# Archer is home!



## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

Hey gang, after months of planning we finally have little Archer home with us. He is a doll. He settled in his crate quickly and voluntarily goes in it (in fact he just went in again!) He knows how to use the rascal dog with the grate (took the grass off when he started tearing at it... that stuff seems to come loose quickly), ate his dinner like a champ, and is following us around. No accidents so far (meaning, I haven't screwed up that part yet.  
And he is just a sweet-heart. His personality does seem different today than when we first met him at age 7 weeks. (He is 8.5 wks now). 

He doesn't seem as shy and seems to like us. I did take a little walk around while we were on the ferry, with him in my jacket, and he was shaking a little bit, but there is a lot of rumbling noise, and the ocean to see, and a lot of scary things. He heard his first siren soon after he got home. He stopped what he was doing and kind of twitched his ears but didn't seem overly alarmed. 

He also noticed my pet birds and my fish and seems interested to observe them but is not trying to get through the pen at them or anything. 

So far I think he is a total sweetheart and I think we lucked out temperament wise after having to figure out all that stuff (and thank you very much to those forum members who helped encourage us!)

I didn't dare post something without ample pictures so here you go! I am sure there will be more to come.


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

awwww....such a cute little thing! Yes, you do know we love seeing pictures on here! Sounds like Archer is settling in nicely and you are in for a fun time with puppyhood! Enjoy him!


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## Sparkle (May 17, 2012)

What a little cutie! I love his coloring. Sounds like things are going very well for you. Please keep us all updated on Archer's antics!


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

Too much puppy cuteness!!!! He is adorable.


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

What a cutie! Love the coloring he has right now and love the name, Archer. Congrats and enjoy. He looks so sweet.


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

Archer looks like a delightful little guy! I am so excited for all of you!


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## Den&Barb (Dec 6, 2013)

Congrats. Have fun. Makes me want another.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Archer looks adorable! Congrats on getting him home. Sounds like you're off to a great start!


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## Lily528 (Oct 3, 2012)

Archie and I say hi and welcome to you and Archer! Love the name, and he is adorable - enjoy!!


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Congrats on such a sweet puppy. Archer is so ADORABLE. Looks like he's settling in nicely and is a wonderful addition to your family. 

-Jeanne-


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Awwww, he is too cute for words! Congratulations!!!


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## Pixiesmom (Jul 31, 2008)

I must stop viewing these adorable puppy photos!!!


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

So things are going well so far... 4 days in and we've had 5 potty accidents, pretty much our fault, and we're starting to learn, and so is he. Last night he slept from 11-7 in his crate! And he is learning the clicker, too. He is highly food-motivated so that is awesome. He's had visitors every day so far and he's just loved everyone. He seems to be mostly okay in his ex-pen- sometimes he will whine but usually he will eventually settle down and play with his toys or nap. He likes his little crate and seems to sleep either in there or in his donut bed. He likes both equally it seems.

I haven't heard him bark yet- he seems to be more of a whiner (and such expressive whining! Wow!) However my boyfriend reports that he was pretty freaked by the vacuum cleaner and barked at it and whined. So we will have to work on de-sensitizing him to that. He is also really unsure of the coffee grinder. The other things I have been doing is dropping baking pans and stuff and inviting him to come check them out. Also the dishwasher door, dishes rattling, etc. He seems afraid/unsure of these loud noise type of things, backing away and peeking from a distant spot, then cautiously approaching again when I encourage him. So my strategy so far has been to sometimes feed him his meals (which he's eating great) in different ways, like bit by bit out of the scary baking pan, or while I've got the boyfriend working the coffee grinder. Sometimes he will still retreat behind me for comfort or sit in my lap. I try not to soothe him much but just matter of factly keep playing with the object and offering food. I try to keep a happy voice and act like the baking pan is soooo much fun. It's hard to not just want him to be happy and stop whatever it is that is scaring him but I know I have to push him a little bit. Not so much that he's really just shut down, but enough that he's pushing his own limits a little and getting some courage because nothing bad will actually happen. Can anyone comment on other techniques that worked for them dealing with this type of stuff? Or if I should just keep going with what I am doing? I mentioned it to the breeder who apparently has a central vac... so I guess that is why he hasn't heard a loud noise like that.

However, so far the city noise seems to mostly be fine with him. He's heard sirens, motorcycles, etc so far, and he does stop a minute and perk his ears up curiously, but it doesn't seem to bother him. I haven't taken him out on the street yet, just on my patio to smell and listen. The street is pretty dirty and I want him collar trained for safety even if I am just going to walk him around in my arms. I might take him for little strolls in his crate down to street level though so he hears the intensity of the noises he will have to get used to on his future daily walks.

I'm working on the collar now, clicker training him to be ok with it touching his neck. I somewhat foolishly just snapped it on him before and he just kept trying to scratch it off. So I saw some nice youtube videos from kikopup on using the clicker to make collars/harnesses fun instead of just tolerable.

He follows us around the house and loves to run after us and do laps. He loves all the different types of toys but doesn't seem to care so far for chewing kibble out of the kong as Ian Dunbar recommends. So I have another treat dispensing toy that I can stick his lunch in and let him paw it around to keep him occupied for a little while.

I just weighed him and he is 3 lbs 9 ounces at 9 weeks of age. He is eating between 1/4 c and 1/3 c of kibble per day (I'm transitioning him from Eukanuba small breed puppy to Acana small breed puppy) plus a few treats. I think he would eat more but that's the amount the breeder recommended...

I downloaded Dr. Sophia Yin's puppy socialization checklist and have been trying to do the things on there. It's a lot but I'm trying to be creative with what we have in the house. 

Oh the other question I have is: He has learned to hop over the 6 " bottom of the ex-pen to go in and out when I ask him to. He seems to enjoy it, and I want him to learn that he has the freedom to go in and out of there since that's where the indoor potty (rascal dog) is. I just want to make sure that's not too much for his little body to do at this point? I could set up some little steps or something but he does the hop reasonably well...


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Sounds like he's doing great! And I think you are handling his fears nicely. Keep exposing him to things without overwhelming him... And food is always good. 

He's absolutely adorable!


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## RickR (Feb 15, 2007)

We fed Max and Bessie a 1/4 cup of kibble 3 x day until they were one.
He is so cute. Have fun!!!!


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## dianaplo (Dec 30, 2013)

Cute puppy and I love the name!


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

RickR said:


> We fed Max and Bessie a 1/4 cup of kibble 3 x day until they were one.
> He is so cute. Have fun!!!!


Do you mean a total of 3/4 cup per dog per day? Or 1/4 cup divided into 3 portions?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kodi ate 1/4 cup 3 times a day as a little puppy too. (though he occasionally chose not to eat a meal. At about 5 months, he started regularly skipping one meal or another each day. I panicked that he wasn't getting enough to eat, and called his breeder. She said, "He's probably trying to tell you he has outgrown his 3rd meal. Feed him twice a day and see how he does." :doh: Problem solved.


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## Cuddles (Jan 22, 2014)

OMG. Beautiful beautiful...did I say beautiful.


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## Miss Rosa (Jan 22, 2014)

Your baby is do adorable. I love the picture with him in your jacket! It's a good thing our babies stay small because that sure wouldn't work with a bigger dog. Ha!ha! &#55357;&#56374;


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

Update! Our little guy is doing so well. He is mega smart and trainable, maybe because he is such a little piggy and so food motivated. He eats absolutely everything I offer him. He's been learning how to ride in the car in his crate, and has mostly settled and isn't too whiny now. I still haven't heard him bark (yay?)! He slept through one night and the other nights wakes once for a pee around 2 or 3 and again at 7 to greet the day. Breeder recommended no food/water past 6 p.m. and I have to say that has been working out so far, though he does get some treats or sips of water if he is panting from playing or running around.

We are working on collar and leash training, and while we have a few moments of "bucking bronco", I just stick with the positive reinforcement and ask him to come towards me and click/treat him when he does and releases the tension on the leash. He seems to be learning "business" and we've had no accidents in 2.5 days so far (because I watch like a hawk now and have a better sense of when he will need to go). I've been bringing him to some people's houses and I bring his crate and a potty pad and as long as he is near it he seems to know that's his little portable home base and to go there.

He knows "sit", "look at me" (a request for eye contact to remove the major focus on what the treats in my hand are doing) and usually responds to his name and come, as long as I sound excited and encouraging enough. He loves small balls and seems to have an inclination to fetch so we are working on that and "drop it" & "take it" with other toys using treats to trade.

He is still a bit scared of stairs (we don't have any in our house) so I got him to do just a couple with encouragement and dried beef liver at a friend's place. He is also a bit frightened still of coffee grinder/vacuum/etc, so we have to keep working on that.

I think soon I will need to give him a bath, maybe he doesn't need it yet but just to work on him still being used to it as part of his life. And I will be getting brushes this weekend so grooming training will start more in earnest then. He does have those sharp little teeth and he has been biting/snapping harder when he gets overly excited. So I just re-direct it to an appropriate toy or chew object, try to tuck in my hands/arms and ignore him. I just say "no" in a neutral tone. The breeder suggested if they get too insane (and he did, biting me so hard it hurt at one point) that one option is to just curl their upper lip under their own tooth so they get some kind of feedback on that it's too hard. When he was being nuts at one point I did that... he yelped, stopped immediately, looked at me, and then slowly got back to playing. So I don't plan on doing that a lot but sometimes if he is insane and the other methods don't work.

Overall though... I have to say I am loving Archer even more than I thought I would! He is so sweet and I am enjoying this adorable new project.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Glad to hear it is going so well! It's not surprising that he's not barking much yet... It usually takes several months before they "find their voice"  Don't count on him staying so quiet.

Also, please get him a harness rather than use a collar, especially until he understands what the leash is about. All dogs can damage their necks and throats pulling on a collar, but small dogs are particularly prone to collapsed tracheas. Even once he understands the leash, all dogs have their moments, whether it's a squirrel or seeing "Daddy" coming, when they can bolt and pull against the leash. So it's best if even adult dogs are walked on a harness rather than a collar.

Kodi uses a collar for competition obedience work because the whole goal is for the dog to work at heel (or under control in other exercises) off leash. So there is no chance of pressure on the collar. But when we are out on casual walks, he still walks in a harness, even though he is well trained not to pull by this point in his life.


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## Atticus (May 17, 2011)

Oh I feel the puppy love from here! What a cutie!!!


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

So it's amazing how Archer continues to change every day. He has taken to some rather intense whining in the middle of the night, and at times when I am leaving him alone in his ex pen. Normally he settles down and chews the bully sticks and special toys that are in his pen, but there have been some times he hasn't, so I've tried to wait for a small time of quiet and then go get him and change the situation. I really don't want to reinforce that, but, he is only 10 weeks old so sometimes I think some acknowledgment and comfort are warranted. Hopefully this is just normal puppy stuff and he will grow out of it.  

We also gave him his first bath (with us, I know he had them at the breeders) and while he was really not too sure about it, we clicked and treated our way through it and ended up with a clean fluffy dog (and a dog who got his treat ration for 2 days in one evening.  So he's on a treat diet today). He kept trying to lick the air from the hair dryer. Hehe. The shivering while he was still wet took us aback a little but I assume that is normal and not fear-based?

At 9 weeks he was 3.59 lbs (1630 g), and now at 10 weeks he is 3.90 lbs (1770 g). How do these weights compare to what other people have seen? 

Karen, our breeder recommended that we start with a collar, but my inclination was to go for the harness too based on everything I've heard. I bought a harness but I mis-estimated his size (I thought he was bigger! So much fur on that little body) so I'll need to get another. I figured with the collar that he would need to get used to wearing it anyway, and we could start some leash stuff indoors in a controlled environment. Still, it was only the other day I had him in a parking lot, doing a quick little walk to get used to it, and a car started up and he bolted... So I agree for anything outdoors you're right, a harness is needed. Just need to get the right size now...

Otherwise he is doing great, and got to meet our friend's English lab who was actually a bit scared of him. Archer was bonkers for him so they did eventually play awkwardly.  This weekend I am taking him to visit some of my friends with kids. I think he likes young kids though because the breeder's granddaughter was playing with them a bunch. I am not sure what he will think of babies though. 

He's getting better with the vacuum and coffee grinder. I just keep feeding him meals and treats while they are on and letting him explore them, and encouraging him to come closer while they are on. He's making progress but has a little ways to go. I think of every meal as an opportunity to train him or de-sensitize him. It's interesting, because I feel like that has been going so well and we're making such progress with him in a short period of time. Yet, we have friends who say "Just let him be a puppy, don't train him yet"! Which I think must be because most people's ideas of dog training are based on fear and punishment. If people really understood the power of positive reinforcement and how much fun it is for the dogs to learn, they might think differently. In my view, we're providing him opportunities to communicate with us, we're building his confidence and providing him choices, and we're setting him up to be a successful pet so that he can have a long and hopefully stress-free life with us...


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Naturelover said:


> So it's amazing how Archer continues to change every day. He has taken to some rather intense whining in the middle of the night, and at times when I am leaving him alone in his ex pen. Normally he settles down and chews the bully sticks and special toys that are in his pen, but there have been some times he hasn't, so I've tried to wait for a small time of quiet and then go get him and change the situation. I really don't want to reinforce that, but, he is only 10 weeks old so sometimes I think some acknowledgment and comfort are warranted. Hopefully this is just normal puppy stuff and he will grow out of it.
> 
> We also gave him his first bath (with us, I know he had them at the breeders) and while he was really not too sure about it, we clicked and treated our way through it and ended up with a clean fluffy dog (and a dog who got his treat ration for 2 days in one evening.  So he's on a treat diet today). He kept trying to lick the air from the hair dryer. Hehe. The shivering while he was still wet took us aback a little but I assume that is normal and not fear-based?
> 
> ...


Awww, love the photos. We found, with both babies and with Kodi as a puppy, that turning the house temperature up a few degrees at bath time did wonders for making it a more pleasant experience all the way around. My guess is that he was cold more than afraid of the bath.

I can't say much about the size, because Kodi was a bruiser. He was 6 lbs at 11 weeks! . I do know we've had other people on the forum with very small puppies and they have resorted to cat harnesses as "first harnesses" for the wee ones.

It sounds like you are doing a GREAT job socializing him and getting over his fears. Just don't make the mistake of stopping. He has a LONG way to go before that little brain is mature, and he will go through other "fear periods" when it is especially important to keep up those gentle introductions.

And to those people who say he's just a puppy and wait on training him? phooey! They don't know how much fun good, positive based training is for both human and puppy. (Or dog). I can't tell you how excited and happy Kodi gets when I ask him, "Do you want to do some work?" Good training ahould feel like play for both of you. Good, mentally stimulating play, but really fun, none the less!


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