Dog's Name & Age
Homer Maximus is 7 months old. He's a Maltese-Yorkie mix (aka Morkie).
In a Word, My Mutt Is…
Fun-loving
Best Characteristics of the Breed
Smart, but also knows how to relax. Soft fur doesn't shed (hypo-allergenic)
Most Challenging Characteristics of the Breed
He's a barker. We're working on that.
When, Where and How I Got My Mixed-Breed Dog
I got Homer in March 2010 when he was 8 weeks old. My sister has been breeding Maltese dogs for many years, but I have never been drawn to all-white dogs. Another one of my sisters has a tan Morkie and I love the look of him. This year my sister the breeder decided to breed one of her un-papered Maltese females with a Yorkie. When I saw the only black and tan pup in the litter (all others were mostly black) I fell in love! I first met the not-yet-named Homer when he was 4 weeks old. Homer weighed just under 2 pounds when I brought him home at 8 weeks of age. At 7 months he now weighs 5 pounds.
I'd Describe My Dog As…
Homer makes me laugh every day. He is always ready for play, but knows how to relax, too.
House training was a challenge--I have never brought home a puppy so young or so small. The first two months were a struggle with little sleep and constant trips outside, sometimes 3 times an hour and 4 times a night. I was exhausted!
Homer was not a "dirty puppy" but he messed in his crate the first several weeks. I finally figured out that it was because he was used to going on soft material. Once I figured this out, I removed the blankets from his crate and replaced them with a rubber mat and the crate messed stopped immediately. After two weeks, I gave him back the blankets and he has not messed the crate since.
Around the same time, I found time to make myself a chart and that's when the house training started to click (for both of us). I wrote down every potty, nap, meal, crate time, etc. on his chart and it really helped me. By 5 months of age, Homer was ringing a bell to let us know when he needed to go out for potty. I now know that all the general guidelines do not apply when house training such a tiny puppy with a bladder the size of a thimble!
Although house training was a struggle at first, Homer caught on quick to other areas of training. We started working on his recall from the very first day -- just calling him to us and then letting him go back to play. I can't say his recall is perfect, but it's pretty darn good. Seeing his happy doggie grin as he comes bounding toward me at full speed is such a joy!
The second week I had Homer I came across a clicker training app for my iPod touch, and decided to try it. About 10 minutes later, I had taught Homer to sit on cue. He really took to the clicker training, and now he knows all his basic obedience plus several tricks, and he knows the names of all his toys.
Homer is a great napper--we love curling up in bed for a nap on a rainy afternoon. But he'll always give up a nap for play time! He loves toys that squeak and playing tug, chase, and find it games. He was a great at fetch until he started teething, when that game turned into "keep away."
Since it's very hot this time of year, on bath days I will fill up a shallow tub with a couple inches of water and toss toys into it. He has a ball jumping in and out of the tub and running around like crazy. I let him get as dirty as he can before bath time, and it helps tire him out so he's more compliant during the bath.
Advice
- My iPod touch was invaluable when Homer was a young puppy. Since I barely had time to get on the computer, I used it to search the web for information on everything I had questions about. I also bought several puppy training ebooks which I could read on the iPod during those many, many trips outside.
- Read "Bonding with Your Dog" by Victoria Schade.
- Keep a chart for the first few months. Make note of every potty, nap, meal, etc.
- Start training right away, especially on the recall.
- Even when you're drop-dead exhausted, find time to have fun with your puppy.
