4 Month Arthur Pup-Date
I first wrote about Arthur when he had only been with us for two weeks. SO MUCH has changed in that time, especially him, so just thought I’d do a little pupdate on the menace that is Arthur.
The main difference is that he can obviously now go outside, and he had a very big first weekend out. He came with us for Bottomless Brunch at Jam Jar, and was good as gold. We also went to the quayside on the Sunday, walked through the market and had a drink at the Broad Chare with him. He’s not scared to be out at all, but that first week our walks were very short, and he kept stopping a lot to just sit there.
The only time he never stopped, was on a Friday night when he would run over to the Pavilion pub for a Friday pint. He loves it there, so much so that now we are on lockdown and can’t go, he still runs up to the window and the closed doors every time we walk past. Hopefully one day soon we will be back!
He went from very short walks to much further ones, and we’ve been exploring all around the horse fields, cycle paths, and even down to the coast on our one walk a day, sticking within the time frame. He loves it, and it’s the highlight of our day too after being stuck in the whole time.
He loves having us home with him, and he has his own little routine. He sleeps all night, then gets up and has breakfast. He will spend most of the morning with me in the spare room where I’m set up to work from home. I’ll have a coffee and he sits on my knee chewing his bone until he falls asleep, then I’ll put him in his bed where he snoozes for most of the morning. Either there or under my chair which he likes too.
By lunchtime, he’s waking up and wants to play. I wish we could take him out at this point, but we can’t so just making do with a lot of ‘fetch’. Afternoons are when we struggle, as he becomes hyper, runs around, wants to play, and generally wants attention. It’s hard when we are both working from home and can’t get out more than once a day with him.
I remember being demented indoors when he couldn’t go out at all, so really look forward to 5pm when we are both logged off and can go out. On our walks he’s met loads of the local dogs, especially Lola, the pug who’s a bit older than him and we often see at weekends, and Bonnie the golden lab puppy.
I’m not going to lie, in the evenings he’s a pain in the arse. But a cute one. He gets in from his walk and spends a good twenty minutes terrorising me, trying to pull on my socks, jumping up at my legs, and being so full of energy he can’t control his excitement. It sounds cute but his teeth are sharp and I have holes in all my socks.
He went through a phase of being shocking around food too. He would sit and bark constantly until he got some, so we are trying to get him to eat his food at the same time, and train him that if he sits quietly while we eat, he gets chicken. This has been a lot easier said than done, and I’ve spent many mealtimes sat on the floor throwing toys for him to distract him while eating my dinner at the same time. Touch wood it’s getting better this week.
He’s gone from loving watching the tv, to barking at any noise he doesn’t like. We had to turn off James Bond the other night, as it was so bad. It began with him just hating the black horse on the Lloyds advert. I shared a video on instagram of this, as it was quite funny especially as he recognised the music as soon as it came on even if he was asleep.
He hates it with a passion and goes mental, so we’ve actually been walking him past loads of horse fields to get him used to them. He’s a bit better, but it’s an ongoing battle with noises on the TV. It’s crazy though as it’s only in the evening. He’s fine in a morning watching Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain!
Without fail every night though, he falls asleep between 8-8:30pm, and that’s him until the next morning. He is absolutely adorable during this time haha. He loves bedtime.
He’s a lot more affectionate, and loves to be touching either me or Kieran at all times when he’s chilling. Either my knee, or round Kieran’s neck are his favourite spots. When Kieran was at Cheltenham just before lockdown, he went to the door at 20 past 5 every night expecting him to come home, and he follows me everywhere, including into the shower.
He also loves Joey, they’re the best of friends and I think he’s really missing him while we can’t visit, as he goes crackers every time he sees him on facetime.
He’s grown so much, which I both love and hate. He had his first bath which was hilarious, and he adores my dad, who turns into a complete child when he’s with him.
I can’t wait until normality resumes, and we can take him out more than once a day. We have a holiday booked to the Lake District later in the year, and I’m really really hoping that even if worldwide travel hasn’t reopened we can still go there as it’s within this country.
Until next time, stay safe! love Arthur xxx