Momo & Gyoza Week 2 Update
Sorry that I haven’t posted anything in awhile! We’ve been super busy around here because I’ve been POTTY TRAINING these two.
Potty training one puppy can be a full-time job. With potty training two, I don’t have much time for blogs!
You can check out cute videos of them on IG though, just click on the Momo & Gyoza highlights to see them all.
As far as potty training, the good news is that both puppies are sleeping through the night ~8 hours. Gyoza always wakes up before me though, and she will whine to let me know I need to wake up if I’m not down by 6am sharp.
In the morning, both puppies are so good about running right out and peeing and pooping before breakfast! They both usually choose the grass to potty on.
We wake up at 6am, then I take them out to potty about every 2 hours throughout the day. Their last potty break is usually around 10/10:30pm.
Momo is having no accidents.
If I’m not paying attention, Gyoza will not potty outside and then as soon as I let her in she’ll use the desirable “indoor potty” (ie. my floors… I don’t blame her exactly, it’s a good lesson to me to stay off my phone when I’m outside with her!). If I DO pay attention and stay out with her until she pees/poops outside, she’s fine and basically 100% pottying outside.
So, whoever adopts them will be very lucky because they are well started on potty training! (Though, the dog trainer in me has to warn that any major transition, such as going to a new home, means that the schedule should be tightened up at first. So, even though they’re out every two hours at my house, in their new homes, they should go out every hour. They can then gradually increase the time between outings over the course of a few days until they are successful back up to two hours.)
I’ve also continued the independence work with both of them. Both of them are sleeping in their own individual crates. They’re also eating separately. And, I put up a visual divider between the crates, so they can’t see each other when crated.
I think there will still be a transition period when they are adopted, and I highly recommend that the new adopters use a crate and continue to work on independence (all meals should be fed out of KONGs in their crates for the first few days), but they are so resilient - I feel confident that they will adjust well to individual homes and families. They are both vocal, especially Gyoza, so it is important to expect and be prepared to ignore/wait out any barking in the early days.
Aside from all of that, these puppies are just sweet, sweet, sweet! Whoever adopts them is going to be so lucky.
Momo is really settling in to this chill dude. He plays with Gyoza, but is also happy to hang with humans, chomp on sticks/mulch/anything-he-can-fit-in-his-mouth, eat any treats I have, and roll in the sun.
Gyoza is go-go-go. She wants to play toys, she wants food, she wants to train, she loves to cuddle, she wants to say hi to the other dog, etc. She will make a great active companion for someone who wants to do stuff with their dog. She’s definitely a bit “spicier” than Momo, and whoever adopts her should be ready to keep up with her mentally and physically. She will absolutely outsmart the humans and other dogs around her. I know they are “street-dog puppies,” so who knows… but, personality-wise Gyoza reminds me a lot of a shepherd mix. She’s just so attentive to food, people, and training, she’s very environmentally aware, and she loves toys and anything that moves.
They are both so different and wonderful in their own ways!
As far as socialization goes, both puppies have met adult dogs, once at the adoption event, Izzy (my dog), and my neighbor’s large dog. They have been appropriate with everyone.
We’ve also had several visitors to the house, and they’ve been happy to meet everyone.
Of course my kids give them treats all the time, so they think kids are pretty special too!
Today, we had our first DC walk. It’s a little different than Puerto Rico!
The puppies were cautious at first, but very happy to get out and explore the neighborhood! Their little puppy brains are tired out though, and I’m using the few minutes of peace to finally update the blog 😆