Khan is here!! :)

Khan is super tired right now and whining because he doesn't like to be in his pen. I have to put him there for now because I want to write in this blog. Can't keep an eye on him and focus on this so, in the pen he goes. Silly pup, always complaining.

Aside from being a pee and poop machine he's been a very good puppy. He has been great overnight. I have been sleeping at about 4 hour intervals. He hasn't made a mess in his crate overnight. The larger crate he is in while I'm at work is different story. The wee-wee pads in that crate gets soaked every day. I think it's because I let him drink as much as he wants during the day.

If he can hold for 4 hours overnight then he should be able to hold during the day for the same amount of time, I would think. I'll have to work something out. I'll work on our schedule this week and practice it starting next week.

He is a great pup, totally observant. He will sit and examine and analyze things. He's completely intelligent. He's really cute to watch. He was watching tv today, for a little while. He watches me play fetch with Hank. He was retrieving his miniature toy turkey that Raven's Mom got him. That toy rocks. He attacks it when I toss it for him and he was actually retrieving back to the dog bed for a while. So fun.


He learns quickly and remembers things pretty well. I'm teaching him a few rules.


Khan's rules:
1 - No rushing the door.
He's the last one through. First me, then Nadia if she's around, then Hank and then last is Khan. He's been pretty good about it! I have to remind him sometimes but repetition is key! Practice makes perfect and I try and make it a positive thing every time!

2 - No rushing the food.
I've been using "woah" to keep him from rushing the food dish. I wasn't sure if I should but oh well. It seems to be working. I don't set it down unless he's calm. Now he tries his best to stay in a sit position and doesn't go for the food until I give the ok. I don't tell him to sit, I just want him calm.

3 - No jumping on people.
We are still working on this one but it's going ok. He loves to get in a running start and jump paws first right to your face. It's super cute now but I'd hate to have a grown GSP doing that to me. I am trying curb this habit of his. Not exactly sure how but I side step or get up so he doesn't land on me. There's probably a better way, I'll have to find out.

4 - No biting or mouthing people.
He's a wee bit mouthy. I need this to stop it ASAP. I try to communicate by "biting" him back with my hand and finger tips and expressing my disapproval. No one wants a mouthy dog and it can become a serious problem in the future.

My rules:
1 - No responding to whining or crying.
This is more a rule for me than Khan. Well, ok, it's a rule for both of us. I try not to "rescue" him from the crate or the pen until he's done calmed down. I don't want him to relate the crying to freedom. He has to learn to stay calm in the crate and pen.

2 - No letting him rush out of the crate.
Once he has calmed down, he tends to get excited when I approach the crate or pen. Once I see him getting excited I stop and I wait until he calms down again. Sometimes I even step back until he settles down again. He gets the point if he hasn't gone balistic so I really go slowly so I can see his reaction.

Once he is calm I approach again and continue to open the door or come closer to the pen and if he continues to be calm, I proceed with either petting him in the pen or the process of letting him out of the crate. I slowly open the door. If he makes a move for the opening, I close it again, pushing him back in. He gets it pretty quick and settles down again. Eventually we get to having the door is wide open and he waits until I say it's ok to come out of the crate. He's gotten very good about this now.

3 - Potty Schedule:
We head for the outdoors 20 minutes after every meal or big drink, every hour, and after every nap. In essence we are in and out of the house during the waking hours and even with that schedule he still messes up on the floor (only pee) so I think we might have to instill a drinking schedule along with the eating schedule.

Khan is fed 3 times a day but he poops a whole lot more times than that. He goes at least at the crack of dawn, later morning, mid-day and evening, and a few times more in between. The boy is a poop and pee machine.


Oh, I took home #3. He didn't take the best pic but I've liked him for being so confident and easy going from the very beginning. Man, you have to see the pups in person. I compared him to #7 and his arms and shoulders are impressive. His bone is massive.

I liked him at 3 weeks because he was the one attacking him momma's head. I also liked him because he is the breeder's favorite. How could I go wrong with the breeder's favorite? He is a thick, heavy, massive, stout pup. Sarah called him the powerhouse. I love thick dogs. Although, GSPs are not supposed to be thick, Sarah says not to worry about it. He will grow into his bones be able to show. I hope so. I hope he wins Best in Show!

When we all came down to choose the pup it was sooooo hard. Raven and her mom loved #7 and I really liked him too. In fact he's still available and I soooo want to get him, but, I can't do that. I'd like to get a house first then I can have as many dogs as the county allows. For now 2 is good.

He was so easy to stack. He holds still for me and he doesn't have any markings that would cause an optical illusion for the judges. Sarah was really cool and let me see the difference with the dogs. #7 had the spot on his back which could be mistaken for a sway back and #5 had the patch on the shoulder. Both dogs can champion with a good handler but I'm a total beginner. I need a super easy dog to champion and easy dog for my lifestyle. Khan is about as easy as GSPs can get. He's learned so much already. He's totally my kind of dog.