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Dukes Diary

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25.01.2022 Welcome little Duke to our pack! Duke is a 9 week old Mastiff x Bull Arab X Wolfhound yes, I am guessing he is going to be a big boy! I thought it would be fun and hopefully interesting to post a daily / weekly activity with some training thrown in and of course some cute pictures. Day 1... We went to have a look at a litter of pups that had been advertised and when we arrived there was 9 puppies running around outside, through fences and into long grass, sleeping under a table here and hiding behind a bonnet over there. The young lady selling them greeted us and she was lovely. She called the pups and they all came running from everywhere. I sat on the floor and called the puppies and this little guy now known as Duke came running up and plonked in my lap. He sat there looking up at me and rested his head on my chest. What a little spunk. Soon after he got up and ran off with his brothers, so I waited for a little bit and then I called all the puppies again and back came Duke and he sat in my lap. He chose me, actually I think he completely manipulated me! Home he came in a box on my lap and the next few hours for the little guy where pretty full on. He met his big sisters Molly (Mastiff x) and Wilma (Rottweiler) through a puppy pen. Molly was smitten, Wilma not so much. We kept them apart for the afternoon and evening, they could see and smell and touch each other through the wire puppy pen, Molly fell asleep with her nose against the puppy pen, Wilma sat off to the distance and didn’t look impressed. I took Duke outside constantly, waiting for him to go to the toilet, he just ran around trying to find his siblings and mum, it was a little hard to see as the poor little guy didn’t know where he was and all the new smells, just these two big dogs and two people he hadn’t met before. Night one was gold! I put him in a crate next to my bed and he was a little sooky before going to sleep but he slept all the way through I kept waking up to check on him, but I think the poor little thing was exhausted. First thing in the morning (5am) he woke up and I took him for a walk around the garden and he went to the toilet, so pleased with the little man.

20.01.2022 Day 9, another fun day with the pup, of course, he is still doing things I’d prefer he didn’t like hanging off my dressing gown when I am trying to walk or stealing the shoes, but it’s all part of being a puppy and showing him what he should be doing instead. Poor Molly has taken to jumping on the couch or going out the dog door when she has had enough of Duke at the moment he isn’t big enough to follow her onto the couch and I haven’t shown him how to use the dog door y...et, so she has an out if she needs it. Wilma just growls at him if she has had enough, and a Rottie growl says all it needs to. I am sure he is getting bigger every morning! It was photo day today with the big girls how cute! I will take another one in a few weeks and see the difference in size. Duke is such a great distraction from what’s going on in the world, and I have a list a mile long of what I would like to do, but somehow the day disappears quickly when you have a pup! See more

17.01.2022 Once she found it - she decided to bury it again! Funny dog :)

15.01.2022 Day 4 does anyone want a puppy?? Just joking, he is here for keeps but we didn’t have a good night. Still trying to work out his routines and what each whine or whinge means sometimes I get it right and sometimes not. We have mainly been working on his toilet training. I take him outside when he first wakes up and after each meal and again if he has been playing for a while. Last night at 3am he woke, and I took him outside, but he wouldn’t go to the toilet for anythin...g! He seemed to be hungry, so I gave him some food but still he wasn’t happy, so I got a carrot out of the fridge and he gnawed on that for a while. I think his teeth are sore. He has also started biting my fingers and he bit my chin when I was sitting with him. One of his favourite tricks is to grab my dressing gown when I am walking or my towel when I am trying to dry my hair! But that is puppies. He is teething and exploring oooh I just caught him stealing my thong (shoe!), cheeking little thing. See more

13.01.2022 Day 8 Ohhh I love my dogs! Wilma and Duke decided to help me weed the sand pit this morning. Duke loves to dig and Wilma is the queen at digging they had so much fun together and got so dirty but it was just what I needed and I had fun watching them. Got some super cute video of them together. They were all so tired after digging and playing in the sand. I had to give Duke a little wash which he wasn’t a fan of at all! Some dogs like to dig so it is great to have a big sandpit so they can dig to their hearts content.

12.01.2022 One of the funniest things I have seen in the last couple of days was the big girls playing with toys. They haven’t really been that interested in toys in general but since Duke is here and he is loving toys, both Wilma and Molly have become very keen to take his toys and play with them. The other day, Molly took his new squeaky football off him, a few minutes later, Wilma had it and disappeared outside. I stood and watched her, and she buried the squeaky football dug a... nice big hole and covered it! I meant to go fetch it the next day but forgot so this afternoon I went looking for it and couldn’t find it. So, I called Molly and Wilma over to the area and played the find it game. I kept saying Find the football and lo and behold Wilma went and dug it up (watch the video). She was so proud of herself; she ran around for a while and then went and buried it somewhere else! What is that about? See more

10.01.2022 Day 3 We had some time in the garden today, wasn’t that fun! Whilst my 4-year-old Rottweiler, Wilma, helped dig some holes and then ran away when the rake came out, little Duke decided he wanted to bite and chase the rake and play with sticks and eat leaves, I even got some video of him running around with a big stick!. Lucky, I know how to start desensitising him to the rake, just stopped making it move. I didn’t get much raking done but we started on some training. Today ...we also spent a lot of time playing. I made the mistake with Wilma my Rottie when she was a pup, I went straight into the obedience, she was great at her commands, but we didn’t play alot. This little guy is going to get a lot of play and engagement. He sits and waits for his food and I am using words when we go to the toilet, or I get him to follow me, but I want our focus to be on puppy fun for the time being. See more

08.01.2022 Day 11 15 Wow, this week has flown by and I haven’t posted any updates why? Because this little munchkin is a busy bee! He is always into something or picking on his big sisters to play. Yesterday he decided to taste some mozzie coils, I don’t think he liked the taste, but he broke them into little pieces anyway! He has really taken a shine to Molly’s beautiful forgiving nature and snuggles up to her when he needs a rest and some comfort. There has been a couple of toilet mishaps in the house. My fault I didn’t see the signs, he also isn’t a fan of going outside at night especially if it is raining.

06.01.2022 Day 2 Today we had him out with Molly and Wilma. He was a little wary at first, but Molly was quite happy to interact with him. As he got more confident, he went up to Wilma and got in her face, she gave him a little snap and growl and he quickly realised where he stood with her. As the day progressed Wilma engaged more with him but on her terms. I actually think they will be good play mates when he gets a little bigger. Today I introduced Duke to a cow’s hoof. He l...oved it, it was very cute watching him carry it around and then have a good chew on it when he needed. As soon as his back was turned, Magician Molly snuck away with it overnight Duke woke at about 1am and we went outside, and he went to the toilet straight away, he wanted to play when he came back in, but I put him in the crate next to my bed and he settled pretty quickly. See more

05.01.2022 Day 5, Overnight I decided to try something a little different with Duke, when he woke up in the middle of the night and had a little grizzle I decided to just settle him and not take him out to the toilet. It worked! I knew he had done a wee right before bed and I have seen him hold on overnight on the first night so I thought I would just see if he would go back to sleep and he did. Yay! Today we played a lot of fetch, he is really interested in balls and squeaky toys, so I am teaching him to give it back, he is a big fan of the wrestle and tug of war, but I am trying not to encourage this too much. I have noticed Duke is also becoming a bit more independent. He has been stuck like glue to me when he is awake, but today he was happy for me to go out of sight every now and then, all steps in the right direction.

04.01.2022 Day 10 - Duke figured out how to use the stairs, I purposely hadn’t shown him as I was happy for him to go up and down our ramp into the house, but no, he decided if the big girls could use the stairs so could he. He is currently trying to work out the doggie doors, I have shown him a couple of times, but I am interested to see him work it out.

03.01.2022 Day 7. How funny, as a dog trainer I have access to so many different toys and treats and what is Duke’s favourite? Toilet rolls, leaves and an old pillowcase! I rotate the toys around, so he doesn’t get bored of the ones that are there. We played some more fetch today and Duke is getting better at giving his toys back to me. Wilma and Duke are playing a lot more, I have to supervise as Wilma doesn’t realise just how big she is, she pawed at him in play and it was like a... smackdown, it didn’t faze him though he got back up and went back for me. Interestingly, our ever-tolerant Molly has had enough of him hanging off her face, she has started to growl a little and has gently snapped at him a couple of times. Nothing wrong with that, she is telling him what is ok and what isn’t. I have just had to put a bigger collar on him, he is growing so fast. I have started using a lead to walk him around a bit, more from getting him used to it rather than worried about where he is. So far, his recall (coming back to me) has been great. When the lead is on, he has been chewing on it and trying to play tug of war. I am fortunate to know what to do I have a puppy chain lead rather than a material one - it isn’t as nice to chew, and I use a couple of treats to distract him from the lead when we go for a walk. I don’t go very far, up and down the driveway, just enough to get him used to it. Plenty of time to go for long walks on lead.

03.01.2022 Day 6. Very exciting, Wilma and Duke just had some beautiful play together, managed to get some video of it. Molly has accepted Duke and is happy for him to bite her face and jump on her, but Wilma has taken a little longer to warm up to him. Wilma was so beautiful with him they started doing the play bow together and she let him lick her face. I am so happy with my big girls. Duke’s latest tricks and favourite things to do include chewing on the washing basket and dragg...ing the bath mats out of the bathroom. Pretty funny seeing a little puppy dragging a big bath towel around. I tried not to let this behaviour continue too long as I don’t want him to think he can do this, but it was cute to watch for a minute or two. Duke also decided to leave me in the shed this morning and head back to the house. Really gaining some independence. I will admit I am really tired as he woke in the night and then I couldn’t get back to sleep, I am pretty sure I heard him snoring while I was trying to nod off! See more