Congrats, he is adorable. I love the family portrait photo. I wish you all many,many years of health & happiness with your new family member...

gorgeous dogs! (Look at them *ears*!)

Thanks. Maybe we should have called him Yoda.

He took a short nap in his crate today so making progress in crate training.

He is not quite house trained. He did have an accident today. Nothing major - peed outside and guess wasn't quite empty. Love my whelping pads in the ex pen!

I'm so pleased to see the photos. He's adorable, and so big!! OK, ok, I have a small dog, so he looks big to me! Sincere best wishes for years and years of rewarding times and fun with Gatsby! (Oh, and those feet look pretty big!)

Ohhhh, I've been watching for you to post! That's great that it went well, what a sweet boy, love the ears! He's very cute and looks quite settled in with you. Oh wow, and look at those paws! He's going to be pretty big huh?

You're idea to post here was a great way to sort of build a collaboration of ideas, no doubt it will help others too. I know I learned a few new tricks. Congrats!

What a cutey!

He is very cute! And I'm betting your other dog will show him the ropes and he will catch on quickly. Congratulations on the new addition.

Thanks all. He is a charmer and learning quickly.

He should end up about 2 feet at the shoulders and 50-60 lbs as an adult.

Murray- the other dog is not ours but AllStars Fancy(his mom) photo bombing.

Puppy class starts next week...

Aww, well then his training is all up to you!! LOL Puppy classes are an excellent way to start. I did that with Carmelita and it was a good way to get her socialized in a safe setting. They did have to ask one lab puppy to leave because he just would not settle down. Good luck with yours!! And keep the pictures coming.

What great family portraits!

My Kirby also has "bat" ears and they are so endearing. He will draw lots of attention!

So cute!!!!! Enjoy his puppyhood, and his life with you as he grows! :)

Yup - sure is cute. We were doing well with crate training and he spent an hour alone in the crate yesterday. Today he took his crate treats and then proceeded to disassemble his crate bedding and carry it outside the crate. - oops. I think it is too slippery. We are going to get a better crate mat with a gripper backing.

Cat_mom - good to see you over here.

He is adorable! So glad to finally see photos of your new baby.

Look at those feet - he's going to grow SO fast! Enjoy every minute - it sounds like things are already going well.

Good to see you, too, a2!!!!! I'm looking forward to seeing lots of pics as he grows!!!

Ann- good seeing you as well.

Gatsby crawled into his crate to take a nap. I think he decided that he was a big boy and didn't need mom's or his brothers smells in his den so he removed them. LOL

I don't know the temps where you live and it looks like Gatsby's well padded--just in case you want him to wear clothing, start NOW. I waited till cold weather set in and Kirby would rather shiver than be encompassed in a sweater. Wish I'd tried a summer bikini earlier:(

Good point! He has 2 layers but he still has his soft puppy coat so might need something until he gets his full coat.

What a cutie! Congrats on your newest pack member. : )

If you think you might brush his teeth, it would be good to get him used to having something in his mouth. Not all dogs need it, but mine certainly does and I'm grateful he's so cooperative. We've had some stiff dental bills.

he is SO stinkin' cute!!!! love the ears and he has very soft eyes. bet he's a real cuddler. congrats!

He is so cute! Hopefully not stinkin!

We had a bit of a potty training setback. We gave him too much credit so back to a little closer monitoring and less free roaming.

Tonight, he will sleep with his crate closed all night with scheduled potty breaks. We bought him a new crate mat by West Paw and he loves it. The other one was a bit slippery on the crate surface.

We have his toothbrush(fingertip) but haven't started yet.

Much to my chagrin, I have overestimated Kirby's "training" many times. I'm hoping he can change that perspective once he's past puppyhood.

"piddler"---lol!

OMG he looks so big to me. (I think he's bigger than my Westie, who is 16 lbs.) I thought you were just getting this little handful of a puppy. We love hearing about your adventure. Lucky pup to get such a wonderful home.

Socks- yup, he was 19 lb 10 oz at the vet last week.

We had a free session in the snow today. I didn't get many good pictures but we had fun and now he is falling asleep in daddy's arms.

Limiting free access to the main level until he is more consistent.

Love those ears!! He is adorable ...

Ha! The ears! He's got such a sweet face. I was using the pumpkin for our dogs kibble as well and the Vet warned to use it sparingly. The added fiber can cause them to get painfully gassy. Sometimes I use plain, sugarless (non-greek) yogurt. It's a good probiotic and easy to mix in the kibble.

Pam - for sure

Lukki - Thanks for the heads up on pumpkin. He only gets a little episodically.

I have been using yogurt, which he devours. His sibling - Finnick - loves cottage cheese. Both are supposed to be good for his ear cartilage development.

He has been on a pistol the past few days. I think he needs more nap time.

He did go snow shoeing yesterday for socialization. Just a short trip to a local golf course. We had the whole place to ourselves. He loved it!

Now to keep him from eating all of our garden mulch!

He has built-in snow shoes! As to a previous post...I wonder why not Greek yogurt?

I <3 him!!!

We mix probiotic powder in with our cats' wet food (Rx Biotics). Our vet told us to make sure whatever we used was made specifically for cats, or cats and dogs, not one sold for people. Probably has something to do with strength, dosage, etc.

It's because pets have specific bacteria strains unique to them and need organisms derived from their own species for best results. Human probiotics were developed specifically to fortify bacteria species found in the human GI system.

Greek yogurt isn't dangerous for them but it's fattier, has higher protein levels and some makers sneak sugar in it. I use the plain yogurt with no sugars added as a probiotic and since the better foods already have high levels of protein in them (which not all breeds even need), adding even more can be less then ideal for them.

What an adorable pup! If the breeder feeds raw treats then it's worth starting him on them now. My dog, a Schipperke/Pom LOVES veges and won't touch dog biscuits or treats unless it's some type of jerky. I first learned of raw veggies as treats when I took my dog to my son's horse barn and he and the other dogs would grab the carrots that were for the horses. After that I discovered my dog would eat strawberries, beans, and patio tomatoes off the vine, along with everything (except lettuce) that goes in a salad. His favorite is probably cauliflower and bell pepper, and a whole carrot is better than any chew bone! : )

Cat_mom- these dogs have sensitive noses so won't touch the food with powder. I put probiotics into turkey wurst and Gatsby gobbles it down. The first time he tried to eat around it but now a non-issue.

Lukki- currently using Greek, non fat, no added sugar. I do plan on switching to my favorite local yogurt. The family stopped selling it but they recently sold the culture and it was at market before I left to visit mom(before puppy)

Annzoo - he is starting to get some raw treats. The breeder recommends it. He got some beef and a giant beef rib which sure helped with decreasing using us for chew toys. (We made a dinner of the large chunk of meat- need to find a source for bones with a little bit of meat on them as we don't eat much beef) The breeder recommends a combination of kibble and raw. Another breeder feeder uses the raw diet. I have some chicken wings to try with him when I get home.

Next time- he gets his rib outside. We pulled the marrow bone as learned too hard on puppy teeth

Gatsby Picard updates. Gatsby now has his own FB page! - Gatsy Picard

I heard this call for help from DH but had to snap a picture before giving aid!

He is teething. I am making treat cubes and giving him meatscicles and yogurt kibble pops to sooth those sore gums

i haven't weighed him in a week- but guessing he is over 25 lbs. His ribs are showing so not over eating - which is rare in this breed anyway.

I gave him some new bigger kibble today - large breed puppy and he made a statement. He gobbled down the big kibble and left the baby kibble in the bowl. I will transition him slowly to the big kibble.