Hormonally Challenged?

At first we celebrated the first time Mobitz lifted his leg to "mark" a vertical surface - a sign to his loving parents that he is a "man's man" (in doggy terms, that is). But when Mobitz decided to lift his leg on our couch, no one was celebrating. The house training has its moments, and as Mobitz's hormones hit an all time high (from lifting his leg, to humping someone else's), things can certainly be tough. I am both eagerly waiting and dreading the day when Mobitz just becomes "Mo", and we remove his bits. I never thought I'd be so overly concerned about the fact that we are removing his "manhood" that I'd even explore the possibility of: Neuticles. If you've never heard of them, they are silicone implants for neutered pets. It just doesn't seem right to remove them, and not replace them with something else!

Why is Mobitz afraid of drainage grates?

He's fearless when it comes to dogs 5 x his size, but when it comes to drainage grates on the road, all his courage goes away. What is it about those grates? Is he afraid that he's going to be swallowed up by them?

It's actually kind of funny - he doesn't notice them until they're about 1 foot away, then he suddenly scrambles way out of the way to avoid them.

GO MOBITZ!

Mobitz and I spend a morning of bliss

Mobitz and I are getting to know each other better and better as I spend more time with him. Thankfully, my work hours are flexible so I get to spend some time with him at home. Yesterday we got to sit outside in great weather on the grass in the park! maybe tonight when we have our BBQ, we can sit out in the park and have our dinner with Mobitz there. hopefully the weather will hold up!

Mobitz has grown so much - now he's 12.5 pounds, up from the 10 when we first got him nearly 3 weeks ago....

GO MOBITZ!

A bell rung - and Mobitz got his wings!

We were doing so well on a pee-free streak and then Mobitz had a big accident. Who can blame a puppy as cute as Mobitz? We knew there was a point when we had to teach Mobtiz to ring a bell, we just weren't sure when that would come. Last week in training class, we started to teach Mobitz to "touch".

To my surprise tonight, I heard the lovely sound of bell!!! So out we whisked - straight to his spot of heavenly bliss. Mobitz did his business like a good boy!!! Maybe it's fluke - maybe it's real. All I know if - Mobitz got his wings!!!

Top of his class

He knows how to sit, lie down (kind of), and is getting better and better at loose leash walking. We're also teaching him how to stay, although that's still a work in progress.

We love Mobitz!

Even though it was pouring rain this morning, Mobitz did such a great job. He's finally learning to walk properly....well maybe 70% of the time. Thanks to our neighbours, he gets a mid-day walk which I think helps a lot with his pent up energy.

Training wheels

Well it has now been only '0' days since Mobitz's last accident (previously 5 days!!!). And I must admit, any accident he has had, has been entirely our own fault. While I am disappointed that our previous winning streak has officially ended, I am cautiously optimistic that the training perhaps is not all for naught. My sense of defeat has been re-inflated yet again, as I read the magic words: "Use treats liberally at first", thereby giving me permission to lavish him with nibbles of peanut butter flavoured treats to his little heart's content. Minis are supposed to be "wizard" dogs, but stubborn to the core. We both tell him on occasion that there is no way he can be as stubborn as we are, but sometimes, I don't even believe ourselves.

After failing miserably to walk him after work, I was determined to go back to square one. My first mission tonight was to try and master the "Watch Me" command - to increase his attention span to greater than 1 second. We mastered 15 seconds!!! Then, we tried the down command. After getting into some creative contortionist movements, I was able to get him into the down position with treats, and then with no peanut butter treat but with something better - a belly rub (who doesn't enjoy a good belly rub every now and then?)!

The next test was the ultimate test. Tag-teaming it, we both ventured out today, two pockets full of treats, and a clicker and leash in hand. After doing several about-faces, circles, etc. (and what dorks we must have looked like), Mobitz is now somewhat resembling a well-mannered dog on leash. However, we've decided that he still loves to run home and doing dead circles in front of the door seems rather dizzying. They say perseverence is the key to proper training. Only time will tell.

True to his name...

Mobitz, Woldemar: a German physician who identified two types of atrioventricular heart block (type I & type II). And for those of you who are cardiac savvy, you'll understand how our puppy lives up to this...

Mobitz: our miniature schnauzer who has identified there are two ways of following commands (follow them, or follow them sometimes then not at all)

After our first day at puppy school, we were armed with the knowledge that Mobitz loves those peanut butter doggie treats, but not enough to work very hard for them. He will sit (which is an easy treat for him), but not lie down. It doesn't help he has the attention span of a tsetse fly. Perhaps he has doggie ADD (does that exist?)...

The homework we were assigned from puppy school, is loose-leash training, where we get him to walk on our left, with only about 2 feet of leash allowed. The point is to get him to eventually walk when we walk, without him pulling us. He seems to walk well on the busiest street in our neighbourhood. We haven't mastered the art of walking nicely on the leash in our complex. Schnauzers may be smart, but they are certainly stubborn to the core! Sometimes we forget that he is still a puppy, and puppies need plenty of rest. And like all little kids, without rest, they get cranky.

This weekend, Mobitz met the Grandparents on both sides. One of the grandmas brought him a nice squirrel which squeaks. To Mobitz, it is the next best thing since puppy kibble. Here is a picture of him enjoying his squirrel (sorry about the quality of the pics - non-berry ones to be coming soon!).

We're not sure if the introduction to this new friend is possibly contributing to his devilish behaviour (likely not). Keep checking back to see how our quest to tame Mobitz is going!

Mobitz loves his crate!

Mobitz loves his crate. Look at that plush bed!

Mobitz has arrived

It's been one week and Mobitz has become the star member of our family! We've figured out that he loves peanut butter, but doesn't like chicken. A dog that doesn't like meat???!

We're well on our way to being housetrained - 3 days in a row! but we're still keeping a close eye on him.

Here's a picture of Mobitz sunbathing yesterday!