Kane Chronicles – 12 weeks

Hard to believe we have had him in our lives for a month. It seems like just yesterday I was on my way to pick him up. He continues to fill our lives with love and laughter. And we are so thankful to have him.

We continue to work on the basics. Sit is offered anytime he wants something and he does it the second you say the word, lie down isn’t offered as freely but he definitely knows it and does it when asked. Wait is still a work in progress, he can do it, but the word confuses him. So we are working on him doing it and rewarding it without a word. The word will come.

Kennel training is being worked on daily, he runs to his kennel as soon as you mention the word, wonders in and out numerous times throughout the day but still spends a bit of time crying once he is in it and alone. This emphasizes how important kennel training is to having a well balanced dog that doesn’t struggle with separation anxiety when he is older. It’s hard to be consistent with it when I am working from home, but because I understand how important it is we will continue until he is completely content in his kennel (and can be trusted unsupervised).  I can’t stress how important it is to have a kennel trained puppy. It helps then when they are at the groomer, or the vet clinic, or if they ever need to be boarded. Most importantly it helps them be calm and relaxed when you aren’t there. I don’t know how many dogs that we saw that had some level of separation anxiety when I worked in clinic, but even one is one too many. If you are one of the many people that got a new puppy during this pandemic and are working from home please make sure you set your puppy up for success by making sure he is kennel trained and is left alone some of the time. It will make your life so much better once your dog is older and life gets back to normal.