Rockwell update

Alright, this is my first post with my new private blog settings. Please leave a comment and let me know if this whole system worked with the "faux" blog in your reader and all that. :) Because some of you asked a lot of questions about the Newfie breeders, I'll go a bit more into it. They think of themselves as very responsible and reputable breeders. They're also very anal and controlling. It was so hard to find a good breeder who did all the necessary hip, heart, etc. testing for the dam and sire... these Newfoundlands are so prone to hip dysplasia and it's very genetic, so if the pup's dam or sire has it, the chances of the puppy getting it around 2 years of age is extremely probable. So these breeders do care about their dogs, they only have one sire and one dam (though they're raising one more dam, but that's all)... it was very hard to find non puppy mills, and breeders who did all the necessary testing. Anyway, they seemed like incredibly nice... but then just before it was time to get Rockwell, their vet and other breeder friends told them that Rockwell was the pick of the litter, and show quality. Here's where all the trouble started. They think of themselves as honest people, and we also had a contract that could have gotten them in trouble, but they tried every angle to get out of selling us Rockwell for the price we had agreed on. They made it really hard, but we finally got him, for the original agreed-upon price. anyway, we get him home and find he has little sores developing on his lips... a week later at the vets, we found out he had been horribly sick, and the ulcers on his lips were probably from an allergy reaction to the Eukanuba food the breeders were feeding him. I'm guessing he didn't exhibit symptoms very noticeably there because he still had his mother's milk that helped him stay healthy. As soon as he came home with me, the stress of leaving his pack and his mother's milk, and the fact that we still had him on Eukanuba because you can't switch a puppy's food cold turkey, he became very ill and stopped eating. He lost a lot of weight with us that first week. The vet put him on Rx canned food to put some meat back on his bones, and antibiotics, and also a rx ointment for his open lip sores. I notified the breeder about what had happened, and she freaked out. She started called at least twice a day, and if I didn't answer (like if I was taking care of my little girls or taking trying to house train a puppy) she would leave a nasty, condescending, very rude message on my phone and email. She got so bad, the stress really started to get to me. Finally we told them we'd like them to pay for half the vet bills, and that finally worked and got them off our backs. The phone calls and emails stopped. Then this morning, some breeder friends of theirs emailed me! They gave them my email and blog address and they let me know in a very back-handed way that they're watching me! So crazy. So that's why my blog is now private, why I blocked them all from my email, and why I'm going to put them all behind me now so that I can start to enjoy this gorgeous puppy!

so on to brighter topics: I'm teaching Alex how to walk Rockwell and she's doing very well. Now that Rockwell isn't sick anymore (except for his sores are still there) he's potty training very well. We have to keep him on a leash, however, or he'll go off and potty in teh house. But as long as he's with us, and we give him potty checks, he's very good (vast improvement from the first couple weeks we had him). He doesn't bark at night anymore, but sleeps the whole night through from 9pm until 7:15am. For the first couple weeks, I was getting up with him 4-5 times a night in the zero-degree weather to take him for potty checks. I'm glad that phase is over! Last night, for some reason, he did bark all night, but that was the first time in a long while. I can't figure it out either.

Rory is kinda hard to train regarding Rockwell. She gets so hyper and squeely that Rockwell gets hyper too and wants to play with her like one of his litter mates by nipping and pawing at her. He can really hurt with his sharp teeth and claws, so this is not allowed. It takes constant, vigilant supervision...

Rockwell loves the snow.

Here he is perfectly heeling for Alex

I'm proud of Alex... and Rockwell is a good boy :)

Of course we have teething issues, and we have tons of toys. Oh, last week he gained 6 pounds in that one week so he weighed 26 pounds on Dec. 11th. Two weeks later (last Friday) he weighed in at 36 pounds. Today he weighs 38 lbs. So it looks like his rate of growth is slowing, which is very good... it's healthier for him to grow slower. When he was gaining a pound a day, that was kinda scary. He looks like a giant poof ball, but it's all fur... when you put your fingers into his fur, you can feel way too much bone and rib. So he probably still needs to put on a bit more fat, but that's hard to do with a giant breed who grows so incredibly fast.