We picked up Eli tonight. He's a funny mix of dachshund and lab. Yep. Funny. Basically he's a long, short lab! His family had to give him to a new home because they had to move to an apartment. He's nine months old so about as big as he'll get. We think he weighs about 30 pounds, which is about 20 less than Grady was. Same body shape as Grady (long!) but smaller.
He's full of energy! We got home somewhere around 7:00 and 2 1/2 hours later he has yet to lay down. He's gone in and out the dog door a million times, and has played catch with Kendra just as much. I've never met a dog who knows how to squeek a squeeky toy quite like Eli! He literally puts it between his teeth and rapid-fire squeezes so it squeeks like crazy! It is HYSTERICAL!
He's really smart. And I mean REALLY smart. On the ride home he wanted to get under the console between the two front seats. I pulled him out and said no, maybe repeated that three more times, and the next time he tried I just said "NO" and he backed right out. We got him some toys and he wanted to play fetch. He's still a puppy so I expected that I'd have to tug the toy a bit to get it from him, but while I did I told him to drop it. After a couple times, he just ran back and dropped it. When we first got home, he went in and out a few times and then decided to poo on the carpet (!). I yelled "NO!" and he stopped, mid poo! Then I said, "GET OUT!" and pointed at the dog door, and he ran out. He tried to come right back in and I said, "NO, stay out a minute!" and he backed right out the door! I was really surprised he listened! I watched him a few times he went out and saw he took care of his other business outside, so I think he gets it now. Took no time at all.
On the way home we stopped by Petsmart to get him a harness (he only had a collar and I like the harness for walking). He just about pulled my arm off! So we will be working on walking etiquette! I'm sure part of it was the newness of it all and he was very hyper about everything. We'll have to go on some walks very soon--I'm sure he'll know what to do in no time.
He is crate trained, but I'm hoping we can use the corral thing that we have set up for Grady around the doggie door, or maybe even just let him be out during the day while we're gone. We have to leave in the morning for a couple hours, and I will likely crate him just because we'll be gone a few hours and I don't know what to expect. But we're hoping he will be really obedient and can be trusted! Time will tell!
How wonderful that you found a puppy so fast you love! Look forward to meeting him!
ReplyDelete