Overall, I have to tell you that Luke has been a really good puppy. Even our company last night was impressed! My stepson and his wife and our 2 year old grandson came to visit and spend the night yesterday. My sisters and their hubby & boyfriend came over for dinner also. Luke was on the loose for a while, until William’s little toys came out and he started to steal those. So my hubby took Luke and the girls outside and let them run around for a while. Yes, the girls were out there running around with him and playing! They are still not totally in love with him all the time, but they are coming around. Luke was pretty worn out (it was snowing at the time and we already had several inches), so with a couple treats he went right into his crate and was napping in no time.
After dinner we headed downstairs to open William’s Christmas presents, and Luke stayed up in his crate and never made a peep. I felt bad for him being alone though so I went up and got him and brought him down with everyone. This is what he ended up doing:
He has been sleeping through the night in his crate. We are up early, so the nights aren’t super long, but still, we did not expect this. The crate is working great for us and him. This is our first time really using one. We had tried it with Cricket and she just would not stop whining, and she wore us down. Granted, we know a little better how to do it 9 years later, but I think it’s more Luke’s personality. From his first night here, he went in fairly willingly, only whined for a couple of minutes and then went to sleep.
We use the crate during the day for his naps, and he always gets a little kibble in a kong or some small treats when we put him in. He has lots of toys in there. It has really become his space and he’s happy in there. It also gives the other dogs a break from him, and we can get things done without worrying that he might wake up and get into something.
He and the other dogs are starting to understand each other better. The cats, not so much, but they know where they can go to get away from him. In the picture below you can see that Conrad is not afraid to put Luke in his place, even when the poor little guy isn’t doing anything to bother him!
You can also see that it doesn’t phase Luke all that much! And don’t worry, we keep an eye on things and intervene when needed. Below you can see he and Sheba hanging out and playing with toys together.
Now that I’m done bragging on what a good boy he is (knock wood of course), it’s time for the mischief. So far it’s pretty standard puppy mischief. Anything within reach can be turned into a toy!
Boots/slippers/shoes of any sort are his favorite. And who knew Chuck-Its were chew toys as well as ball throwers?
Then of course there is the ever popular empty Christmas paper roll.
He is obsessed with food and treats, and wants to eat anything and everything, food or not. When I had him outside today I couldn’t get him to stop eating grass and whatever other greenery he could find under the deck. We won’t discuss the other thing he wanted to eat out there. We’ll just say we have to scoop that poop in record time if we want to get ahead of him!
He has already figured out where the treats and food are kept in the kitchen.
Now that I think we’re finally done with all of our holiday socializing and he is settling in well, we will need to start working more on his training. He’s picking up a little bit here and there but when those treats come out he gets VERY excited!
Last night we let our company sleep in our bedroom and we and the dogs slept downstairs on the couches. After they had their breakfast, I brought Luke up to cuddle with me, and Cricket came and laid with us also!
Mischief aside, I’d say the little guy is settling in quite well. We couldn’t be more happy!
Many thanks to our Monday Mischief blog hop hosts: Alfie’s Blog and Snoopy’s Dog Blog! Please visit their sites and others through the links below.
Hey Luke
It’s great to see you settling in so well buddy, and to see you’re getting to grips with the basics of mischief, keep up the good work you little cutie! 🙂
Wags to all,
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
Thanks, Snoopy, I sure will!!! 🙂
Love, Luke
Fun, fun, fun!! I love puppies and it sounds like Luke is being a good boy.
I’m glad you are using the crate. We used one for Sampson and as it turns out we did it wrong, but he still turned out okay! LOL And he is finding that it is his own space and he feels safe there. who knows if the girls get cranky he might just go in there to get away from them. 🙂
Happy New Year!!
So far we’ve been lucky at how good he has been! I am SO glad we decided to use the crate too…it really has made things so much easier. Those girls can be pretty “bitchy” at times, so he will probably learn to retreat to it eventually! 🙂
Happy new year to you too!
Sleeping through the night is huge! Congrats! 🙂 What a cutie! I’m seriously excited to follow along with little Luke’s progress!
🙂 It is huge, isn’t it? We were a bit sleep deprived the first couple days just because we were up very early, and didn’t go back to sleep. Once we got the schedule settled I’ve been able to go back to sleep on some mornings which has been nice (I dread going back to work though!).
He is too cute. I am glad it is all going well. Happy New Year to you!
Thank you, Happy New Year to you too!
Luke is precious! Diesel loves his crate and does really well in it. He is the first dog that we have crate trained! Puppies are just too cute! Have a happy New Years!
Glad to hear that Diesel does well with his crate also. It does make things easier, doesn’t it? Hey, thanks for getting Diesel which helped convince me to take the plunge….I’m so glad we did! Happy New Year!
What a great boy he is being. Cute pictures.
So far, so good! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing Luke’s progress. I can get my puppy fix this way. He’s really cute and he has such good role models, I’m sure he will continue to do well! Happy New Year.
Thank you! It’s so fun to have the blog so I can go on and on about our new puppy….so glad you enjoy it! Happy New Year!
I love my crate and won’t sleep anywhere else, such a cute puppy 🙂 Have a super happy New Year.. Pop by our Firewek’z.
Load’z of Hug’z
Mollie and Alfie
Thanks, Mollie & Alfie! If Luke continues to love his crate like you do, and gets as big as our vet thinks, we might have to get a bigger one at some point! 🙂
I really think some dogs just take to crates better than others. Glad it is working out for you with Luke and that he’s such a good pup.
Good that he and the dogs understand each other, and that Conrad isn’t afraid to say how he feels either. 🙂
Keep those shoes out of reach. LOL!
Thanks, Donna! Our golden Moses was a shoe lover, and he never outgrew it! We’ll probably be back to having to put all shoes away again….lol.
We try to let all the animals correct Luke themselves as long as we can step in if needed. That way he hopefully learns to respect his elders!
Awwww!!!! Snuggle time on the couch is the best!!
Such a cute pup, glad things r going well!
Wishing u a happy new year!
((Husky hugz)) “love is being owned by a husky”
Thank you! As he gets better and better he spends more time outside the crate so we can snuggle more! Happy New Year and hugs to you too!
Buffy Cat here… I am of the same mind as Conrad. Offense is the best defense. Train that pup early and even when he’s bigger than you he’ll know who’s boss. Oh and Mom says he’s really cute.
Conrad is very glad you agree with him, Buffy. Luke is a little slow to learn, but Conrad keeps reminding him of who is really in charge. 🙂
Thanks, Mom, we think he’s pretty darn cute too!
Luke is very cute! We hope things continue to go well with his integration into your family. 🙂
Thank you, Island Cats! I love your new little profile picture there. 🙂
He’s so cute. I love the pic of Sheba & Luke playing. 🙂 my favorite pic is him with Tom’s sneaker in his mouth. Glad to hear things are going well.
Thanks, Sheryl. He is a cutie, and he looks forward to meeting you soon!
What a good boy! He looks to have some very good examples to follow with the other dogs. The cats will always take puppy discipline in their own paws! : ) Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you too!
Yes, I think the cats can pretty much handle themselves! I do think Luke is already starting to watch his siblings and learn a little bit from them.
Hope the little guy continues to be an angel. The first 2-3 weeks Bailie was an angel and then she started feeling a bit too comfortable and wasn’t quite as perfect but overall she has been a great puppy and Mom is sure that she learns her mellowness among other things from Katie and I. We even got her to finally learn the down command by demonstrating it for her a few times, now she is awesome at it. Luke is a super little cutie pie!
Thanks, Emma! I suspect Luke is just on his best behavior while he gets settled in (maybe they think they might get sent back – LOL – just kidding of course). Hopefully he will also learn some mellowness from his siblings, along with some commands!
He is such a cute puppy , welcome to our blog
Thank you!!
Well he is a cute puppy and looks to be fitting right in among the big dogs.
We think he is, thanks!!