Puppy Update Week 3: The Curious Case of The Great Houdini Puppy

Luna rarely cries in her kennel if you can believe it. At night she settles right in as if she's content to rest. Her and Cleo keep a pretty high level of activity so at bedtime she's pretty pooped. She does however have a tough time making it through the night consistently without having to go potty. A couple of times a week she will wake up and cry to go outside to do her business. If we take her out she's pees right away and goes quietly back to bed in her kennel. If we ignore her we wake up to a wet kennel. Some nights she sleeps till morning without waking to go potty.

Monday night at 2pm Luna began crying in her kennel. I woke up and practically sleep walked down the hall in to the spare room, plucked her from her kennel and stumbled out into the moonlight to let her do her business.  She pee'd and in we went. I snuggled her for a moment before returning her to her kennel and off I went back to sleep. At 6am Jim got up and we heard Luna cry. Jim opened the door and to his surprise Luna was sitting in the hallway outside our door!! Eek!!! I must not have locked her cage properly or she pulled a Houdini and busted out. I have a feeling I just didn't lock her cage well enough. So either she stayed in her kennel till morning or had full run of the house for 4 hours. Guess we'll never know. But she didn't go potty anywhere and didn't destroy anything. But I definitely got the stink eye from Jim all morning. Oops! Lol.

Luna is now 10 weeks old. She has doubled in size and is beginning to get leggy. Now that she's taller she can get into Cleo's food bowl and its been quite a challenge trying to keep her out of Cleo's kibble and vice versa. Cleo has developed a propensity for puppy chow. Luna has also picked up an assortment of nicknames. She's been dubbed Luna Lu, Lu Lu and my personal favorite Short Round which is what Indiana Jones called his kid sidekick in the Temple of Doom. It was my favorite movie when I was 7. In fact one time in second grade I had to stand in the corner because I wouldn't stop humming the Indiana Jones theme song in Mrs. Silverman's reading class.

We also gave Luna a restrained live chukar this week. She had been excited about the dead one we gave her the week before but this was so much more exciting for her. We made sure it was restrained so it couldn't pop her in face with a wing.

Jim took the chukar and would drag it about 8 or 10 feet without Luna seeing it. We would watch her start to use her nose and pretty soon she would find it. You could actually see her using her natural abilities. It was pretty neat to witness.

Jim dispatched the chukar and used it for fetch with Cleo. The last couple of times she retrieved in the field she would readjust halfway back to Jim so he wanted to use a freshly killed chukar to throw for her. She did great and did not drop it at all. Jim also threw the dead chukar out for Luna to see what she would do and she would bring it back. It was so cute.

Cleo retrieving

Little Luna bringing the chukar to Jimmy

Cleo has training this weekend. We have alot of work to start on to get her ready for her UT test this fall. It will also be fun to get Luna started too once she is a bit older. I'm amazed at how much I love having two dogs. 

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Puppy Update: Week Two

Today Luna is officially 9 weeks old. At this stage she is changing so much day to day. She is now responding to her name and understands what "no" means. She has learned if you smack the back door you get to go out. If you smack it on the other side you get to come in. She waits to be let out of her kennel now and has started to grasp the concept of having to wait before being fed. She has learned an immense amount in the last 14 days.

Getting leggy

It definitely helps Luna that she has a big sister to emulate and follow around. She always wants to do whatever Cleo is doing. Luckily for us she has stepped up to the plate and really seems to be loving her new role. Since it was so hot today Cleo pied pippered the little one into the doggie pool. Jim and I sat back and watched Luna climb in and out herself. It was beyond cute to watch. We were sure not to fill it up to high. We don't want to over do it but judging by her reaction she's gonna like the water.

I'm sure Luna is thinking....What is that stuff?? I want that ball.

Luna gets pretty sassy with Cleo. She climbs all over her, chews on her nose and face, pulls on her ears. What amazes me the most is how Cleo lets her do it. Those little puppy teeth hurt! I have actually questioned on more than one occasion if this puppy is part vampire. But Cleo doesn't seem to mind. She is actually quite patient with her. God bless her, I wouldn't put up with half the crap she does. 

Puppy romp!

Luna's confidence is growing every day. She is getting more bold but she is still a sweet and mellow puppy. I'm so glad we made the decision to get her, she has added so much to our lives already.  

Training Day with Hickory Run and Luna's intro to birds!

Spinone 

It's always nice spending time with like minded individuals. People who love their hunting dogs to a pseudo unhealthy level and would rather spend their weekend in the field helping both friends and strangers accomplish their sporting dog goals. Jim and I spent a good portion of our day yesterday with the fine folks from the Hickory Run Chapter of NAVHDA doing just this.

Look at that Weim face!

We trained at a state gamelands location in Foegelsville, PA which is not far from where we live. Cleo had a beneficial day getting to work birds in a new location. She stayed steady through the shot and fall on all of her birds without Jim whoaing her or saying a word. It was especially gratifying that both birds were running and she never budged. Her retrieves were less then perfect with her stopping halfway to re-adjust before delivering them to hand. So its back to the table but overall she had a nice day in the field. We brought 8 week old Luna with us as it gave her some socialization with other people. She did great with everyone holding and loving her.

Cleo on point

Retrieving a chukar

As always it was a pleasure getting to see other gun dog breeds work. I was rather surprised at the number of Griffon Hair Pointers in attendance not just in our group but the other group as well. There was also weimeraners and spinones in addition to GSP's.

A Griff at work

A lovely Weim doing her thing

After we left the training day we introduced little Luna to her first Chukar! We decided to give her a dead chukar that had been shot over her big sister earlier in the day. She loved it. She buried her nose into it, picked it up, shook it and would trot around with it in her mouth. Jim and I would take it and throw it a few feet and she would hop after it and bring it right back. A few times Jim would toss it without allowing Luna to see where it went and after a few seconds she would sniff about and go and find it. It was awesome to watch the gears turning!

A little headshake

Nom Nom Nom....

The retrieve!

We originally wanted to introduce her to quail but due to bird shortages all we could get were chukars. In the next week or so we will give her a restrained live Chukar. Here are a few pics of Luna walking through the state games lands.

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Puppy Update: One Week In

Well so far so good. We have officially had Luna for 8 days. A lot has transpired in the past week, some of it expected, some of it a surprise but regardless its all been a good experience. First and foremost Luna is really sweet and borderline laid back. When Cleo was this age she was like lightening in a bottle. Her personality has really made the transition from one dog to two dogs much easier than expected. She does not cry at night when kenneled, she does her business the second you take her outside and she learns really fast. She definitely has her she-devil moments but they are rather amusing and mostly brought on by her big sister.

Cleo and Luna's relationship has gone through quite a few stages in the past week. Everything I had read   about introducing a new puppy to an older dog discussed having them meet in a neutral location, then move them to your yard and then finally into your house blah blah blah. Yea...maybe in a perfect world but not at 9:00pm on a Tuesday night when its kinda cruddy out. We brought puppy in, put her on a doggie bed and let them check each other out. Cleo was pretty excited with her short tail wagging. It wasn't until the following afternoon when she realized this pup was here to stay did the silent treatment begin followed closely by the cold shoulder. First she wouldn't let me pet her and only gave me the look. She also refused to acknowledge Luna's existence. After three days she became overly lovey with me and would sit near the pup but god forbid the pup touched her. But each day after it got better with yesterday being our breakthrough day.

This is what they have been doing the last 20 minutes while I have been on the computer

Sorry if the video is kind of cruddy. Cleo will lay there and let the pup chew on her face and ears. She will bring her toys and encourage her to play. Cleo has really come around. They do need to be monitored though since Cleo is so much bigger than her. But so far so good!

Chilling in the yard

In the last week Luna has gained 3 pounds and now tips the scales at 12.5 lbs! She has such an appetite! She has also been managing the stairs on the deck well and has learned to not chase the cats. Puppy lesson #246....mess with the cats and they light you up like Christmas. She also learned puppy lesson #52....running into glass sliding doors hurts your little puppy face. 

I'll leave you with one more snugly sleep picture. Be sure to follow us on facebook at Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer. This weekend we will be heading to a Hickory Run NAVHDA Chapter training day and I'm sure I'll have a ton of pics and stories to share so stop back! 

The Elusive Easter Pointer returns

The Elusive Easter Pointer returned this year, this time blessing us with a basket full of cute and spunky puppy. Luna may be a puppy but she still runs and hops like a silly rabbit.

She may look adorable in this pic but don't be fooled as she is chewing the heck out of that funky green fur.  She'd happily rip it to pieces and drag around all the carnage if you let her. But her drive to chew things is what kept her in the basket long enough for me to photograph her. Cleo on the other hand wanted those ears off her head.

Who needs Easter candy when there are sticks to be chewed?

Enjoy your Easter holiday weekend. Remember if your good all year the Easter Pointer may bring you plentiful amounts of grouse, woodcock and ducks next April.

Nobelles Dances in the Moonlight - Call name Luna

I'm proud to show off our newest addition. Her name is Nobelle's Dances in the Moonlight and we shall call her Luna. She is a full blood sister to our other Nobelles GSP Cleo. Little Luna is 7 weeks old and isn't that little at all! When Cleo was 8 weeks she weighed 7.4lbs. Luna is a chunky monkey tipping the scales at 9.4lbs! But she is just about the sweetest little thing I have ever laid eyes on. We picked her up last night from her breeder Bob Corsaro, in Ridgewood, NJ.

Cleo Puppy Pic when she was 8 weeks old

Luna Puppy Pic from today at 7 weeks! She's a tank...and to think Cleo weighs 61 lbs now. 

We got her home and gave her some time to do her business outside before bringing her in and introducing her to big sis Cleo. Luna was a tad bit shy which is to be expected. I was really pleased with Cleo's reaction as she was very gentle with her and excited. Lots of Cleo tail wagging.

Playtime outside today!

We fed Luna and watered her after she settled in and then we stayed up to give her plenty of time to digest before taking her back outside to do more business which she did. I have to say it really broke my heart when we kenneled her up for the night. We expected her to cry and whine like Cleo did when she was a pup but Luna was asleep and snuggled in before the cage door was closed and locked. She never made a peep all night. She was actually still asleep this morning when we got up at 6:30 to check in on her.

Luna crashed out on the couch after a long day today....love the tongue

Such snuggly sweetness!

I think Luna had an awesome first day with her new family. She spent most of it tromping around the yard after her big sis. She hops like a rabbit and falls over like a drunken sailor. It warms your heart really.

Cleo keeping a close watch

Jim and I managed to work it out that one of us will be home with her all the time until Wednesday. So we will get in lots of bonding and loving time. We also have lots of time planned to just spend with Cleo who is being a champ about the new living situation.