Meet Lewis, the newest member of my family. He arrived Tuesday, December 28, 2021.

I wish I had time to write about all the things I am learning about this sweet boy, but—adolescent puppy in da house! I barely have time to take a shower!

Lewis’ History

Lewis is eight months old, a mixed breed who obviously has plenty of hound in him. I got him from Out of the Woods Rescue here in Arkansas.

I know nothing about his early life except that when he was six months old, he was surrendered to a kind veterinarian. Lewis spent the next two months—from six months old to eight months old—boarded at the vet. He then got sponsored by the rescue, went briefly into a foster home, and I applied for and got him.

What Lewis Is Showing Us Right Now

Lewis is exploding with energy. Some of it is likely normal adolescent puppy energy. Some of it is certainly a result of being released from the confined environment he was in for a crucial two months of his development. He lacks some of the normal behavioral palette for a dog his age. And plenty of it must be stress in a new situation. He gets overstimulated easily. Again, see reasons above.

Even with some severe strikes against him during crucial developmental periods, he has a lovely temperament: friendly and affable. He likes people and dogs. He likes novelty, he is curious, and he doesn’t startle easily. He’s fine with noises. I tried to make a demo video of introducing him to a robot vacuum, but it wasn’t very interesting. He didn’t care. Beeps, meh. Motor noise, fine. Even motion: who cares!

Clara, now ten years old, is very nice to him. She even seems to like him part of the time! (Hey, he’s a teenager! I wouldn’t expect her to like him all the time!) They have played chase in the yard, and are even working on bitey-face, although she is having to teach him to tone it down. Choo Choo, my friend’s dog, likes him less, and is already teaching him to leave her (and her toys) alone. She’s less of a pushover than Clara.

What It’s Like at My House

The house is now baby gate and ex pen and crate city, although Lewis has issues with confinement (no surprise!). So we are taking that part slowly. When Clara needs a break, sometimes she and I get in the ex pen rather than the other way around! But Lewis is already charging into the ex pen for his meals and happily eats in there while I come and go, and last night ate a whole frozen food toy in the pen.

He wants it all. I want to give it all to him, including the ability to relax and get more comfortable in his skin. We have a wonderful journey ahead. I’m eager to learn who this guy is.

Lewis in Photos

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Videos

I haven’t had time to make a proper introduction video. (Surprise!) Here are two short, unedited clips. The first is simply puppy shredding. He chews a ton and has many options but had a great time shredding some paper. As far as I can tell so far, he doesn’t eat much or any of what he shreds (yay!). Clara had to go to the vet when she was about a year old because she not only shreds but likes to eat cardboard. And if you noticed that the coffee table is not puppy proofed at the time of the video, you are correct! It takes a while to cover all the bases.

The following clip shows a new behavior he has learned. The day he came, his default behavior when I was sitting down was to walk up and grab my arm or sleeve with his teeth and hold on. There’s still some grabbing when he gets aroused, but he has learned some calmer things to do. And I have subsequently learned not to wear my terrycloth robe with the loose hanging sleeves. Too much of a temptation for a grabby boy!

Stay tuned for lots more about Lewis, the New Year Puppy! (If I ever have time to write in the next year!)

Copyright 2022 Eileen Anderson