How’s It Going With Puppy Remy?

A lot of people have asked how it’s going with puppy Remy.

It’s going well! Mostly. 🙂

We’ve had him 4 days. He seems confident, easygoing, curious and (too) smart.

I thought I’d write an update on life with our puppy in case it’s helpful for other “puppy parents.”

Remy is much smaller and even more adorable than he looks in the pictures. He’s probably 10 pounds or so, about the size of my small cat Scout.

Here are a few updates on life with our 9-week-old Weim pup.

Life with a 9-week-old Weimaraner

“Hi. I’m crazy!”

Puppy potty training

I can’t believe the potty training is going so well. Remy goes potty every time I take him out. He had two little accidents the first evening and one tonight (oops). I take him out every hour or so unless he’s crated. He will hold it in his kennel at night.

Puppy potty training is not complicated. Just take them out often and reward. Supervise inside and use a crate.

My older dog Ace

Remy wants to play with my older dog Ace but Ace wants nothing to do with Remy as I expected. This is fine. We didn’t get a puppy for Ace; we got him for us.

Sometimes people have unreasonable expectations for their dogs to be best friends. I don’t expect Ace and Remy to play or cuddle, but I do expect them to get along, which they’re doing.

Ace growls if Remy gets in his “personal bubble” and I don’t scold Ace for setting limits.

It’s my job to distract Remy and Ace seems to see that I’m doing that. It takes some pressure off both of them. Remy already knows to leave Ace alone.

Walking a puppy

Remy can already walk a mile and a half around the neighborhood. I’ll continue doing that at least once a day and slowly increasing distance. Some people say you shouldn’t walk such a young puppy. They could catch a disease or damage their joints. I’m wondering, have they ever lived with a Weimaraner?!

There is some truth to those warnings, but I’m also a believer in using exercise, socialization and training to make a great dog. I’m not wasting any time. We’re avoiding running and visiting dog parks of course, but that doesn’t mean we can’t walk.

Walking two dogs

I wish I could take my two dogs for walks together. Walking together and sniffing things together is the best way for dogs to bond, but it’s just too hard for Ace. His walks are really just “strolls” and Remy can already go a mile and a half fairly quickly.

Once Remy has had all his shots, Josh and I will take them both to the trails, and I will stroll with Ace while those two speed walk. I will also be able to drive them to some quiet parks and Ace and I will teach Remy about lying peacefully in the grass. 🙂

My cats

Remy would like to be friends with the cats. The cats wanted nothing to do with Remy the first few days, but now Scout is starting to interact with him a little. My cats have seen lots of foster dogs come and go. (I hate to break it to them that this one is permanent.)

Remy is gated in the living room area or on a leash. The cats can hop over the gate and be in the puppy area if they want to investigate. Sometimes they do, but mostly they’re not interested yet.

Night-time kennel training

Remy sleeps in his crate in the living room at night. He cried on and off the entire first night. It was very hard for me not to scold him but I succeeded in ignoring him. In the morning, I took him out when he was quiet and he went potty outside. He didn’t cry much the second night. Third night … lots of crying again.

He whines a lot in general too. Whenever he wants something or is excited or frustrated. So working on not acknowledging that. Sigh …

Update after 1 week: The kennel training is much better now. No more night crying!

So that’s about it!

Lots of potty breaks and providing lots of chew toys. That’s the story of my life right now. Life with a puppy is fun if you can ignore a LOT of whining day and night. We’re adapting a bit and mostly expecting Remy to adapt to us. OK … or maybe it’s the other way around!

I hope he’ll be a great dog. He’s scary smart. We have our work cut out for us.

What puppy questions do you have?

My readers are good at sharing tips and helping people who have questions. So don’t hesitate to leave yours below. Thank you, everyone!!

P.S. I know I’ll get some warnings about rawhides because of the picture I posted. No need to warn me.

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