This past week has been an intense and sleepless one. Theo finally reached 8 weeks and was ready for his forever family, ME, and although my family and friends felt the need to "prepare" (more like warn/discourage) me for what I was getting myself into and despite all the research I did, I didn't realize how much he would affect my sleep pattern. The first night was the worst, which was a sad way to end the Homecoming day. A day that started with a road trip to Bakersfield to pick Theo up from his breeder, a pit stop at Petco for last minute Theo shopping, a great car ride back to my parents during which we took our first nap together, him wrapped around my shoulders, chair reclined, and a whole day dedicated to getting to know each other was followed by a night of crying and frustration. Theo is not a huge fan of his crate yet and the first night was the worst of it, getting up every hour and a half, due to barking and whining, thinking he might need to potty. Even though it has taken him almost a week to finally sleep through the night, I am please to see how fast he is catching on to other things/rules. It only took him 3 days to recognize his potty spot and now within two minutes of being taken to it he goes potty. When outside isn't an option, he has already taken to the potty pads for number two business. He doesn't always make it directly on the potty pads to go pee, but he's getting better. I have also seen a significant amount of improvement in his coordination in the past week. He was such a klutz the first half of the week and today he is jumpin out of my lap, up onto the couch, and up a few stairs. We also went on our first bus ride and walk together and he did so well. I took him on a short walk around the block and he followed next to me for the most part with little to no pulling and minimal stopping. One thing we do need to work on, however, is not walking in circles around mommy, tangling her up in the leash. He is still uneasy about being left alone and has some barking issues, so that along with sit, lay down, and come will be the things to be worked on next. Here are a few picks from the week.
