9 Weeks: 11 lbs and 38 cm

We decided to do the baby measurement thing and found that YOYO is now 11 lbs and 38 tall when sitting up. His height is an approximate, because he hasn't learned to sit still just yet - especially with a ruler over his head.

YOYO Crate Trained and Loves His Crate

I must say, I thought it was impossible to crate train YOYO. He was resistant to go into his crate at the beginning even when trying to lure him in with a treat. Eventually though, tapping on the bottom of the crate got him curious as to what's in this thing. He went in, but a few seconds later he wanted out. Even with us by his side with the doors closed, he would whimper and look for a way out (trying to dig himself out, biting on the metal frame, etc). When we would walk away the first couple days leaving him in the crate, he would make an unbelievably amount of noise. We realized that if he gets what he wants after whimpering and crying, we're the losers. It didn't take that much time for him to realize that we needed him in the crate when we had to leave. Just the other day, we left him in his crate and after 20 minutes he was quiet. My tip to new dog owners is, don't worry too much about your puppy whimpering too much at the beginning. They know they can get away with it if you let them have it every time. It's tough when they are a puppy too, because we instinctively don't want to say no to a baby. But we gotta.

Here are my rough list of crate training tips that I'll give:

• Puppies are always curious. Put a treat or tap to make some noise in the crate to get them sniffing and moving towards the crate.
• When they are in the crate, don't close the door right away, let him/her walk out on their own so they don't feel like they are being locked up. 
• Never make your puppy feel like their crate is a disciplinary area. Make it feel like it's their home. Reward them when they go in so they have something positive to look forward to in their crate. Positive reinforcement works.
• We used towels to block light from shining in on all sides except the doorway. Dogs like enclosed areas or areas where they can crawl into. Too much light makes it hard for your dog to sleep, just like us humans. 
• Give your puppy a treat for staying the crate. Try and toss treats behind them so they turn around to give you some time to walk away. When he / she realizes you are not there, they might whimper. Try to come back before that happens. Gradually increase the amount of time they are alone so they get comfortable.

YOYO was successfully crate trained in 7-8 days. Now, he loves his crate. He voluntarily goes into his crate and brings his toys in and play with them. We're happy parents :)

YOYO Meets Nano

Saturday was an extremely hot day. For a Samoyed, it's really tough when they are outdoors, even under cool shade. YOYO's hair has already grown out to XX cm. We brought him out a few times, but once the door opens he gets up and runs in. Smart boy.

That evening, we brought YOYO over to a friend's place to meet their little guy, Nano. Nano is a Yorkie and recently just got a haircut :) We figured it would be great to have YOYO meet and see other dogs when he's still young. That way, he can make friends and get accustomed to other types of dogs. YOYO and Nano got along very well. YOYO did most of the chasing. His size probably scared Nano a bit.

At 8 weeks, YOYO (~11 lbs) is slightly bigger in size compared to Nano (~6 lbs) - largely due to the nature of their breed, but we can see that YOYO is growing up quickly. Eventually though, YOYO will be 6x the size of Nano, so hopefully they will get in more playtime before that happens.

Here some shots of them playing with one another.

YOYO Alone For The First Time

It's the end of the week, and tonight we plan to attend a friend's birthday dinner at Agave Grill. Kristy and I haven't left YOYO alone for a long period of time, so this will be his first. We've trained him well up to this point to go into his crate on his own. He usually doesn't stay in there for too long though. When it came time and we had to leave, we put him in his crate and stood around a corner to show no presence of ourselves. After a few seconds, he started to whimper. Of course, we knew he was trying to gain our attention and call us to come let him and play. But, we let him whimper and bark a bit more. A few minutes have gone by, and he continues to make a lot of noise. There wasn't much we could do. We made out way out, and stood at the door for a good few minutes. It just so happens that we bumped into one of our neighbours who just finished walking his dogs. We asked him "what should we do?" He told us that we just need to leave him. And so we did. After standing outside our place for 20 minutes, he stopped whimpering and barking. We left for a good 2-2.5 hours. When we got back, YOYO was quietly waiting for us in his crate and didn't make a since sound when we walked in. Success!

YOYO All Pooped Out

This is mega cuteness here... YOYO passes out after some exercise and food.

YOYO Takes His First Bath

We had driven out to visit the pups once again, and this time was to watch YOYO get his first bath :) At this time, he was about 6 months old. Here are some play time photos, and one photo of him in the sink taking his bath.