Teach me and I'll teach you!

Today Tucker is 12 weeks old.  These past 4 weeks sure went by quickly!  We all have learned a lot about each other and puppy love does cast a spell to make us bond.  Who can resist those puppy dog eyes?

Last week I brought Tucker into the Vet's office to hand over his fecal (another story), bring in the shot record since we gave him his shot and also to weigh him.  At 8 weeks he was 6 pounds, 10 ounces and at 11 weeks he was 8 pounds and 8 ounces.  Nice going Tucker!  

So what have we both learned?

Tucker has learned to sleep in his crate all night long.  (Thank you....)


Tucker is learning to sit, come, wait, take it and down.  Some better and some need more practice.  Treats make it so fun.  We all chuckle at Tucker when we say "Tucker come!" as just before he gets to you he does this hysterical leap in the air.  I don't know if he thinks this is part of the come or what.  

Tucker is learning that brushing him is going to happen.  He isn't wild about the brush but we try to make it pleasant as we can.


Tucker is learning where to pee and poo though he has a ways to go.  Still he has been really good in the house but the back deck is an issue.  Well, it is outside...confusing for him I think.


What have we learned?  You can't leave the potatoes and onions in their baskets on the pantry room floor.  Who knew Tucker would have a thing for sweet potatoes.  So now I have to figure out how to deal with this because that door is always opening and it is in our kitchen where we like to let him play outside his puppy pen (after he pees /poos).  


I did set this photo op up.  I had to because it is so cute of him sneaking the sweet potato to Stewie's bed.  He does it very quietly and it is heavy that sweet potato!  Ahhhhh.....

Tucker waiting to take the sweet potato

Tucker with his prize!

We learned that you have to be on your toes to get him outside to go potty even when you just want to sit down and relax.  No ifs, and, or buts about it.


We learned that Tucker needs lots of play time of running, jumping, sniffing, and more running.  


We learned that cuddle time is very important too.


We learned that it will take time and TLC for Tucker and Stewie to get to accept each other.   Tucker wants to be a buddy really bad but Stewie is slower. 

King of the Butcher Block Island

Tucker, Tucker, Tucker....since day one he has been excited about our Butcher Block Island (BBI).  At 8 weeks he could sleep under it but had problems climbing up on the first level.  That didn't last long.  Then he would clumsily climb up on it and lay there.  Next it was the jump up.  Now he hurls himself up there and acts like he just climbed Mt. Everest!  He looks down on those upon the kitchen floor like he is the King.  Stewie has never been interested in the BBI unless something falls from the heavens above.  That's what the BBI is for.  To look up and await a gift.

Tucker hasn't learned that yet.  For now he is content to lay on the wood and look out.  Or sometimes he runs around the kitchen and flies through it with leaps and bounds.  

Did I mention that Tucker is like a big ole' Teddy Bear?  He loves to be loved with hugs and kisses, then like a little kid he is ready to rock and roll out of your arms.  Zoom!  Off to tackle toys!

Here's Stewie and Tucker sort of playing.  But really Stewie is telling Tucker that the road kill chipmunk is his.  

This is Stewie with the his look he gives Tucker a lot.  Oddly he wags his tail at the same time.  Mixed message?

Lastly a photo with Stewie and his "I would love a biscuit" look.  I like his happy face much better than the snarly one.

Play + Fun = Happy Pup!

Tucker has had much to do this past week.  He wants to be busy and active and that means Tim and I  have to think of what we can offer Tucker to do.  Chew toys are fine but outside he wants to run around and play.  He can also get into trouble by pulling up the grass which we frown upon.  He can find the smallest rocks or twigs and take off with them as well.  So what to do?

Being a herding breed, a ball was perfect.  We have this game of dog soccer where I kick the ball and Tucker follows it, stops it, and oddly enough, sometimes puts his paw on it.  Most times the ball is faster than him but he always lays down when it "stops" and "waits" to see what happens.  That means I come and kick it again and the game starts over. He can do this for quite awhile till I can tell he is "tuckered" out and we take a break.

Next I remembered we had a pop open tunnel that Ryan use to use and I brought that out.  First agility game!  He caught on to the going through the tunnel with ease.  He also likes to roll it by standing against the side and walking on his back legs.  Pretty funny to watch.  

Sometimes he crawls inside and just lays there.

 

As for Stewie....he is little by little getting use to Tucker.  He does quite a bit of the lip curl but less than he use to.  Puppies have a lot of energy and an older dog can tolerate only so much, so I do often let Stewie have his own time away from Tucker.  I do laugh at Stewie because when the puppy pen is open he does go in there and lays down on Tucker's bed.  Often bringing the puppy toys in with him.  I guess he is trying to let Tucker know it is not all his.

A question of identity...or what will I look like

Sheltie's come in different colors.  Our past Sheltie's have been sable, which as they matured, all three had dark overlay to their coats.  When I saw the write up and talked to Tucker's breeder I did not fully understand when she said he was a sable merle.  I heard sable and assumed that he would be like our past Shelties.


This is Tucker's dad who is a blue merle.

Tucker's dad Nova

His mom is sable.  So what does this mean for Tucker?  What will he look like?  He won't look like dad.  Right now he is a lighter shade of sable with some hint of shading like any other sable.  His ears give away his merle breeding, which have a silver, grey tint to them as well as some of this same shade on a bit of his tail.  Also his one eye has blue on the outer rim.  This would be a fault it I wanted to show him for confirmation which I don't intend to do.  They are not allowed to have blue eyes, yet this is what is easy to have happen in a breeding with a sable and a blue merle.  Now I have read that a breeding a blue merle to a sable is not a good thing as the potential is to have then sable merle's which doesn't seem to be what a breeder wants.  In fact I read that a blue should only be bred to a black (tri or bi).  Hhhmmmm......So I learned that and wonder then why did Tucker's breeder do this.  She obviously has bred many dogs over time and what was the goal of this litter?  Of the litter there was one blue merle (like dad), one tri, three sable merle's, and one homozygous (which is a pup almost all white, this put had a sable color head and the rest of his body white), and two sable's.  The two sable's had the coloring that I remembered from our past sheltie's with a much darker shade of sable.

An example of a sable merle

Okay, it doesn't matter to me because he is just a cutie-pie.  He has the best outgoing personality and isn't scared of anything.