CalamityJess

That's the word I was looking for. I knew it was common in BC's, I looked it up the other day, and found mottled in BC isn't something that shows fully at 8 weeks. I'm somewhere between make him stop growing and changing so fast and make it faster!...lol

All of the gorgeous babies on this forum gosh! I love that tail! I swear if Brody's tail gets any longer he'll trip over it. I have never seen such a long tail on a dog before him. As much as I love watching him grow and change and hate how fast it's going, I want to see the end product...lol. The green eyes surprised me though. That's the color I have never seen mentioned as normal except in Staffies. And sometime in the last week his chest dropped/deepened. His coat as you can see is in an awkward phase...lol Some places it is practically transparent and you can see his puppy pink skin underneath. It's definitely getting longer, and I can see feathering coming in on his legs. He also has what looks like the beginnings of an airplane ear on one side...lol

Ok, first question: At whatpoint do we see the adult coat? When we first got Brody, his coat was white where there weren't black patches and he had freckles on his paws. He is now 13 weeks and the amount of black "freckles" coming through the white hair is staggering, and adorable of course. It looks like he's turning into a Dalmatiion!...LOL We are going to hope that is NOT the mix he is by the way. Because can you even IMAGINE??? this was a week ago This is today The camera doesn't show as much as there is, but you get the idea. What you can see at his tail is what his back actually looks like. Also his eyes are still green...will they stay that color at this point or is there still change waiting to happen?

He still has another ~month before he can be out where other dogs have bbeen or will be anyhow. We actually have a dog park here with an agility playground, but until he has all of his shots including lepto and bordatella he isn't allowed to go there. So we'll focus on obedience and manners now and when he's all set on shots he can go from there. He can at least get used to seeing the stuff, and do the tunnel and lower impact things, and practic his stay etc.

Agility is definitely on the list, I just thought it was supposed to wait until they were older and their joints were ready for it from lurking around these forums. I do want him to learn obedience first. That'll be starting in a couple weeks for him.

1. Brody was adopted from his litter at 8 weeks old. It was natural that he was going to bond with Mocha first, we fully anticipated that, and we're hoping for it since she had just lost her housemate. Even so, my husband was only here for a few days with Brody, before he left for a month. In that time they completely became each others. When Mr Jess came home Brody went crazy with happiness. We have always and will always have 2 dogs. His and hers we joke..lol Mocha is very much bonded to me. Our last male was bonded to the husband. Thats npt to say they didn't bond with everyone in 5he househd, but thry have their favorites . both dogs were also very tightly bonded to each other. 2. As I said it's simply his first job. It certainly isn't the only thing he does all day. When I'm focused on classwork, he us playing with her. This is also her job, keep puppy busy while mommy does college. When I'm done for the day I spend plenty of time working with him on impulse control, play, and in a couple weeks he'll begin obedience in the home with a local trainer and myself to add to his repotoire. 3. No problems in the name department. He knew that in the first week. Though he might think his name was Brody No for a while lol. Name is crucial for recall, and that is something we work on several times a day because recall is the number one thing I want him excelling at. Granted I'm also a student, but I'm also 40 lol and have had dogs all my life, and even raised a couple humans. I promise there's plenty of balance between interactions around here.

Worst case is fine. 12 years of being an Army Wife has me well versed in prepare for the worst, hope for the best...lol! Brody's mix is a mystery. We do live in the south, and he was obviously bred here. His sibllings with the smooth coats almost have a Staffy face and head, and build. Brody is leggier and has a more angular face. And he does have some serious jaw strength even this young. But it's still a guessing game. However, either side of that mix would need the same advice. These are his brother (front) and sister.

Oh how I wish Mocha would like things like that. But She has some issues. like in the yard, she runs off the patio to do her business and runs right back to it. She doesn't like to play in the grass even during the day but at night it's even worse. She came to animal control as a stray, and we're pretty sure judging by her behavior with doors and outside she was put outside and not allowed back in. I'd like to get at least manners and tricks trained with Brody, we're still having issues with his focus. If food is a reward he focuses solely on the fact that food is present. Nothing else, and we haven't been able to break through that just yet. His manners aren't bad at all, he does sit, stay (short stays), and accepts no very well.

He hasn't shown much if any BC traits yet. He does go for her feet, a lot. But Mocha certainly doesn't mind. In fact she just walked into the room, stub wagging, Brody hanging from her ear and sliding along behind her...lol. He's been very good taking cues from her. If she lays down to sleep and ignores him, he'll go get a toy and amuse himself. Interestingly it's the spaniel that will stop Brody from going places, he gets the zoomies at night and she tends to block his path and make him bounce off of her. For right now at least, they seem to have a mutually agreed upon relationship. And Mocha is losing some weight to boot which she needs! Mind you that isn't all he does all day. We have playtime with people too, and treatball and his green bowl which he refuses to think through and flips over for the kibble instead of using his tongue >.<

Oh yes, I forgot his face, shame on me! It is a cute face, and those green eyes turn me into mush...lol

So Brody is 12 weeks, almost 13. We've got housetraining handled. Crate training is mastered. He's a pretty easy going little guy. Not a big ball drive, not crazy hyper or anything. He has a good handle on "no", "sit", "pee" (I don't know how I did THAT but he pees when told). I know before he can even consider the dog park I need him to have a dependable recall, so I'll be researching that next. But the big thing for a BC (X) and any other intelligent breed is "give them a job". Now, here's where the story gets long. I also have an almost 4 year old Boykin Spaniel mix. We adopted her when she was around 2 years old, and she came with heartworm. She was a typical hyper high energy spaniel at the time. Heavy fetch drive, lots of bounce and always wanting to play. Then came the heartworm treatment. If anyone's dealt with this, you know they have the first immiticide shot, then have to be kept calm for 30 days. No fetch, no bouncing, no typical spaniel behavior. Then comes two more shots and another 30 days of this. In preparation for this, we did teach her she couldn't demand play, and could only play when invited. After the 60 days were up, she took this to mean she could never be hyper and bouncy and playful. At the time we had a 9 year old malamute/Shepard mix named Shadow that was the biggest couch potato you've ever met. At first she was always after him to play with her. But post-treatment she adopted his lay about mentality. She started acting like a senior. When Shadow passed away last month. we adopted Brody...the day after. We couldnt stand the empty spot Shadow had left behind (big empty spot, he weighed 100 pounds!). We opted for a puppy this time, and the shelter we got Mocha from had this litter of BC mixes. We figured a puppy would first of all not come with any pre-existing behavior problems due to neglect, abuse, etc. We could raise him to be the kind of dog we wanted, and having a puppy would be good for Mocha, who was 4 going on 40. He immediately and without hesitation bonded with her. After a couple days it was mutual, and he has made it his mission to get her playing every chance he gets. And he's good at it! He really gets her going, and even her fetch drive is returning. So, long story for a short question. As long as he bonds as well with us, which I believe he is, is "be Mocha's playmate" a good enough job for him?

Thanks all! So far so good then. Good build, housetrained, and he has already gotten a job (remind the 4 year old spaniel she's still young!!).

Brody was not cooperating with side photos today, maybe when Mr Jess gets home he can assist. Top down though he's like this... He's small compared to Molly maybe heightwise. He's only around 12.5 inches at the shoulder and currently around 13 pounds. His chest isn't deep at all, but it appears that comes with time? But by that chart up there, and descriptions he feels right so I'll keep him where he's at until he needs more.

So Brody is 12 weeks now. He is housetrained and can ring a bell to go outside. He is currently eating blue wilderness puppy, which has cleared up his previous tummy troubles. My question now is, I know not to go by the bag label for feeding amounts. But I don't know how to make sure he's getting enough food. He currently gets 2 cups per day split between 3 feedings. I can still feel ribs so I know he isn't fat. But he has this tiny waist thst makes him look skinny. Compounding this is the fact that he is a mix and we aren't sure what the mix is.

Definitely check for a UTI! I tried using a gated room when we first got our puppy, Brody at 8 weeks. It was a complete failure. After a couple weeks of that I switched to strictly crating him when I couldn't have eyes on him for long periods of time such as studying, researching, cleaning, showering etc. In addition I stuck a Christmas decoration on the back door that has bells on it. As soon as Brody came out of the crate, we'd go straight to the door. I'd put his paws up on the bells to make them ring, tell him "good boy!" and open the door. Once outside I'd just say "go pee" and wait. He'd pee quickly get lots of praise, and I'd give another 5 minutes to make sure he was done. As long as he peed/pooped outside, I would let him run free in the house for a while, taking him out every 20 minutes or so, making him paw the bells each time. And back in the crate if I had to be doing something else, wash rinse, repeat. We had some accidents, which is OK! You can't correct peeing in the house if you don't SEE it happen. The thing is (for us at least) to catch it happening, make your disapproval noise (mine is an "eh-eh!"), and get them straight out that door to finish. After a couple weeks, Brody started intermittently ringing the bells on his own one day. The next day he forgot that, but once we reminded him he grabbed onto the idea and hasn't failed since. He just hit 12 weeks on Friday, it was like a switch flipped and he decided he was housetrained. Every puppy is different, some take longer just like kids!