Ben's 2nd Week

While Ben loves to write his own blog, I am going to be sure and write some posts too. I want to make sure I am doing several things. Thanking people who are helping us on the doggy odyssey, documenting Ben's life, and providing some information about our struggles and successes so others may feel they are not alone.

First, I again want to thank the Homeward Bound people. You make such  difference in the lives of the dogs, and people you help save. Please if you are reading Ben's blog and are looking for a dog or can help them in any way, please do. Today is the end of the second week since we have had Ben.

When we picked Ben up, he was just starting his 8th week of life and weighed about 7 pounds. He was all puppy clumsy and excited. What he has never been is nervous or anxious. This I attribute to his mother's calm demeanor. Nothing has fazed him. Dishwasher, clothes washer, dryer, disposal, vacuum, cars, people, cats, squirrels, he is a very balanced puppy. This has made for a great start to getting him running with our pack.


As he is not constantly fighting these outside items, this allows him to focus on what he should be doing. The two key areas we are focusing on right now are potty training and play biting.

Potty training is going well, WHEN he is crated for enough time for him to have a real urge. He does tend to squat and leave very small amount at odd times if he is out of his crate for awhile. He is starting to go to the door when he has an urge to go which is great! I haven't connected the doggy dots in his brain yet to know why sometimes he chooses option carpet.

Play biting is a big item with Ben. He has a strong prey drive, so anything moving is alive to him and he wants to get his mouth on it. Pant cuffs, shoe strings, hands, feet, shirts and scarves. This is a daily struggle, but he is much better, and gets better everyday. Sometimes making sure he has something to chew helps, and sometimes not. I believe the key thing here is the difference between teething and play biting. He is teething a lot, but that doesn't really effect his nipping, unless he is being help for awhile.

So Ben is now 9 weeks old and 10.5 pounds as of this morning. Growing like a weed and getting cuter everyday...if that is possible.