# Pecan now at 15 weeks



## Pecan_and_BB (Jun 15, 2015)

For all those out there who are going through the puppy stage, I thought I share my first two months as a V puppy owner with everyone.

Growth/Diet: Wow, everyday she is bigger/longer. She is averaging 2.5lbs per week (practically linear gain over the 8 weeks) and currently weighs in at 29lbs. With the help of our vet, she is currently on an 1100 calorie diet consisting of puppy kibble, fruits & veg, boiled chicken, rice (cooked in the chicken water), and her training treats. We are very diligent in what and how much she gets every day with the exception of her stealing strawberries, blueberries and kale from the gardens. Even with 1100 calories per day, she is still ALWAYS hungry and scavenging for extras wherever she can.

Athleticism: While I've owned hunting dogs my entire life, they weren't nearly as coordinated, agile and fast (wow fast) at near 6 months of age as compared to what Pecan already is at near 4 months. Off lead, she can already run circles around us and we can't get a finger on her when playing if she so chooses. The cats (who are outdoor cats) already cannot outrun her and their only chance when she decides it's play time is to get to high ground. She is fast enough where she has already taken down an adolescent cottontail in our back yard. My wife and I already wonder what she will be capable of by next summer.

Exercise: All recommendations from dog trainers and vets based on generalized standards are out the window! I laugh when I hear them say that at her current age she needs 2 - 20min sessions per day. That seems to be her warm up time  Off-lead trails she's up to roughly 6-7 km (~4 miles) per day with an additional hour and a half of play time in our 2 acre back yard. The days that she gets this level of exercise throughout her day, everything else (training, crate times, house manners, etc...) all become very, very easy as she is mentally and physically satisfied.

Sleep: Pecan still only has two speeds, full out and full stop. If she isn't playing or having fun, she is sleeping. Finally we are able to sleep through the night with the exception of a nudge at around 5am to get up on the bed with us for a last morning snooze before our day starts. We do leave her crate door open at night which has helped her settle into sleeping in it throughout the night and she doesn't need nighttime potty breaks anymore.

Training: With so much outdoor time and the summer in full swing, we have focused the majority of her training on her outdoor activities. 
-Whoa: stops on a dime 90% but has a habit of looking back at us and coming out of her line. I'm OK with this right now as she's still really young and her stopping when she I call whether she's on point or just acting a fool is far more important to me right now. 
-Here: her recall off lead is very good and is still at 100% but I do worry that as her confidence grows, her hearing will fade  
-No command 50' perimeter: I've been working on this with her a lot as well where she stays within a 50' radius of us and checks to see where we are without any commands. She is catching onto this one and has figured out how happy we are when she comes running up to us without a command, it's still a work in progress but there's nothing like a good game of hide-and-go-seek!

Behaviour: The days the exercise isn't there, are the days that we still see those zoomies and sharkies. Her bite inhibition is coming along where she no longer bites down on us but keeps an open mouth, however her sneak attacks get us every time and it's her favorite game to attempt to startle us. She's long enough now that front paws have begun to make their way onto the edge of the counter to see what's going on, and shoes left on the ground will be taken away and hidden as punishment for not tidying up after ourselves.

Challenges: I find myself picking my battles when out on hikes/walks. She wants to pick up EVERYTHING, put it in her mouth and chew it. 
-Frogs/Snakes and other reptiles? Yup, and she will recall, sit beside me with them in her mouth and refuse to release with her jaws clenched so tight that I cannot even pry her mouth open. 
-Plastic bottle, paper cartons and other human garbage left on the trails? Yup, in the mouth, these she'll drop when told but pick them back up if not rewarded with a treat, no treat? Oh, this goes back in my mouth then. 
-Small critters like mice/moles ect...? Yup, with those she will recall with it in her mouth, but stay just outside of my reach. These are her prized possessions and she refuses to give them up. I have yet to find a way other than just continuing on our walk and she eventually drops them when she has mauled them into flat little pancakes and something new is more interesting.

Overall, she has been a joy to have and she has us enjoying the outdoors far more than before we had her which is exactly what we wanted. She gives us plenty of challenges and tests her's and our limits on a daily basis, but the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices.


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## SDVizsla (Jun 26, 2015)

This is a great post!

We are a couple weeks behind you - and love to see the similarities!


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## franzonaling (Jun 2, 2015)

We're 2 weeks ahead of you and this could be myself writing this post! Its like we all have the same dog!


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## Donck15 (Jun 7, 2015)

Thank you for writing this! Cooper is our first Vizsla, he is 16 weeks old and we could have written this......

He is a joy and worth the extra effort.
Craig


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