[Schnauzaluv]

Hello from Canada, my name is Kat. It was a bit of a surprise so soon.....but....Ozzy came home Friday night!!!! He is a black and silver miniature schnauzer 😊

He will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. He is so sweet and wonderful, he has definitely stolen our hearts in these 4 days!

We are seasoned dog owners, but haven't had a pup in 15 years! But it's like Ozzy has been with us much longer, he is so comfortable and made himself at home almost right away. He is much braver everyday, and finally I think I see his true personality, so sweet, playful, loves his food and sleeps well. What else could we ask for?

I admit, it's really hard to get pics when he's awake lol, so I don't have any great pics, but took a few vids.
Meet Ozzy Day 1

And here he is Day 2

I have some reading to do, but I hope to learn and meet some of you and your pups!

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Oh, he's gorgeous!

Welcome to you both.

Thank you! Ozzy says thanks too 😉
We are happy to be here.

 

[Schnauzaluv]

I got what I think is a good pic, but again, he's sleeping. It doesn't represent him very well!

He gave us a scare today. He took a superman jump right off deck (to see me I think), I felt so bad. It's like he ran toward me and just kept running. There was a small guard, but not tall enough, I didn't think he'd ever do that! Reminder for me what it's like with a puppy that knows nothing. I still see him bolting happily toward me in my mind. Poor guy. He dropped into a large flower pot (luckily) with small cedar trees, so at least there was that to break his fall. I think I yelled and tried to catch him, just a reaction, and he let out the most painful yelp. It was awful. I scooped him up immediately trying to make him feel safe. My OH came out in concern wondering what had happened. We didn't want to make a big deal about it, but between me coddling him and my OH, he seems just fine. Phewww!

I told my OH, in a little while, this will be funny looking back.

It was Ozzy's first scare, and I have to say ours too!

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Sorry, that picture isn't good enough - we are going to need a lot more!

(shameless excuse for asking for more puppy pics ...)

Lol, i'll work on some pics, but I got a new vid...enjoy! He's such a bundle of energy when he's awake, and he really makes eye contact so when your eyes are on the phone screen, he tries to attack the phone haha! My other dogs didn't react to the phone, but this is a genZ puppy who grows up with technology, so it's interesting to see how he reacts. I thought it was my glittery phone case, but he does the same to my OH's phone with a black case, so i'm pretty sure it's the attention thing. So many times i'm trying to text and Ozzy is jumping and pawing at the screen typing nonsense!

Nooooooo! No more puppy pics. I don't think I could handle the cuteness!

I'm major puppy broody atm. I need horror stories of them being little monsters and their Hoomans shutting themselves in the bathroom, tearing their hair out and screaming "Whyyyyyyy? Why did I do it, oh Lord?" Not pics of little angels with sweet innocent faces and eyes full of adoration for their Hooman.

Hahahaha, sorry no horror stories of Ozzy, but we hope you can share vicariously and it helps satisfy your contemplation. 😉

Ozzy is growing so fast! He turned 8 weeks old on Thursday and we've had him for a week now. I seriously saw he was noticeably bigger, so I weighed him out of curiosity on Thursday at 8 weeks and he gained 1.5lbs! So he weighed 5lbs exactly on Thursday- right on track for a good size mini schnauzer. He is also looking less baby like and more like a mini me schnauzer. His eyebrows and beard are starting to show, it's so cute! We don't plan to let his beard grow long like other schnauzers, but it's so cute to see him growing up!

He climbed the deck stairs all on his own! I was so surprised he attempted and succeeded all by himself with no coaxing. I had him in the grass and went in for a second, he whined once and then I heard what I thought was him climbing the steps. And there he was on the deck! I honestly didn't think he could do that, he's bigger but still pretty wee to climb those. He has really good agility though, loves to run (pretty fast too) and jump, so there's that. In fact I try had to limit him a bit because his bones/cartilage is too early in development for anything strenuous, so I've read.

So in some more lazy play, here he is playing with a stick. Sticks are his favorite. He loves chewing on the wood and he gets to find his pieces out of a big stick pile I didn't get around to discarding. I think i'll keep some there for him now 😉

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Ok I purposely was trying to get pics so I had my phone when he was chewing the stick.

Otherwise all eyes on Ozzy lol!
See what I mean by the eye contact? Here he hearing a disturbed squirrel for the first time. It's hard to hear on vid, but it's shouting at something, probably us.

He didn't know what was making the sound, but I was laughing my butt off because he kept looking at me for the answer 🤣

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Another short vid

He whines to go to potty, when he's tired and doesn't want to miss out and he growls when he plays, but hardly barks.....so far.....lol. But one thing is consistent, he really doesn't like my phone in his face 😂 The most he barks is usually for his food because he's so excited for it, but now and then he lets out little barks, and those are mostly little woofs in his sleep.

 

[Schnauzaluv]

He is absolutely adorable!

Thank you 😊

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Man! It happened again! He slid off the deck butt first onto the ground. This time soil and moss (a walkway), so a softer fall, but still! That's fall #2! We are terrible parents aren't we? I don't know how it happened, he slid backward between the fence and the edge. I can see the look of dread and panic in his eyes as his front paws sunk overboard. He whined a couple seconds afterward, I went down to get him and he greeted me. I don't think he hurt himself, maybe a bit of a scare, but Ozzy is a bit crazy lol! It's like he has to be doing something all the time and his attention span is a bit all over sometimes, but i'm sure that will improve with some training. This week we are working on lie "down", he already mastered "sit" last week in like 10 mins

 

[Schnauzaluv]

I messed up the collar a few days ago, just slapped it on him and he went crazy flipping around and rubbing against a soft rug. So I took it off him and i'm not going to try it for a few days at least, and this time use treats and go much slower.

But anyway it's getting colder and I wanted to get him used to coats. So I got a vest at the dollar store and I tried it on him when he was getting ready for a nap. I showed him the velcro sound and he was inquisitive. He bit the vest a bit and then I wrapped it lightly around his neck and he went right to sleep on the couch. I think he got hot, so I helped him down and he got a drink and lay down on the floor.

I know, it's inside out and looks like a dracula cape, but he seems to love his vest haha! It's not my intention for him to wear clothes inside, but if it helps him feel safe like a thunder shirt, it could prove helpful later on.

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Omg he DOES have a prey drive! I showed him some dog TV with birds and then a squirrel right at the screen and he could see it but didn't really care. We'd be outside with birds right around us and he didn't react. We have a chipmunk living under our deck who is pretty used to us and he's around outside but Ozzy either hasn't seen him or doesn't care which is very unusual for a schnauzer hahaha! He hardly barks yet either, but I have a feeling i'll be eating those words soon unless I train him well lol. He he hasn't yet seen another animal up close or met any because my OH is waiting until his 2nd round of shots, but he didn't seem to have any prey drive for real animals, only my rake (the leaves) and toys the way you play with them.

But today he chased after a couple birds taking off! It was like a stepping block conquered haha! Happy to see my baby acting more like a dog lol.

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Ozzy turned 10 weeks yesterday. He is progressing nicely with training and is seeming to feel very comfortable with his new family.

Even though I do annoying things to him for pictures 🤣

Still a bit big but lol!

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Some more pics as I realised I forgot to update.
8 weeks

9 weeks

10 weeks

 

[Schnauzaluv]

So the collar is on now for good. We will be training with a lead attached and eventually be taking little walks in the backyard area he does not have access to on his own freely. Training is coming along very well, he is a natural, this week he is learning 'stay', mixing it up with 'sit' and 'down', pushups ect.

I've been thinking a lot about socialization since he now seems feel so comfortable and we are establishing routine. He goes for his 2nd round of shots on the 20th, so he'll be open to meet other animals in a couple weeks. But I plan to sit/ play/train with him in the front yard with lead attached and watch ppl and dogs walk by. I hope to train him to stay quiet because my other two minis def loved to bark at ppl and especially dogs walking by and I never managed to teach them to stop that. This time I have a lot more info at my hands (thanks dog forum!) and more time to work with him. It is helping me so much to train Ozzy. I read when Ozzy is napping and then I can't wait until he wakes up so I can practice things I read about! I mean I do wait (he gets his rest), but you know what I mean haha

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Actually I have to mention, I went a little crazy with treat rewards when I was 1st training with him. I was using other kibble, so not terribly fattening but I was using treat reward for everything and accidentally over-feeding him. He wasn't even interested in getting the clusters kibbles from his treat ball last night and went to bed. In the morning he went to town on it before breakfast.
Anyway I made some changes:
1) I started using praise for a lot of training. I train all the time. He doesn't even realize he is being trained, but I use praise and statue to get him to behave how I want.
2) I have reduced his daily food amount. I also use a portion of his meal to do a few training exercises and "snuffling the kibbles under the towel". I don't do games every time before meals, but it helps to engage his mind and nose while using his food for meals. Then he gets the remainder of the portion in his bowl as a meal.

I still use a different kibble for training at other times and his Honest Kitchen clusters for stuffing his treat dispensing ball.

 

[Schnauzaluv]

We had all his toys out all over his playmat, I figured the more toys he has easy access to the better to deter him from stealing my shoes. But the more toys he had out, the less value each toy (or toys in general) had. So we had all his toys piled in the corner next to his play area so he could choose the ones to play with when he felt like it. Anyway, I thought maybe I would try the toy basket in his toy box that he is too small to reach into at this point. But I still thought a toy pile was better for him so I emptied the basket in front of him. But lol the basket was waaaaay more fun than toy mountain 🤣

He spent a good 10 mins (which is a lot with his attention span haha) rolling, chasing and digging in that thing which is more than I can say for any one toy or game lol. Baby steps...

Thanks a ton for the resource Joanne, it is very helpful.

 

[Schnauzaluv]

I bought all sorts of toys in anticipation for Ozzy's arrival, it was long time on the wait lists. I found this one stashed in his toy box. It's a wooden rattle for toddlers. But honestly it's greatest toy right now. Tbh so far it ends up being his chew that puts him sleep lol, he loves to chew on wood and the rings move as he chews.

It rattles, it rolls, he can carry and grab it easily, it's a win 🤘

Started with the leash this afternoon in the area he's used to being in the backyard. He doesn't seem to care too much with having a lead attached. Also I thought he'd view the leash as a toy, but he didn't seem to grab at it much even loose leash walking. I was trying to make a point of when the leash was attached and he was going for a walk because without reward and following my hand at this point, he tends to take off running, getting at the end of the leash and flipping. But then I coaxed him beside my left side in position to start walking with me. He gets no reward for running off. Only when he walks with me. Man, takes lots of patience! But I also know it was session #1, so he did really well! When I take off the leash, I say "free" and he is released to run as he pleases.

 

[Schnauzaluv]

That is awesome! I actually did the same thing and stuffed a ball with a bell in it, but I didn't give it to him yet because I thought he was a little too small. But he is growing so fast and he'll be ready soon! Oh and that's a great suggestion to rotate toys, it's like a new toy all over again haha! Admittedly he really has too many haha!

Tbh, I do struggle with getting him to entertain himself (or maybe it's me worrying too much about it and entertaining too much) 😕🙃

It makes me feel anxious to leave him alone (particularly in his pen) although I am reading and working in it and we're both making subtle improvement, it is something i'm struggling with.

I mean at first he whined when I passed the barricade to go to the bathroom 😖😳

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Have you tried the Flitting Game?

Its described about ⅔ of the way down this link.

Separation Anxiety - Fact vs Fiction

Separation anxiety is something of a hot topic, something many trainers and behaviourists avoid like the plague and something widely misunderstood by the majority! So what IS it, and what ISN’T it. Separation Anxiety is used as an umbrella term to cover any anxiety based issues regarding...

www.thecanineconsultants.co.uk

Oh thanks reading now, looks like just what I need! I just skimmed, but yes, if he's up (not sleeping/resting), he is following me everywhere in the house he can. Honestly I have to fix my own anxiety about it before I expect him not to whine when I disappear. He just whines a bit, not outright crying, and it is getting better, but something we are working on.

I starting playing the Flitting game and it's helping i'm sure. He already was pretty ok with me in the kitchen, especially if my OH is home too, but the best time to leave him is when he's resting. I will continue to play the game with the barrier to the hallway cuz that's a bigger issue for him.

 

[Schnauzaluv]

He's 11 weeks already! Where has the time gone? They grow so fast 😭

We gave him an ice cube today 😂

He now has learned some impulse control, sit, down, stand and 1st level stay. Mini schnauzers are an intelligent breed, but it must be because he is so young, idk, he seems to understand what to do right away.

We are working on barrier control. He has figured out he can get through the barrier to the hallway lol. I laugh because it looks so funny when he just bust through. It's only a sofa cushion jammed between the walls, but he just didn't think to jump against it yet. So we are trying to teach him that whatever is going on in the bathroom and bedrooms is super boring. We're keeping the bedroom doors closed anyway, so nothing to see. But I can't see him around the corner, so he only has free access to the livingroom and kitchen until he's potty trained.

 

[Schnauzaluv]

Btw i've been self learning to hand strip. So far, i've worked on his head, tops of ears, neck, shoulders, down the right side and tail/back end/hind legs.

Can you tell a difference?
Before and after

I don't really know if i'm doing it right, but he seems to like it and i'm pulling the longest hairs on the jacket. The cheeks and belly i'm scisorring.

If anyone knows, I could use the tips 😉