Ruff at nine and a half weeks

[Riverkatie]

Ruff will be 10 weeks old at the weekend, so how are we getting on.

Firstly he is a lot more confident now....and we all know what that means! Trouble! He is so funny, he is into everything, if so much as a pen falls on the floor he is onto it. He has a box of toys that we are always adding things to (and hiding things away for a few days) at the moment his favorite thing is the inner tube from a roll of kitchen towel. I have become a very tidy person....

His favorite place to sleep is on his fluffy rung under my computer desk, where he lies on my feet and keeps my toes warm (it is winter down here), but at night he is crated in a very large crate. A box at one end for him to sleep in and newspaper at the other just in case. He is also crated if I have to pop out for a bit. He cries then (although he is good at night) so we have been working on this at home.

Our biggest job has been keeping him from getting anxious during earthquakes. This is really our most important job as if we had a big quake when we were not at home, we need Ruff to stay calm.

First is a safe place to stay. His crate is situated where nothing can fall on it and the wire top has a sheet on it in case ceiling plaster falls. There is a board behind the crate between him and the window in case the window shatters.

When a quake happens (normally between 4-12 daily) we all act calm...or as calm as we can whilst diving under the table! Everybody chats about the earthquake in as calm and matter of fact voices as we can manage. Nobody pays any attention to the dog.

BTW for people who think I have totally lost my mind....we have had well over 7000 (yes seven thousand, that is not a misprint) quakes since the 7.1 in September. Yes the February one was the worst of all, but we have had other 6's and lots of 5's, and 4,s are a daily occurrence. We also have a fault more or less under our house...

Now, when there is a quake, Ruff sits up and looks at us, and we all make sure we do not so much as glance at him, and he settles down again. The quakes shake us up(!) and we want to cuddle him for our own comfort but it is vital he thinks quakes are nothing to worry about.

So we have a quake proof dog, but he is not good at being left. As the bridges tend to go down during the bigger quakes I always take him with me on the school run (emergency bag lives in car along with bag of puppy food) so he is not used to being left at home, but we have to work on this before he gets much older. I have started putting him into his crate, going to another part of the house and not coming back until he is quiet.

Potty training is fine. I keep him with me and we go out every hour. He needs a potty break about 2 am and wakes for the day about 5.30 (fine by me, i am a morning person) The last day or so, he has started going to the door by himself.

Jumping up and nipping we are working on, and being as consistent as we can. He is already developing a soft mouth and we are very very strict about hanging off clothes, as clothes have no feelings, and it is easy to bite too hard and get skin beneath.

So all in all things are going great. We start puppy class on the 7th July, so that is the next big thing to look forward too. He can sit, stand and down on command already and son is teaching him to roll over....

Katie (in Christchurch NZ)

[lindamarie]

I'm so happy to hear the positives of you and your doodle........but these dang earthquakes!!!
I had NO idea things were that bad there in NZ!! I do believe I would go bonkers! Glad you're safe and have a quake proof doodle.......WOW!!!

[deepnite10]

those earthquakes can be a real pain..we have tremors all the time..but,
they re really that noticeable..

though i ve only gone thru one real bad one in calif. the dogs will be alerted by quakes 60 miles away..i guess that could be a good thing since they re trying to warn of possible danger to the household..