Luke turned 2 years old last week, and it’s been over 2 months since we’ve had a Monday Mischief post! I have to be honest, I miss it. I miss all the silly puppy antics. I miss when I’m still in bed, and my hubby leans over to hug me goodbye, and Luke would stick his head in between us and lick us to death. I miss this…..
……and this.
Luke is really an amazingly well behaved young dog. Sure, he has his moments, and there was a spell not too long ago where he really wasn’t listening to us very well. But that seems to just have been a phase.
Now this lack of mischief is not all due to his perfection. We’ve also learned how to manage some of his mischief. Our rolls of toilet paper do not go on the roll hangers on the wall…they sit on the back of the toilet out of reach (or temptation…I’m pretty sure he could reach them there if he wanted to). Every once in a while my hubby leaves one out just to test Luke (really, he just forgets) and Luke flunks the test most times!
We’ve also learned to keep food as far back on the counters as we can. Counter surfing is a constant challenge with Luke. It wasn’t that long ago that he ate almost a whole stick of butter because we had left the cover off the dish. He knows how to use his paws, and has a pretty good reach with those long legs. But when we try to set him up for training, like putting something on the edge of the counter and trying to catch him going for it, so we could use the clicker to train him to stay “off”, he won’t go anywhere near it. Yes, he’s just too smart sometimes!
If he does manage to get his paws on something we don’t want him to have, he knows it, and he won’t listen to the “leave it” command even though he knows very well what that means. He has gotten better with “leave it” though, and if you’re in the house he will stop and give you what he has. But if he’s got it outside where he can run around with it, all bets are off. Watch the short video below to see what I mean.
There is one other time he won’t listen to “leave it” and that’s when he’s eating poop. The only dogs we’ve had that were poop eaters are our beagles. So once again, Luke shows he just might have some beagle in him! If I see him from the house eating poop or with a forbidden object though, and yell “Luke, here” in the right tone of voice (it has to be a playful/happy, not stern, tone), I can get him to drop it and come running. When he comes in the house we give him a treat and/or lots of praise.
The only other issue Luke really has is that he’s whiney. It’s mostly in the evening after his supper, and when I’m working on my computer. He’ll just sit there staring at me and whine. The only thing that will appease him is a new toy. And yes, it has to be a new toy. We don’t have an endless budget for toys, so that can be challenging. I try to be careful not to get up and get him a toy or give him attention until he stops whining. If we haven’t done any training that day, I’ll take him and we’ll work on his tricks.
I try to get him enough exercise. I think I need some kind of puzzle toy for him perhaps. I don’t want a treat toy, because then the girls will just push him out of the way for it unless I separate them. I think I’ve seen some that are just soft toys that can be taken apart?
I’m just grateful that he has some mischief left in him, and the fact that I feel that way surprises me. There was a time when I was happy to have older well behaved dogs that didn’t have to be entertained all the time. Luke seems to have changed all that, maybe because he was such an easy puppy. Apparently he’s not the only one now that needs to be entertained, and I’d hate to have to get another puppy to appease my apparent need for mischief to amuse myself (and write about)!
If you have older, well behaved dogs, do you sometimes miss the entertainment and antics of a puppy, or am I just crazy?
We are joining the Monday Mischief blog hop. Thank you to our host My Brown Newfies. Please visit other blogs through the links below for more mischief fun!
Girlfriend – I’m just trying to get Jax to the one year mark #whew
It’s a different perspective when you’re still in that first year, isn’t it? When you get to year 2 apparently you forget all about that. 🙂
I do! I totally can relate to this. Half the fun of Delilah’s mischief was writing about it and retelling the story. I never realized how much I enjoyed it until it stopped.
I do have to say that he looks so happy in the video, I probably would toss my gloves to him too. 🙂
Can you believe he knows the difference between something I really want him to have and something I don’t? I purposely dropped an old mitten on the floor yesterday that I didn’t want, and he picked it up and ran with it. But when I made no move to get it away from him, he lost interest and dropped it! Too smart for his own good…or mine…. 🙂
Ya gotta love that puppy mischief though right? hehehe
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Luke your too cute, that video is great and the music is perfect. What a great young man and I will admit I would miss the mischief too,
LOL nope do not miss puppy at all. Luke is still a silly puppy. 🙂
This post makes me say at least 3 things:
1) whiny dog-huh, Luke is a Bear, huh??
2) your comments on missing the antics and puppiness, plus other peoples comments here make me say you all sound just like a parent with a child, yes??? Glad they grow up, and yet not, miss the baby times! Don’t wish that time away!
3) I don’t hear the “we are getting another puppy” mantra right behind this, DO I??
🙂
I always say the boys are the whiners when it comes to dogs!
No, you WILL NOT hear the “we’re getting another puppy mantra”. Luke may be mature for his age, but his other issues make him a handful and he needs extra attention that way! We’re settled and happy with 3 dogs right now.
My girl is 5.5 years old, and has momentary bursts of puppiness. They make me laugh!
I have a lab and he will be 2 this Wednesday. There are times when i wish he would just grow up, but then sometimes I’ll just look at him and wish he was a pup again.
I seem to remember when our two girls were Luke’s age, I was wishing they would hurry up and grow up. Not only do I think Luke is just an especially good young dog, but at that time we had 3 young dogs and that was a bit much!
We’re sure Luke will find new ways to make mischief!
We missed out on Mr. N’s puppy stage too. He very rarely gets into mischief but he loves doing silly things around the house.
Bailie is two and still has a ton of puppy mischief in her system, but Mom always misses the mischief Katie and I no longer have. She always tells people complaining about their puppies to enjoy the mischief and laugh as long as no one is injured because before you know it, it will be gone.
Luke is so cute! I love his spots! 😀
I got the girls as rescued adults but they were young adults. Now that they are getting older, I do find that I miss their more energetic days!
When I hear people complaining about their wild puppies, I’ll often remind them that some day they’ll miss all the craziness they went through years ago. 🙂
In truth, I love seeing Luke so happy with your glove. Maybe you should ask all your followers to send you their single, mismatched gloves for Luke (especially in the evening after he stops whining). Then you can keep your gardening gloves safe and give him some special toys. 🙂
What a great idea! I should probably think outside the box more too as to things I have around the house that he might consider a toy. I probably have old winter gloves and hats too that could be re-purposed!
Your dogs must be really well-trained. Neither Tim nor Hank is a puppy and they both still manage to get into mischief pretty regularly – we seem to have a never-ending supply. If you miss having some, I’d be happy to share some of mine!
I will definitely come by your blog, and then I can live vicariously through your dogs’ mischief. 🙂
Luke is pretty well trained, but the girls aren’t. The girls are just too old to get into much mischief, though Sheba still can’t have a stuffed toy at 11 years old without destroying it!
Ethel is over a year old now and mischief always happens!
Since I rescued Kilo I missed his puppy stage. I often think about how fun it would have been, not to mention adorable!
Thankfully he still loves to play like a pup 🙂
Isn’t it funny how we wish the puppy stage would hurry up and be over so that we can turn our heads and not worry? I always think those days will never end and then “poof” you have a mature dog. I’m ready for a new puppy, but my two still keep me on my toes! LOL!
Yes!! Cocoa has so much energy and is still like a puppy. People see her at the dog park and think she is a puppy because of the way she acts and how much energy she has. I do like it because I remember how Daisy slowed a lot in her later years. It can be exhausting though for sure 🙂 We always have to have something to keep Cocoa busy unless she is exhausted and if she is it usually means I am too 🙂
I definitely usually wear out long before the dogs do! 🙂
Before we adopted Ducky, I did miss Callie’s and Shadow’s puppyhoods now and then. They used to play out in the yard for hours on nice days and I’d sit and watch them and laugh at their antics. But, as they got older, they didn’t play as much unless I was out there with them riling them up some.
When we got Ducky, though, everything changed. She ALWAYS wanted to play and Callie took it upon herself to try to teach her good doggie manners. Poor Callie would get so frustrated with her sometimes because Ducky thought everything was a game. And poor Shadow felt left out. I literally had to put Ducky into hour-long timeouts in her crate so Shadow could have bonding time with Callie when they could just relax and snuggle. Taking Ducky to daycare for the first time was probably the best birthday present I could have given Shadow that year.
Ducky has grown up some, too, but she’s still full of mischief most of the time. And I love it. I will miss these days if she ever grows out of it completely.
The girls are still young at heart, and Luke definitely brought that out in them more like Ducky did for your girls (and I think Cricket also sometimes feels left out when Luke and Sheba get playing).
I really dread the day when Cricket gets too old to play ball. We’ve been playing fetch for 11 years now, and pretty much daily since Luke came along, and I think I’m going to be lost without that. Sheba and Luke aren’t as intense about it as Cricket and they don’t play right (don’t return the ball) unless Cricket is playing with them (she does all the ball returning)!
He sounds pretty mischievous. I can’t believe he’s tall enough to counter surf, LOL, silly pooch.
I’m starting to know why some people prefer small dogs. LOL
Luke I always guessed it… we are relatives or soul mates… I always start to howl and to whine after supper… till I get a new toy or a raw hide bone, what my dad has to hold while I chew a little on that thingy… and the potato-incident is the evidence, I did the same today :o)
We are definitely soul-mates or long lost brothers, Easy! Momz can’t believe that you do the same thing as me and at the same time of day too! And also that you love potatoes!
Woofs, Luke
Oh those puppy days how we miss them! NOT! Oh Luke you were and still are a handful! But so cute, and we know that you are maturing into a great dog, because that’s what I did! Love Dolly
Bruin our 2 yr old golden is the same way only he will have all the toys but wants the one that is way under the couch! lol
My Sadie is exactly the same way about whining for a new toy! She can have 20 of the same ball all over the house, but none of them are good enough because it always needs to be new. She’s usually pretty calm and well behaved, but when I give in and give her a new ball, that’s when the puppy-like mischief starts. She puts it under the couch or in the laundry basket or in a box or down the stairs. It’s entertaining for me and good exercise for her, so I don’t feel too bad about giving in to her whining.
I’m so glad we’re not alone in this! We have so many toys around the house, and sometimes those are fine. But there is something about the evening after supper. I’ve even tried putting old toys where I keep the new ones (he knows where to go looking for them), to try to fool him but I can’t! It is so enjoyable to see them happy, isn’t it?