This is Kitto at six weeks, in a playpen filled with different items, textures, surfaces, and colors for him to explore. He weighs about three pounds in this picture. That’s a cardboard tube next to him.
Here are his proud parents, UKC ‘PR’ Helderberg’s Karma (“Karma”, on left) and UKC ‘PR’ Helderberg’s Go For The Gold (“Sochi”, on right). Aren’t they a pretty pair?
Here’re a few of the things we’ve done to prepare:
- Read half a dozen dog books, focusing on positive reinforcement training.
- Purchased or built a dozen puppy toys for chewing, training, special games.
- Puppyproofed the house, starting with the rooms he’ll have access to.
- Set up a kennel in the master bedroom.
- Set up special “dog towels” in key areas so it’s easy to point to one to train Kitto to sit for certain behaviors (like getting ready to go out the door, or to answer the doorbell).
- Set up baby wipes, paper towels, and “bait bags” around the house for training.
- Built an indoor doggy toilet.
- Chose between pet foods, insurance, and a vet. Set up an appointment.
- Got a large carpet remnant for the family room.
- Made our local pet stores very happy with our pet equipment purchases.
There are only three days left until we go to get Kitto. We’re counting down the hours!
