This pupdate technically begins at the end of November when I first met Ponsu when he was only 8 days old, at his breeder/caregiver’s home in North Vancouver. Ponsu’s mom, Birdie, was raised by me, and I was lucky enough to be allowed to visit them. Ponsu was a singleton; there was only one pup in Birdie’s second litter, so since PADS Nat had 8 puppies around the same time, they brought 2 more yellow puppies over for Birdie to feed and Ponsu to socialize and cuddle with. A win-win for all!
I saw Biride and Ponsu again at the end of December when he was 5 weeks old. He was thriving well, already had sharp little teeth and was starting solid food. What a difference from the “potato” I saw at 8 days old. He already had a solid SIT and was barking his dinner order!
We drove down to Vancouver for puppy pick-up on January 23rd, and I was reunited with Ponsu, who was now a whopping 20 pounds, a solid chunky monkey! We put him in a form-fitting kennel and drove the 5 hours to his new home, where he slept through the night on his first night and has done so ever since.
I was happy to have a puppy overlap for a few days with Ponsu and my previous PADS puppy, 16-month-old Kiyoko, who was a great mentor. The two got along famously, and there were many lessons learned by either party: how hard to bite each other without making the other cry, how to steal toys from one another and egg the other on, how to hide under chairs when the playtime got too long or rough and how to snuggle with each other for a well-deserved nap. A great learning experience for both dogs.
We kept it low-key for the first 5 days and didn’t go out much so that Ponsu could settle in and learn his surroundings. But when Wednesday came around, it was time for the two pups to go to puppy class, and it was also time for Kiyoko to move on to another raiser, who was there to take over for me. Ponsu did well with long-leash recalls and walking through 2 rows of toys. And he learned to perch on a perch pot for the first time!
After class, Ponsu went to his first restaurant. We had lunch at a casual café where he settled nicely, and then we went for a walk along the Rail Trail in Vernon. He was very popular on the trail; everyone wanted to stop and say hello to the new puppy, and he had a lot of fun undoing everyone’s shoelaces, including my girlfriends, twice!
He’s already been introduced to the friendly cashiers at our local Save on Foods and has been to our local craft brewery for a quick pint with our kids, where he settled nicely. It’s always fun taking a new puppy out to different places for their first time and seeing people’s reactions!
I’ve only had Ponsu for 8 days, but he’s settling in nicely, has a calm demeanour, and is doing well now that he is on his own.
I’m looking forward to the adventures I will have with my TENTH service puppy in training!
Submitted by: Chris Buitinga
