Brooke here:
This past week has been puppy-intensive with minimal sleep, so I hope you don’t mind some pictures of the puppy.
Zu came from sketchy-ish circumstances. He is between 6 to 10 weeks: the people who gave him to us said he was 6 weeks at the time we took him, but the vet who saw him yesterday put him at 10 weeks. Since his eyes are still blue, we’ll split the difference at 8 weeks. I’m very okay with him being older than we thought. The people who were getting rid of his litter had them “ready to go” at a month but we managed to persuade them to keep him with his mom for an additional two weeks. By the time we brought him home, he was the last pup there. I feel slightly better that they might have lied about the pups’ age, since 6 weeks is still too young to bring a pup home and a month is nothing but cruel.
He had fleas when he came home, which we treated with baths and by dosing Cutter with Frontline. And there should be some funny commentary to go with this but I’m very tired. I have the sneaking dread I was either viciously abusive to Cutter John or his puppyhood was so awful that I’ve blocked out all memory of it, as I don’t remember the first few nights being nothing but a shrill, piercing howl. For a while there, Zu was destroying our brains; Brown and I went to a friend’s wedding this past weekend as shuffling, bleary-eyed half-dead creatures resembling human beings, and we almost complained about it until we realized one of the couples at the table had a three-month-old baby and they would have had the legal right to shank us.
Zu is finally settling in, though, which is good as sleep is not negotiable in our house; take it away and Brown and Cutter become enraged monsters, like shutting an alarm clock in with a mogwai after midnight. Zu slept through last night and is starting to learn the day’s schedule (FRANTIC PLAY three-hour nap FRANTIC PLAY three-hour nap, etc.). He’s a very good little puppy. We’ve had him a full week without a single housebreaking accident, and he’s already learned to sit on command.
Sadly, it is difficult to get good pictures of him. My camera is poo and I can capture him at a distance when he’s standing still…
Or hurtling towards me like a rocket:
Besides the sleep thing, the only issue we’ve had is he’s been encouraged to attack feet and pantlegs. The people we got him from thought this was “cute.” We think it’s “annoying” now and “potentially dangerous” later, since this pup won’t stay nine pounds for long.
Flying by night 
They seriuosly wanted to let the poor thing go at 4 weeks? Dear lord… He loos sickeningly cute however. Did he have his shots when you got him? My father, who can bring to heel any dog I have ever seen him encounter, suggests gentle taps on the nose with a rolled up newspaper and firm commands.
They claimed he had his shots and full vet care, but we had asked them to provide copies when we picked him up and they had “forgotten” to get copies made And then … oops! … they had lost the originals. Practically speaking, we should have walked away but he was the last pup there and he looked so alone…
He’s crammed full of juicy vet care now, though. As of now, the only two critters in the house not medicated for worms are me and Brown.
Ugh. Four weeks is criminal, and even two months seems like too little… and it’s a shame that his tail was cut off.
He’s still cute as a button, though!
So cute! I’m here originally from AGAHF (which is amazing by the way, can’t wait to find out what’s happened in the 5 year break), and I happen to agree with Speedy’s bit about unobtainable cuteness. It doesn’t change the fact that puppies really are INCREDIBLY cute, though!
That’s good that he’s finally sleeping through the night. Is your other dog accepting him?
Welcome Celfi! They sort of played today for the first time by running laps around a friend., but the old dog thinks the new one is annoying and gets in the way of his happy life.
He looks adorable. Is he purebred, or more of a mutt? And will he be about the same size as Cutter John when he grows up?
I have never understood anyone who teaches a pet to bite people because it is ‘cute’… The sharp bits should never go into the humans, in my opinion. :p
They tried to pass them off as purebreds (hence the docked tail… as I said, a REALLY sketchy situation) but he’s got something else in him. We’re guessing Shepard or spaniel. Size is anyone’s guess, but I’d bet he comes close to Cutter’s.
Good luck! Glad you rescued him….Hope the people who got the rest of the pups are responsible pet owners…but it doesn’t sound likely…