It’s been more than a month since we lost Poe and gained a posse. Time for an update.
We’ve memorialized the best boy with a shrine of sorts. I haven’t known many dogs who’ve deserved that type of treatment, but Poe certainly does. Every day when I enter my yoga space, his smiling face greets me, and his spirit continues to inspire me to patience, understanding, and peace.
I miss him every day.
Our posse keeps us on our toes. They turned 13 weeks old Friday, September 13, and they’ve hit a few milestones. They’ve already outgrown the crate we got second-hand. They’ve gotten their first collars with official tags. They had their second vet under our watch, and a lot has changed in the month since they came into our home. I’ll be anthropomorphizing quite a bit here, y’all, and I offer no apologies on that. These dogs have personality!
Skill evaluation is on a 1-10 scale reflecting percentage of times the skill is exhibited on command. Enjoy!
Amos
I’ll start with our big boy, who has proved to be the most obedient and the quickest learner. Amos’s defining personality trait so far is being a sweetie pie. He likes to snuggle and sit in laps, which proves challenging because he’s already a pretty big dog. He did NOT like his collar, and he moped around for about 24 to 48 hours about it. He tried to rub it off, chew it off, and even attempted to entice his brother and sister to pull it off. For a couple of days he would run slightly sideways, stop to scratch at it, and then run awkwardly again to demonstrate how it was hindering him from his normal performance. He did not approve of this new arrangement.
Since then, however, he’s accepted his membership in this pack and even taken on a leadership role. Unfortunately, his leadership is more in the form of mastering everything first, and quickly, and then sitting smugly by his human as the other two continue their shenanigans. I can confirm from experience that this is not the best way to win friends and influence people.
Weight: 17 pounds
Going outside (instead of inside!) -- 9.5
Come -- 10
Sit -- 9
Stay -- 8
Down -- 10
Dude
Dude got his name because he was completely chill about the car ride home when we got him. He’s generally lived up to it by being completely nonchalant about almost everything he does. He comes when called, but slowly. He sits, but when he wants to. He’ll stop doing what you don’t want him to do, but only after a few more seconds of doing it. “I’ll do what you want, man, but only because I want to.” Dude was the first to understand he should go to the door when he needs to go outside, suggesting that he too has an aversion to peeing on the rug.
He’s really come out of his shell since that first week. He was very distant at first, so a little extra cuddling was in order to get him to relax. He’s also grown the most in height, mostly legs.
Weight: 15.5 pounds
Going outside -- 9.5
Come -- 8
Sit -- 8
Stay -- 5
Down -- 6
Andi
Our girl is a scrappy little thing, and we’re realizing she’s the instigator of most of the shenanigans. She almost always starts the Puppy Wrestling Federation action. She’s fearless, and she’s always the first to raise the alarm about any unusual activity. FedEx truck: Bark! Dad driving up in the ranger: Bark bark! Sam, the neighbor’s dog (and Poe’s best friend): Bark bark bark! She is learning to stop when we say OK; we want them to sound the alarm when there is truly a reason.
Andi watches her brothers for guidance. Sometimes she follows Amos, which means she’ll come when called. Sometimes she follows Dude, which means she ignores commands and does everything to keep him distracted so he does, too. Andi does let us know when she needs to go outside by waking us up. Unfortunately, it’s usually at 5:30 a.m.
Weight: 13 pounds
Going outside -- 9
Come -- 8
Sit -- 8
Stay -- 6
Down -- 7
A month in, and we’re making a lot of progress. They seem to like us and our place. They’ve learned (mostly) not to get into the flower beds and garden. They socialize well with people and other dogs, and they don’t act aggressively at all. They’re eating well and don’t seem to be picky about their food. In fact, they seem to think almost anything is food, including cut grass, flowers, trees, and mulch.
They’re getting more adventurous as well. We’re training them on their perimeter, but we have 25 acres and a lot of interesting places. The creek that runs into our pond is a favorite spot for muddy play, and the woods have all kinds of interesting smells and critters. Watching them grow up on this place is going to be a joy. And a challenge.
Challenges are just what I like.
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