Eight weeks old and growing fast.

Sonic - 8 weeks

It's been just over a week since Sonic came home and things are going really well. He is now happy to spend time in his crate and will even take himself into his crate when he's tired and wants a nap. I think developing a consistent routine is helping. Although he is very active he sleeps a lot in between play time which is great. Gives everyone in the house a bit of a break from his youthful exuberance! I'm now working on getting him use to spending time in the pen outside for when I go back to work.

I took him with me to the Royal Show on the weekend. It was a great opportunity to socialise him and get him use to the hussle and bussle that goes on. He was really good and when I had to put him in his crate he was happy to settle down and either chew on his bone or sleep. Naturally he got totally spoilt by everyone and scored loads of cuddles. He also seemed to enjoy watching the dogs do agility so it would appear he is going to be quite visually stimulated. I will have to watch that as he gets older. Other than that he spent time bashing up his sister Secret...

I've also been amazed at how much he has shot up in the last week. When he first came home his stuffed racoon toy was bigger than him. Now he is bigger than it. He also seems a lot more tuned in than what he was last week. Food is more interesting to him so I was able to do a couple of very brief sessions of sitting and hand targeting today. I haven't really been too worried about rushing into any training with him but if he is starting to show signs of being interested I think it is important to start getting him involved. Other than that we just play tug and do lots of informal recalls so he gets rewarded for coming to me when I call him. Toilet training is still a work in progress!

Although there are many things I plan on doing differently with Sonic than I did with Riot I can't help thinking that even if I did it the same Sonic is just going to be different. They have such different personalities. I know I made a lot of mistakes while Riot was a puppy and I may have prevented some things by not allowing him to be reinforced but I think that is just who he is. Sonic is very different in everyway and I know this is going to be a very unique experience.