# Our first puppy: Tomo



## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

And photos, because what is even a puppy thread without photos 
He grows so fast and has already gotten much bigger these past 10 days! He’s learned new things everyday, and has learned to climb the stairs in the yard, although we’re still carrying him up and down 95% of the time.


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## Mde13004 (Feb 20, 2019)

jomiel said:


> Some of you may know from the senior/deaf dog training thread that our sweet 14 year old golden/lab mix passed away at the end of March due to GVD/bloat despite 2 surgeries. It was too quiet in the house and we really miss the companionship a dog provides (despite our 3 old cats and a chinchilla), so we contacted golden rescues and breeders that week.
> 
> And 2 weekends ago, we drove to Lake Tahoe and picked up Tomo! He was born 3/20/2019.
> 
> ...




Omg he is so cute congrats!!!!


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## LynnC (Nov 14, 2015)

Congratulations!! Tomo is adorable  Enjoy!


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## Lincgold (May 11, 2018)

OMG..he’s so cute. Congratulations! Nothing replaces the loss of a loved pet, but a puppy helps ease the pain. 

1 - I’ve never used an X pen connected to a crate with any of my dogs. So, I can only speak to my experience: I used a crate just large enough for him to lay down. They usually don’t mess where they sleep. I had a soft bed for him but no toys or food. I was worried that he may choke on something when I was not home and oh, before I forget, I took his collar off when he was in the crate as well.

2- They pee CONSTANTLY. You may have seen one of my posts. I thought Bear (who’s 10 months old now) had a urinary tract infection so I took a sample into the vet for testing; it was negative. It’s tedious but he will learn if you are persistent. 

3 - I have no suggestions as to gardening, but you should put cotton balls in his ears when you bathe him. They can easily get ear infections if they’re ears aren’t dried well. (You probably know this already but thought I’d mention it just in case)

4 - Biting is rough when they’re teething especially. Just keep giving him a toy to chew instead of your hands, clothes etc. he will outgrow it. I think having an older dog, Lincoln who’s 10 yrs old, helped us as Bear played with him and when he nipped too much, Lincoln corrected him with a growl and Bear got the message and just backed off. 

5 - Bear’s not crazy about traveling in the car. When he was younger, it took a lot to get him in and even out. He’d get car sick within 3 miles of our house (thankfully he’s grown out of that). It has gotten better, however. I don’t think you should give him treats. It may upset his stomach. Just talk to him as you drive. I’m sure eventually he will get used to it

Puppy classes will help immensely. Your puppy is very, very lucky to have you and is living a great puppy life! Please keep us updated.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Congratulations! Tomo is a good looking little guy.


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

Tomo is a golden potatoe!!!! So lovely


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Thanks, guys! Good to know that we have the basic idea and are on the right track. I guess I’ll just have to be more patient and enjoy the ride more ? He’s already so sweet and eager to please, I’m sure continued training and time will do it. 

Tonight we went to our first puppy social and he had a great time! He was pretty popular with the other puppies, being gentle with the smaller pups and trying his best to play with the more energetic pups (even if it seems like he was pinned a lot...). But his tail was up the entire time and he seemed to really enjoyed it.

I wonder if all that running around for an hour is too hard on his joints?? He does zoomies at home but it’s on bark in the yard, and is learning to climb up the garden steps already (though we try to carry him as much as possible).


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Lincgold said:


> OMG..he’s so cute. Congratulations! Nothing replaces the loss of a loved pet, but a puppy helps ease the pain.
> 
> 1 - I’ve never used an X pen connected to a crate with any of my dogs. So, I can only speak to my experience: I used a crate just large enough for him to lay down. They usually don’t mess where they sleep. I had a soft bed for him but no toys or food. I was worried that he may choke on something when I was not home and oh, before I forget, I took his collar off when he was in the crate as well.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the helpful post!

Yes, we are working on the crate, but it's slow going. Today I broke out the bully stick and he was happily chewing away at it in the crate. I'll get some more high value chews at the store so he can spend more time laying about in the crate. 

The peeing timing is half our fault with timing (eg, waiting longer than 30 min, waiting until he wakes up from a nap even though he's ready to pee immediately when he wakes up), and half because he's so playful when he's out in the yard. Many times we'll be out there 20-30 min, or even an hour, and he won't pee - and as soon as we come in the house, put him in the pen, and turn around to do something like get his kibble, then it's pee time... He's getting better about peeing on command if he's not preoccupied with playing, so I think if we eliminate our half of the mistakes it'll be fine.

Yes! I clean his ears with ear cleaner and gauze (haven't had a chance to pick up cotton balls yet) after baths. He's gotten one every 3 days because he gets so dirty! 

So glad to hear that he'll grow out of biting. I'm sure it's a ton of fun to bite us and grab our clothes... We're working on leave it, trades with treats, and redirection with toys. He seems to be bitey-ier when we're out in the yard, probably because he gets more excited when he's playing outside and digging and eating all the plants. I remove myself from the yard for about half a minute, but when I go back he's off doing something fun instead of sulking and reflecting on his guilt, lol. I found a good water bottle for deterrence but the the video in the new thread about biting makes me think that I should just stick it out a bit more and continue with loud ouches.

He's a bit better in the car today. I'm thinking tomorrow I'll put him in the car and just let him explore when it's parked, plus treats inside.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I realized today that he's much more fussy and clingy with me compared to my husband or my roommate. I was entertaining him in the x pen today when my roommate came down to do the day shift (thankfully, she works from home and volunteered to do puppy duty! A saint), and as soon as she sat down on the sofa with her computer, Tomo settled down and was ready to nap... My husband is actually able to play computer games while Tomo is napping or lying quietly... 

With me he's often awake for 3+ hours at a time. Not sure what exactly I do that riles him up?? I do a lot of short training sessions with treats, playing with the stuffies, rub his belly and do touch desensitization, show him how to knock the kongs around so he can get his kibble out, etc. Maybe I'm just more hands on and touch him too much, so he feels like time with me is always play time? When I'm sitting down or moving from room to room, he fusses and pushes against the pen. If I ignore him, half the time I come back to pee on the floor. Not sure if this is just timing or what. Although, I tend to get the 6am-9am and 5pm-8pm shifts, I read that dogs are crepuscular, is this why?

As much as I love our current relationship and our training, I would like to have him lie quietly so I'm able to be in another area of the house for other chores, showers, etc without having to get someone else to watch him. Right now, if I'm the only one watching him, I'll have to keep him preoccupied with a frozen pb kong or similar, or sneak off when he's napping.


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## Lincgold (May 11, 2018)

jomiel said:


> I realized today that he's much more fussy and clingy with me compared to my husband or my roommate. I was entertaining him in the x pen today when my roommate came down to do the day shift (thankfully, she works from home and volunteered to do puppy duty! A saint), and as soon as she sat down on the sofa with her computer, Tomo settled down and was ready to nap... My husband is actually able to play computer games while Tomo is napping or lying quietly...
> 
> With me he's often awake for 3+ hours at a time. Not sure what exactly I do that riles him up?? I do a lot of short training sessions with treats, playing with the stuffies, rub his belly and do touch desensitization, show him how to knock the kongs around so he can get his kibble out, etc. Maybe I'm just more hands on and touch him too much, so he feels like time with me is always play time? When I'm sitting down or moving from room to room, he fusses and pushes against the pen. If I ignore him, half the time I come back to pee on the floor. Not sure if this is just timing or what. Although, I tend to get the 6am-9am and 5pm-8pm shifts, I read that dogs are crepuscular, is this why?
> 
> As much as I love our current relationship and our training, I would like to have him lie quietly so I'm able to be in another area of the house for other chores, showers, etc without having to get someone else to watch him. Right now, if I'm the only one watching him, I'll have to keep him preoccupied with a frozen pb kong or similar, or sneak off when he's napping.


I think this is just part of the process. I too would make sure my husband or son was watching Bear in the first couple of months if I had to leave the room he was in. I had a chuckle reading your post and remembering how I’d sneak away when he was napping only to step on a creek on the floor which of course woke him for a second. I’d stand there frozen, not moving until he put his head down again. It sounds like you’re doing everything right. It’s exhausting but so worth it as you know.

Again, I don’t have any experience with an X-pen. I just used the crate at night for our dogs or when I had to leave the house. They did not mess while in the crate and learned to hold it. We set up a “playpen or play yard” in our family room. We put a plastic tablecloth under it to “catch” any accidents and put all his toys in there. This way he was with us in a controlled area. 

True to his retriever breed, Bear greets us with a toy or sometimes a shoe when we come into the house or even the room for the first time in the day. I find it endearing and luckily, he doesn’t chew our shoes...just brings it to us as if he thinks we were looking for it. 

As I said previously, I think our older dog, Lincoln, was a big factor in his training. They grow up so fast although right now you don’t think so. ; ) Good luck with the training. Please keep us updated. We love the pics.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo just turned 10 weeks old yesterday 

Potty training is going better, we realized that he’s regular like clockwork and we have to set 30 min timers. This morning I decided to rouse Tomo when he started stirring at 6:15 and the potty break went really well. 

The bully stick is his favorite chew so far, he would lay in the crate for 15 min just chewing there. We practiced doing a couple of trades with it and I also took it away when he’s otherwise occupied so it could be a crate-only special treat. 

To get him more used to car rides since we’ll have to drive 30-40 min to get to puppy kindergarten on Sat, yesterday we went and just sat in the stationary car with the windows down. He likes to sit on the back of the seat in the hatchback position, I suppose because it’s carpeted and way more stable than the leather seats. Today I plan to do a couple of short rides with the dog seatbelt, and the harness will arrive tomorrow. 

He’s growing up so fast! 

Here’s him taking a nap with his snuggle buddy, and super bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6 am lol (I’m really not a morning person.....)


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Lincgold said:


> I think this is just part of the process. I too would make sure my husband or son was watching Bear in the first couple of months if I had to leave the room he was in. I had a chuckle reading your post and remembering how I’d sneak away when he was napping only to step on a creek on the floor which of course woke him for a second. I’d stand there frozen, not moving until he put his head down again. It sounds like you’re doing everything right. It’s exhausting but so worth it as you know.
> 
> Again, I don’t have any experience with an X-pen. I just used the crate at night for our dogs or when I had to leave the house. They did not mess while in the crate and learned to hold it. We set up a “playpen or play yard” in our family room. We put a plastic tablecloth under it to “catch” any accidents and put all his toys in there. This way he was with us in a controlled area.
> 
> ...


We really like older dogs and the adoption route would have been so much easier in terms of how much time and effort we are spending now, but I definitely am enjoying our time together, teaching him new things, and watching him grow. He's already learned so much, and everyday is slightly different. He has such a great personality, playful but gentle for the most part (except when he gets bitey). 

I wished I searched for puppies a year or 2 earlier, I keep thinking how much Tomo would have enjoyed being with Kuma and learn how to do things from him. When Kuma died, I washed everything except a dog bed and a squirrel toy. The dog bed is in reserve until later, but the squirrel toy is Tomo's favorite, maybe because it has Kuma's smell. And as soon as we took Tomo to potty on the top terrace of the yard where Kuma used to potty, he became much better at going on command. 

As much as I love Tomo, I still really miss our old dog. I haven't buried his ashes yet, I want to clean up the yard and do it properly, and put a plant on the spot.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo had a busy weekend! 
- We went to a puppy social at a new location, about a 30 min drive through the city, so we worked on car rides with seatbelt/harness. He learned that he loves sticking his face out of the window. It's great watching the cars on the other side - people just brighten up and smile when they see him hanging out the window  
- Puppy kindergarten on Sat, 40 min drive away. He did okay on the highway when the windows were up. Entertained him with a chew and treats. We sat in front of a coffee shop a while, and also walked around the shopping plaza meeting people. 
- He jumped out of the shopping cart at the pet store (!!! will be clipping him in in the future). He seemed to limp a little and was tired from the long day, and slept most of the way back. We went to the vet for a check up just in case, and he was declared to be fine. Definitely scary!
- A party at the house on Sun, where he met 8 new people, 2 toddlers, and 3 dogs. He was in his pen for the most part, and we checked up on him every 30 min or so. He was super into his Bob a Lot and chews, and was better about being alone. 

He's growing up fast, and this weekend seemed to be the turning point for potty training. He was great at holding it during car rides all weekend, didn't need a pee break during the night, and quietly waited in the mornings. There's still a couple of accidents but we're super proud!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Some photos from the weekend:


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Question:
I'm not sure what is the best to calm him down when he's playing hard. This morning we were playing tug in the back yard and our roommate came out to check in on him, and he growled at her even though his body language was playful (his first growl). He was bitey and tugged on her clothes, so I think it was just him trying to play?? But still, it's concerning. 

At socials and classes we are instructed to pick him up for a few seconds time out, but this will be a lot harder in a couple of weeks as he continues to grow... (Already during classes when everyone has their pups in their arms, I leash him and put him in a sit or down stay because he's so large already to hold for more than a minute.) 

I think we need to work on both the biting/tugging and calming, is that right? Is calming all about down stays? How do I make the distinction that tug play with toys is okay but tug play with our clothing is not okay?


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

After talking with my roommate who also keep getting bitten and tugged, we think this behavior occurs after we've rewarded him with directed playing in the yard - either tug or fetch for a few minutes, and then he gets excited and does the zoomies, and works himself into super crazy mode - and then the bites occur. Screaming (pretend or real) does little at this point.

Tomorrow we are going to try to keep the playtime short and interspersed with training/commands to get him to calm down a little before we resume play, and see how that goes. I know it's important to keep working on bite inhibition, but at the same time I want to set him up for success and learn how calm himself down a little.


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## Lincgold (May 11, 2018)

He’s so cute and growing fast. I’m sorry I have nothing to add for tugging and growling. I have not had dogs that did that but I’m sure that training will help. I read an interesting article about playing tug and I’ve added it below.

I did notice in your pictures, his head is outside the car window and it reminded me of what my vet told me. It’s not safe for him to do that. Here’s a direct quote:

“Dogs love the wind in their face but bad things can happen. First, foreign objects like leaves, insects and rocks can strike them with tremendous velocity. Just think back to the damage a tiny pebble might have done to your windshield or the finish of your car. The cornea of a dog’s eye is far more delicate and damages are not so easily repaired. Similarly, foreign bodies can find their way into a dog’s ear or nose and cause severe inflammation.”

Hope the training continues to go well.



https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/pets/dog-behavior/playing-tug-of-war-with-your-dog


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Thanks! I'll try the training in the article, it should help to let him know when it's okay to play and when it's not okay. 

We were at the vet this morning to get his booster shots, and she said he's starting to teeth, so that's probably why he's been so bitey this week. She suggested more chew toys and to keep a toy on me when we're out in the yard so he'll have something approved to bite on. She also said we could start expanding his bubble a little bit and walks in a week. That will really help since he'll be too busy checking out all the new things to want to bite 

I made a couple of kibble+water+pb kongs for his meals so that should help out too!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Last night in the yard we were doing good retrieves and trades, and then he tore 2 holes in my pants  At least I’m now trained to change into sweats the moment I get home...

He's 19.8 lbs today!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Checking in with week 11 updates!

Potty training still progressing. He is able to hold it longer and we are going to the yard every hour. He still has 2-4 accidents in the house, usually because he was playing instead of thinking about potty time, and once he's back inside he realizes he needs to go... He has gone a couple of times outside the house, usually because we're out for a long time. 

We got the second set of DHLPP earlier this week so we will start going out more often. We did a couple of short walks, only a few houses down. He is enjoying the world outside, all the smells and sounds. When he meets a dog, he gets super excited and wants to play. I'm a little afraid that he'll hurt himself by dashing against the leash 

He's still bitey, but persistence with discipline is starting to pay off. What seems to work the best is to say "Ah AH" and then leave the room/yard as soon as we can extricate ourselves. Today when he bit my pants, I said "Ah AH," and he let go quicker so I think he's starting to think about the consequence of his actions, lol.

Tomo is doing really well overall! He's confident and playful at doggy socials, excited to meet new people, good(ish) at basic commands, and is a great, sweet dog for the most part. He's getting really large and can no longer fit in the large bucket I was using to bathe him.

Photos of his first walk:


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo update: he’ll be 12 weeks tomorrow! How did 3.5 weeks fly by? He’s much better on potty training, still a few accidents but he gets going much faster in the yard now. 

We went to the farmers market and neighborhood flea market this weekend and he was wowing everyone. I offered dog treats to at least 30 people to greet and feed him, there was live music (he was scared at first but then got more used to it), and we also met a bunch of friendly dogs of all ages. 

We also went to a friend’s house to meet his senior dog and a 7 month golden doodle, he learned dog manners and elder respect there 

Photo of our car setup (2 seatbelts, one on the bottom and one in the ceiling - the pros of him enjoying car rides right now is so important, though I definitely put the window up when we reach the highway), and a bonus blooper when we were playing this morning


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Question: What chews should I get to help with teething pain?

I have the following (listed in order according to his excitement with them):
- Himalayan cheese chew - his favorite so far
- bully sticks - second favorite
- no hide chews - he liked these during weeks 9 and 10 and now doesn't go for them as much
- lots of kongs (a mix of small to large puppy kongs and senior kongs) - he doesn't chew on these though, only licks to get kibble and treats out
- kong tire - I froze some beef bone broth inside, he licks but doesn't chew on it
- pickle pocket - I stuffed some treats inside but I think the difficulty level is too high right now, I might switch to some canned dog food or sweet potatoes

I've also bought softer chews like lamb/pig ears and cheese puffs, but these seem more like treats than chew things to help with teething. My vet recommends against plastics (nylabone) and raw hides.

I was looking at marrow bones, hooves, antlers, and Gorilla wood chews in the pet food store - Are these appropriate for puppies?? Are they too hard or too easy to become shards or unsafe?


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

12.5 week photo update! He has the beginning of a waist and he's much taller and bigger, I don't have to bend down anymore when I feed him treats. I'm still carrying him up and down in the house and yard, but he's starting to beat me to it when we're out in the yard.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo is 13 weeks old and 25 lbs. We’ve been walking in the neighborhood or out doing errands everyday, going to puppy kindergarten and play socials once a week, and training at home. We still have accidents in the house - a combo of our fault with timing or because he was too preoccupied with playing out in the yard. We’ve met probably 200 people at this point, though only a few kids and there’s still a lot to do on the socialization list! 

He gets the third DHPP next week and then the world will be his oyster! ? The vet says we can finally go to Golden Gate Park and the beaches in July, yay!


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

Tomo is adorable.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

14 weeks old!

He’s growing so tall this week, 27.8 lbs. Still quite bitey but he’s starting to learn (slowly) that biting means we’ll go away. He’s become a little more disobedient as we allow him more access outside and to the rest of the house, so we need to work on follows and commands this weekend! We will start Puppy Manners 1 class in a couple of weeks too so that should help.

The second photo is the grumpy face he makes after I leave him because he bit me.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Tomo is so cute, he's starting to look more like a big boy and less like a puppy.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

CAROLINA MOM said:


> Tomo is so cute, he's starting to look more like a big boy and less like a puppy.


Yeah he's growing so fast and looking more like a teenager! My neighbor told me today to stop feeding him haha.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

He looks so serious in this picture or very deep in thought......


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

CAROLINA MOM said:


> He looks so serious in this picture or very deep in thought......


He's sulky because I came into the house after he bit me (I took the photo through the glass door)  

But he does tend to do that Blue Steel face a lot :laugh:


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Wow has it really been a week and half since my last update?!

Tomo is now 32.4 lbs and is going to be 16 weeks tomorrow. He's a great puppy when he's not "Jaws" lol. He loves strangers and dogs, happy and eager, confident, food motivated, and loves new things. He loves to retrieve and was totally unafraid of the ocean. We've been to puppy play socials and classes, and the trainers all said he's doing great. He loves lounging in front of stores and park entrances, and just drink up all the attention. Quite a few people ask me if I'm a trainer for service dogs so I guess his calm and sweet disposition comes through. 

At home though he alternates between being the cutest angel and a whiny land shark. The only things that work are things to chew on (kongs, bones, and treat chews) and timeouts. When he's bitey and clingy it's just sooo hard. He was so terrible last night and had 2 accidents at 4am - I sat on the couch and cried before I could clean it up and settle him down, because I was just so, so tired. 

So we're going to start puppy daycare for 1-2 days a week to give us a bit of a break from burnout... (in addition to his regular classes and play socials.) And just continue to remind ourselves that we just need to survive 2 more months... :crying:


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

And what is an update without photos :wink2:


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## swishywagga (Nov 13, 2012)

Such great photos!.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

He's adorable.......... 

Great pictures, this is my favorite........ he's so cute!


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## IrisBramble (Oct 15, 2015)

He is so cute!!!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

CAROLINA MOM said:


> He's adorable..........
> 
> Great pictures, this is my favorite........ he's so cute!


Haha yeah, a golden has got to have ducks, right? :grin2: The quack is sooo loud though, I have to put it away at night lolol. It's adorable and I will try to get a better photo that's not blurry!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo 17 week update: He started daycare and is super enjoying it. He usually is very slow on leash and smells/sits/lays a lot, but when we're on the block of daycare he's a dog on a mission. We have playgroup about twice a week; the SPCA one in particular is great, they are careful to match puppies with compatible temperaments, narrative play, and do training exercises sprinkled throughout. We are starting Puppy 1 with Sirius training this weekend, looking forward to it!

Tomo is pretty good about traffic and city noises, but the other day when we were at UCSF he barked at this old man hobbling on his cane  So I think we'll need more desensitization for that and more kids. Also we need to work on being okay with me being on another level of the house. 

Thankfully this past week the frequency of biting/nipping is so much less - now his main thing is carrying slippers all over the house. A much easier (and cuter) problem.

We are trying to puppy proof more now that we're letting him spend more time in the rest of the house with us, but we don't have a lot of closet space, our shoes are on these open garage-style shelving, and all 3 cats are old so they don't like to jump over the whiteboard we use to block their food/litter. Will probably buy another pet gate, this time with a cat door.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

First day at daycare, walk in Golden Gate Park, playing with his “twin” at the SPCA playgroup, and learning how to be with team cat.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos from this weekend (second one is our cat Paul teaching him discipline and respect)


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Tomo is so cute, great pictures. 
Enjoying your updates.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo 19 week update:

We are in the midst of Puppy 1 classes now and he's great. We started letting him sleep in the bedroom without being in his crate at night. He is super addicted to paper products like kleenex and paper towels, and loves stealing socks through the holes on the sides of the laundry hamper, lol, so we are working on lots of drop it and leave it. He's great with new situations and loves meeting people - which is great since everyone wants to meet him!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Oh and in addition his stealing behavior, he is getting much taller and keeps putting his feet up to tables and counters to see if he can steal items or food. I guess I'll try the pennies in the can and see if that will deter him getting up on the counters.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo (almost) week 21 update: 
He's really grown up these past 2 weeks, getting his adult coat in. And our time together has starting to be more of a joyful/fun time (instead of me feeling frustrated that I'm not doing something right)! He is in rooms with us most of the time and learning to have more self control - though of course he's still a puppy so need a lot of reinforcement, esp a lot of sits, down, and go to your mat when we first get into the kitchen/dining room, then the rest of the dinner he is pretty good about munching on his own bone and staying out of trouble. Still steals socks, napkins, paper, etc but much better about not munching on random things. 

For counters, the trainer suggested that we don't react at all and just let him figure out that counters/tables are super boring. Sadly we still slip up and he's occasionally rewarded... It's so hard for the humans to be completely trained lol! but we'll get there.

We are starting to have some days when he has no accidents at home at all, whoohoo! Still battling giardia though 

We had a swimming class (with an instructor in a small warm water pool), and he also ventured into a pond by himself (photos below)! Lot of mini outings (since he doesn't have the stamina to walk far yet) and going to restaurants with patio seating, but we still have holes in the desensitization checklist - need more interaction with children and need to start going on buses/trains.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

And photos!!


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## Shalala1962 (Jul 6, 2019)

I just want to say thanks for taking the time to share the information on Tomo's childhood I have been reading "Puppies for Dummies" and this book is dead on with what you are experiencing with your puppy at the different stages of his life. So for anyone wanting to learn what to expect when you get your pup this book is very helpful. In addition, suggestions and recommendations people have made to correct some of the issues and concerns others have for their pups are the same suggestions and recommendations listed in this book. It's a must read for anyone who is going to get a pup.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Thanks for the book recommendation! I think we are on the cusp of the teenager stage and there's probably 20+ puppy books in the house haha. 

Tomo is really getting so good but we do need to keep training everyday, and classes are really great - in addition to getting to ask questions, we focus on 3 things to work on each week (so rein in my impulse to work on everything), and it's fantastic to train with distractions like other puppies in the class  This weekend will be the last Puppy 1 class, and we'll start Puppy 2 in September. 

Yesterday we went to a new neighborhood (West Portal) and walked along the main street, picked out some treats at the pet food store, and went to the park there. Met 30-40 people plus 8 dogs. At the park I was a little annoyed about our recall practice since there were 2 other dogs there and boys playing football so they were infinitely more interesting than me. But after we got home then I realized that was actually great training. And he's SO good with people - sometimes a group of people would want to meet him, and like 4 of them would be petting him and fluffing his ears at the same time - he just drinks it all up.

Wish I had taken photos, but usually when we're on training outings like this I'm too absorbed in him to whip out my phone...


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## Shalala1962 (Jul 6, 2019)

The play xpen you are using gor Tomo, do you recommend it? Many are cheap and flimsy. Does that one do a pretty good job of holding up?


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Shalala1962 said:


> The play xpen you are using gor Tomo, do you recommend it? Many are cheap and flimsy. Does that one do a pretty good job of holding up?


Yes, it's really good. We ordered this Midwest MaxLock 36" pen 
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CE945B0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's pretty sturdy and worked great clipping it to the crate front. At about 4 months old he was able to push the pen around, but because of the crate, he could only make the pen have a different shape haha - I usually set the pen so it's roundish, and he could get it to be a long narrow run because he's trying to get to me in another room.

He did break 3 of the 4 clips that were included, I tried a few ways of securing the pen and zip ties (like the kind to corral cables) worked the best since they were the sturdiest and could get the 2 sides the closest together. The pen still looks really great and I'm super glad we had it for the past 3 months! Really kept him out of trouble and he enjoyed playing in it until about 4 months old. 

He's been fairly good about the house (other than countersurfing :frown2 so after being mostly in the rooms with us for about 3-4 weeks, we decided to put the pen away this week. He's also closer to 45 pounds and getting a little too big to confine in it - the den is mostly puppy-proof so we can just close the doors and let him chill there. Will see how it goes!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo 22 week update! 

He's 47.7 lbs this week and getting more and more energetic for play and fun. He loves balls, esp squishy kinds or squeaky ones. He learned how to pick out his own toys from his toy bin to entertain himself (and getting toys all over the floor since he switches every few min). He's finally over his Giardia, whoohoo! I made a parks list and we've been checking out a new park everyday  

Photos 1-3 are from yesterday at Crissy Fields East. I like how in photo 3 he and his new friend look like they are laughing at a joke, haha. Photo 4 is from a park near our house, the Bernie puppy is only 2 weeks younger than him so they had a great time playing together too.

He still loves to steal things and counter surf, so I've been leashing him to the freezer when we're in the kitchen/dining room area. Will continue to work on settle, sit stays, and down stays. I am finally getting more free time during the evenings so I can finally read more dog training books again lol.


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## Shalala1962 (Jul 6, 2019)

Cute pics. Glad he's made so many friends.


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## abbysunnymom (Jul 17, 2015)

I really enjoyed reading these posts about Tomo. We are a few months behind Tomo with our new girl, so I can see what to expect. Thanks


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Shalala1962 said:


> Cute pics. Glad he's made so many friends.


Yes he's quite popular haha. He's getting better with approaching adults too and being more confident. Daycare def helps with that.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

abbysunnymom said:


> I really enjoyed reading these posts about Tomo. We are a few months behind Tomo with our new girl, so I can see what to expect. Thanks


It's amazing how quickly they grow up! I'll be complaining and trying to "fix" a problem each week, and then he'll magically get over it the next week (and then have a different issue we have to work on, lol). My 2 dogs have been adults or adolescents - a puppy is so different! I really feel like I have to be a good mom to Tomo. And I've never done so much dog training...

Enjoy your time with your new girl! Sorry to read about your beloved dogs passing away  Do you have a thread about your new girl?


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## BeaMyFriend (Aug 8, 2019)

Tomo is amazing! Welcome to the forum!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo 24 weeks update:

We started Puppy 2 classes, starting off with stays in down, sit, and stand. He has the lazy puppy sit so the instructor wants us to get him to do a more proper sit to develop those leg muscles, because he keeps wanting to go into a down stay (which is a good problem to have I guess, but we do need to work on all types of stays for diff situations). Still need a lot of training for countersurfing so he's usually leashed in the kitchen and I give him a chew/kong to work on while I cook/we are eating. 

His diarrhea is back whenever we're off metronidazole :frown2: So this weekend he's on Hills i/d kibble only (we cut off all the treats except for super hard chews) and on Monday we'll do some more testing. The i/d kibble is fantastic but seems high bulk, per the bag he gets 5 cups a day :surprise: 

He's building up his stamina for walking - we did about 2.5 miles on Saturday, and today was more beach fun/fetching in the water.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos from this weekend: checking out ducks (???) at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park, and beach fun at the cove near Mavericks Beach (this is why I need a dryer lol).


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## swishywagga (Nov 13, 2012)

Great to catch up with Tomo's adventures, he's lovely and certainly looks like he's been having a wonderful time!


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## amytemp (Jul 1, 2019)

He is precious! Congratulations on your new boy!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

The vet thinks Tomo's recent diarrhea is from food sensitivity. He'll have diarrhea with mucus when he's not on antibiotics, but he's clear of giardia (though ELISA still positive but she said that's not uncommon to be positive for a few weeks after). We had a trial of Hills i/d (plus we cut out all his treats other than hard chews) and his poops are normal, and when I mixed in 25% of his usual PPP kibble he got diarrhea again... So the vet wants him to go on Royal Canin GI Puppy to see for now. 

I think if I keep the volume of his treats low it'll work out - yesterday I grabbed a small handful of freeze-dried salmon to "charge up" his kibble for our puppy class. It worked fairly well, though I ran out of kibble halfway through class and had to use the class treats, and he definitely liked that better lol. Just loves food so much.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

HMMM I'll have to check the daily logs at home (I made a more comprehensive one than the SIRIUS house training worksheet), but I just realized that maybe the recent diarrhea started when Tomo started Purina Pro Plan Focus large breed puppy. He was on Royal Canin Golden Retriever puppy before that, and when he got diarrhea it was always because of an infection, and it wasn't mucus-y.

Strange if it is though, because the PPP and RC GR ingredients aren't that dissimilar.

He's still growing great, was 51.2 lbs at the pet food store last night. It's more that I'm worried about his GI tract and diarrhea is uncomfortable.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo week 25 update:

He's doing well on the Royal Canin GI Puppy food, and I'm slowly adding some treats back. This makes me realize how much treats I've been feeding him. So now I'm using his kibble for most daily training, and treats only when I'm asking him to do something special (like put on his harness or stop ripping out the neighbor's nice lawn :no. He does fine on the freeze-dried salmon but got diarrhea when I gave him a small raw marrow bone, so I guess marrow is off limits for now... I started making frozen kongs again, since they really help him be better behaved in the kitchen.

We've been a little lax on the house training, so he's still quite bad with stealing and counter surfing. Also he still humps me when I'm at a sink... But he is really good otherwise, and we've only had a few potty accidents in the house. He loves meeting people and loves swimming (though seems to have forgotten how to fetch). We worked a lot on sit stays and down stays this week, and he's better about calming down/settle. We got over the issue of him not following me down the stairs by giving a few jackpots. Now he's trying to ignore my recalls if we're playing in a park, so I've started doing some jackpots for those too.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos from this week!


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

He's precious! Such a cute puppy.

Ask your vet about Pro-Pectalin tablets. You can get it at Chewy, although most vets will sell you much less for more money. I think it's about $55 for 250 tablets on Chewy. They must taste good because my dogs loved them. They don't have any drugs in them -- more probiotics and the like. They helped mine each time they had runny poop issues. It firms up within a day or two when they're taking Pro-Pectalin.


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## ChrisFromOC (Sep 19, 2018)

diane0905 said:


> He's precious! Such a cute puppy.
> 
> Ask your vet about Pro-Pectalin tablets. You can get it at Chewy, although most vets will sell you much less for more money. I think it's about $55 for 250 tablets on Chewy. They must taste good because my dogs loved them. They don't have any drugs in them -- more probiotics and the like. They helped mine each time they had runny poop issues. It firms up within a day or two when they're taking Pro-Pectalin.


I second this suggestion. We got the big container from Chewy and they really came in handy as our Ziggy pretty much ate anything he stumbled upon which caused frequent stomach issues. The pro pectalin would always firm things up quickly.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

diane0905 said:


> He's precious! Such a cute puppy.
> 
> Ask your vet about Pro-Pectalin tablets. You can get it at Chewy, although most vets will sell you much less for more money. I think it's about $55 for 250 tablets on Chewy. They must taste good because my dogs loved them. They don't have any drugs in them -- more probiotics and the like. They helped mine each time they had runny poop issues. It firms up within a day or two when they're taking Pro-Pectalin.


Thanks! He's doing great on RC GI Puppy but the little bag only lasts 10 days per the feeding directions, so I'll ask the vet what the next step is. I hope to get him back on RC Golden Retriever Puppy since that would prob be the closest match. 

He was on a prescription probiotic (Prosynbiotic) for a while but I now give a bit of kefir with his meals and he loves it. The kefir is lactose-free and has a whole bunch of cultures. I drink it too so makes it easy on fridge space haha.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

ChrisFromOC said:


> I second this suggestion. We got the big container from Chewy and they really came in handy as our Ziggy pretty much ate anything he stumbled upon which caused frequent stomach issues. The pro pectalin would always firm things up quickly.


Thank you too! The combination of kaolin clay, pectin, and enterococcus faecium is interesting, and none of the supplements we tried had E. faecium.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

jomiel said:


> Thank you too! The combination of kaolin clay, pectin, and enterococcus faecium is interesting, and none of the supplements we tried had E. faecium.


You're welcome. Luke had intermittent loose stool for the first few years, so I was very happy when I found something that worked.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

diane0905 said:


> You're welcome. Luke had intermittent loose stool for the first few years, so I was very happy when I found something that worked.


I'm relieved that Tomo has relatively little diarrhea compared to how much trash and random things he steals and eats... This week he stole a disposable glove at daycare and ate it before they could take it out of his mouth, and thankfully he passed it a day later :surprise: He's eaten lots of paper, paper towels, little bits of plastic wrap, cardboard, etc. All small-ish, thankfully, and mostly paper products.


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## abbysunnymom (Jul 17, 2015)

I don’t have a post about my new girl! ? I should do that. She’s a handful ? and a half, but also sweet. Thanks


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

abbysunnymom said:


> I don’t have a post about my new girl! ? I should do that. She’s a handful ? and a half, but also sweet. Thanks


You should make one and we can look at all her photos :wink2:

Also Tomo is growing up way too fast. I look back through my posts sometimes and realize that what used to be really A BIG DEAL is now resolved, makes me feel great that he's growing up so well.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Slow transition on to Royal Canin Golden Retriever Puppy kibble is going well! We are at 10% today, but so far so good! I think tomorrow I'll bump him up to 20%.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos from this week


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo week 26 update: 

Every week we are working on a new behavior (one of the parents at the puppy training class called it "puppy crime" lol). Tomo started to pull really hard to sniff things and greet people and dogs. Probably it's just that he's 6 months now, much larger, more energetic, and happy and excited about exploring the world and everyone around him. I switched to 1" collar and leash, so it doesn't cut into my hand as much. I try to stop and make him calm down a bit, do some easy commands, but it's hard to have the patience to wait him out sometimes  I guess I could add an extra short walk around the neighborhood so we can work on walking nicely, train, and don't have a destination to rush to. 

In the house, he's been great about lying down behind me while I'm scooping litter and waiting for treats (instead of sticking his face into the litter boxes or trying to grab the bag out of my hands). He's also mostly stopped pulling fresh laundry out of the basket (only for dirty laundry, which is easier to control, instead of me having to guard the laundry all the time while I'm folding). But he'll still counter surf if he's not tied down in the kitchen or occupied with a frozen kong, I guess it's still too tempting to finding something great on the counters. 

He is so happy and funny most of the time! He'll come running to get his doggy toothpaste when he hears me pulling the floss out. He loves being underfoot and checking out everything I'm doing, and follows me up and down the stairs all night when I'm doing chores in the house.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo week 26 update: 

Every week we are working on a new behavior (one of the parents at the puppy training class called it "puppy crime" lol). Tomo started to pull really hard to sniff things and greet people and dogs. Probably it's just that he's 6 months now, much larger, more energetic, and happy and excited about exploring the world and everyone around him. I switched to 1" collar and leash, so it doesn't cut into my hand as much. I try to stop and make him calm down a bit, do some easy commands, but it's hard to have the patience to wait him out sometimes  I guess I could add an extra short walk around the neighborhood so we can work on walking nicely, doing training outside, and don't have a destination to rush to. 

In the house, he's been great about lying down behind me while I'm scooping litter and waiting for treats (instead of sticking his face into the litter boxes or trying to grab the bag out of my hands). He is not reliable with the chinchilla though, so I have to shut him out when I let the chinchilla out for a bit. Tomo has mostly stopped pulling fresh laundry out of the basket (only dirty laundry, but that is easier to control, instead of me having to guard the clean laundry the entire time while I'm folding). But he'll still counter surf if he's not tied down in the kitchen or occupied with a frozen kong, I guess it's still too tempting to finding something great on the counters. And I found a third disposable glove in his poops! - daycare says they are really trying to be careful about counters when he's around :yuck:

He is so happy and funny most of the time! He'll come running to get his doggy toothpaste when he hears me pulling the floss out. He loves being underfoot and checking out everything I'm doing, and follows me up and down the stairs all night when I'm doing chores in the house.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo week 28 update (6.5 months):

Last week he was 54.6 lbs! He's been good about signaling to go out for a bathroom break and his bladder can also hold it for 2 hours+ during the day, so this week I plan to stop the potty training logs.

He's also doing well on Royal Canin golden retriever puppy food. No more diarrhea, yay! He still counter surfs a lot, so I went back to frozen kongs for his dinner -- a dab of peanut butter and half a cup of chicken stock added to kibble (I think he may be slightly lactose intolerant... yogurt seems to make him really gassy). With 3 frozen kongs, he's occupied when I'm cooking and eating dinner 0 Unfortunately, he's still not great at understanding that "go to your mat" and stay" means he should stay on his mat until he's released... But he's still learning and he has good days and bad days of obedience, lol.

He's starting to be an adolescent -- sometimes lifting his leg to pee, ignoring my commands, pulling hard on walks... We finished Puppy 2 classes last week, so this week we've just been working on the basics and self-restraint (wait, stays, leave it, etc). I suspect he'll need continued practice for the next few months  We start Puppy 3 this weekend.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos! 

The second golden is one of his sisters! The meetup was a lot of fun and they seemed to remember each other because they kept playing together for the whole hour. In the photo, she’s trying to grab on to his stick. 

The costume photo is from his daycare, they said they'll try on more costumes this month so I'll try to grab more photos


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

double post


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Time flies when you're having fun! It's been a month since our last Tomo update. He's 7.5 months now and looking so much like a teenager growing into an adult! He has a huge head and his ears are no longer the floppy puppy Dumbo ears. His feathers are starting to grow out. He's starting to do a bit of marking during walks. 

Weirdly, his scrotum has a couple of crusty spots that looks like dried mud and matted fur (his scrotum is also black), but when I peel them off, it's just raw bare skin beneath  Not sure what they could be, I put on some antibiotic cream to see if that will help with healing/moisturization.

The main scare this past month was a development of a limp on his left forearm, after imaging the vet said it's likely growing pains. So he went on NSAIDs for a couple of weeks, plus exercise restriction (walks okay, less vigorous playtime at daycare). He seems fine now.

I was out on a family trip for 12 days so my husband had to be the single parent for a while, and Tomo seems to have forgotten much of his manners and some of his training (I'm the main trainer). So we're working hard this week; the next Puppy 3 class is coming up this weekend and we gotta keep being the star student


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos at 7.5 months!


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## 206076 (Oct 30, 2019)

He is a beautiful dog with such striking features. It's great that your cat and him get along. I lost my 9 year old tabby in May just a few months after I brought home Sunny who is now 9 months old. I wish you all the best.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Charles Sloane said:


> He is a beautiful dog with such striking features. It's great that your cat and him get along. I lost my 9 year old tabby in May just a few months after I brought home Sunny who is now 9 months old. I wish you all the best.


So sorry to hear about your tabby passing away  9 years old is too young. 

We have 3 cats and only 1 of them is friendly with Tomo. It's really funny when they hang out together. Paul the orange cat is also into eating his kibble and treats, so he is sometimes quite aggressive with me when I'm trying to train the puppy! The other 2 cats have adjusted to having a dog in the house again, and will assert their personal space when needed. We keep Tomo off the bed (though he's been testing boundaries recently) so the cats have that and their vertical space on bureaus, dressers, etc.

We also have a chinchilla. Tomo's chase drive is very strong with the chinchilla, so after a few tests, I only let the chinchilla out of his cage when I have the door to the room closed.


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## abbysunnymom (Jul 17, 2015)

jomiel said:


> Tomo week 26 update:
> 
> Every week we are working on a new behavior (one of the parents at the puppy training class called it "puppy crime" lol). Tomo started to pull really hard to sniff things and greet people and dogs. Probably it's just that he's 6 months now, much larger, more energetic, and happy and excited about exploring the world and everyone around him. I switched to 1" collar and leash, so it doesn't cut into my hand as much. I try to stop and make him calm down a bit, do some easy commands, but it's hard to have the patience to wait him out sometimes  I guess I could add an extra short walk around the neighborhood so we can work on walking nicely, train, and don't have a destination to rush to.
> 
> ...


Doggie floss? Lol. Please show me what you are using to clean his teeth. Which toothpaste? Do you use a doggie toothbrush or the finger brush? I’d like to start with Meadow.

Also, look at that tail on Tomo! Gorgeous feathers!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

abbysunnymom said:


> Doggie floss? Lol. Please show me what you are using to clean his teeth. Which toothpaste? Do you use a doggie toothbrush or the finger brush? I’d like to start with Meadow.
> 
> Also, look at that tail on Tomo! Gorgeous feathers!


Haha, it's just floss for me, but I guess pulling floss out of the container has a distinctive sound so Tomo thinks that's his signal for his toothpaste time. 

I bought this Petrodex toothpaste kit after some reviews here. He really likes the toothpaste. 

At the beginning, I just put a dab on my finger and let him lick it off. Then I started putting my finger on his teeth and gums. I find both the finger brush and toothbrush to be on the firm side. He doesn't seem to mind them too much? I am just trying to get him in the habit of brushing since he still has sparkling new teeth. I might switch to an old, softer toothbrush and see that will work too.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

The pnosteitis (growing pains) is back this weekend  Poor baby. It's so sad watching him limp. 

We got another bottle of carpofen to give as needed. The vet said if it still persists into January then she wants to get another set of radiographs. He's back on play restriction at daycare (play with smaller pups, every other play group, and no chasing allowed). I've also cut back on the walks and parks, because he really wants to play and chase with the other pups when he sees them 

With all the exercise restrictions, he seems to be packing on the pounds! I'm cutting back his kibble and will have to be more careful about the treats. It's hard though, because the vet doesn't want him to chew on hard chews or nylabones (for risk of cracking a tooth), and now he goes through a 12" bully stick within half an hour...

Tomo is a little crazy at home and more naughty - not sure if that's from the exercise restriction or the teenager phase - or possibly both!


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## OscarsDad (Dec 20, 2017)

What a sweet face! Congratulations!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo update: He'll be 8 months tomorrow! Whaaaaa~~

_Teenage behavior_: Last Sunday at class, Tomo was impossible to handle and kept trying to hump one of the border collies -- not even high value treats would tempt him to listen. Apparently that dog is coming into her first heat soon and won't be able to come to class next week. The instructor said if we encounter other female dogs in heat, we should separate and put distance between them. Good to know as we've never owned any intact pets... :x

_Training_: Training for class is going well. We are also doing some basics this week as he keeps lying down when I ask for a sit. Not sure if this is because of his leg, he's being lazy, or he's just becoming fuzzy about sits because he thinks a sit stay is synonymous with a down stay... 

Next week we'll have our last puppy class. This Puppy 3 class could be taken again in Dec (with only a week off) or in Feb (but I'll be gone for 2 of the weeks). But we are thinking to take a break from structured classes for now, and work on existing commands. I also want to work through my stack of training books - I think Tomo enjoys doing tricks! He always looks so pleased with himself when he does shake. 

We are going through our desensitization checklist again, and we are also still working on leave it/drop it a lot at home, since he LOVES taking socks and plastic bags and every bit of litter :uhoh: 

_Limping_: After being on carpofen most of last week and cutting back on playtime at daycare, he seems to be good this week. We're still staying out of dog play areas and parks, as there's just too much chance that he'll want to run around and play, and daycare has also been limiting his chasing and zoomies :crying: With sunset being so early now, I want us to do some hiking this weekend so he can get more outdoor time and be less bored.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos from this week:


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## CCG_FDL (Sep 23, 2019)

He is soooo handsome. I love following along as our Fletch will be 8 months on the 23rd!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

CCG_FDL said:


> He is soooo handsome. I love following along as our Fletch will be 8 months on the 23rd!


Ooh a fellow March puppy!! How large is he right now? He's handsome, and in your 6 month post he was larger than Tomo was!


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## CCG_FDL (Sep 23, 2019)

Yes! He was born on national puppy day haha! March 23. Fletch is a big boy about 65 lbs. his parents are 70-75 so fingers crossed he won’t be too much larger. ?


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

CCG_FDL said:


> Yes! He was born on national puppy day haha! March 23. Fletch is a big boy about 65 lbs. his parents are 70-75 so fingers crossed he won’t be too much larger. ?


Oh they are definitely really similar! Tomo was 64 lbs this past weekend. Dad is 75 lbs but I don't know how much Mom weighed, I guess I can email the breeder to find out. 

I've started to cut back on Tomo's kibble, since he seemed to be getting chubby due to decreasing playtime and long walks due to limping (and he's supposed to be getting less anyways at month 8 per the kibble bag). So I think his growth is supposed to slowly taper, which is good since he's pretty solid right now haha.

I'm sad that he's starting to lose his giant floppy dumbo ears, they were the cutest lol


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo's been a bit off yesterday and today. This morning he refused to eat his breakfast kibble, although he took treats. He was also kind of mopey. At daycare he was a little standoffish and didn't play or chase as much as he usually does, so they pulled him out of his playgroups and just let him rest. When I picked him up, he seemed to perk up a bit, but had yellow-green mucus around his nose.

We went to the vet and they said it's most likely a bacterial upper respiratory infection. He's had bordetella and influenza vaccines, but I guess going to daycare still has its risks. He's supposed to be isolated from other dogs for a week and gets a 5-day course of antibiotics. 

He fell asleep for a few hours after we got home, ate kibble soaked with chicken soup, and now is much improved and interested in his chews. But yeah, no puppy class tomorrow (I'll still go to see what training we were supposed to do), no daycare next week, and he'll be segregated for Thanksgiving from the other dog in the family :crying:


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Mucusy nose








Mopey in the car








Feeling better at home, watching the chinchilla run around


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## Aidan0311 (Jun 12, 2019)

Aww! Sending Tomo some get well wishes! He’s a handsome pup! He’s got such an awesome stocky build! Fletch is a cutie as well! My boy Aidan is right there with you two on age and weight. He was 66lbs a week ago, but has had tummy issues this week. I’ve had to give him chicken and rice for the past several days, so he’s probably lost a couple lbs. Just curious if you knew how tall Tomo was? Aidan was around 24” last time I checked. I’m hoping he stays under 80lbs. I was wishing his face would get a little fuller like Tomo’s!


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## CCG_FDL (Sep 23, 2019)

I hope Tomo and Aidan are better soon!!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Aidan0311 said:


> Aww! Sending Tomo some get well wishes! He’s a handsome pup! He’s got such an awesome stocky build! Fletch is a cutie as well! My boy Aidan is right there with you two on age and weight. He was 66lbs a week ago, but has had tummy issues this week. I’ve had to give him chicken and rice for the past several days, so he’s probably lost a couple lbs. Just curious if you knew how tall Tomo was? Aidan was around 24” last time I checked. I’m hoping he stays under 80lbs. I was wishing his face would get a little fuller like Tomo’s!


Thanks! I hope Aidan will feel better soon! 

I didn't get to weigh him this week since he's not allowed to be close to other dogs for a week at least (vet says until 5 days after cough symptoms disappear). That's a good idea to measure his height. I'll try it when I get home. I think he's probably standard, he's shorter than our old dog who was a lab/golden mix and was a lot leggier.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo is feeling a lot better on meds, though bored from being at home lol. I've kept his walks to 2-3 times a day since he will still cough a bit if he runs upstairs or exerts himself. We do training and a lot of chews so he is occupied.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

I signed up for another round of Puppy 3 classes, the instructor said we are ready to train outdoors! I really want to continue training and experiences as much as possible in this first year, he's "quite good for a puppy" but still isn't a dog I can live with, lol 0 I also recognize that I'm bad at some aspects of training - being stern, setting firm boundaries, etc - and I've never been _this_ involved in dog training or had an intact dog, so I'd still love to have regular, in-person feedback. 

Yesterday Tomo got 4 walks! During our night walks, he will sometimes bark at our shadows haha. When he does that, I'll use my funny voice and wave my hands so the shadow waves, then I feed him treats.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

The 3 weekdays with no daycare and no dog parks were REALLY hard! Monday we did okay (plus he was finally feeling a tad better), but Tuesday was super crazy. Roommate had a busy day at work so she couldn't do any walks, plus it started raining really hard in the afternoon, so the only 2 walks were my morning and my late evening walk. Tomo was ready to bounce off the walls because he was so bored. He basically humped me or bit me for 2 hours after our walk because he was just full of energy. 

So Wednesday I booked a Rover walker and my husband stayed home, it went a lot smoother. Totally going to book playtime and walks on Rover if he has to stay home from daycare next time... Life saver.

HUMPING:
Humping and counter surfing are the 2 most annoying and pervasive bad habits right now. Tomo now humps my husband too, but also only when we're washing our hands/dishes. Some thoughts about why:
- annoying teenager phase
- bored or frustrated because it's been a long training session (1-2 hours since we started cooking in the kitchen, then he has to settle to eat his dinner, etc)
- excited from water (he loves biting water from the garden hose when I have to water plants)

Things I've tried:
- ask for a sit or down
- push him off me and firmly ask for a sit or down 
- pop him off with a knee
- hold him down at his collar or his scruff 

In general, he is super excited or in a playful mood, so even if I get him off me, he will jump up again or start play biting me. Training then degrades from there because being bit really hurts and I can only maintain calm half the time. 

I think what I need to do is what SunnysDad suggests and set up the situation so I'm only pretending to wash my hands, and then catch him in the act before he tries to hump me, so a correction can be made in time and in a controlled situation.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Thanksgiving morning walk, he tried to get us a duck for the menu


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Then tried to catch the vole that’s been eating all my herbs








Playing with the large holee ball
















Trying to eat my leftovers today


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

New stuffie and bully stick








Had to go out today in the rain because we can finally play with other dogs again, yippee!! (Although he’s still driving me crazy with trying to rip up the carpet and eat all the nonedible things tonight )


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Yesterday (Monday) was his first day back at daycare after a week away. Daycare said he was crazy, lol. I guess he had a blast with his dog friends. They put him with the smaller dogs so he couldn't have been too rambunctious haha.

We did a walk after dinner, and then he was passed out by 9:30, whoohooo! 

Humping (and corrections) went a lot better, though I was forgetful and "rewarded" him twice for counter surfing :doh: One of them was a whole slice of cheesecake - well, I guess everybody loves Thanksgiving leftovers...

Tired pup:


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## CCG_FDL (Sep 23, 2019)

Oh my gosh is he cute!!! Don’t you LOVE a tired pup. Looks like he is all better and enjoying life. This age is fun, you do need a sense of humor ?


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

CCG_FDL said:


> Yes! He was born on national puppy day haha! March 23. Fletch is a big boy about 65 lbs. his parents are 70-75 so fingers crossed he won’t be too much larger. ?


Oh I finally measured Tomo's height, he is about 21 inches right now. Daycare today said he has short legs and I was like whattt   But maybe he does have short legs lol. Better to grow slowly though. His growing pains went away and it'd be great not to see him limp from in pain again.


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## swishywagga (Nov 13, 2012)

Great update, he's really grown and is very handsome. He has such good taste in desserts too!!!.


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## Aidan0311 (Jun 12, 2019)

A friend of mine on this forum has an adorable 8mo old cream golden and he’s also 21”. He’s really stocky and muscular like Tomo...She’s also hoping he’ll grow a couple more inches. I’m thinking they still have time to grow another inch or two! Aidan’s build is more tall and lean right now, but his dad was stocky, so I still have hope he’ll fill out more.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

swishywagga said:


> Great update, he's really grown and is very handsome. He has such good taste in desserts too!!!.


Haha, as long as he doesn't grab the chocolate cake...


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Aidan0311 said:


> A friend of mine on this forum has an adorable 8mo old cream golden and he’s also 21”. He’s really stocky and muscular like Tomo...She’s also hoping he’ll grow a couple more inches. I’m thinking they still have time to grow another inch or two! Aidan’s build is more tall and lean right now, but his dad was stocky, so I still have hope he’ll fill out more.


It's so interesting seeing puppies grow differently! 

At their ages, they're supposed to grow a bit more until 1 year old, right?


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

We started puppy classes this last weekend again, all 4 dogs are new to us, and one of them is the assistant trainer’s dog so he’s super well behaved! Because of the new dogs (and prob just an exciting adolescent day), we had a challenging day in class. Tomo kept trying to pull towards the other dogs and was a bit anxious. He got in a growl and posturing with the other teenage dog.

The instructor said it’s normal behavior but maybe Tomo’s had some tense experiences at daycare. He did have a couple of spats at daycare but on the whole the staff seem experienced. Feel like it might be more how I manage his greetings? We’ve been trying to get him to be more calm during greetings, but I think I need to start getting his attention a few seconds earlier. Sometimes I’m not quite fast enough and he’s already noticed the other dog so he starts pulling.

More things to work on!

Humping is a tiny bit better this week. I’ve been really trying to get him outside more and do more training to get him tired.

Except now he wants to play and bite me while playing, like my arm is a stuffed animal. I guess we’ll stop playing tug for a bit and switch to retrieves again...

His new favorite high value treat is pancakes ? At least that’s easy enough to make and save. Guess I’ll make a few tiny ones this weekend that will fit in the training pouch.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

At Stow Lake again this weekend, enjoying the sunshine despite a bit of mud. 










Tomo decides to chase the ducks into the lake










Getting out










Back at the house after a bath, enjoying his blow dry time


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## Aidan0311 (Jun 12, 2019)

Yes, from what I’ve heard they keep growing! I’ve heard a few cases where there‘s a pup who’s adult weight stays the same when they are at 9 mo, etc. I don’t think that’s as common though! Tomo looks so much thinner wet, haha! He’s one of the cutest pups I’ve ever seen,


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo 9.5 month update:
Tomo is doing great, and especially enjoyed the 1.5 weeks during the holidays when we had time off and were able to go on walks/outings 3-4 times a day. The increased time together really helps with training. Tomo is now much better at self-control around other dogs, distance sits, leave it, etc. He'll sometimes even see a dog across the street and then look at me for a treat, lol. Our trainer advised us to another daycare facility, because what I assumed was teenager dog behavior, to her was offensive defense. (On meeting new dogs, esp males, he'd be on the alert, and want to rush up to greet.) He seems to like the new place a lot, though I think we won't know about his behavior reinforcements/training until a few weeks in.

He's been 66 lbs for a month, so growth is slowing down. He's probably teething again, because he likes to chew on the mat while he's in down stay during dinner, despite having frozen canned food in his kong...

He's being a bit more affectionate, and will jump on the bed to snooze for a bit during the night or early morning, before deciding it's too hot. Weirdly, he seems more sleepy in the mornings, and doesn't want to really wake up for morning breakfast or a pee. I am guessing he's just matured more so he can hold it until he is ready to get up -- I've never seen a dog be worse than me at trying to stay in bed, lol ?

Tomo is such a delight (and sometimes torment) to have around. He's grown into my heart so much ?


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos from this month:


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Great pictures, Tomo is a good looking boy.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

Tomo is so handsome! Enjoying life. ? ?


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo 11 month update:

Tomo is getting to be more of an adult dog now, though he still has many of his puppy characteristics. He is less prone to chewing on random bits of the house, able to settle independently by getting a toy or a chew by himself, stopped humping me, and is generally calmer about the house. He still will mouth me when excited, still needs to learn more self control on walks, and is still a trash eater and counter-surfer.... 

We switched daycares -- the first daycare had more puppies and rambunctious dogs and it is all indoors, and he was getting reactive sometimes during playtime despite having designated naptimes. The second daycare is based in a large backyard, there are more adult dogs, and he seems to have a ton of fun there too without the reactivity. 

We've been a little lax with training because he's so much calmer now around the house and I was traveling a lot last month, but definitely we need to still address counter surfing urgently, and still keep a tidy house. This past weekend, he got hold of an unused poop bag, and had a bout of vomiting plus general mopeyness, so he had to stay at the vet ER overnight for x-rays, monitoring, and an abdominal ultrasound just to make sure he didn't eat anything else inappropriate. And of course when he felt better and got home, he immediately tried to eat plastic bits again... ?


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Being silly










Uh, where did you pick up that wood trash on your walk?!









At Stow Lake again


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Tomo 11.5 month update:

I realized this week that I've spent so little time on training because Tomo has turned into a good dog! It's great that all our training so far has paid off, he's mellowing out and has good habits -- he goes to find a chew or toy when he's bored, lies down when I'm cooking or eating, and is generally good about settling. A couple of months ago I was still bemoaning on how he's trying to be a good puppy but not a dog I can live with, and now he's become a dog I can live with 

We've signed up for the next round of puppy classes to do more group training, and signed up for the trainer to come to the house to evaluate our training and environment to help with trash eating and dog-dog interaction. I feel like I'm not managing his on-leash dog greetings appropriately, and I want to balance impulse control training without making him too aroused because he's just so friendly and impatient to meet a potential dog friend. 

He still has a lot of puppy behaviors like mouthing when he's excited and greeting family, started taking shoes again, stubborn when he really wants to sniff something during a walk, still loves to steal things out of the laundry hamper, eat trash like toilet paper and plastic, etc etc -- but it's part of his adorable golden behavior, we will laugh first and then work on training.

A little sad that we'll be leaving the puppy forums soon  I'll definitely post his birthday photos before we start a new thread -- maybe in the Photos forum?


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## CCG_FDL (Sep 23, 2019)

I enjoy reading Tomo updates as Fletch is exactly the same age! They are still puppies inside a great big package! Sounds like he is doing just great. Yes pls post bday pix!!


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos!

Had a bath, blow dry (regular hairdryer), and brushed:









For some reason really enjoyed the attention and humping from this little gray dog, even though a bit earlier he just told off another dog for humping him ???









Some recall games off leash after being really bad at inhibition control at seeing other dogs


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Cuddling time (he's resting his head on the cat's body, lol -- these 2 are great buddies. The cat will also do snuffle mat with him.)


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

CCG_FDL said:


> I enjoy reading Tomo updates as Fletch is exactly the same age! They are still puppies inside a great big package! Sounds like he is doing just great. Yes pls post bday pix!!


Haha yes! I can see moments when he's amped up or see his little puppy brain working hard... lol. Especially when he sees other goldens fetching and he wants to join in too, but his movements are clearly unpracticed and he'll often misjudge the ball.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Forgot these were great too. There’s never enough photos when it’s your golden puppy haha


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Haha, of course on the day that I post that he's been growing into a great dog, we go on a walk after work (trainer wanted some videos for our meeting) and he was super aroused, distracted, stubborn, and pulled me everywhere he wanted  I worked on sits and waits, and some tricks to make it fun -- he would focus on me for a few seconds and then get distracted by the ducks.

Really hard not to be exasperated and discouraged when nothing I do seems to work. Well, at least they will be good videos for her to see what I should work on...

Back at home he was just fine, and even a bit tuckered out because he was tired from pulling. I guess we'll just have to do more outdoor training. Was also thinking of doing a late night walk with the head halter so he can remember that I'm attached to the end of his leash... ? I signed up for Puppy 3 class again (this is going to be our third series) so we can also practice more with dog distractions; it's so helpful to have other dog owners who want to practice the same things.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

We had a good session with the trainer coming to the house and have a good size list of things to work on. The trainer said Tomo’s arousal to dogs is likely due to him being in daycare 5 times a week, he’s so used to having the freedom to just go up and play with dogs anytime. So with the coronavirus shelter-in-place and working from home until end of April, this is a great time to train together more and build our relationship.

Except that it’s only the third weekday and I am close to tears (and sore) from Tomo pulling so hard during walks. I have been using the Halti, which he tolerates but will try to push the limits, pulling a bit if he wants to rush somewhere. Today we went to a wooded walk near UCSF and used the front/back clip harness instead for easier roaming (my first mistake). I tied the leash to me crossbody to not give positive reinforcement to the pulling — it worked on and off but all bets were off when we encountered dogs. At least I didn’t fall on my face despite multiple opportunities (we were also going downhill) — prob the best thing I can say about it ?

I think it’s important for me to keep in mind that he’s just a puppy in a big dog body... and I’m the adult here. So it must be how I’m doing training. I read more threads about what I can do, so here is what I plan to try this week:


watch Its Yer Choice videos
use higher value treats (Happy Howies or make pancakes)
practice heel walking using halti in house, backyard, and in front of house (no heel command but keep Tomo close to me so we’re shoulder to shoulder). Frequent treats and unpredictable turns
more training and games in house before we leave for a walk, particularly the look at me game
fast pace trot, frequent turns for practice, frequent short walks for practice
choose neighborhood walks instead of hiking trails so we can avoid other dogs coming into his arousal zone. Continue treat for looking at people and dogs when he first notice them (head up, tail up, legs a bit stiff)
use excited voice and backing away to call if aroused to dogs. Maybe also bring the squeaky squirrel toy as a distraction/reward tool
above all, keep my cool. We need at least one working brain between us


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Reporting in after (almost) a week training:


Tomo has adjusted to not being in daycare for the week, he's settling/napping a lot more.
It's Yer Choice treat game is going well.
Ran through basic training at home that are easy to do and make Tomo feel accomplished.
The squeaky squirrel toy doesn't seem to elicit much reaction outside the house. A ball is great though.
After another couple of frustrating days with walks where we encounter people walking their leash-reactive dogs too close or too fast to us, yesterday and today were good. The key seems to be a pocketful of Happy Howie's so the treats are high value enough for Tomo to look at me instead of the other dog. I'm varying walks when I use the Halti with a very light nylon lead (early in morning or late at night so there's less distractions) and when I use the front clip of the harness together with the Buddy System (lead attached to a belt so I can use my weight instead of just my arms). Also walking at a fast pace really helps to keep him interested in walking with me. 
We also go once a day most days to open areas/grass that are less popular so we can play fetch, roam around off leash, etc. All the sniffing and running seem to tire him out even if it's just for 20 min. It's tricky with SF being full of people looking for open spaces, but he loves drives.
Training to do:

I need to remember to give Tomo time to make his own choices and not prompt him with commands (getting in the car, heading out the door, etc)
On walks, continue to be alert and treat often (when he's walking beside me, when he sees another dog/person, making good choices like not picking up trash)
Continuing using Halti, or using the front clip of the harness with the Buddy System so it's attached to my waist
Need to prime the clicker more, Tomo sometimes didn't look at me during our walk tonight (vs when I said Yes!)
Want to try out some ideas in the Canine Enrichment book so Tomo could do his own activities while I'm working during the weekdays
Will try out the leather leash and Freedom harness when they arrive


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Photos from this weekend — it’s Tomo’s first birthday!! No puppy party sadly but I did let him dig a huge hole in the backyard so it’s like almost the same thing right 










Play at the marina/business park to escape the SF crowds now that everyone is walking outdoors. The terrier mix is my brother’s dog, who my mom is taking care of right now. 



















then a quick nap with his favorite cat


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Happy 1st Birthday to Tomo!

He was a cute little guy and he's grown into a handsome boy.
His kitty buddy is so cute.


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