Hi friends!
I’ve had another busy month full of new experiences. I started off the new year with my sitters, where I worked on my basic puppy things like house training, getting used to my kennel, and starting to learn some skills like sit. But don’t worry, it wasn’t all work! I got to go on trail walkies and meet up with puppy friends!
That was all super fun, but then one day, I went for a ride in the car and met up with my puppy raiser and my half-uncle, PADS Tio! I was very happy to see them again after their vacation. Tio and I played together for a little bit, we took some more family pictures with our puppy raiser, and then we switched humans. The humans said that Tio had to leave to go to advanced training and that one day if I’m a super good boy, I’ll get to go there too! I don’t know what advanced training is, but it sounds pretty fun! I said goodbye to Tio and my amazing sitters and started settling into my new home with my raiser.
My first full day with my raiser was crazy! It was also my first day of university lectures at UBC. I woke up, played with mom, and ate some kibbles. Then, I put on my adorable rain jacket and my yellow PADS cape, and we started our walk to campus. In our first class, I wasn’t really sure what to do, since it was a totally new environment for me. I whined a little bit, chewed on my toys, stared at mom, and then finally settled down. We had another class right after, and I slept through almost the whole class! That night, I also got to go to a Campus Canines UBC event and meet some club members. In the following couple of days, I quickly got used to the routine of going to lectures. I’m happy to report that I’m now a pro in classes! I sometimes play with my toys, but I mostly just sleep through them.
This month, I’ve also made a bunch of new puppy friends! I hung out with my friend PADS Taj lots of times. We walked nicely and trained together in our PADS vests, and we got to play together off-leash in the forest! I met PADS Wrigley as well and we worked at the Campus Canines club booth together! We got lots of love from the students visiting the booth and we settled so well together. I also met another campus puppy, PADS Skippy! Later in the month, I got to meet and walk with the club’s newest puppy, PADS Calvin. I wasn’t the youngest puppy in the club for very long! He and I are only one month apart in age so I’m sure we’ll be great friends!
I’ve learned lots of new things this month. We focused a lot on socialization, so every time I experienced something new or strange I got some kibbles! I got food for walking on a bunch of weird-feeling surfaces, for going on the bus, for having people of various ages say hi to me, for hearing loud noises, and so much more! I’m a very brave and confident little puppy. I’m also working on a bunch of new skills like sitting, laying down, going to my bed, dressing myself in my cape, coming to my raiser, responding to my name, and more! I’m a quick learner and I’m super food motivated.
Another fun thing I experienced this month was my first time in the snow! Mom and I got a few days off from university and I got to go run and play in the snow. I loved it! I’ve been getting used to wearing my boots and jacket, so it was nice to not have frozen feet when the snow came!
I’m excited to see what February brings! I’ll update you all next month.
– Casper
Submitted by: Sophie Pantel
