14 Weeks!

Rex certainly has grown! He's been going through the wacky border collie ear stages. It will be interesting to see how they end up.

14 Weeks / 20.8 lbs.

Nikkou is still his best wrestling buddy. I love watching them play tug with a toy. I didn't think "Duck" was going to make it through in one piece this afternoon, but he's still holding strong for now.

Me getting in on the tug action this afternoon

Rex instigating a wrestling match with Nikkou

Sizzle isn't much for wrestling or being pounced and chewed on by the young upstart, but she does sometimes love to start a tearing game of chase with Rex when we're outside. She's still faster than him - for now.

Sizzle is glad she's not the chew toy this time

Rex is doing nicely with his commands. He sometimes has trouble paying attention to Sit or Down at a Wait spot (like doors), defaulting into Down. I'm working on generalizing all three to different areas and situations. He really wants to get it right.

A little stressed doing a Down-Wait in a new situation.

More relaxed.

Random Rex

1. Rex's "Indian Name" is Poop Foot. If you've raised puppies you know.
2. Rex's real name is Rex, of course. He's named after my car, an '88 Honda CRX (the car's name is Vickie, but that's another story).
3. Rex somehow worked his charm on Nikkou the Shiba Inu who puts up with all manner of obnoxious behavior on his part and loves to wrestle and chase with him.
4. Rex usually gets distracted after about 15 seconds outside peeing. He doesn't stop though, just  leaves a pee trail as he wanders off to investigate that blade of grass across the yard.
5. Rex is wild, headstrong, super smart, crazy, sweet, lovable and adorable.

Growing Pup

The first time I met Rex I picked him up, and he immediately snuggled his little head into my neck and sweetly licked me under my chin. He was just shy of 5 weeks old. When we next met, he was 7 weeks old, and I'd come to take him home. Seven week old Rex wanted nothing to do with being held. Gentle puppy licks had been replaced by darting nips with razor sharp teeth. It was normal puppy behavior, although I hadn't expected him to begin hitting the wild stage for another couple of weeks.

What do you mean it's not for chewing?

In two days Rex will turn 13 weeks old. He's still a wild child, but his sweet snuggles have returned. He still wants to chew hands and arms sometimes but can now be redirected,. The wild nips are, for the most part, gone. He knows a few of his toys by name. Chicken, duck, ball, flat toy (formerly a flat piece of sheepskin in the shape of a duck until Nikkou got to it). He fetches his ball and returns it to my hand - although he's still struggling with the concept that he has to let go of it for me to throw it again. He sits and waits to the side of his crate until I give him the okay to enter before I give him his food. Rex really loves to eat, so that's a massive amount of restraint on his part.

I love my tennis balls.

Progress. Progress is good. He's going to be a good dog.

Chicken. Before Nikkou stole it and ate one of the eyes.

My New Trainee

Service Dog Sizzle is now 8 1/2 years old. I was hoping my health would be better when the time came to start training her replacement, a process that I expect to take about 2 years, but the time is here.

My new prospect is another border collie, a young pup I've named Rex. I considered several different breeds this time around, taking into account that a larger dog would be more helpful with some tasks. In the end though, the unique character of the border collie breed outweighed (no pun intended) the benefits of a larger breed.

Right now we're mostly working on the basics of housebreaking, crate training, impulse control and recall. So far he is looking very promising.

Rex

Memory Lane

Sonia, a longhaired miniature dachshund, was a gift from my parents when I graduated from the NY School of Dog Grooming in 1991. She was my constant companion and went everywhere with me.