Teddy Bear Zuchons References - Page 1

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Hi Corinne & Mike, Time passed by so fast. Aster is now four months old. I am going to share his updates and accomplishments with you.

First of all, Aster has received all his core vaccinations plus Bordetella, Lepo and flea & tick prevention. As of today he is 3.5kg. The vet gave me his weight chart of his recorded weights and said that his weight chart is very beautiful. Aster loves going to the vet and all of the staff love him too. They said he’s very well-behaved. I will discuss with the vet and have him neutered around the 7 months mark when his growth plates have closed. I will let you know when the surgery is scheduled. 

A month ago, Aster has been granted the privilege of roaming freely in the home without my constant supervision. I don’t do enforced naps anymore as since then he was getting better and better at self-settling when I’m present and active around the home. He can interpret when I’m busy and can’t interact with him during which he will just lie down somewhere, play with toys on his own, or hang out on the balcony searching for bugs and listening to the outdoor sounds. He enjoys the free roaming and sleeps anywhere he likes (e.g. kitchen floor, under the dining table, his elevated bed, his plush bed, crate, or balcony) in a belly-up style. I like watching him play with toys. For example, he runs around with a toy in his mouth, throws toys into the air, runs away from a toy and turns back to attack the toy again, stops all his actions at a distance staring at a toy and sneak attacks the toy.

Aster attends weekly Puppy Play & Learn (supervised by certified trainers). Last week when I was picking him up, the teacher said Aster acted so mature. He was still very playful, but when other puppies were going crazy, his attitude be like “Really? Grow up kids!” and when two puppies were angry at each other he would get in the middle trying to stop them like a police. At this age as a puppy, Aster is considered very mature mentally, and in my observation he’s getting more mature, more patient, and calmer each week.

I’ve been actively training him on the topics of obedience, socialization, and desensitization since he arrived home. Aster is very smart and is an eager learner. He’s highly food-motivated. He can be trained by play as well which I usually use a flirt pole to play with him while sharpening his impulse control and known commands before each play. He currently can reliably do sit, lie down, spin, paw, leave it, look at me, find it, and touch in high-distraction environments like busy roads and skytrain stations with a lot of people. Because we live next to busy roads and human/dog traffic on the sidewalks, leash walking skill is crucial for both desensitization to traffic and proper socialization. We have been working on this every day for three weeks now starting from quieter streets and increased the difficulty at his pace. He is now able to heel, do tricks and wait at intersections unbothered by heavy traffic especially trucks, buses, and loud cars being just two meters away for a duration of around twenty minutes (I don’t exercise him more than this at a time at this age). When some silly dogs bark at him, he stays cool as well. He is friendly to dogs and never barks at them. Looking back when he was only ten weeks old and we were just working on getting in/out of the building’s elevator (elevators are scary to most puppies), he has really progressed a lot. I also taught him meet & no greet on walks. Given that he’s super people social, the fact that he is able to restrain himself from greeting everyone on walks now is something to be proud of. He would wag his tail at a passer-by, collect himself, and continue walking without lounging or pulling towards the person. If anyone wants to greet him, he sits or lies down with a wagging tail before greeting as well. When being greeted, he is super happy with a lot of play bows and he literally flies around. As you might have expected, he gets attention and compliments all the time on walks.

I noticed that Aster is really good at sniffing and he also really likes it. He has four snuffle mats and a lot of food dispensing/puzzle toys which I would hide around the home with food and he goes on an adventure to sniff them out. Once when we were at my friend’s place, he sniffed out some cat’s kibbles in unreachable places like in a small gap under a dining table’s foot. When we are outdoor, we sometimes do sniffari walks. If he sniffs something interesting around, he turns into a super focused mode and starts to track the scent, but he often finds some weird things like earthworms in the soil and ants’ nest under wood chips of a playground. Since he’s really good at sniffing, I’m considering taking him to professional nosework classes.

Many thanks to you, I’m very lucky to have Aster in my life. I love him so much! He is an amazing pup in every aspect with great temperament, and he is becoming more and more exceptional everyday. I’m very proud of him for all of his accomplishments. Thank you for giving him a very good start on training and socialization. Aster is truly a star!

Best Regards,

Muse