew, comically large collagen chew, excessively stinky fish skin chew

Learning: Really solidifying leave it, jumping up into the car

I’ll probably switch to doing these monthly once she hits 6 months, but there’s still a lot going on each week! This week our big items of note were her first non-shelter vet visit (it takes ages to get an appointment at the place we take all our animals, but they’re a really good teaching hospital with an excellent exotics department) and a tummy ache.

The two appear to be unrelated.

At the vet, she was declared to be in ideal body condition, weighed in at 30lbs, and got four vaccines and two chewable preventatives (heartworm + flea and tick). She was so brave in the office! She did have an issue when they took her in the back (since it’s a teaching hospital the senior student does the exam with us but then they consult with their instructor before doing any procedures). We were encouraged to bring her back just for treats and a walk to get her more comfortable in the office, and told that a bit of spray cheese helped when other treats didn’t!

The leaves are already turning up here, and Pip is very excited about all the crunchy snacks in the yard. And also the slugs. And a garter snake she found (I got her to leave it and it got away). And some combination of those things woke us up at 4am Friday morning when she threw up in her crate. It was too longer after the vet visit to blame meds, so at first we were concerned about a possible blockage because she hadn’t pooped much, but while one of us cleaned up her bed she did go outside and poop again. Watched her the next day and fed pumpkin and yogurt, and aside from a little lethargy she seemed fine. Stop eating slugs, puppy!

She’s finally starting to defend herself when other dogs at the park start to play a bit rough, but I’m a bit concerned that she does so with her tail tucked rather than in a more playful way, so we’ll keep monitoring to ensure that her dog park experiences stay positive. I do want her to stand up for herself instead of just rolling over at the first sign of any discomfort, but I don’t want her to start genuinely snapping at anyone.

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Pippin’s Baby Book: 21 Weeks Old

Favorite Toy: DIY flirt pole, big plush bat

Learning: Go in your house (crate time), under (same as “bench” from last week but we’re changing the cue), recall in the yard (harder than in the dog park, apparently)

She’s officially 5 months old! I’m so proud of her progress so far. When we first brought Pip home, I was afraid she’d never be able to go to new places and greet strangers because she was so fearful. Now she’s confident and comfortable in most situations, and is easily calmed in the ones that do have her a little freaked out! Her last big hurdle is a vet visit (for a basic checkup and heartworm meds) coming up soon, but I’m not anticipating any real issues with that.

She went to work with Chris for two full days this week, spent 2-3 hours in her crate three times, and handled all of that just fine. She met new people. We had a friend’s dog in the yard and they had a little bit of an altercation, but it wasn’t because of anything Pip did and I think we can bring them together again and smooth things over.

Training wise, we’ve decided to change up the cue that her teacher for class called “bench.” I don’t care what she lays under while we’re sitting somewhere like an outdoor dining area, as long as she’s under something and out of the way, so we’re changing it to “under” and treating for any lay or sit underneath legs, chair, or table. Recall in the yard remains rocky, although she’s good as gold at the dog park! We may start trying to shape a bow and spin just for fun, now that she’s got most of her basics down, but practice and proofing are never a bad thing.

All in all, I’m so proud of her and can’t wait to see how her coat and shape develop both as she grows and as the weather cools off!

Oh, and I hope by next week we’re forgiven for giving her a bath.

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Girl help my puppy has discovered the existence of the high-up shelves in my home where I put things to keep them safe from puppies. Girl help my puppy grows ever taller and with each new centimeter of height commits more crimes

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Pippin’s Baby Book: 20 Weeks Old

Favorite Toy: Tennis balls, big bat plushie

Learning: “Bench” (laying down under my legs/chair) and “peekaboo” (sitting between my feet)

Don’t let that innocent face fool you: we’re starting into adolescent “why should I” territory. She’s increasingly affectionate at home, confident elsewhere, welcoming to people coming over, and has her basic commands down - but she’s also suddenly manifested shoe stealing, counter surfing, trash investigation, and even less impulse control than she had. I was a warned about it, and with her five month birthday next week the timing is dead on expectations, but you always secretly hope it won’t actually happen, right?

She did, however, graduate puppy class this week! We even got a pic with a little graduation hat, thanks to practice ahead of time where we put a washcloth on her head repeatedly 😂 The trainer went over some useful “taking your dog out in public” behaviors at the end, so that’s what we’ll be working on for a bit alongside really proofing her recall and a good drop it/leave it. The local dog training club’s next session is in November with evaluation for higher level classes in October, so we’ve got some time before then.

We had more park time and a second play date with our friends’ dog this week, and Pippin is finally catching on to how dogs play! It looks rough, but except for one incident with a persistent poodle mix whose owner was no where to be found everyone seems to be having fun. Progress is being made on fetching balls, too, so as the weather cools and water outings get less viable she’s developing other ways to enjoy the outside.

Overall, she’s doing well! Just gotta be patient with adolescence and vigilant about countertop food to set her up for success.

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She’s not even 5 months old and already a graduate!

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Gotta find just the right toy!