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On Wednesday, May 8th, a 10 week old sable male Papillon puppy came to live with me. His name is Balki. He is not registered yet, but his registered name will be "Gold on the Ark", in honor of my Tag and all my pets who have come before him.
Balki came from a breeder in Illinois, who was so easy and pleasant to work with. We've discussed the Papillon breed and husbandry and I felt very comfortable bringing a puppy home from her. I was unable to make the 13+ hour round trip, so she recommended a transport company called Delifurry. I give them 5/5 stars. They were SO easy to work with, and made the process as simple and uncomplicated as possible. They began a group text between the driver, the breeder, and myself the day of transport and sent updates and videos throughout the trip so everyone was informed as to how things were going. If you're looking for a pet transport company for any reason, I cannot recommend them enough!
I told the breeder I wanted a milder mannered cuddly male to offset Livie's energy and intensity, and that's what I've got. He's also excellent overnight and sleeps in an ex pen and doesn't make a peep. And unlike Livie--he's very quiet!
Livie absolutely loves him. She warmed to him faster than he warmed to her. Sarah took to him almost immediately, but reminds him to mind his manners.
"OK, kid, I get it. You love me. Just remember to tow the line!"
Lila is not impressed, but she is not afraid. She's just annoyed, but has the majority of the house as he's in an ex pen if I'm not supervising him 100%. He is very submissive around the cats and incredibly respectful of them. (He saves ALL that play biting for me!
)
We're dealing with typical puppy stuff. Play biting, house training, etc. For play biting, I am redirecting to a toy which is easy (puppies have very short attention spans). For house training, I'm doing what I did with Livie--preventing accidents by using ex pens and baby gates, keeping the litter box(es) near, and praising and saying "Go pee" whenever he goes, so he learns what that means. Having a dog pee on command is so nice if you're going somewhere and need them to go NOW, or if it's very cold outside and you don't want to stand outside and freeze.
A day or so ago, he had an accident on the floor and I swooped in with a gentle "no no no". I picked him up, and his ears drooped and he sighed. To me, that means he doesn't understand what I want yet so he doesn't have as much freedom to move so far away from his boxes, as he has no real bladder control at his age. My goal is to prevent as many accidents as possible so I have more and more things to reward.
His set up. Room to move around and play, but, with the help of an attractant spray, making the right choice on where to potty is easy for him. And lots of praise and treats help too! He still occasionally has an accident outside of the box, but, if I find a mess I clean it up with Nature's Miracle without a word. No puppy (or kitten) understands punishment for an accident they had 10 minutes ago.
He's also learning impulse control. I hold a treat in my closed fist and let him sniff, paw, and nibble at it without being able to get the treat. When he stops and looks at me, I open my palm and let him have the treat. Eventually, he'll see a treat in my hand, or dropped on the floor, and rather than grabbing it he should sit and look at me. This is a literal life saver if something like Tylenol would accidentally get dropped on the floor.
He's also being reinforced for following me in the yard, which he does very well on his own. Tonight, he followed Livie through a full sized tunnel! He didn't mind the odd footing and played in it awhile. I was impressed!
I have not used a clicker with him yet. I was waiting to see any signs of jealousy or problems with Livie, and was waiting to use the clicker with her if I would need to work with her. I wanted a clicker to be a foreign meaningless noise to him if that were the case, but, I don't think it's going to be a problem. The clicker will come out this week and he will learn what it means.
We will play a game called "Choose to heel". You take your puppy off leash to a secure area, and let them do whatever they want. Walk around and be boring. At some point, puppy will come to you and you shape them to find heel position on their own without forcing or luring them. When they understand the position, you can walk, run, turn, and they will work to stay in heel position...all on their own will as there are no leashes used in this game.
Balki has met men of different sizes/shapes, women, cats, and a few friendly small dogs since he's been here. He has gone to work for 10-15 minutes at a time with me, and knows what a crate is. He has his teeth looked at every day or so, and has had his nails trimmed by me once. He's a sweet puppy who has a nice combination of silly and happy, and sweet and mellow.
He's a wonderful addition to our house.
More to follow...
Balki came from a breeder in Illinois, who was so easy and pleasant to work with. We've discussed the Papillon breed and husbandry and I felt very comfortable bringing a puppy home from her. I was unable to make the 13+ hour round trip, so she recommended a transport company called Delifurry. I give them 5/5 stars. They were SO easy to work with, and made the process as simple and uncomplicated as possible. They began a group text between the driver, the breeder, and myself the day of transport and sent updates and videos throughout the trip so everyone was informed as to how things were going. If you're looking for a pet transport company for any reason, I cannot recommend them enough!
I told the breeder I wanted a milder mannered cuddly male to offset Livie's energy and intensity, and that's what I've got. He's also excellent overnight and sleeps in an ex pen and doesn't make a peep. And unlike Livie--he's very quiet!
Livie absolutely loves him. She warmed to him faster than he warmed to her. Sarah took to him almost immediately, but reminds him to mind his manners.
"OK, kid, I get it. You love me. Just remember to tow the line!"
Lila is not impressed, but she is not afraid. She's just annoyed, but has the majority of the house as he's in an ex pen if I'm not supervising him 100%. He is very submissive around the cats and incredibly respectful of them. (He saves ALL that play biting for me!
)We're dealing with typical puppy stuff. Play biting, house training, etc. For play biting, I am redirecting to a toy which is easy (puppies have very short attention spans). For house training, I'm doing what I did with Livie--preventing accidents by using ex pens and baby gates, keeping the litter box(es) near, and praising and saying "Go pee" whenever he goes, so he learns what that means. Having a dog pee on command is so nice if you're going somewhere and need them to go NOW, or if it's very cold outside and you don't want to stand outside and freeze.
A day or so ago, he had an accident on the floor and I swooped in with a gentle "no no no". I picked him up, and his ears drooped and he sighed. To me, that means he doesn't understand what I want yet so he doesn't have as much freedom to move so far away from his boxes, as he has no real bladder control at his age. My goal is to prevent as many accidents as possible so I have more and more things to reward.
His set up. Room to move around and play, but, with the help of an attractant spray, making the right choice on where to potty is easy for him. And lots of praise and treats help too! He still occasionally has an accident outside of the box, but, if I find a mess I clean it up with Nature's Miracle without a word. No puppy (or kitten) understands punishment for an accident they had 10 minutes ago.
He's also learning impulse control. I hold a treat in my closed fist and let him sniff, paw, and nibble at it without being able to get the treat. When he stops and looks at me, I open my palm and let him have the treat. Eventually, he'll see a treat in my hand, or dropped on the floor, and rather than grabbing it he should sit and look at me. This is a literal life saver if something like Tylenol would accidentally get dropped on the floor.
He's also being reinforced for following me in the yard, which he does very well on his own. Tonight, he followed Livie through a full sized tunnel! He didn't mind the odd footing and played in it awhile. I was impressed!
I have not used a clicker with him yet. I was waiting to see any signs of jealousy or problems with Livie, and was waiting to use the clicker with her if I would need to work with her. I wanted a clicker to be a foreign meaningless noise to him if that were the case, but, I don't think it's going to be a problem. The clicker will come out this week and he will learn what it means.
We will play a game called "Choose to heel". You take your puppy off leash to a secure area, and let them do whatever they want. Walk around and be boring. At some point, puppy will come to you and you shape them to find heel position on their own without forcing or luring them. When they understand the position, you can walk, run, turn, and they will work to stay in heel position...all on their own will as there are no leashes used in this game.
Balki has met men of different sizes/shapes, women, cats, and a few friendly small dogs since he's been here. He has gone to work for 10-15 minutes at a time with me, and knows what a crate is. He has his teeth looked at every day or so, and has had his nails trimmed by me once. He's a sweet puppy who has a nice combination of silly and happy, and sweet and mellow.
He's a wonderful addition to our house.
More to follow...
You might just be the cutest little puppy I've ever seen.
Your sweet demeanor is going to make you a big hit with your mama and furry family members. I can't wait for updates and plan to be one of your biggest fans. I'll be anxiously waiting for more pics in the days ahead. 
Carleton is slowing down and it's become more noticeable so I understand what you're going through.
We think he's either 14 or 15, maybe even 16 like Sarah.
It should be your Christmas card this year.
