TimBit is now four months
Have been working diligently and patiently with the lil' guy in a few areas:
1. He was quite thin when I brought him home. His appetite is perfectly fine though and he's putting on a bit of weight now.
2. Teaching him basic commands: he knows "sit", "no bite" and "wait." He's starting to catch on to "come." Teaching him to "stay" will take a longer time. He definitely knows his name!
3. Loves his toys! I'm thrilled with this. He got after the baseboards in the bathroom one day - and took a liking to a bit of piping on a wing chair. Other than that, he has not really harmed anything in the house. His favorite toy is a Kong teething toy. If I spot him chewing on anything I do not want him to, I interrupt him by saying "TimBit, where's your toys?!" He stops and goes in search of his Kong.
4. Is almost completely house-trained. (I'm not joking!) Knows the word "outside" and "potty". Within moments of taking him outdoors, he goes. Even better, he's starting to paw lightly at the door when he wants out. We've only had a few accidents (like four) in the house in the month I've had him - and those were MY fault.
5. Got him to used to the harness and leash the first week. No real issues there apart from a lot of stopping, looking up me with an adorable but puzzled look and wondering what the hell?! (lol). I've slowly been introducing him to walks on the coupler with the older dog (Billy). Tug 'o war! Billy wants to go in one direction - TimBit in the other! So those walks have been quite short, but gradually getting better as both the dogs get used to it. A neighbour sitting on her porch the other night couldn't quit giggling over the doggie chaos while I attempted to walk both of them. She's not exactly a "dog" person either - but came over to greet both of the boys, which I thought was awesome.
Both dogs are getting along quite well (most of the time.) Surprising since Billy was the one and only for ten years.
I do not allow TimBit to torment Billy. They're allowed to play, and I love it when they do. But if I can tell Billy isn't "into" it, I will distract TimBit with a toy or take him outside for "breather" to give Billy a break.
The only thing Billy gets really fired up about is if TimBit steals his spot on the sofa. Other than that, they're getting along quite well. Even caught them snuggling together a few times. Need to keep a camera handy for that!
My niece is going to snap a few pics of the dogs later. (She's better with a camera than I am!)Will add them to this post when she does.
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