Henry began life as Zepplin and after adoption went through a few name trials before settling  on Henry...as in Henry David Thoreau....because we live in a forest and love nature. One of the reasons I chose Henry for our family is that Britanie said he was “all boy”....Since our long time German Shorthair Pointer rescue was a rather strong character and since we have a hiking trail through out property and various wildlife that wander through, it seemed prudent to adopt a confident chi who would be able to stand up to the environment. Later I came to
realize that perhaps what Brit meant was that Henry liked to hump things. Fortunately we have discouraged his humping habit and he has fit in to our rural lifestyle. He is a confident boy, sometimes a bit too much so, but with good training classes and because he is so intelligent,
we are curbing his puppy bites, helping him to understand the difference between friendly nibbling and painful bites. There are some great training videos on You Tube.
We weren’t sure about how Albert the GSP would respond to Henry and were very glad we listened to Brit’s information about what kennels and foods etc to have in place BEFORE bringing our chi pup home. The Iris play pen is essential. The crate is essential: we have 4 but
so far we use the wire and the traditional hard sided ones daily; the “tent”couldn’t stand up to Henry’s tests so it languishes in a closet...I bought an extra small hard sided one but it became too small pretty quickly.
The relationship between Henry and Albert is complex: Henry can be terribly annoying, jumping on Albert, biting at his face and ears and Albert has the patience of a saint....me not so much. I tend to put Henry in the play pen when he starts bugging Albert and sometimes
Albert had gone in the playpen to get away from Henry. They run together and hike together with me; Henry on leash and Albert off leash. Many days I leave Henry in his harness and leash so that he is within reach while loose in the living area of the house. We have cared for
and lived with a powerful chi before Henry so Albert was familiar with having a chi in the family. Albert seems happier to have Henry around and I have been able to lower his anxiety meds as a result. Harnesses were difficult to find that fit Henry at 3 pounds. I finally found that cat harnesses were just right. He is now slightly over 5 pounds and the cat harnesses still work best.
Henry slept through the night from the first night. By careful planning and careful watchfulness, he does not pee in the house. We did not use pee pads, though I have them, because he tended to attack and shred them, rather than use them. So I became very watchful....That is the essence of working with Henry, or any puppy I imagine....He is never out of my sight or control because of our desire to complete his house training and to keep him safe. He does have a couple of inside poop sites and if I am not watchful, there will be tootsie rolls on the
carpet....I have a scent removing spray that I use when I pick up his droppings. Fortunately his poo is firm and does not soak into the carpet. He is working on telling me when he needs out with certain calls or motions toward the door....and I am working on listening, learning to speak dog (which by the by is the title of a very good book) So he is 5 months now and not completely house broken, but getting there. We attended a puppy class of 4 sessions when his shot series was complete and he was about 4 months old; it was helpful to get me on track with training us both. Henry picked up direction very quickly. We are starting a 6 week class this Friday on communication: “The Connection, Cooperation & Control (CCCTM) training system can help you create the kind of connection and cooperation you want with your dog. Firmly founded on the principles of Suzanne Clothier's Relationship Centered TrainingTM, CCC helps you create mutual connection with your dog, while you also develop cheerful cooperation. “ I think the thing I wish I had was some kind of outline of what I could expect from Henry’s
developmental behavior during his first year. How much sleep is normal (he seemed to need more than I realized, and he was quite willing to go on without rest until he was in crazy town), how to cope with his biting (the YouTube trainer helped me with this very much, learning that it
was Henry learning the proper jaw strength to use, learning not to hurt others). There were some guidelines about how often to take him out to potty, but they didn’t seem to apply to Henry as he slept through the night.
I remember counting on the guidelines with my human babies; to have a list of ranges of when
certain developments occur with a chi would be something to lean on. At what age or age range can one expect teething to occur and then to settle down; at what
age is it likely that they have more control over bodily function; what is the proper amount of kibble to offer during the day; how long should you leave food down if the pup isn’t eating; when can you expect the pup to become consistent in eating; are zoomies a sign of over stimulation and should or should not be encouraged and why. At what age is it best to spay or neuter? But I suppose if you wrote up all that information you should make it a book and sell it....I’d buy it. You are the expert on chi’s so why not.....you have a complete dedication to the breed. One other issue I had to deal with was some confusion with the local vet about immunization. While he is experienced with small breeds and was at one time a small poodle breeder, he didn’t seem to recognize the pharmaceutical company that made the inoculations Henry had already had. I understood the vet to say he was going to start them over and that made no sense to me or to Brit. Fortunately my daughter is a highly skilled vet and I was able to clarify with her that Henry had already had two appropriate shots under Brit’s watch, and a 3rd from the local vet and needed only his 4th which she provided. I was relieved to get this clarification so I could begin Henry in training classes. For me the upshot is when it doubt contact Brit and if you don’t have a vet in the family, get a second opinion. Chi’s are special
animals, are tiny and need expertise in care. That’s about all I can think of....I am in love with Henry. His presence in our home has brought us all closer together, has turned our world upside down in ways and right side up in other ways. He’s a love bunny and a pistol, all wrapped up in one 5 pound bundle.