Balki's thread :)

[KittyCat_chitchat]

Just stumbled on this thread and Oh. My. Gosh. He is ADORABLE - as is Livie! Well done on giving him early, positive training and lots of socialisation.

I've been busy trying to tell myself that my life isn't in a good position to get a new collie puppy (plus I have to work on my father about this...) and this is making me cold turkey beyond belief. I want one!

 

[iPappy]

Just stumbled on this thread and Oh. My. Gosh. He is ADORABLE - as is Livie! Well done on giving him early, positive training and lots of socialisation.

I've been busy trying to tell myself that my life isn't in a good position to get a new collie puppy (plus I have to work on my father about this...) and this is making me cold turkey beyond belief. I want one!

When the time is right, you'll get your puppy.
BTW, a Collie is in my radar as well. I absolutely love the breed and their temperaments are perfect for what I would want in a larger breed!!!

 

[neely]

When the time is right, you'll get your puppy. BTW, a Collie is in my radar as well. I absolutely love the breed and their temperaments are perfect for what I would want in a larger breed!!!

I couldn't agree more! We are on the fence about adopting another dog since our last GSD passed away. But we know how difficult it would be for Carleton especially at his senior age so we have held off. And, yes, Collies have an endearing temperament. They are intelligent, loyal and playful all at the same time. We had a part GSD, part Collie dog that was a love bug.

 

[iPappy]

Quick picture-heavy update...
Balki is growing like a little tiny weed, and is currently all legs and is in the stage we call the "puppy uglies" or "pipe cleaner stage". Not that he's ugly at all, but the roly poly fat puppy is being replaced by a leggy little tween!

The house training is improving. He hasn't had an accident in several days and is learning "go pee" means "pee where you're at". He's a smart little cookie. I do not think he will accept a litter box full time once he's an adult. He seems to strongly prefer going outside. I am working with him on alerting me to go outside (right now, he just walks to the baby gate and stands there.) Livie is the same, she will use her litter box if necessary but strongly prefers going outside. I'm hoping that the litter box will serve as an emergency back-up plan for them both once he hits adulthood.
I had some noisy and/or reactive dogs last week at work and did not take him with me because I didn't want a dog charging his crate or doing something that could scare him badly enough that could lead to a life long fear, as he is still quite young. My next goal is to take him with me in a larger cat carrier on days I have quite, calm dogs and keep him with me for 2-3 hours at a time at work so he learns to "hold it". The constant access to a litter pan while he's home alone has been wonderful and has kept him and his sleeping area clean, but, I need him to learn how to "hold it". So that is our next step.
Riding in the car is improving as well. He is now riding in the crate in the back of the car full time. He looks worried, but the last two short trips we've taken he's eventually settled into his bed and taken a short nap.
He is still attending agility as a spectator. Last week the heat index was in the mid 100's, so, there was no agility and very few adventures outside the house.
Lila has decided he's kind of fun after all. Twice today I caught her initiating a game with him. She'd hunker down and get the silly-at expression, with her eyes dilated and a friendly look on her face. He'd race by, and she would playfully leap out after him. She would then rush to another location and wait with that same friendly and silly look on her face. This makes me happy. Sarah still lets him do whatever he wants. He really loves "his" kitties!
Livie has realized that he's growing. She still loves him and plays with him, but, I've noticed she gets stressed when he gets the bratty baby dog behavior and starts barking in her face just because he can. Last night, she gave him a firm but fair correction in the form of a loud snark and he got the picture.
After a lot of work, he finally learned what "down" is. If I give him the signal, he'll either pounce at my hand in play (if he's wound up, which is often!) or think about a second, and then dramatically "throw" himself into a down. It's so cute how he throws his front paws in the air, then slams himself into a down position. I am sold on marker training for these basic behaviors. I love watching him think, and I love watching him do basic things like sit and down with spunk and no leash or restraints vs. what I remember from my days using a training collar and praise only.

"I'm ALMOST as big as my big sister already!"

Bitey face game with sister. They played and played and wrestled and rolled for quite some time....

Then, suddenly, exhaustion hit him because he remembered he's not even technically 4 months old yet. This was a cute moment.

My baby-sitting staff on break.

Somehow, he looks happier than she does.

The first photo I have taken where, to me, he looks like a "little adult".

I let Balki cuddle with us on my bed. He LOVED this and was incredibly snuggly and sweet but then the puppy crazies took over and he wanted to kick and play bite. I told him if he learns to hold his water and promises no nonsense, maybe some day he could sleep up there with us.

Livie says "Thank God I am spayed. I am never having kids."

 

[Kwik]

Quick picture-heavy update...
Balki is growing like a little tiny weed, and is currently all legs and is in the stage we call the "puppy uglies" or "pipe cleaner stage". Not that he's ugly at all, but the roly poly fat puppy is being replaced by a leggy little tween!
View attachment 479015

The house training is improving. He hasn't had an accident in several days and is learning "go pee" means "pee where you're at". He's a smart little cookie. I do not think he will accept a litter box full time once he's an adult. He seems to strongly prefer going outside. I am working with him on alerting me to go outside (right now, he just walks to the baby gate and stands there.) Livie is the same, she will use her litter box if necessary but strongly prefers going outside. I'm hoping that the litter box will serve as an emergency back-up plan for them both once he hits adulthood.
I had some noisy and/or reactive dogs last week at work and did not take him with me because I didn't want a dog charging his crate or doing something that could scare him badly enough that could lead to a life long fear, as he is still quite young. My next goal is to take him with me in a larger cat carrier on days I have quite, calm dogs and keep him with me for 2-3 hours at a time at work so he learns to "hold it". The constant access to a litter pan while he's home alone has been wonderful and has kept him and his sleeping area clean, but, I need him to learn how to "hold it". So that is our next step.
Riding in the car is improving as well. He is now riding in the crate in the back of the car full time. He looks worried, but the last two short trips we've taken he's eventually settled into his bed and taken a short nap.
He is still attending agility as a spectator. Last week the heat index was in the mid 100's, so, there was no agility and very few adventures outside the house.
Lila has decided he's kind of fun after all. Twice today I caught her initiating a game with him. She'd hunker down and get the silly-at expression, with her eyes dilated and a friendly look on her face. He'd race by, and she would playfully leap out after him. She would then rush to another location and wait with that same friendly and silly look on her face. This makes me happy. Sarah still lets him do whatever he wants. He really loves "his" kitties!
Livie has realized that he's growing. She still loves him and plays with him, but, I've noticed she gets stressed when he gets the bratty baby dog behavior and starts barking in her face just because he can. Last night, she gave him a firm but fair correction in the form of a loud snark and he got the picture.
After a lot of work, he finally learned what "down" is. If I give him the signal, he'll either pounce at my hand in play (if he's wound up, which is often!) or think about a second, and then dramatically "throw" himself into a down. It's so cute how he throws his front paws in the air, then slams himself into a down position. I am sold on marker training for these basic behaviors. I love watching him think, and I love watching him do basic things like sit and down with spunk and no leash or restraints vs. what I remember from my days using a training collar and praise only.

"I'm ALMOST as big as my big sister already!"
View attachment 479016

Bitey face game with sister. They played and played and wrestled and rolled for quite some time....
View attachment 479017

View attachment 479018

View attachment 479019

View attachment 479020

Then, suddenly, exhaustion hit him because he remembered he's not even technically 4 months old yet. This was a cute moment.
View attachment 479021

My baby-sitting staff on break.
View attachment 479022

Somehow, he looks happier than she does.
View attachment 479023

The first photo I have taken where, to me, he looks like a "little adult".
View attachment 479024

I let Balki cuddle with us on my bed. He LOVED this and was incredibly snuggly and sweet but then the puppy crazies took over and he wanted to kick and play bite. I told him if he learns to hold his water and promises no nonsense, maybe some day he could sleep up there with us.
View attachment 479025

Livie says "Thank God I am spayed. I am never having kids."
View attachment 479026

Thst was a wonderful story time,delightful - the photos are fantastic ,Balki is so loved by all of his family- he looks like the happiest little puppycat on the planet!

You're family is gorgeous- I thibk my favorite photo is Balki joining in with Livie chewing on her toy- she's such a sweet girl

 

[vampiric_conure]

OMG! The cute! **Dies from cuteness overload**

 

[Kwik]

OMG! The cute! **Dies from cuteness overload**

Ridiculously beyond CUTE....
That's it exactly " cuteness overload"- takes my breath away

 

[iPappy]

vampiric_conure thank you, he really is a little peanut! My female Pap sounds like your IG...tons of energy to spare and a complete little terror in her own right (though, she really is a sweet little girl most of the time!)

Balki is at the teething stage where his baby teeth are itching to come out. He's biting everyone and everything, not aggressively but those puppy teeth are SHARP. I've given him several toys I've had to take away because he put holes in them and began tearing out the stuffing, so, for now he only gets those while 100% supervised and the rest of the time he has hard toys to chew on.
He's also entering those teenage years. Oh boy. All that foundation work I did has gone out the window of his little pea brain and he's acting like an adolescent. ("Come? Sit? Down? What are you talking about? I only speak Latin, remember?")
Tonight I decided to take a risk and play hide and seek with him at work. I let him get distracted sniffing, and hid. I called him. I could see him, and he was searching for me. When he saw me, he ran as fast as he could to me and got a lot of rewards and then was allowed to go back and sniff for a few minutes. So I know his recall isn't totally down the drain.
He's also growled a few times when I pick him up, which I discourage obviously. He's very soft and verbal reprimands make him look very sad, and a few times he's even started shaking, and we can't have that. After talking with a few people (including the breeder) I'm convinced this is bratty puppy stuff, similar to a toddler throwing themselves down and refusing to get up or stop screaming when they're over tired or over wound up. He only has done this when he's over excited, and usually over tired. I told him if he thinks he's going to make me cower in fear, he really ought to pass the 4 pound mark first.
I'm going to hopefully keep my sanity during this by going back to square one and just reinforcing things more. But oh man...I miss that roly poly little puppy who toddled after me and wanted to snuggle. I'll be glad when his adult teeth come in and his brain flips back to "on"!!

"What?"

His color is also changing. I'm very excited to see what color he'll be at maturity. It seems like it lightens and darkens, depending on the day.
Posing for his centerfold.

Recall...when he hears a cheese wrapper He came running and went straight up into the air.

THIS JUST IN!!! Exclusive interview with Sarah:
Me: "Sarah, your little brother has gone from a sweet, fat, furry little puppy who kisses you and cuddles up to you, to a crazed looney teenaged boy who does his best to annoy you. What do you have to say to that?"
Sarah: "No comment."

 

[Kwik]

vampiric_conure thank you, he really is a little peanut! My female Pap sounds like your IG...tons of energy to spare and a complete little terror in her own right (though, she really is a sweet little girl most of the time!)

Balki is at the teething stage where his baby teeth are itching to come out. He's biting everyone and everything, not aggressively but those puppy teeth are SHARP. I've given him several toys I've had to take away because he put holes in them and began tearing out the stuffing, so, for now he only gets those while 100% supervised and the rest of the time he has hard toys to chew on.
He's also entering those teenage years. Oh boy. All that foundation work I did has gone out the window of his little pea brain and he's acting like an adolescent. ("Come? Sit? Down? What are you talking about? I only speak Latin, remember?")
Tonight I decided to take a risk and play hide and seek with him at work. I let him get distracted sniffing, and hid. I called him. I could see him, and he was searching for me. When he saw me, he ran as fast as he could to me and got a lot of rewards and then was allowed to go back and sniff for a few minutes. So I know his recall isn't totally down the drain.
He's also growled a few times when I pick him up, which I discourage obviously. He's very soft and verbal reprimands make him look very sad, and a few times he's even started shaking, and we can't have that. After talking with a few people (including the breeder) I'm convinced this is bratty puppy stuff, similar to a toddler throwing themselves down and refusing to get up or stop screaming when they're over tired or over wound up. He only has done this when he's over excited, and usually over tired. I told him if he thinks he's going to make me cower in fear, he really ought to pass the 4 pound mark first.
I'm going to hopefully keep my sanity during this by going back to square one and just reinforcing things more. But oh man...I miss that roly poly little puppy who toddled after me and wanted to snuggle. I'll be glad when his adult teeth come in and his brain flips back to "on"!!

"What?"
View attachment 479978

His color is also changing. I'm very excited to see what color he'll be at maturity. It seems like it lightens and darkens, depending on the day.
Posing for his centerfold.
View attachment 479979

Recall...when he hears a cheese wrapper He came running and went straight up into the air.
View attachment 479980

THIS JUST IN!!! Exclusive interview with Sarah:
Me: "Sarah, your little brother has gone from a sweet, fat, furry little puppy who kisses you and cuddles up to you, to a crazed looney teenaged boy who does his best to annoy you. What do you have to say to that?"
Sarah: "No comment."
View attachment 479981

Photos are dynamite- you have to have perfect timing with Balki able to leap tall buildings in a single bound- Superpuppy!

I could look at your pics for hours. Can't wait for Balki to sport some gorgeous feathers like Livie....such a beautiful girl

Lila is being camera shy?

Btw,Sarah looks even better than well,she looks GREAT!

 

[iPappy]

Livie has turned a corner. Tonight, Balki was bugging her and she gave him a very loud, sharp correction and didn't break skin or hurt him, but I know her teeth "smacked" him. He was so taken aback. He ran a few steps away and sat there with a defeated look on his face. He was acting so downtrodden I actually picked him up to make sure he wasn't hurt, and he wasn't. He turned into a Mama's Boy again and snuggled up to me. He's almost 5 months old now, and I think that she's teaching him that he's no longer a little tiny baby and needs to abide by some basic dog manners. Within 15 seconds, they were playing again, but he was a bit more respectful with her.
I also noticed something else.
-Balki will go at Livie, playfully biting, full set of teeth showing in play with lots of vocalization.
-He will play bite me (those puppy teeth...I'm in debt to the band aid company ) but he has NEVER shown his teeth.
-The cats, he has never done either and greets them like they are the rulers of the house, ears back, tail wagging, and nothing but licks. I guess he's smart enough to know the cats really DO rule things around here!!

I simply can't resist his sweet little face though.

 

[Kwik]

Livie has turned a corner. Tonight, Balki was bugging her and she gave him a very loud, sharp correction and didn't break skin or hurt him, but I know her teeth "smacked" him. He was so taken aback. He ran a few steps away and sat there with a defeated look on his face. He was acting so downtrodden I actually picked him up to make sure he wasn't hurt, and he wasn't. He turned into a Mama's Boy again and snuggled up to me. He's almost 5 months old now, and I think that she's teaching him that he's no longer a little tiny baby and needs to abide by some basic dog manners. Within 15 seconds, they were playing again, but he was a bit more respectful with her.
I also noticed something else.
-Balki will go at Livie, playfully biting, full set of teeth showing in play with lots of vocalization.
-He will play bite me (those puppy teeth...I'm in debt to the band aid company ) but he has NEVER shown his teeth.
-The cats, he has never done either and greets them like they are the rulers of the house, ears back, tail wagging, and nothing but licks. I guess he's smart enough to know the cats really DO rule things around here!!

I simply can't resist his sweet little face though.
View attachment 480098

He's is so cute- those ears drive me wild,reminds me of when Cheech was a baby and he had to catch up to his ears,I think its adorable.. oh how I just love that stage

Can't wait to see what color his ear feathers will be....his colors are changing already ,such a handsome puppycat

 

[fionasmom]

she gave him a very loud, sharp correction

A girl can only take so much!

 

[posiepurrs]

Balki is adorable! I haven’t experience with that breed but have been told that they are wonderful. Congrats on this cutie.

 

[Kwik]

iPappy
Puppycats grow waaay too fast- time for more photos please!!!! You blink and the puppy is a dog,wouldn't want to miss out on seeing all of Balki's stages of adorableness

 

[artiemom]

congratulations!! I just saw this... Little Balki its so darn cute.. and you are doing such a good job training him..
Good Luck with everything...

 

[iPappy]

Thanks for thinking of us!
Balki is 21 weeks old, and has been.....trying me lately. He hasn't been "bad", but acting a teenager. If I ask him to down, he'll stand there and bark at me. If I ask him to come, he'll come halfway, decide he doesn't have to, then turn around and run. He seems to think this is a game, but, I don't play the "chase your dog all over the yard when they won't come when called" game. He's also taken to making a few house breaking mistakes, which long story short I think are my fault.
I've gone back to square one with him as though he's 8 weeks old and knows nothing. I remember Livie, and even my Golden Child Tag, went through this phase at the 5-6 month old mark and it passes quickly. (Tag was a quick study, Livie...not so!)
His personality really does remind me of Tag...Tag was very much a soft, sweet Mama's boy who got his feelings hurt easily. Balki seems to be very similar. If he knows I'm displeased, he gets very worried. Luckily, he's got good "bounce back" and once he knows I'm not mad, he's happy again. He's trying me lately, but, he really is a wonderful little puppy.
We were in the catio the other day and I called them in. Livie came running inside, Balki came halfway and was like "...nah" and turned around and trotted away. Since it's a very safe area, I shut the door and went inside and watched him from the window. He sniffed around, then, realized he was alone and ran to the door and was glued to it, ears back and tail tucked, looking very worried. I let him in, and I think he realized he might be big and bad in his own mind but he's still a little puppy who needs his Mama!
His color is also fading, changing, and darkening in other places. He's lost the majority of his soft, snuggly puppy coat and his adult coat looks to be a darker color than I anticipated. He's still super snuggly (especially when he's tired or has just woken up) and is a kissing bandit. I told him when he grows up, maybe he can have a mobile kissing booth and be rich!

For those who were unaware, the pronunciation of Papillon is not "Pap-ill-lon", it's "pappy-yawn." The "L's are silent. Allow Balki to demonstrate!

He also thinks he's a miniature airplane, and can fly. Clear the runway, he's coming in!

Livie seems to think puppies are exhausting.

I really must buy him some more toys. He obviously has nothing to play with.

More soon!

 

[neely]

It looks like Balki is growing into his ears. As for Livie, she looks worn out from all the puppy excitement. But they are both so cute and before you know it will be a dynamic duo.

 

[Kwik]

Delightful - I could look at Balki & Livie pics all day but your little stories make me feel like I'm right there- so Delightful!

One thing I love about Pap's is no matter how old they are they never lose that puppyish cuteness and charm.... can't wait for Balkis feathers to show off all his Glory!

Thanks for sharing your beautiful babies with all of us and all the readers- I like that everyone gets to see how wonderfully different species can be one happy FAMILY

 

[iPappy]

Delightful - I could look at Balki & Livie pics all day but your little stories make me feel like I'm right there- so Delightful!

One thing I love about Pap's is no matter how old they are they never lose that puppyish cuteness and charm.... can't wait for Balkis feathers to show off all his Glory!

Thanks for sharing your beautiful babies with all of us and all the readers- I like that everyone gets to see how wonderfully different species can be one happy FAMILY

He is getting the tiniest hint of feathering on his ears, legs, and tail. His little rear end looks like a baby ducks, little tiny feathers sticking out here and there!
He learned how to do the entire flight of stairs a week or so ago. He knew up, but not down. Now, he will hustle up and down them, tripping every other step, and watching him from behind hustle up those steps is so cute. He looks like a strange little frog.

Time for bitey-face!

Time to be sweet again? OK.

Nighty-night.

 

[Kwik]

He is getting the tiniest hint of feathering on his ears, legs, and tail. His little rear end looks like a baby ducks, little tiny feathers sticking out here and there!
He learned how to do the entire flight of stairs a week or so ago. He knew up, but not down. Now, he will hustle up and down them, tripping every other step, and watching him from behind hustle up those steps is so cute. He looks like a strange little frog.
View attachment 481242

Time for bitey-face!
View attachment 481243

Time to be sweet again? OK.

View attachment 481247
Nighty-night.
View attachment 481246

That little tongue sticking out to beyond cute!.... can see his wispy feathers coming in......

Such a pretty pair of poochies!