Atticus is five months old today

It is hard to believe my sweet puppers is five months old today. He is truly the sweetest boy.

Having a puppy is much like having a newborn. That first night I was up six times between 11pm and 7am. His crate is next to my side of the bed and each time he cried, I took him out. And he went potty every time. He never had an accident in his crate and started sleeping thru the night, 11pm-7am within two weeks. It took a good 3-4 weeks at bedtime though, for him to go in the crate without dancing around, crying in utter objection.

I had been watching training videos on you tube for a good couple months before he was even born. My favorite recommended keeping him on the leach and with me at all times. That was actually pretty easy to do as I love having him where ever I go. I think the main purpose was to literally keep track of him for potty reasons.

His schedule was up for two hours, sleep for two hours. During the awake time, I took him outside lots. I was really good about keeping him on the leach too but there were a few times he was out of my site and yes, there were accidents. I tried to pay attention to his “signs” of when he needed to go out and there basically weren”t any.

I was taking him outside sometimes multiple times in an hour and rewarding him with a treat when he went potty. He would go many days without an accident and then bam! I went back to youtube in search of an answer and I found one. I needed to “UP” the treat! That changed the whole game. He was totally housebroken by three months.

Another bonus of keeping him on the leach with me is that he is really calm. After all, there is only so much rowdiness he can do when he is attached to me. Don’t get me wrong, he does have his “zoomie” moments which are pretty cute. And he was such a biter! My arms and legs literally had bite marks, where he made me bleed, all over.

I asked my puppy trainer what to do. Her response was give him three chances and then he gets a “time out”, in his crate. The key is you NEVER want to make going in the crate a punishment. So very calmly I tell him “no biting” and he hangs in the crate, generally for under a minute. It WORKS.

We really had no intention of letting him on the furniture but have conceded in a couple areas. He loves to get on the bed in the morning and cuddle. It’s our morning ritual. And we do have an ottoman in the great room which is now his.

His big sister Sonja, who we affectionately call “SISSY” lives up the street and he LOVES her so much. She is his favorite playmate. They chase each other and wrestle non stop, for as long as we let them. It is really fun to watch. Sonja is so gentle and patient with him. He will probably end up being bigger than she is though, so I am thinking she will quickly be giving as good as she gets.

And all my little people absolutely adore him!

He loves to come to work with me and is the perfect gentleman.

My happy place, the beach!