We are going to pick up Bode tomorrow evening! We both work until 5ish, and then we're immediately hopping in the car for the 2.5 hour car ride to pick him up. So it's looking like we won't get home until after 10. Kind of hoping he's tuckered out so we won't have a hard time getting him in the crate for the night. Then I have 5 days straight off of work, so there will be plenty of puppy time. We already have his vet appointment set up for Monday.

Any last minute tips/tricks/advice for getting acclimated (especially introducing to the cat)? I'll post pics as soon as I have some!

Oh yeah, he'll be tired. promise.


Honestly, make sure he knows the cat ranks higher. We did this by constantly having the cats on our lap, in our hands. In bed. The cats have to get more loving than the puppy. This is what worked for me with both Delilah and Cato.

Of course, we had to grab the muzzle a few times (LIGHTLY) and give Cato a firm no, but this is all that works for him with the cat.

Is he in bed with you or in a crate?

Bode will be in a crate at night. Myles (our cat) sleeps wherever. A lot of times he's in bed with us, but Bode's crate is in the bedroom, so I don't know if he'll like that. We pretty much have to keep the crate in the bedroom because that's the room we have the window A/C in.

Just be ready to not get a lot of sleep. Raven took about three nights to accept the crate. First night was the worst. Every dog is different, I think we got off pretty easy with crate training. Have fun and take lots of pics. They grow so fast.

Oh lol you did get off easy, Balon screamed in his crate for 2 weeks, then just suddenly stopped lol. And he was in the same room as the lab in her crate, felt really sorry for her!

Good luck, hopefully your little one is not as stubborn lol!

Diego & Bandit. Honestly the harass eachother IN A GOOD WAY lol. Bandit's a pretty fiesty cat though and was introduced to Diego & Roscoe at the same time and she liked them right away. Diego thought she was a battery operated toy for a while lol he chased her nonstop but the three of them cuddle believe it or not now they are best buds. My advice is making the cat feel secure and don't let the puppy chew her toys, cat bed, etc etc because then he will think anything that smells like the cat is game, including the cat!

Good luck and congrats!

cant wait to hear how it all goes tonight! i bet your day is dragging today!

jbealer wrote:

cant wait to hear how it all goes tonight! i bet your day is dragging today!

It is! I just went out on my lunch hour and got some Kong stuffing ingredients from the grocery store! It still hasn't hit me yet that we are actually going to have a puppy in a few hours that we will have for the next 15 years or so! I'm sure it will hit me tonight when we have a crying puppy all night

Its the best thing!! Cant wait to see pictures!!! Just know they are alot of work but you cant buy that bond you get when you have one! We are still working with shadow and he gets better and better every day. Just takes consistency, time, and dedication, and dont forget lots of love!!! Have fun!!

Honestly, when we were going to meet Cato, I slept for 1.5 hours that entire 24 hours. I was too excited. But it's been amazing. I wouldn't trade it for anything - well, maybe I'd trade the peeing on the bed...we still don't know who the culprit was.

We are in the car on the way home! He's being really good. But we still have 2 hours ahead of us. I'll post pics when we get home.

Sorry I didn't get to this last night, we all were pretty pooped. But Bode was a perfect angel last night! On the car ride home we stopped at around 9:00 and he went pee. We got home around 9:45. The introduction with the cat was a little stressful for Myles (our cat). He was hackles raised. I've never seen him do that, even with my parent's dog. Anyways, we went to bed around 11, Bode went right in his crate and crashed. I woke him up at 12:30 to take him out. He went out and peed and came right back in. I set my alarm for 3am to take him out again. He whined for about 20 seconds then snoozed. I woke up at 3, but he was still sleeping pretty hard, so I didn't want to wake him up. I heard him start moving around 4, so I took him out then. We got up at 6am this morning and he went out and pooped. Then he came back inside and hung out in his crate for a little while with the door open playing with his toy from the breeder that was in the whelping box, so it smells like his littermates.

My only concern is Myles. I've never seen him play with another cat or dog, so I don't know what it looks like. He's now more interested in Bode and will hide above him and swat at him when he walks by. Do you think that's play or aggressiveness? Or maybe some of both?

The only photos I have right now are off my iPhone. Fiance has the laptop with the SD reader right now at work.

He's adorable! Sound like he is settling in well. Get ready for a wild ride with a red!

Ok. So a little question. Bode is sitting by the back door whining. He will do it right after coming inside, his own choice. He will run to the back door to come inside but then sit there and whine once he's in. What is he trying to tell me? Should I ignore it?

What a charmer! He is super adorable! I love the reds

HE is so adorable, he looks so much like my Balon! If he is whining by the back door I would probably let him out again, puppies have to "go" so often lol. AND wow thats great about him in the great, like I said Balon screamed and cried for 2 weeks, you are lucky!

He is adorable. As for the cat, it sounds like play to me. From what you have described it sounds just like what my cats to with Saphire. Watch for the claws to come out and the cats tail flicking quickly. Both my cats also give off this low deep growl/hiss sound when they are mad. Good luck and again congrats.

Balonsmom wrote:

HE is so adorable, he looks so much like my Balon! If he is whining by the back door I would probably let him out again, puppies have to "go" so often lol. AND wow thats great about him in the great, like I said Balon screamed and cried for 2 weeks, you are lucky!

The thing is, is the whining at the back door is immediately after pottying. I'm hoping the quiet night wasn't just a fluke because he was tired from the stress!

dbingham12 wrote:

He is adorable. As for the cat, it sounds like play to me. From what you have described it sounds just like what my cats to with Saphire. Watch for the claws to come out and the cats tail flicking quickly. Both my cats also give off this low deep growl/hiss sound when they are mad. Good luck and again congrats.

It's hard to tell with the cat because he always is flicking his tail. I think he thinks he's a dog he wags his tail so much. My one hint it might be play is right before he sprang at Bode he did this little butt wiggle that he always does when he is attacking toys with us. But I haven't noticed if claws are out or not.

i would let Bode back out if he is at the door, could work in the end for potty training.....
as for the cat im not help but i would just keep an eye on them both.

oh and HE IS FREAKING CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love him! As for his whining by the door: he probably loves it outside. Delilah still whines about wanting to be outside. Take him to potty just in case.

As for the kitty: don't worry about how kitty is acting. You are shaking up his world and it takes them a while to get used to it. Its not aggression as much as fear. Cats talk a big talk but they are scared little guys. Don't let bode get rough but let them.interact. kitty will get used to him. It just takes a while.

Bode met my parents and my aunt today. Also, while we were in the yard (just us two), our neighbor came over to meet him. With everybody he was super shy. So that's something we are going to have to work on. We need to get him out and socialized ASAP, but his second set of shots isn't until the first week of August. The yappy dog barking in the yard next door also scared him. Lots of work to do there!

Can't figure out how to get this one rotated!


First Introductions!






His baby from the breeder

Love the Michigan Collar! We need a meet up!

He is just too cute for words!!!!

mheath0429 wrote:

Love the Michigan Collar! We need a meet up!

It's funny because the breeder has two daughters that go to OSU, so when we pulled out the Michigan collar when we picked him up, everyone had a good laugh. And yes, a meet up will definitely be necessary sometime soon!