16 years ago
Monday, March 31, 2008
First Boot
Theo threw up for the first time yesterday. Nothing to be alarmed about. Apparently his breakfast was extra yummy yesterday because he wolfed it down so fast that it promptly came back up! This is the first time Theo has thrown up with me. He's never gotten sick in the car, or anywhere else, thankfully. I gently rubbed his side after I let him out of his crate (remember I've mentioned before that I feed him in his crate), and felt a big rumble in his tummy. Two seconds later he walked onto his bed and upchucked his breakfast. Yuck! He had a look on his face like "what just happened!?" that was so freaking cute I wanted to die. Then he sniffed it, wondering if it was something he could eat, and then he seemed to be over it and walked away. I'm fairly certain he just ate too fast because he's been fine otherwise since then. Also, it didn't hurt his appetite. As soon as he had emptied his stomach, he was ready to fill it again. He never begs for food after he's eaten, but after he threw up he was giving me the same "I'm dying of hunger" look he gives me right before I've fed him. I figure since his appetite was intact, he was definitely ok. Hehe. Poor little thing.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Ear Gunk
I can't believe it, but I forgot to mention Theo had his second vet visit (with me) last week. His ears had a lot of waxy buildup (his ears smelled dirty, it was gross), so the first thing I asked when I met with the vet was "what's wrong with his ears?" Apparently they weren't infected (phew!), but they were dirty enough to require a professional cleaning (when you're charge $30, it gets the name "professional"). At least they smelled like roses for awhile afterwards. Hehe. He also prescribed some ear drops that were meant to break up the rest of the wax in his ear canal.
Man, trying to put 4 drops in each ear of a dog is hard! Theo struggled with me like his life depended on it, and cried like I was killing him slowly. Poor little guy. Toward the end he got better, but it's not something I ever want to go through again. Ick! At least he's now very accustomed to me handling his ears!
Man, trying to put 4 drops in each ear of a dog is hard! Theo struggled with me like his life depended on it, and cried like I was killing him slowly. Poor little guy. Toward the end he got better, but it's not something I ever want to go through again. Ick! At least he's now very accustomed to me handling his ears!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Going Well
Wow, it's been a week since my last Theo update? Well haven't I been a busy bee.
Theo made a lot of progress the last week. When I think about it, the only real issues we're having with him are the mouthing, and of course the house training is 100% yet. Everything else he's picking up. sometimes slowly, but always surely.
Let's start with the good. Theo hasn't had an accent in his crate since my last rant about it. Yay! He's had a few accidents in the house (pee only), but only because he had to go and there wasn't a pee pad available, so I can't fault him too much. Although one of those times I was in the process of unlocking the back door to let him outside...doh!
The crate training is going much better. Theo used to hate his crate. He would never go in it, even if I tempted him with the yummiest treat because he knew it meant being locked in his prison. I made sure to never punish him in it, but he still never took to it. Last week I started feeding him in his crate. I hold his food bowl while standing next to the crate and say "Theo, crate". Now that he knows that's where he's fed, he happily jumps in and doesn't even notice when I close the door. When he's done eating his cries a little to let me know he's ready to come out. So easy! And now he sleeps in it all the time. He still prefers his dog bed over the crate, but he sleeps in his crate when it's between it and the floor, which is better than before! Now when I put him to bed at night I get two treats, put one in his kong and keep one in my hand. I tell him "crate", and when he jumps in I give him the kong. Then I close the door while praising him profusely. When he's settled down (which is 99% of the time immediate), I give him the second treat. I praise him some more, but he usually ignores me since he's busy trying to get at the treat in his kong. Hehe. Then I get up and go get ready for bed. Sometimes he'll cry a little while I'm getting ready, but once I crawl into bed, he's usually ready to stretch out and go to sleep himself. Now if only I could get him to sleep in on the weekends!
His walks have been going very well also. He'll still stop at certain points, but the number of stops is much fewer, and it's much easier to get him to move again. I can walk him all the way around the neighborhood now, which is great because there's a great grassy lookout that's a nice place to stop and rest. He knows "heel" and 75% of the time walks like a dream. Sometimes when he's stopped at a particularly shady patch of grass when I say "heel", he'll walk forward about 2 steps and then just collapse back down. It's so cute!
Theo's learned "sit", "down", and "stand" from his puppy class very well. They comprise the "puppy push-ups", as my trainers calls them. "Down" took him a while, but after a few days of holding his butt, but had the idea. Now he'll pat his head and rub his tummy for the right treat...figuratively speaking, of course. He's also learned that he doesn't go through a door before me. Now when I go to the door to let him outside, he always backs up to leave room for me to go out first. What a good boy!
Speaking of puppy class, that went much better than last week too. Last week there were lots of retriever-type pups that were 3 times Theo's size. As soon as I set him down they all swarmed him and he was terrified. He was so scared that he either hugged the walls of the area or hid under people's ankles (hey, at least he's not afraid of people!). He was so scared that he wouldn't do any of the on-leash work because it involved moving towards the other dogs. It was awful and I felt like I wasn't able to show what progress we had really made. This week's class was much better. He walked great on the leash, did his push-ups like a pro, and even played a bit with the other puppies.
The only bad, like I said, is really the mouthing. He's always been a bit overzealous with the biting, but now that his jaw is stronger, he draws blood on a regular basis. My hand is his favorite chew toy. I've tried distracting him with a toy, he ignores it. I've tried shoving the toy in his mouth when he goes for my hand, he spits it out and goes for my hand again. I've tried saying "ouch!" and ignoring him for 10 seconds, it only seems to make him more excited to go after my hand. One time he even bit my arm while I was doing the ignore thing. I've tried holding his mouth closed (gently!) and telling him to "relax", he goes after my hand as soon as I let go. I've tried teaching him "gentle" and praising him when he mouths softly, and it only seems to encourage him to mouth harder. I'm told he'll grow out of it, but is there something I'm not trying here? I know I need to teach him to have a soft mouth, but it's just not working. I know if I could get this under control, he'd be such a dream!
Update: The trusty mycorgi.com forums have saved me again. Someone over there really spelled out the mouthing thing in such a way that I just get it now. Imagine Theo is playing with a puppy and Theo nips. If the puppy yelps and then keeps playing, it's like saying "Ouch, that hurt a little, but I'm ok. Let's keep playing!" If the puppy yelps and then walks away, it's like saying "That hurt. You play too rough. I don't want to play with you anymore." I want to communicate the latter for sure! If I just keep up with the saying ouch and then walking away for a minute or so, hopefully that'll set him straight and he'll understand what I want. I'll keep you posted!
Theo made a lot of progress the last week. When I think about it, the only real issues we're having with him are the mouthing, and of course the house training is 100% yet. Everything else he's picking up. sometimes slowly, but always surely.
Let's start with the good. Theo hasn't had an accent in his crate since my last rant about it. Yay! He's had a few accidents in the house (pee only), but only because he had to go and there wasn't a pee pad available, so I can't fault him too much. Although one of those times I was in the process of unlocking the back door to let him outside...doh!
The crate training is going much better. Theo used to hate his crate. He would never go in it, even if I tempted him with the yummiest treat because he knew it meant being locked in his prison. I made sure to never punish him in it, but he still never took to it. Last week I started feeding him in his crate. I hold his food bowl while standing next to the crate and say "Theo, crate". Now that he knows that's where he's fed, he happily jumps in and doesn't even notice when I close the door. When he's done eating his cries a little to let me know he's ready to come out. So easy! And now he sleeps in it all the time. He still prefers his dog bed over the crate, but he sleeps in his crate when it's between it and the floor, which is better than before! Now when I put him to bed at night I get two treats, put one in his kong and keep one in my hand. I tell him "crate", and when he jumps in I give him the kong. Then I close the door while praising him profusely. When he's settled down (which is 99% of the time immediate), I give him the second treat. I praise him some more, but he usually ignores me since he's busy trying to get at the treat in his kong. Hehe. Then I get up and go get ready for bed. Sometimes he'll cry a little while I'm getting ready, but once I crawl into bed, he's usually ready to stretch out and go to sleep himself. Now if only I could get him to sleep in on the weekends!
His walks have been going very well also. He'll still stop at certain points, but the number of stops is much fewer, and it's much easier to get him to move again. I can walk him all the way around the neighborhood now, which is great because there's a great grassy lookout that's a nice place to stop and rest. He knows "heel" and 75% of the time walks like a dream. Sometimes when he's stopped at a particularly shady patch of grass when I say "heel", he'll walk forward about 2 steps and then just collapse back down. It's so cute!
Theo's learned "sit", "down", and "stand" from his puppy class very well. They comprise the "puppy push-ups", as my trainers calls them. "Down" took him a while, but after a few days of holding his butt, but had the idea. Now he'll pat his head and rub his tummy for the right treat...figuratively speaking, of course. He's also learned that he doesn't go through a door before me. Now when I go to the door to let him outside, he always backs up to leave room for me to go out first. What a good boy!
Speaking of puppy class, that went much better than last week too. Last week there were lots of retriever-type pups that were 3 times Theo's size. As soon as I set him down they all swarmed him and he was terrified. He was so scared that he either hugged the walls of the area or hid under people's ankles (hey, at least he's not afraid of people!). He was so scared that he wouldn't do any of the on-leash work because it involved moving towards the other dogs. It was awful and I felt like I wasn't able to show what progress we had really made. This week's class was much better. He walked great on the leash, did his push-ups like a pro, and even played a bit with the other puppies.
The only bad, like I said, is really the mouthing. He's always been a bit overzealous with the biting, but now that his jaw is stronger, he draws blood on a regular basis. My hand is his favorite chew toy. I've tried distracting him with a toy, he ignores it. I've tried shoving the toy in his mouth when he goes for my hand, he spits it out and goes for my hand again. I've tried saying "ouch!" and ignoring him for 10 seconds, it only seems to make him more excited to go after my hand. One time he even bit my arm while I was doing the ignore thing. I've tried holding his mouth closed (gently!) and telling him to "relax", he goes after my hand as soon as I let go. I've tried teaching him "gentle" and praising him when he mouths softly, and it only seems to encourage him to mouth harder. I'm told he'll grow out of it, but is there something I'm not trying here? I know I need to teach him to have a soft mouth, but it's just not working. I know if I could get this under control, he'd be such a dream!
Update: The trusty mycorgi.com forums have saved me again. Someone over there really spelled out the mouthing thing in such a way that I just get it now. Imagine Theo is playing with a puppy and Theo nips. If the puppy yelps and then keeps playing, it's like saying "Ouch, that hurt a little, but I'm ok. Let's keep playing!" If the puppy yelps and then walks away, it's like saying "That hurt. You play too rough. I don't want to play with you anymore." I want to communicate the latter for sure! If I just keep up with the saying ouch and then walking away for a minute or so, hopefully that'll set him straight and he'll understand what I want. I'll keep you posted!
Monday, March 17, 2008
So Very Tired
A warning to all prospective puppy owners:
When I thought about getting a puppy everyone warned me about the sleepless nights I would have when my small-bladdered puppy needed to go out in the middle of the night. I thought, "hey that's going to suck, but it'll be ok".
Well I lucked out and ended up with a puppy that was a pro at holding his bladder all night (most of the time, but even when he wet his bed, he still didn't wake me up). On weekdays he usually sleeps until he hears my alarm clock go off, or sometimes a few minutes before. No big deal. The one thing I wasn't prepared for that no one told me: you will never get to sleep in on the weekend again.
Theo let me "sleep in" until 7:30am both days this weekend. Before Theo I would usually sleep in until noon at least. It's when I would "catch up" on my sleep. Now I get no catchup. It's Monday morning and I'm barely functioning because I'm so darn tired.
My warning to prospective puppy owners is make sure you're prepared to never get to sleep in late again (or at least until puppy is house trained). My advice is to take lots of afternoon naps when you can squeeze them in.
When I thought about getting a puppy everyone warned me about the sleepless nights I would have when my small-bladdered puppy needed to go out in the middle of the night. I thought, "hey that's going to suck, but it'll be ok".
Well I lucked out and ended up with a puppy that was a pro at holding his bladder all night (most of the time, but even when he wet his bed, he still didn't wake me up). On weekdays he usually sleeps until he hears my alarm clock go off, or sometimes a few minutes before. No big deal. The one thing I wasn't prepared for that no one told me: you will never get to sleep in on the weekend again.
Theo let me "sleep in" until 7:30am both days this weekend. Before Theo I would usually sleep in until noon at least. It's when I would "catch up" on my sleep. Now I get no catchup. It's Monday morning and I'm barely functioning because I'm so darn tired.
My warning to prospective puppy owners is make sure you're prepared to never get to sleep in late again (or at least until puppy is house trained). My advice is to take lots of afternoon naps when you can squeeze them in.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Video Of The Week 16: Theo Vs. The Bottle
Videos of the week are back! The plan is to have videos of my own adorable little Theo in here when I can. So far I only have one video though! I'll have to get better at capturing his adorable moments. This video is Theo vs. the water bottle. What you're not seeing is the first few minutes of when I first gave it to him. He kept barking experimentally at it, and then jumping away. It was so funny! I hope you think so too.
I love the part where he lays down with another toy but still manages to throw a disapproving bark the bottle's way. Evil bottle!
I love the part where he lays down with another toy but still manages to throw a disapproving bark the bottle's way. Evil bottle!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Progress
Theo has made leaps and bounds of progress this week. It's really been amazing. I haven't talked much about his leash training, but I've been taking him on 1-2 walks a day around the neighborhood. At first it was very trying because Theo wouldn't walk. He would walk to the end of the street (pulling a lot and stopping at every front yard), then he would stop and refuse to move. I tried to get him to move through various means, but I never managed to get him more than 5 feet before he would sit down again. He still does it to some extent, but only when he's tired and needs a rest, which is fine of course. He's learned to "heel" like a pro! He still pulls a little sometimes, but I can now walk a good portion of the walk with lots of slack on the leash and he walks right beside me. What a good boy!
The house training is also going great. He still has accidents in his pen, but he's getting better, and he's great when we're home. I think when his bladder gets bigger and we don't have to rely on puppy pads it'll get better.
The walks have also made him much more handleable. He was starting to get very nippy to the point where I couldn't even play with him because my hands got so torn up. Well I've learned there's two things that make me able to have a nice cuddle time with Theo: first is, as I said, a nice long walk (or two medium walks) to let him get out some of his energy. Toward the end I usually run with him because he really seems to enjoy it. Second is letting him have a rough playtime. I tried getting him to play calmly and it was so frustrating because all he wanted to do was bite my hands...hard. I noticed that if I rough-house with him a little (not letting him bite my hand, but letting him try), a few minutes later he's mellow and ready for cuddling. It's been so great.
Today he's been such a good puppy that I can't think of anything but running home and playing with him some more! If this keeps up he's going to turn into such a dream dog. I know there'll still be setbacks, but it's such a morale booster to know that we're making good progress.
So far he hasn't been very des
The house training is also going great. He still has accidents in his pen, but he's getting better, and he's great when we're home. I think when his bladder gets bigger and we don't have to rely on puppy pads it'll get better.
The walks have also made him much more handleable. He was starting to get very nippy to the point where I couldn't even play with him because my hands got so torn up. Well I've learned there's two things that make me able to have a nice cuddle time with Theo: first is, as I said, a nice long walk (or two medium walks) to let him get out some of his energy. Toward the end I usually run with him because he really seems to enjoy it. Second is letting him have a rough playtime. I tried getting him to play calmly and it was so frustrating because all he wanted to do was bite my hands...hard. I noticed that if I rough-house with him a little (not letting him bite my hand, but letting him try), a few minutes later he's mellow and ready for cuddling. It's been so great.
Today he's been such a good puppy that I can't think of anything but running home and playing with him some more! If this keeps up he's going to turn into such a dream dog. I know there'll still be setbacks, but it's such a morale booster to know that we're making good progress.
So far he hasn't been very des
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Day One
Yesterday was day one. Theo didn't have a single accident in the house, including his crate that morning and evening! It was day one of the six week, no accident time frame that means your dog is house trained. Do I really expect to go six weeks, or even another day without an accident? Not really, but it was still a great accomplishment for Theo. Good boy! If you'll remember, last Sunday he also had a day with no accidents, but I was holding out on celebrating until it happened on a day when I wasn't home with him all day. Yesterday was that day. Hooray!
He was good so far this morning too, for the most part. He did poop inside the house rather than doing it when I had taken him out 15 minutes before, but he did it on his puppy pad while I was out of the room, so I think that still counts as a non-accident.
But of course, in the spirit of Theo's step forward then back habits, when I came home yesterday I saw that he had peed only twice and both times on the puppy pad, which he hadn't moved or chewed up. Good boy! I also noticed that he somehow managed to get the puppy pad outside his pen that we keep by the back door inside his pen, and that pad was completely shredded to pieces. Eh, I'll take that over a hot mess any day!
He was good so far this morning too, for the most part. He did poop inside the house rather than doing it when I had taken him out 15 minutes before, but he did it on his puppy pad while I was out of the room, so I think that still counts as a non-accident.
But of course, in the spirit of Theo's step forward then back habits, when I came home yesterday I saw that he had peed only twice and both times on the puppy pad, which he hadn't moved or chewed up. Good boy! I also noticed that he somehow managed to get the puppy pad outside his pen that we keep by the back door inside his pen, and that pad was completely shredded to pieces. Eh, I'll take that over a hot mess any day!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A Hot Mess
The following little story should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone looking to get a puppy. I'm talking the kind of cautionary tales my mom used to tell me and my sister: real dangers that could happen if you didn't heed her word, such as the time she told us if you put your head underwater in a hot tub your hair could get caught in a jet and you could drown, or when she said that if I got my belly button pierced and it got infected, it could spread to my lower intestines and I could die. This might even be right up there with "if you don't wear your seatbelt the car door could come flying open, causing you to fall out and get gravel under your eyelids, like what happened to you aunt when she was six". It's one of those.
Usually when I leave for work in the morning, I've sufficiently tired out Theo that he just sleeps the whole morning and doesn't wake up until I come home at lunchtime. That was not the case today. Today I came home to see, from across the room, that Theo had pooped and peed on his puppy pad. Good boy! I prefer it when he holds his poops for when I take him outside, but a puppy pad is definitely acceptable.
Upon closer inspection I saw that there was also a piece of poop on the floor. Well that sucks, but at least he had the right idea. Upon even closer inspection I saw smears of poop all over the floor. By this time I was right next to the pen and Theo, in his enthusiasm to get out of the pen stepped in the poop...great...and then proceeded to walk all over his pen (and toys), tracking (more) poo smudges everywhere. It was disgusting. I grabbed a wipe and cleaned off Theo's paws as best I could. I got out an arsenal of paper towels and started spraying 409 everywhere to wipe up the poo smudges.
Somehow I kept noticing new smudges. That's when I noticed it (and realized where all the previous smudges had come from). The little piece of poop that was hanging out of his butt. I don't know if it was him freaking out over the poop or just regular excitement to see me, but as soon as I had mostly cleaned the floor, there were all of a sudden half a dozen more poo smudges! Ack! Ew! I wiped off the poop, which was attached to a strand of my hair that was still...*ahem*...in there. Oh my goodness, I don't know how I didn't vomit right on top of his head. Oh by the way, it smelled like all kinds of nastiness while this was going on.
After I cleaned the floor again, I decided I'd clean off Theo's paws a little better since my initial attempt didn't seem to...get everything. I picked him up and turned him on his back. Theo doesn't generally like this, so he kicked his paws out, trying to get leverage off of my body and face. "Oh god, don't touch me!" was all I could say. I managed to get him on his back and clean off his paws with no visible signs of poo transfer. Phew! His paws were clean, the pen was relatively clean, so back in the pen he went. I needed to start washing his poop covered toys and I didn't want that hot little mess running all over the kitchen. I got the laundry started and headed back to the pen and guess what I saw?
He had peed.
Then he stepped in it.
Then he ran all over the pen.
Seriously.
I wiped off Theo's paws...again, and let him out of the pen. This time I went for heavy duty (or should I say dooty?) cleaning and got the swiffer-mop-thing. I went over the area...and over...and over again. Phew! Finally! It was clean!
And that's the story (at least until I head home tonight and see if Theo went ahead with an encore). Sure, I can laugh about it (I already did while writing this post). Sure, it might sound gross, but not so bad. But really, it was that bad. It was nasty! Please, Theo, don't ever make me clean up (over and over and over again) that kind of mess again! Is it any wonder I never ended up eating lunch? Yeglck!
I'm sure other people with puppies have similar stories, so all you squeamish people out there who won't be able to cover the bathroom duties (doodies?)...at least make sure you've got a husband, or boyfriend, or someone that will come over and clean up the mess for you, 'cause it's just gotta be done.
Usually when I leave for work in the morning, I've sufficiently tired out Theo that he just sleeps the whole morning and doesn't wake up until I come home at lunchtime. That was not the case today. Today I came home to see, from across the room, that Theo had pooped and peed on his puppy pad. Good boy! I prefer it when he holds his poops for when I take him outside, but a puppy pad is definitely acceptable.
Upon closer inspection I saw that there was also a piece of poop on the floor. Well that sucks, but at least he had the right idea. Upon even closer inspection I saw smears of poop all over the floor. By this time I was right next to the pen and Theo, in his enthusiasm to get out of the pen stepped in the poop...great...and then proceeded to walk all over his pen (and toys), tracking (more) poo smudges everywhere. It was disgusting. I grabbed a wipe and cleaned off Theo's paws as best I could. I got out an arsenal of paper towels and started spraying 409 everywhere to wipe up the poo smudges.
Somehow I kept noticing new smudges. That's when I noticed it (and realized where all the previous smudges had come from). The little piece of poop that was hanging out of his butt. I don't know if it was him freaking out over the poop or just regular excitement to see me, but as soon as I had mostly cleaned the floor, there were all of a sudden half a dozen more poo smudges! Ack! Ew! I wiped off the poop, which was attached to a strand of my hair that was still...*ahem*...in there. Oh my goodness, I don't know how I didn't vomit right on top of his head. Oh by the way, it smelled like all kinds of nastiness while this was going on.
After I cleaned the floor again, I decided I'd clean off Theo's paws a little better since my initial attempt didn't seem to...get everything. I picked him up and turned him on his back. Theo doesn't generally like this, so he kicked his paws out, trying to get leverage off of my body and face. "Oh god, don't touch me!" was all I could say. I managed to get him on his back and clean off his paws with no visible signs of poo transfer. Phew! His paws were clean, the pen was relatively clean, so back in the pen he went. I needed to start washing his poop covered toys and I didn't want that hot little mess running all over the kitchen. I got the laundry started and headed back to the pen and guess what I saw?
He had peed.
Then he stepped in it.
Then he ran all over the pen.
Seriously.
I wiped off Theo's paws...again, and let him out of the pen. This time I went for heavy duty (or should I say dooty?) cleaning and got the swiffer-mop-thing. I went over the area...and over...and over again. Phew! Finally! It was clean!
And that's the story (at least until I head home tonight and see if Theo went ahead with an encore). Sure, I can laugh about it (I already did while writing this post). Sure, it might sound gross, but not so bad. But really, it was that bad. It was nasty! Please, Theo, don't ever make me clean up (over and over and over again) that kind of mess again! Is it any wonder I never ended up eating lunch? Yeglck!
I'm sure other people with puppies have similar stories, so all you squeamish people out there who won't be able to cover the bathroom duties (doodies?)...at least make sure you've got a husband, or boyfriend, or someone that will come over and clean up the mess for you, 'cause it's just gotta be done.
I'm Baffled
I need help. I was hoping it was just a temporary thing last week, but this morning it was back again. Theo has taken to peeing in his crate. That's right. The whole point of crate training is to teach your dog to hold it because dogs instinctively tend to not want to curl up in their own filth...except my dog that is. Is it just a bladder control issue? Well the first two weeks we had Theo he didn't "wet his bed" once, so I know he at least at one point had the ability to hold it all night. Also, I don't think he had any accidents this past weekend. He doesn't whine or cry that he needs to be let out to go potty. As far as I can tell, he just goes.
In the morning, on a good day, my alarm wakes both Theo and I up and he cries to be let out. I quickly throw on some clothes and take him outside to pee. One the not as good days, Theo wakes up before my alarm (*sigh*), cries to be let out, and I jump out of bed to let him out. Maybe he cries to be let out because he's peed? I don't know, but he's definitely doing it at some point.
My question to you all is...WHAT DO I DO!?? I don't want my dog sleeping in his own pee, I don't want to wash his bedding every morning, and I don't want to hinder his house training! I want to nip this habit in the bud right now, but I have no idea how. It's always after the fact since he does it while I'm sleeping. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Update: You know, I've been trying to crate train (and house train) him by keeping him in his crate outside our bedroom door during the night. I wonder if it would be better to just leave him in his pen with his crate and a puppy pad. I didn't really want to do this because it's not teaching him to hold it through the night, and it's not really crate training him at all. But I don't think he would wet his bed if he could get out to his puppy pad. I thought it'd be better to keep him by us during the night, since he doesn't cry when he can see us. But I wonder if it would be better to keep him in the kitchen with the same setup we use when we're gone at work for the day. Any thoughts?
In the morning, on a good day, my alarm wakes both Theo and I up and he cries to be let out. I quickly throw on some clothes and take him outside to pee. One the not as good days, Theo wakes up before my alarm (*sigh*), cries to be let out, and I jump out of bed to let him out. Maybe he cries to be let out because he's peed? I don't know, but he's definitely doing it at some point.
My question to you all is...WHAT DO I DO!?? I don't want my dog sleeping in his own pee, I don't want to wash his bedding every morning, and I don't want to hinder his house training! I want to nip this habit in the bud right now, but I have no idea how. It's always after the fact since he does it while I'm sleeping. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Update: You know, I've been trying to crate train (and house train) him by keeping him in his crate outside our bedroom door during the night. I wonder if it would be better to just leave him in his pen with his crate and a puppy pad. I didn't really want to do this because it's not teaching him to hold it through the night, and it's not really crate training him at all. But I don't think he would wet his bed if he could get out to his puppy pad. I thought it'd be better to keep him by us during the night, since he doesn't cry when he can see us. But I wonder if it would be better to keep him in the kitchen with the same setup we use when we're gone at work for the day. Any thoughts?
Monday, March 10, 2008
5 Weeks, 6 Days To Go
Can I get a round of applause? Yesterday was the very first day that Theodore went the whole day without a single accident in the house. YAY!!!
He went on his puppy pad once when we left him in his pen for an hour or so. Every other time he went outside like a pro. The key? Getting up every 20 minutes to let him out! Seriously. Actually the credit is all to Theo. He would go sit by the door (and sometimes whine) when he needed to go out. He did this about every 20 minutes. Sometimes he just wanted to play out there, sometimes he actually needed to go. Either way I made sure to let him out and take some time to let him go or not, and then I took him back in. I hear that it should be every 2 hours that they have to go, but Theo plays hard and then sleeps hard, so while he was awake he would go out every 20 minutes or so (he probably actually peed about ever 40 minutes), and then he would sleep for a few hours and not go at all. It just ended up that way between waking up from naps, eating meals, and playing around.
House training is not a task for the lazy, that's for sure. It was so tempting to just ignore is cries to go out and tell him "no, you just went 20 minutes ago, I don't think you need to go again". But I held strong and was several times surprised that he actually did need to go. I know that since I'm back at work for the next 5 days, he'll probably have more accidents, but if he has no accidents while I'm home, then it's just a matter of time until he gets it when he's alone too.
He went on his puppy pad once when we left him in his pen for an hour or so. Every other time he went outside like a pro. The key? Getting up every 20 minutes to let him out! Seriously. Actually the credit is all to Theo. He would go sit by the door (and sometimes whine) when he needed to go out. He did this about every 20 minutes. Sometimes he just wanted to play out there, sometimes he actually needed to go. Either way I made sure to let him out and take some time to let him go or not, and then I took him back in. I hear that it should be every 2 hours that they have to go, but Theo plays hard and then sleeps hard, so while he was awake he would go out every 20 minutes or so (he probably actually peed about ever 40 minutes), and then he would sleep for a few hours and not go at all. It just ended up that way between waking up from naps, eating meals, and playing around.
House training is not a task for the lazy, that's for sure. It was so tempting to just ignore is cries to go out and tell him "no, you just went 20 minutes ago, I don't think you need to go again". But I held strong and was several times surprised that he actually did need to go. I know that since I'm back at work for the next 5 days, he'll probably have more accidents, but if he has no accidents while I'm home, then it's just a matter of time until he gets it when he's alone too.
The Magic Of Puppy Class
First off, I've just updated my flickr pictures. Theodore at week 10 and week 11 are now there. Who knew you could only have 3 sets unless you "upgrade", which means pay?? That's so lame! So I've tagged all the pictures with how old he is if you want to filter it that way.
This weekend we made leaps and bounds of progress with Theo. He had his first puppy kindergarten class Saturday morning and it was magical! He loved it, we loved it. It was just great. The training facility is right by the vet I'm going to. The main trainer is very familiar with Corgis (I think she has a Cardigan), which was so helpful during class. For example, when I had trouble getting Theo to do "down" (I still can't get him to do it), she explained that Corgis can't really do down like other dogs do. She calls it the "Corgi fold". Hehe. He learned "leave it" like a pro, and it's already come in handy walking him around the neighborhood. Apparently my disgustingly rude neighbors like to leave their cigarette butts all over the ground. Theo likes to try and eat them, so him learning "leave it" was perfect. We also learned "go to your place". He learned that the towel is his place, but he didn't quite pick up the command yet. Most of the other commands he already knows. He sits like a pro, he comes but still not consistently. He gets distracted, which is understandable, I think. He also already knows "watch me", though we use "look at me". We also did some leash work, but all we learned was how to correct a wandering puppy. We didn't learn anything for puppies who won't walk, so we've got some work to do there. Hehe.
We also learned some good habits. Several times a day I now let Theo put my finger in his mouth. When he bites down a little hard (like any pressure at all), and I say "Ouch!" and pull my finger away. I do this several times in one session. I've tried this before when he hurts, but not in this "exercise" fashion. This way it's reinforcement over and over again, rather than once in a while. He's picking it up much more quickly now. Also, several times in the day I pick him up and lay him on his back. At first Theo hated this. He still hates it, actually, but I can actually get him to do it now. He'll squirm a little bit and then settle down quite nicely. This has really helped him get used to being handled by us. He's also a lot closer to me now because of it. I noticed that now when he plays with his toys, he'll put his paws on my leg, or crawl in my lap.
He made friends with Katie, a Springer Spaniel puppy with the softest fur I've ever felt! But when the bigger puppies started pouring in, he got very scared and detached himself from the group a bit. What a loner! There was one dog that just really wanted to play with Theo and Theo was just scared to death of her (see picture to the right). It was too funny. He also kept getting whacked in the face by a big lab's tail. But even with being scared, it was so obviously a great experience for him. He, in just that short amount of time, learned so much about interacting with other puppies. It was an invaluable experience, and I'm really looking forward to five more weeks!
That hour and a half training session, working with Theo and having him play with other dogs, was such a great experience. He was so much better behaved the whole rest of the day. He was so mellow and so obedient. It was just great, and this was only a puppy kindergarten class! I can't recommend puppy classes for your puppies more. We made more progress with Theo in 2 hours than we did in 2 weeks.
This weekend we made leaps and bounds of progress with Theo. He had his first puppy kindergarten class Saturday morning and it was magical! He loved it, we loved it. It was just great. The training facility is right by the vet I'm going to. The main trainer is very familiar with Corgis (I think she has a Cardigan), which was so helpful during class. For example, when I had trouble getting Theo to do "down" (I still can't get him to do it), she explained that Corgis can't really do down like other dogs do. She calls it the "Corgi fold". Hehe. He learned "leave it" like a pro, and it's already come in handy walking him around the neighborhood. Apparently my disgustingly rude neighbors like to leave their cigarette butts all over the ground. Theo likes to try and eat them, so him learning "leave it" was perfect. We also learned "go to your place". He learned that the towel is his place, but he didn't quite pick up the command yet. Most of the other commands he already knows. He sits like a pro, he comes but still not consistently. He gets distracted, which is understandable, I think. He also already knows "watch me", though we use "look at me". We also did some leash work, but all we learned was how to correct a wandering puppy. We didn't learn anything for puppies who won't walk, so we've got some work to do there. Hehe.
We also learned some good habits. Several times a day I now let Theo put my finger in his mouth. When he bites down a little hard (like any pressure at all), and I say "Ouch!" and pull my finger away. I do this several times in one session. I've tried this before when he hurts, but not in this "exercise" fashion. This way it's reinforcement over and over again, rather than once in a while. He's picking it up much more quickly now. Also, several times in the day I pick him up and lay him on his back. At first Theo hated this. He still hates it, actually, but I can actually get him to do it now. He'll squirm a little bit and then settle down quite nicely. This has really helped him get used to being handled by us. He's also a lot closer to me now because of it. I noticed that now when he plays with his toys, he'll put his paws on my leg, or crawl in my lap.
He made friends with Katie, a Springer Spaniel puppy with the softest fur I've ever felt! But when the bigger puppies started pouring in, he got very scared and detached himself from the group a bit. What a loner! There was one dog that just really wanted to play with Theo and Theo was just scared to death of her (see picture to the right). It was too funny. He also kept getting whacked in the face by a big lab's tail. But even with being scared, it was so obviously a great experience for him. He, in just that short amount of time, learned so much about interacting with other puppies. It was an invaluable experience, and I'm really looking forward to five more weeks!That hour and a half training session, working with Theo and having him play with other dogs, was such a great experience. He was so much better behaved the whole rest of the day. He was so mellow and so obedient. It was just great, and this was only a puppy kindergarten class! I can't recommend puppy classes for your puppies more. We made more progress with Theo in 2 hours than we did in 2 weeks.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
One Step Forward, Three Steps Back
Just to catch you up on the last few days, Theo has been developing some good and some bad habits. Tuesday when I came home in the evening he was not as good as when I came home at lunch, but he wasn't too bad. He had peed quite a bit, and kind of all over the place, but at least his puppy pad was still intact. Unfortunately, he also had another accident in the evening when he failed to tell me he needed to go outside. Overall Tuesday was better than Monday, and I was proud of him.
Wednesday was full of even more mixed results. The morning started off typically with Theo whining to get out of his crate after my alarm woke us both up. It turns out in the time to get up, pee, and throw on some clothes, Theo peed in his crate. Noooo! His record for peeing in his crate was spotless, and now he had peed all over his spotless record! I washed his bedding, and hoped that it was an isolated incident. When I came home at lunch he was the very model of a dream puppy. Not only did he not make a mess, but he didn't even go! His pen was spotless and I took him outside to go potty right away. What progress!
Of course, then I had some issues with walking him. He was being a total brat! He just wouldn't walk! He seems excited to be out, and trotted along for about a block, but after that he just plopped down on the ground and wouldn't move for the world. He wouldn't come when I called him, not even for a treat! I thought maybe it was too hot outside for him, but I tried walking him again in the evening and he did the same thing. I think he just doesn't like being so...tethered. Hopefully he'll get over it because it's great exercise for him. Another problem might have been his harness. Previously I've walked him using just his buckle collar, but yesterday I used his harness because Husband said he thought Theo was pulling too hard. Today I think I'll go back to the collar and see if he walks better. I don't think I'm a big fan of the hardness for Theo. He dislikes it just as much as his collar, but he can actually get his mouth around the harness to chew it up.
So by the end of lunchtime yesterday Theo was pretty even: he had soiled his bed and refused to walk, but he had also made such progress in his house training. Well when I got home in the evening, it was like hurricane Bladder had blown through the kitchen. There was pee everywhere. His puppy pad was shot (but, again, still intact at least!), there were puddles everywhere, his toys were soaked. Some of it must have been water because I've never seen so much pee come out of him in such a short timespan. It was so disgusting. I don't know why he felt the need to make a hot mess out of his pen and then just sit in it, but he did. Ick! And to top it off, he also peed in the kitchen rather than telling me he needed to go out...again. But on a plus side, he did play very nicely throughout the evening and went into his crate without too much trouble.
I was hoping that, overall, yesterday would have provided some progress for him, but this morning he had again peed in his crate. I feel like for every step forward, he takes three steps back. I'm just at a loss. I don't know why he's doing it. I don't know how to make him stop doing it. I don't know how to teach him to tell me when he needs to go outside. I'm hoping that he continues to learn to be more independent, and not stress out while I'm gone.
It's kind of a surprise, but his house training has just become such an important issue for me (and it's stressing me out!). I feel like anywhere else where he's lacking, we have plenty of time to train him, but the house training I just want done right now. It's not just that I don't like him peeing all over the house. It's more like I feel this is such an important milestone, and really shows how well we are training him. And since he's not at all house trained, I feel like we're not at all training him well. Arg! Am I being too hard on myself? I mean, he's only 11 weeks old, not even 3 months yet. Maybe I should wait another month until I start being hard on myself.
Wednesday was full of even more mixed results. The morning started off typically with Theo whining to get out of his crate after my alarm woke us both up. It turns out in the time to get up, pee, and throw on some clothes, Theo peed in his crate. Noooo! His record for peeing in his crate was spotless, and now he had peed all over his spotless record! I washed his bedding, and hoped that it was an isolated incident. When I came home at lunch he was the very model of a dream puppy. Not only did he not make a mess, but he didn't even go! His pen was spotless and I took him outside to go potty right away. What progress!
Of course, then I had some issues with walking him. He was being a total brat! He just wouldn't walk! He seems excited to be out, and trotted along for about a block, but after that he just plopped down on the ground and wouldn't move for the world. He wouldn't come when I called him, not even for a treat! I thought maybe it was too hot outside for him, but I tried walking him again in the evening and he did the same thing. I think he just doesn't like being so...tethered. Hopefully he'll get over it because it's great exercise for him. Another problem might have been his harness. Previously I've walked him using just his buckle collar, but yesterday I used his harness because Husband said he thought Theo was pulling too hard. Today I think I'll go back to the collar and see if he walks better. I don't think I'm a big fan of the hardness for Theo. He dislikes it just as much as his collar, but he can actually get his mouth around the harness to chew it up.
So by the end of lunchtime yesterday Theo was pretty even: he had soiled his bed and refused to walk, but he had also made such progress in his house training. Well when I got home in the evening, it was like hurricane Bladder had blown through the kitchen. There was pee everywhere. His puppy pad was shot (but, again, still intact at least!), there were puddles everywhere, his toys were soaked. Some of it must have been water because I've never seen so much pee come out of him in such a short timespan. It was so disgusting. I don't know why he felt the need to make a hot mess out of his pen and then just sit in it, but he did. Ick! And to top it off, he also peed in the kitchen rather than telling me he needed to go out...again. But on a plus side, he did play very nicely throughout the evening and went into his crate without too much trouble.
I was hoping that, overall, yesterday would have provided some progress for him, but this morning he had again peed in his crate. I feel like for every step forward, he takes three steps back. I'm just at a loss. I don't know why he's doing it. I don't know how to make him stop doing it. I don't know how to teach him to tell me when he needs to go outside. I'm hoping that he continues to learn to be more independent, and not stress out while I'm gone.
It's kind of a surprise, but his house training has just become such an important issue for me (and it's stressing me out!). I feel like anywhere else where he's lacking, we have plenty of time to train him, but the house training I just want done right now. It's not just that I don't like him peeing all over the house. It's more like I feel this is such an important milestone, and really shows how well we are training him. And since he's not at all house trained, I feel like we're not at all training him well. Arg! Am I being too hard on myself? I mean, he's only 11 weeks old, not even 3 months yet. Maybe I should wait another month until I start being hard on myself.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Week 11, Home Alone
So Theo is 11 weeks old already! The time is just flying by and he is already growing up so fast! My two weeks of telecommuting for work ended and this week I'm back at work. Yesterday was my first day back and the longest that I left Theo home alone. It was terrible! Aside from missing him like crazy, he had some separation anxiety issues (or maybe just loneliness) that were not so fun to deal with.
For the next few months (however long it takes until we trust Theo to have run of the house, or at least the kitchen/family room) I'll be going home on my lunch hour (or more like two, but that's okay) to feed Theo and get him some play and exercise. Yesterday when I went home in the middle of the day I found Theo had pooped on the kitchen floor, nowhere near his puppy pad. Normally I would think this was normal. He never really took to pooping anywhere but outside, which is great, right? Except he had already pooped twice yesterday morning. Three times in 4 hours?! Yikes. The third time I attribute to the stress from separation anxiety. So I cleaned up the poop, fed him lunch, took him for a nice long walk, played with him a few minutes, and then put him back in his pen, hoping he would cock out for the rest of the afternoon. Ah, not so. When I got home in the evening I found that his entire 1.5 ft x 1.5ft puppy pad had been shredded to pieces the size of a penny...and then peed on. There were bits of the pad all over the pen, and somehow they had gotten all over the rest of the kitchen too. It was awful, and, again, something I attribute to him being stressed. Later in the evening he even ended up peeing on his dog bed, which he has never peed on before. I think he was just a hot ball of nerves yesterday.
Well today I headed home at lunch expecting to find another poopy mess. I parked on the street and snuck around back to see what he was doing. I wanted to know if he cries when I'm not there, or if he's developing chronic barking, or any of those bad habits. I needn't have worried, apparently. He was being a quiet little dream, taking a nap in his crate. When I walked in I saw that while Theo had peed and pooped, he had done both on his puppy pad! What a good boy! I'll be heading home soon and hope to find an equally happy site. I'm hoping that yesterday was just Theo getting used to being alone, and in the future he'll have a better time of it. I'll keep you posted!
For the next few months (however long it takes until we trust Theo to have run of the house, or at least the kitchen/family room) I'll be going home on my lunch hour (or more like two, but that's okay) to feed Theo and get him some play and exercise. Yesterday when I went home in the middle of the day I found Theo had pooped on the kitchen floor, nowhere near his puppy pad. Normally I would think this was normal. He never really took to pooping anywhere but outside, which is great, right? Except he had already pooped twice yesterday morning. Three times in 4 hours?! Yikes. The third time I attribute to the stress from separation anxiety. So I cleaned up the poop, fed him lunch, took him for a nice long walk, played with him a few minutes, and then put him back in his pen, hoping he would cock out for the rest of the afternoon. Ah, not so. When I got home in the evening I found that his entire 1.5 ft x 1.5ft puppy pad had been shredded to pieces the size of a penny...and then peed on. There were bits of the pad all over the pen, and somehow they had gotten all over the rest of the kitchen too. It was awful, and, again, something I attribute to him being stressed. Later in the evening he even ended up peeing on his dog bed, which he has never peed on before. I think he was just a hot ball of nerves yesterday.
Well today I headed home at lunch expecting to find another poopy mess. I parked on the street and snuck around back to see what he was doing. I wanted to know if he cries when I'm not there, or if he's developing chronic barking, or any of those bad habits. I needn't have worried, apparently. He was being a quiet little dream, taking a nap in his crate. When I walked in I saw that while Theo had peed and pooped, he had done both on his puppy pad! What a good boy! I'll be heading home soon and hope to find an equally happy site. I'm hoping that yesterday was just Theo getting used to being alone, and in the future he'll have a better time of it. I'll keep you posted!
Still Learning New Things
I know it's been two weeks and I haven't been posting hardly at all, let alone with the regularity I want to. Work has been crazy, Theo has been crazy. It's a busy time and I'll hopefully be able to post more about it this week. For now I'll just talk about one interesting piece of information I learned yesterday.
I consider myself to have done a fair amount of research on dogs. I've read endless articles online as well as a few books on how to raise puppies and dogs in general. And still, after all that, there's basic information I'm still missing out on. While talking to my mom yesterday I mentioned that Theo doesn't like being wet, so he never wants to be outside when it's rainy and wet and he didn't like his bath. She said that dogs have a higher body temperature than humans, so they feel cold more than we do. She also said that when we give Theo baths, we should make the water warm so that he doesn't get cold. How about that? No wonder he hated his bath. I was thinking he was a baby, and like human babies, if we made the water too warm, it would feel hot to him. It was obvious that he felt cold because he was shivering, so we decided to make it warmer the next time, but now I know why he was so cold.
I just can't believe that after all the information I've read on "bringing your puppy home" and "raising your puppy", no one bothered to mention such a basic thing! Unless someone tells me otherwise, I tend to think of things from a human perspective. I have no idea what the body temperature of a dog is. But now that I'm armed with this information, I think I can be a better puppy owner because of it. Thanks mom!
I consider myself to have done a fair amount of research on dogs. I've read endless articles online as well as a few books on how to raise puppies and dogs in general. And still, after all that, there's basic information I'm still missing out on. While talking to my mom yesterday I mentioned that Theo doesn't like being wet, so he never wants to be outside when it's rainy and wet and he didn't like his bath. She said that dogs have a higher body temperature than humans, so they feel cold more than we do. She also said that when we give Theo baths, we should make the water warm so that he doesn't get cold. How about that? No wonder he hated his bath. I was thinking he was a baby, and like human babies, if we made the water too warm, it would feel hot to him. It was obvious that he felt cold because he was shivering, so we decided to make it warmer the next time, but now I know why he was so cold.
I just can't believe that after all the information I've read on "bringing your puppy home" and "raising your puppy", no one bothered to mention such a basic thing! Unless someone tells me otherwise, I tend to think of things from a human perspective. I have no idea what the body temperature of a dog is. But now that I'm armed with this information, I think I can be a better puppy owner because of it. Thanks mom!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
A Regular Athlete
When Theodore gets older, I'm definitely going to have to look into doing agility and herding with him. He's already doing both! When he's feeling playful, he'll try and herd me while I take him outside to do his business. And he'll herd me whenever I run around the house. I was afraid of him nipping at my heels, but he hasn't done that yet. He has bitten at my pants, which I tried to correct him on. It's very cute.
Also, he's made our house into a regular agility course. Whenever there's a step, he likes to jump up on it, and then jump off. He does this with the box of diet coke in the kitchen, and with the rise of concrete lines the backyard. His pen beside the couch creates a kind of tunnel that he loves to run through. He even treats the chair legs in the dining room like an obstacle course. I love it.
I hope when he's older we're able to do some fun things together.
Also, he's made our house into a regular agility course. Whenever there's a step, he likes to jump up on it, and then jump off. He does this with the box of diet coke in the kitchen, and with the rise of concrete lines the backyard. His pen beside the couch creates a kind of tunnel that he loves to run through. He even treats the chair legs in the dining room like an obstacle course. I love it.
I hope when he's older we're able to do some fun things together.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Things Are Coming Along
Phew! It's been a while since I updated, I know! I've had my hands full with our little bundle of joy. Hehe. Theodore is still quite the handful. He plays hard then sleeps hard. Here's an update of how week 9 went.
We've taught him a few commands that he sometimes follows when either he feels like it, or there's a treat in it for him. He "comes" pretty consistently, except when he's outside, then he only has eyes for the dirt and plants. He'll sit for a treat. I'm currently trying to teach him "crate", so he'll go into his crate on command, but he doesn't trust me not to lock him in, so we haven't gotten far with that one yet.
His house training is going slowly, but when he's confined to his pen or the kitchen he goes consistently on his puppy pads, which is great. Although he did poop on his dog bed this morning. Ick. He apparently doesn't think the pee pads are for poops as well. He hasn't learned to let me know when he needs to go outside, but when I take him out and he needs to go, usually he will. Sometimes he'll get too distracted by things outside and pee right when he comes in (on his puppy pad). I don't feel like a lot of progress is being made, but hopefully in time he'll get better. He hasn't had a single accident in his crate at night, so that's an accomplishment I think.
He still doesn't play by himself very well. Actually, he'll do it fine as long as you're sitting right next to him, but as soon as you get up and walk away, he's done with whatever he was doing to entertain himself. It's sooo silly. We're getting a feel for how often we need to rotate out his toys. It looks like every 2-3 days. Man, what ADD! Hehe. Theo doesn't get tired, however, of his bully stick. I finally convinced Husband to get one and Theo looooooves it. Thanks to Ivy for the tip! I never would have known what gems they are.
We gave Theo his first bath over the weekend. He hated it. We tried to make sure the water wasn't cold, but either we failed or he was really scared because he was shaking like crazy. Next time we'll have to make it a bit warmer and see if that helps. Man, his fur was soooo soft afterwards! I wish he was always that soft. Hehe.
We had a bunch of friends over on Friday and Theo was an absolute dream. He made us look so good! Hehe. He got to meet all kinds of new people including some kids. My friend brought his 8 month old baby over. He had her sitting on the ground which made me nervous because Theo can be a bit nippy and babies are delicate, but Theo was awesome. He came up to her slowly and ever so gingerly licked her fingers. Then she started crying. Apparently his licks are slimy. Hehe. It was so cute!
Of course, the next day it was like he forgot everything we ever taught him. His manners were worse than the first day we brought him home. Working with him over the last few days, I think he's making progress again.
By the way, there's some new pictures up on Flickr. How about that size limit per month? It's so small!
We've taught him a few commands that he sometimes follows when either he feels like it, or there's a treat in it for him. He "comes" pretty consistently, except when he's outside, then he only has eyes for the dirt and plants. He'll sit for a treat. I'm currently trying to teach him "crate", so he'll go into his crate on command, but he doesn't trust me not to lock him in, so we haven't gotten far with that one yet.
His house training is going slowly, but when he's confined to his pen or the kitchen he goes consistently on his puppy pads, which is great. Although he did poop on his dog bed this morning. Ick. He apparently doesn't think the pee pads are for poops as well. He hasn't learned to let me know when he needs to go outside, but when I take him out and he needs to go, usually he will. Sometimes he'll get too distracted by things outside and pee right when he comes in (on his puppy pad). I don't feel like a lot of progress is being made, but hopefully in time he'll get better. He hasn't had a single accident in his crate at night, so that's an accomplishment I think.
He still doesn't play by himself very well. Actually, he'll do it fine as long as you're sitting right next to him, but as soon as you get up and walk away, he's done with whatever he was doing to entertain himself. It's sooo silly. We're getting a feel for how often we need to rotate out his toys. It looks like every 2-3 days. Man, what ADD! Hehe. Theo doesn't get tired, however, of his bully stick. I finally convinced Husband to get one and Theo looooooves it. Thanks to Ivy for the tip! I never would have known what gems they are.
We gave Theo his first bath over the weekend. He hated it. We tried to make sure the water wasn't cold, but either we failed or he was really scared because he was shaking like crazy. Next time we'll have to make it a bit warmer and see if that helps. Man, his fur was soooo soft afterwards! I wish he was always that soft. Hehe.We had a bunch of friends over on Friday and Theo was an absolute dream. He made us look so good! Hehe. He got to meet all kinds of new people including some kids. My friend brought his 8 month old baby over. He had her sitting on the ground which made me nervous because Theo can be a bit nippy and babies are delicate, but Theo was awesome. He came up to her slowly and ever so gingerly licked her fingers. Then she started crying. Apparently his licks are slimy. Hehe. It was so cute!
Of course, the next day it was like he forgot everything we ever taught him. His manners were worse than the first day we brought him home. Working with him over the last few days, I think he's making progress again.
By the way, there's some new pictures up on Flickr. How about that size limit per month? It's so small!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Pictures Of Theo!
I finally got my pictures uploaded to Flickr. Of course, that's not including the ones still on my camera. Hehe. You can check them out here, or click the badge on the right. Let me know what you think!
Theo is wonderful and I love him, but he is such a handful! The thing he loves most is cuddling (read: sleeping) with me on the couch, wrapped up in my favorite blanket. It's such a comfy couch he always goes right to sleep. It's the cutest thing! We've already gone through all our puppy pads. He'll go outside, but he pees like 2o times a day, so half the time he won't let me know he needs to go out, but at least he knows where to go. He's had a few accidents in the house, but nothing too major. He cries whenever I put him in his pen alone. He's fine as long as I'm with him, but as soon as I leave him (or go 5 feet away), he cries and eventually falls asleep. So far he hasn't been so great at playing by himself, even though he has plenty of toys, but he's getting better. I'm glad I'm working from home the next two weeks!
He went to the vet this week and got a shot (poor guy) and a clean bill of health (including poop!). He also met a bunch of new people. I had a few people over who wanted to meet him, and I took him over to a friend's house. He has 3 cats and it was hilarious to see the cats all bothered by a bounding puppy. They stayed away from him most of the night, except for one, who kept stalking him. It was hilarious. I've also got a bunch of people coming over tomorrow for a game night/meeting the puppy night. I think he'll be well socialized in no time!
I've got a question for all your dog owners (since I forgot to ask the vet). Theo, when he gets excited or stressed, has little convulsions in his belly, like a hiccup. Is that normal? It goes away as soon as he calms down, so I figured it's not anything major. Just wondering if anyone else's dog does this too.
Also, the vet told me something I thought was interesting. He said that it's okay to let Theo in public places, like around the neighborhood. That surprised me because you always hear that you shouldn't let puppies in public places until they're fully vaccinated. But he made a good point. Unvaccinated puppies aren't lacking immunity because they still have the immunization from their mothers. That actually makes pretty good sense to me. Any thoughts?
Theo is wonderful and I love him, but he is such a handful! The thing he loves most is cuddling (read: sleeping) with me on the couch, wrapped up in my favorite blanket. It's such a comfy couch he always goes right to sleep. It's the cutest thing! We've already gone through all our puppy pads. He'll go outside, but he pees like 2o times a day, so half the time he won't let me know he needs to go out, but at least he knows where to go. He's had a few accidents in the house, but nothing too major. He cries whenever I put him in his pen alone. He's fine as long as I'm with him, but as soon as I leave him (or go 5 feet away), he cries and eventually falls asleep. So far he hasn't been so great at playing by himself, even though he has plenty of toys, but he's getting better. I'm glad I'm working from home the next two weeks!
He went to the vet this week and got a shot (poor guy) and a clean bill of health (including poop!). He also met a bunch of new people. I had a few people over who wanted to meet him, and I took him over to a friend's house. He has 3 cats and it was hilarious to see the cats all bothered by a bounding puppy. They stayed away from him most of the night, except for one, who kept stalking him. It was hilarious. I've also got a bunch of people coming over tomorrow for a game night/meeting the puppy night. I think he'll be well socialized in no time!
I've got a question for all your dog owners (since I forgot to ask the vet). Theo, when he gets excited or stressed, has little convulsions in his belly, like a hiccup. Is that normal? It goes away as soon as he calms down, so I figured it's not anything major. Just wondering if anyone else's dog does this too.
Also, the vet told me something I thought was interesting. He said that it's okay to let Theo in public places, like around the neighborhood. That surprised me because you always hear that you shouldn't let puppies in public places until they're fully vaccinated. But he made a good point. Unvaccinated puppies aren't lacking immunity because they still have the immunization from their mothers. That actually makes pretty good sense to me. Any thoughts?
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
I Have A Puppy, His Name Is Theodore!
Ack, I can't believe it's already Tuesday! I meant to update yesterday, but puppies are exhausting!
I'll do a more extensive post when I get the change, but for now I'll just say that Husband and I fell in love with Theodore, brought him home, and we absolutely love him. Though he's so much work! I've already taken tons of photos. Here's a teaser until I can upload them all to flickr.
I'll do a more extensive post when I get the change, but for now I'll just say that Husband and I fell in love with Theodore, brought him home, and we absolutely love him. Though he's so much work! I've already taken tons of photos. Here's a teaser until I can upload them all to flickr.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Plans For The Weekend
The time has come! Yay! The bags are (mostly) packed, including the doggie items I'll be needing. I've got my direction and maps printed. Am I forgetting anything? I leave early (ick) tomorrow morning and arrive at Tulsa in the early afternoon. The breeder said I should call her after we get settled into our hotel, since she'll be at a herding event with my puppy mama. If it works out I might be able to meet her there and see my first herding event! That could be fun, though the weather forecast called for rain and snow this weekend, so I doubt I'll be wanting to venture out much.
By the early evening we should make it over to the breeder's house to check out the puppies. The plan is to choose which one we want tomorrow, then come back and pick him/her up on Sunday morning before heading to the airport to come home. Hopefully it'll all go off without a hitch!
I won't be bringing my laptop, so I'll have no way to post the millions of pictures I plan on taking while I'm there until I come home on Sunday night. And let's face it. I'll have a brand new puppy, so I'm not posting anything until at least Monday. Hehe.
Everyone have a good weekend!
By the early evening we should make it over to the breeder's house to check out the puppies. The plan is to choose which one we want tomorrow, then come back and pick him/her up on Sunday morning before heading to the airport to come home. Hopefully it'll all go off without a hitch!
I won't be bringing my laptop, so I'll have no way to post the millions of pictures I plan on taking while I'm there until I come home on Sunday night. And let's face it. I'll have a brand new puppy, so I'm not posting anything until at least Monday. Hehe.
Everyone have a good weekend!
Need Some Advice
We leave for Oklahoma tomorrow!!! I can't believe the time is finally here, after waiting for almost a year and a half. Woo!
However, something came up at the last minute that I need some advice on. The breeder emailed me yesterday saying that her vet said that if I was traveling with the puppy in the cabin of the plane I would need a soft carrier. I don't know where the vet got this rule, but it's not one enforced by the airline. I know because I called them and asked. They said as long as it meets the rules (about the dog fitting and having proper ventilation) and fits under the seat, it could be a hard carrier. So here's my dilemma: do I go out today and buy a soft carrier, or do I chance it and just rely on the hard carrier from the breeder? Those soft carriers aren't cheap, and I obviously wouldn't be able to use it beyond this one time since Corgis aren't exactly "purse dogs". But if it's something I really need, then I don't mind going to buy it. Obviously I don't want to be stuck at the airport with a puppy and then learn that I can't take him/her on board without a different kind of carrier. What would you guys do?
Update: I just checked out Petco's website (most likely the only store I'll be able to get to so last minute), and they only had one or two carriers that weren't $70 or more! Egads! Who knows what they have at the store itself! I'm going to have a real hard time spending $70 for one plane trip.
Update again: It turns out Mouth had a soft-sided carrier that he let me borrow. He has a small chihuahua mix, so I'm not sure it's big enough for a 8 1/2 week old Corgi. I'll bring it to the breeder's house tomorrow to fine out.
However, something came up at the last minute that I need some advice on. The breeder emailed me yesterday saying that her vet said that if I was traveling with the puppy in the cabin of the plane I would need a soft carrier. I don't know where the vet got this rule, but it's not one enforced by the airline. I know because I called them and asked. They said as long as it meets the rules (about the dog fitting and having proper ventilation) and fits under the seat, it could be a hard carrier. So here's my dilemma: do I go out today and buy a soft carrier, or do I chance it and just rely on the hard carrier from the breeder? Those soft carriers aren't cheap, and I obviously wouldn't be able to use it beyond this one time since Corgis aren't exactly "purse dogs". But if it's something I really need, then I don't mind going to buy it. Obviously I don't want to be stuck at the airport with a puppy and then learn that I can't take him/her on board without a different kind of carrier. What would you guys do?
Update: I just checked out Petco's website (most likely the only store I'll be able to get to so last minute), and they only had one or two carriers that weren't $70 or more! Egads! Who knows what they have at the store itself! I'm going to have a real hard time spending $70 for one plane trip.
Update again: It turns out Mouth had a soft-sided carrier that he let me borrow. He has a small chihuahua mix, so I'm not sure it's big enough for a 8 1/2 week old Corgi. I'll bring it to the breeder's house tomorrow to fine out.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Pleasant Surprise! 8 Week Pictures
Sometimes I love to be wrong. The breeder just put up the puppies' 8 week pictures, and they are looking pretty darn cute. Judge for yourself:
Theodore:
Alice:
Simon:
Alvin:
Dolly:
Sorry, no Sally. She's probably either already been placed with her people, or she may just have been napping (it seems like each week there was one puppy left out).
I think Theodore has a different look from the rest of the puppies. I wish I could peak ahead and see how they would all look when they're adults. Hehe. To me, he looks very handsome. And I've always liked how he looks right at the camera. I actually think all the puppies came out looking quite well. If I had to decide now based on looks alone, I think I would have a much harder time of it.
Does anyone else notice a weird protrusion on Dolly's left front paw? It looks like her bone is growing in a bit wonky. I hope she doesn't have mobility problems!
There was also this bonus picture of Theodore:
There's a caption on the website that says "Waiting on my family to get me! They are flying in on an airplane just to pick me up, I must already be the most wonderful puppy ever!"
I know, part of me is barfing inside, but check it out! I got a mention! Of course, it also means the breeder is assuming I'm taking Theodore home with me. Probably a good assumption.
Theodore:
Alice:
Simon:
Alvin:
Dolly:
Sorry, no Sally. She's probably either already been placed with her people, or she may just have been napping (it seems like each week there was one puppy left out).
I think Theodore has a different look from the rest of the puppies. I wish I could peak ahead and see how they would all look when they're adults. Hehe. To me, he looks very handsome. And I've always liked how he looks right at the camera. I actually think all the puppies came out looking quite well. If I had to decide now based on looks alone, I think I would have a much harder time of it.
Does anyone else notice a weird protrusion on Dolly's left front paw? It looks like her bone is growing in a bit wonky. I hope she doesn't have mobility problems!
There was also this bonus picture of Theodore:
There's a caption on the website that says "Waiting on my family to get me! They are flying in on an airplane just to pick me up, I must already be the most wonderful puppy ever!"
I know, part of me is barfing inside, but check it out! I got a mention! Of course, it also means the breeder is assuming I'm taking Theodore home with me. Probably a good assumption.
Breeder's Tips
My wonderful breeder just sent me an email with some good, basic tips for the puppy. I know most of them, since I've done tons of research, but I still love that she sent this out. Check it out and let me know if there's anything in here you think is bogus, or right on.
Tips for Your new Bundle of Puppy Breath!
Don’t let puppy potty or play in ANY public places until he has had at least one or two more series of vaccinations. Also be careful about letting him play with other puppies who may not of had vaccinations. I don’t take them on public walkways or parks until at least 3 months old. Carry them into stores or vet office and don’t put them down on the ground. Sounds harsh but puppy disease are everywhere and so easy to pick up the germs. Be extra careful and bypass rest stops and public areas when traveling, let puppy potty in a box with paper or go to a remote location or even somewhere like a shopping center where a lot of dogs have not been.
I will send some of his food home with you and also a blanket or toy that all his littermates have played with so her has their scent on it.
I use a cat box full of "Woody Pet" or newspaper for a potty box.
You can use puppy pads on top of newspaper but I find they just chew up the pads!I
I also insist on my own puppies sleeping in a crate at night, you can set it by your bed and put your fingers in the front to let her know you are there.
Also use the crate when you aren't able to keep an eye on them.
A puppy can only hold it for about 4-6 hours and will not be reliably house broke before 4 months old.
Try to set a feeding schedule three times a day and gradually stretch it out to two times per day.
Exercise pens are perfect to set up in the house for times you are gone more than a few hours. You can put the crate and the potty box in the pen.
A crate is a safe place for the puppy and also gives her a "get away spot" :o)
Puppies require a LOT of sleep. Hard to believe isn"t it?
I would suggest buying her a good quality puppy kibble food or an adult kibble that is of high quality. You can add a little warm water to soften the kibble and a bit of yogurt a few times a week. Canned food will give your puppy the runs so I avoid can foods and be sure NOT to add milk of any kind.
Buy a food that is convenient for you to get and has quality ingredients. You can email me to ask questions about different brands :o)
You can begin mixing the new food with what I send you after a day or two to get him adjusted over,.
If you get any loose stools just give her a tablespoon of canned pumpkin. Not the one with the spices in it though :o)
Dog foods:
Eukanuba is good, and Nutro, . These can be bought at Petsmart or a dog food store. Another excellent kibble is Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul, and some grocery stores carry it. Our local Reasors has it and so does Atwoods, our farm store
I use puppy Eukanuba, for small breeds. I purchase it at our Southern Ag pet store..
You will receive a bag of puppy food and some coupons for more Eukanuba.
For treats and training I use only Bil Jac FROZEN dog food. It is wonderful! Most grocery stores have it.
Vaccines and Worming and flea control
IMPORTANT : She/he will have her 1st set of shots and needs the second set at 9 weeks old. Please give the second set at NINE and 1/2 weeks, it is so important to protect your puppy from diseases like parvo. The third set should be given three weeks later and then a fourth set can be given 3 weeks later, along with recommendation for rabies vaccine.
I use INTERCEPTOR for worms and heartworm protection.. It is a pill, and is given once every thirty days. The vets have them and some pet stores, also they can be purchased thru pet catalogs. Your puppy will be old enough for his first INTERCEPTOR pill at 8-12 weeks old. He has been wormed three times with NEMEX wormer. Ask your vet when he wants you to start the INTERCEPTOR. He may prefer to do a fecal and use a liquid wormer again until the puppy is older. I start mine on Interceptor at 10 weeks of age.
I use FRONTLINE PLUS for fleas and tickes. Works great! use every 30 days, It is a topical treatment. vets and catalogs have it.
TOYS:
Kongs are wonderful chew toys, stuffed with frozen Bil Jac and cream cheese or peanut butter.
Socks tied in knots are perfect for teething. You can even freeze one in the frig for bad teething days
Squeeky soft toys are great fun and so are any of the tough firehose toys. I don't like soft vinyl toys because they chew them up and swallow them so easy
NO rawhide chews, No pig ears, No greenies
MISC: I highly recommend puppy training classes at about 4-6 months of age. I will send you a gift card when you complete your first class ! Also you get a blog on the website!! Go Corgis
That's enough to get you started, more coming later!
So Close I Can Taste It
Ew, that's just an expression. I'm not really tasting puppies right now.
It is now the week of the big event, hooray! I spent the weekend doing something I've been itching to do for over a month: unpacking the copious amounts of new dog-stuff I bought! I hadn't opened anything since I bought it, just in case I needed/wanted to return anything. Also, I guess I just didn't want to jinx anything.
I unpacked the pen and put it in the kitchen, with the crate and toys inside. I washed the food and water bowls. I cleaned the food storage container and filled it with the kibble I bought. I put the grooming and cleaning items in the bathroom. I took the tags off the leash and collar. I puppy-proofed the house by putting socket protectors on all the outlets around the house (there's like 3-4 in every room, so it took a while!), and putting a safety lock on the cabinet under the sink, which has some chemicals we don't want puppy getting into (the other house chemicals are up high and out of reach). It was such glorious fun!
Oh, did I mention that I have a really weird thing with things that are new? I'm the easiest person to buy presents for because I love new things, anything really. One might say I love to shop, but that's not true. I hate shopping. I just love buying. When I go to Office Depot and buy a box of pens, it's a bright spot in my day. Actually that's a bad example because on my list of things I love to buy, office supplies would probably be second to puppy supplies. Heh. I'm not addicted or anything. I don't spend all my money on buying things from the internets twenty times a day. My husband hasn't had to take away my credit cards. It's nothing like that. I've just always thought it was a weird thing to find happiness in, yet I do. That makes me the epitome of materialistic, right? Finding happiness in material things? Well that's me.
Anyway, that's why my weekend was so great. I got to play with my new dog things and get them all ready. While I was doing it, Husband kept laughing at me. When I demanded to know why he said it was because I just looked so happy. He left unsaid that it was doing such a simple, ordinary task that was making me so happy. Yes, I am a complete dork and I know it.
At least now all the house is missing is a puppy!
It is now the week of the big event, hooray! I spent the weekend doing something I've been itching to do for over a month: unpacking the copious amounts of new dog-stuff I bought! I hadn't opened anything since I bought it, just in case I needed/wanted to return anything. Also, I guess I just didn't want to jinx anything.
I unpacked the pen and put it in the kitchen, with the crate and toys inside. I washed the food and water bowls. I cleaned the food storage container and filled it with the kibble I bought. I put the grooming and cleaning items in the bathroom. I took the tags off the leash and collar. I puppy-proofed the house by putting socket protectors on all the outlets around the house (there's like 3-4 in every room, so it took a while!), and putting a safety lock on the cabinet under the sink, which has some chemicals we don't want puppy getting into (the other house chemicals are up high and out of reach). It was such glorious fun!
Oh, did I mention that I have a really weird thing with things that are new? I'm the easiest person to buy presents for because I love new things, anything really. One might say I love to shop, but that's not true. I hate shopping. I just love buying. When I go to Office Depot and buy a box of pens, it's a bright spot in my day. Actually that's a bad example because on my list of things I love to buy, office supplies would probably be second to puppy supplies. Heh. I'm not addicted or anything. I don't spend all my money on buying things from the internets twenty times a day. My husband hasn't had to take away my credit cards. It's nothing like that. I've just always thought it was a weird thing to find happiness in, yet I do. That makes me the epitome of materialistic, right? Finding happiness in material things? Well that's me.
Anyway, that's why my weekend was so great. I got to play with my new dog things and get them all ready. While I was doing it, Husband kept laughing at me. When I demanded to know why he said it was because I just looked so happy. He left unsaid that it was doing such a simple, ordinary task that was making me so happy. Yes, I am a complete dork and I know it.
At least now all the house is missing is a puppy!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Picture Update: 7 Weeks!
I finally got some new pictures of the puppies! Phew! That took forever! I ended up emailing the breeder and saying "it's been a few weeks since I've seen any new pictures. What's the dealio?" I also asked about the Volhand testing, since I never heard back about that either. She wrote back saying the testing didn't take place because, if I understand correctly, the other people who were supposed to do the test (because they have to be people the puppy doesn't already know) didn't show. Bastards. Ah well, I guess that means I'll have to do a little makeshift testing myself! She also said the reason there's been no pictures is that the batteries in her camera died. Boo! Well as long as they're here now.
They're 7 weeks old now. Can you believe it? I think this should be pretty close to how they look when we're there next weekend to pick him/her up. So drink 'em in and let me know what you think!
Without further ado, here's Sally:
and Theodore:
Comments welcome. :)
They're 7 weeks old now. Can you believe it? I think this should be pretty close to how they look when we're there next weekend to pick him/her up. So drink 'em in and let me know what you think!
Without further ado, here's Sally:
and Theodore:
Comments welcome. :)
A Sweet Moment
On our way to work this morning Husband turned to me and said out of the blue "what if the puppy doesn't like me?". I think this all the time, but I'm insecure, so that's just what I do. Coming from Husband, I just thought it was so sweet. Compared to my crazy excitement over getting the puppy, Husband has been almost indifferent (that's just how he is). It was so nice to see him show such concern.
I told him I wasn't worried. Husband has that calm aloofness that animals (especially cats, much to his dismay of course, he's allergic) and even kids seem drawn too. I know our puppy will just love him. Anyway, there's always treats!
I told him I wasn't worried. Husband has that calm aloofness that animals (especially cats, much to his dismay of course, he's allergic) and even kids seem drawn too. I know our puppy will just love him. Anyway, there's always treats!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Dropped Some More Monies
The one thing I was able to accomplish this weekend (besides learning how to knit stripes!) was picking up the last few items we needed for the puppy. Besides the enzymatic carpet cleaner, we also got some kibble. I'm still doing home-cooked food, but Husband wants to do about 30% kibble because it helps clean the dog's teeth, and there's some added supplements that are good.
We also got a crate:
This size was recommended for dogs about the size of a Dachshund. We were going to just get the adult corgi size crate (I'm told 36" deep is a good size), but it was just so huge, we thought we'd have a hard time blocking off the back end. So we'll use this as an intermediate crate, then probably try donating it or something.
Per Husband's request, we also got one of these:
Yup, a pooper scooper. Apparently his highness is too good for poop. I rag on him now, but I'll probably be glad for this sooner enough.
We also got a crate:
This size was recommended for dogs about the size of a Dachshund. We were going to just get the adult corgi size crate (I'm told 36" deep is a good size), but it was just so huge, we thought we'd have a hard time blocking off the back end. So we'll use this as an intermediate crate, then probably try donating it or something.
Per Husband's request, we also got one of these:
Yup, a pooper scooper. Apparently his highness is too good for poop. I rag on him now, but I'll probably be glad for this sooner enough.
Book Review: Before and After Getting Your Puppy
I finally found the time to write up my review on Ian Dunbar's Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog. So without further ado...
My first impression of this book? Ian Dunbar is a total drama queen. Don't get me wrong, I really like this book. It has a lot of great advice that is presented simply and very specifically, which is something I've said was lacking in many of the other books I read. To help convey what I mean, I'm going to sum up what the first chapter says:
"If you don't do exactly what I say in this book your dog will die. By not following my exact instructions your dog will become impossible to live with and you will be forced to put your dog outside. Your dog will feel crappy living outside and alone and will develop behavioral issues that will make it impossible to live with your dog and you will be forced to give him/her up to a shelter. Most dogs who go to shelters, end up dead. Thus, if you don't do as I say, you will be responsible for the inevitable death of your dog."
I kid you not, that's how it reads! Ok, maybe that's just how I read it, but to me he writes in absolutes, and thus, drama! Another good example is the quote on the front cover of the book: "There is no single person on the face of the planet to whom dog trainers and owners (not to mention dogs) owe more." To me that reads like a quote that would show up on a Stephen Colbert book! Hehe. Ok, but other than that, it's a good book. He says early on how he's going to organize the book, and even states that he's going to repeat himself a lot to drive home the important points. Since I read it sporadically over time, I appreciated the repeat of important information.
This book is about puppy development and when you need to worry about important puppy stages. Dunbar divides the important info into six important categories: doggy education, puppy progress, house/chew-toy training, socialization with people, bite inhibition, and the world at large. Doggy Education is really about educating yourself on dogs. It's the standard first or second chapter about how to choose the right puppy. Puppy Progress is a general overview of basic manners. Chapter 5, chew toy and house training, is where the book starts to get beyond the obvious advice. While Dunbar is a bit dramatic, he gives some solid advice not only on the basics like crate train and give chew toys, but also on the specifics of how to make them successful. He tells you the full days schedule for proper crate training and he tells you specifically when to give a chew toy, and the right kind of chew toy. I do have to add that Kong chew toys are either a godsend or this guy gets a kickback from the company. He works specifically with this brand.
His views on the socialization with people are, again, a bit dramatic, but I also think he's right on the money with driving home the importance of doing it early. He says that within the first 12 weeks your puppy should have met at least 100 different people. I don't know about you, but if I get my puppy at 9 weeks of age, that gives me less than two months to have 100 people over to my house (since I can't go to the dog park or anything like that until the puppy is full vaccinated at 4 months). I don't know 100 people, let alone 100 I would want in my house! No thank you. I think this is another one of the times in the book where I understand the gravity of what he's saying, just not the application per se. I'm definitely going to have over all my friends (and their kids where applicable) over as much as possible. I know I won't meet the 100 people mark, though. I hate having people over. lol! Hopefully the puppy will have met several people through the breeder before I get there. Also, people like vets count as well. I'm thinking I'll get to about 20 or maybe 30 if I'm lucky. This is one of those instances where I'm hoping Dunbar is just exaggerating and that I'm not really going to stunt my puppy because I'm not a social butterfly.
The chapter on bite inhibition was, personally, the most important chapter for me because it told me a lot of information that I didn't already know, and in fact, my understanding was quite the opposite. Puppies nip and bite. I've never met a puppy that didn't. I've always hated it, but after reading about puppies, I understand that puppies use their mouths to understand things like human babies use their hands. My plan for my puppy was to highly discourage any nipping, even if it was playful and painless. After reading this chapter, I now understand that's not the best idea. Bite inhibition is not teaching the idea that all biting is bad, but the idea that dogs need to learn the strength of their jaws, and just how squishy us humans really are. By letting your puppy gnaw on you, and letting him know when he's hurting you, you're not only teaching your puppy how to play with people, but how to bite people too. If a dog wanted to give you a warning, he would probably nip at you. If he wanted to give you a more stern warning, he would probably bite you, without the intention of drawing blood or doing any real damage. But a dog first needs to learn that people aren't dogs, and what is just a nip to a dog, draws blood on people. Now before you start thinking I'm crazy, I'm not saying that I'm going to be ok with my dog biting people! But consider it this way, an example from the book, if your dog gets his tail slammed in the car door (not a danger with most PWCs, hehe), his knee-jerk reaction of surprise and pain might be to bite. If your dog has been desensitized to people, his gut reaction bite is likely to be much softer than a dog that has never really been taught how hard is too hard for people. It's called teaching your dog to have a "soft mouth". I think this is just such a great idea and I totally changed my views on the subject after reading this chapter. I'm now going to let me puppy nip at my hand, and just make sure to correct him when he bites too hard.
The last few chapters of the book focus on the later months of the puppyhood and are helpful, but nothing earth shattering. The very end of the book Dunbar sums up the entire book very nicely into a matrix that lists the six important categories by importance and...some other criteria I'm not remembering at the moment... But it basically says why it's important to teach your dog in those areas at a specific development period and what may happen if you don't.
Overall I thought this book was pretty great. While Dunbar is totally dramatic, he's also very knowledgeable. I learned a lot reading this book and feel I'll be a better puppy owner because of it. I would recommend this book to anyone with a dog under 1 year of age, or anyone thinking about getting a puppy and want to know what they're in for. Like most books, I don't think it needs to be followed to the letter (like you could probably use a chew toy other than a Kong if you really want to!), but Dunbar displays some good common sense, always a trait I admire.
My first impression of this book? Ian Dunbar is a total drama queen. Don't get me wrong, I really like this book. It has a lot of great advice that is presented simply and very specifically, which is something I've said was lacking in many of the other books I read. To help convey what I mean, I'm going to sum up what the first chapter says:"If you don't do exactly what I say in this book your dog will die. By not following my exact instructions your dog will become impossible to live with and you will be forced to put your dog outside. Your dog will feel crappy living outside and alone and will develop behavioral issues that will make it impossible to live with your dog and you will be forced to give him/her up to a shelter. Most dogs who go to shelters, end up dead. Thus, if you don't do as I say, you will be responsible for the inevitable death of your dog."
I kid you not, that's how it reads! Ok, maybe that's just how I read it, but to me he writes in absolutes, and thus, drama! Another good example is the quote on the front cover of the book: "There is no single person on the face of the planet to whom dog trainers and owners (not to mention dogs) owe more." To me that reads like a quote that would show up on a Stephen Colbert book! Hehe. Ok, but other than that, it's a good book. He says early on how he's going to organize the book, and even states that he's going to repeat himself a lot to drive home the important points. Since I read it sporadically over time, I appreciated the repeat of important information.
This book is about puppy development and when you need to worry about important puppy stages. Dunbar divides the important info into six important categories: doggy education, puppy progress, house/chew-toy training, socialization with people, bite inhibition, and the world at large. Doggy Education is really about educating yourself on dogs. It's the standard first or second chapter about how to choose the right puppy. Puppy Progress is a general overview of basic manners. Chapter 5, chew toy and house training, is where the book starts to get beyond the obvious advice. While Dunbar is a bit dramatic, he gives some solid advice not only on the basics like crate train and give chew toys, but also on the specifics of how to make them successful. He tells you the full days schedule for proper crate training and he tells you specifically when to give a chew toy, and the right kind of chew toy. I do have to add that Kong chew toys are either a godsend or this guy gets a kickback from the company. He works specifically with this brand.
His views on the socialization with people are, again, a bit dramatic, but I also think he's right on the money with driving home the importance of doing it early. He says that within the first 12 weeks your puppy should have met at least 100 different people. I don't know about you, but if I get my puppy at 9 weeks of age, that gives me less than two months to have 100 people over to my house (since I can't go to the dog park or anything like that until the puppy is full vaccinated at 4 months). I don't know 100 people, let alone 100 I would want in my house! No thank you. I think this is another one of the times in the book where I understand the gravity of what he's saying, just not the application per se. I'm definitely going to have over all my friends (and their kids where applicable) over as much as possible. I know I won't meet the 100 people mark, though. I hate having people over. lol! Hopefully the puppy will have met several people through the breeder before I get there. Also, people like vets count as well. I'm thinking I'll get to about 20 or maybe 30 if I'm lucky. This is one of those instances where I'm hoping Dunbar is just exaggerating and that I'm not really going to stunt my puppy because I'm not a social butterfly.
The chapter on bite inhibition was, personally, the most important chapter for me because it told me a lot of information that I didn't already know, and in fact, my understanding was quite the opposite. Puppies nip and bite. I've never met a puppy that didn't. I've always hated it, but after reading about puppies, I understand that puppies use their mouths to understand things like human babies use their hands. My plan for my puppy was to highly discourage any nipping, even if it was playful and painless. After reading this chapter, I now understand that's not the best idea. Bite inhibition is not teaching the idea that all biting is bad, but the idea that dogs need to learn the strength of their jaws, and just how squishy us humans really are. By letting your puppy gnaw on you, and letting him know when he's hurting you, you're not only teaching your puppy how to play with people, but how to bite people too. If a dog wanted to give you a warning, he would probably nip at you. If he wanted to give you a more stern warning, he would probably bite you, without the intention of drawing blood or doing any real damage. But a dog first needs to learn that people aren't dogs, and what is just a nip to a dog, draws blood on people. Now before you start thinking I'm crazy, I'm not saying that I'm going to be ok with my dog biting people! But consider it this way, an example from the book, if your dog gets his tail slammed in the car door (not a danger with most PWCs, hehe), his knee-jerk reaction of surprise and pain might be to bite. If your dog has been desensitized to people, his gut reaction bite is likely to be much softer than a dog that has never really been taught how hard is too hard for people. It's called teaching your dog to have a "soft mouth". I think this is just such a great idea and I totally changed my views on the subject after reading this chapter. I'm now going to let me puppy nip at my hand, and just make sure to correct him when he bites too hard.
The last few chapters of the book focus on the later months of the puppyhood and are helpful, but nothing earth shattering. The very end of the book Dunbar sums up the entire book very nicely into a matrix that lists the six important categories by importance and...some other criteria I'm not remembering at the moment... But it basically says why it's important to teach your dog in those areas at a specific development period and what may happen if you don't.
Overall I thought this book was pretty great. While Dunbar is totally dramatic, he's also very knowledgeable. I learned a lot reading this book and feel I'll be a better puppy owner because of it. I would recommend this book to anyone with a dog under 1 year of age, or anyone thinking about getting a puppy and want to know what they're in for. Like most books, I don't think it needs to be followed to the letter (like you could probably use a chew toy other than a Kong if you really want to!), but Dunbar displays some good common sense, always a trait I admire.
New Poll
Now that we've established that most of you like Theodore as much as I do, what about the name? I know I had decided on Bowser for a few weeks, but what can I say, I decided on Ein in the very beginning too. Heh. I've been using the name Theodore so much, now I'm starting to like it. It's too long for a dog's name, but I can always shorten it to Teddy or Theo.
I told Husband this, expecting him to say "No, we decided on Bowser and I like it!" But, of course, he did the opposite and told me we could name him whatever I want. Arg! I don't know! A name is important. It's what I'm going to be calling the little guy for years and years! I want it to be something awesome. Theodore is a cute name, but does Bowser have more character?
Let me know what you think by voting on my poll.
I told Husband this, expecting him to say "No, we decided on Bowser and I like it!" But, of course, he did the opposite and told me we could name him whatever I want. Arg! I don't know! A name is important. It's what I'm going to be calling the little guy for years and years! I want it to be something awesome. Theodore is a cute name, but does Bowser have more character?
Let me know what you think by voting on my poll.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Favorites and Testing
We all know that Theodore has been my favorite of the puppies since I first laid eyes on him all those weeks ago. It was a shallow love at first, but I'm told he's got the personality to match. It's apparent from my poll that Theodore is the favorite for most of you as well. I'm happy to report that Theodore is also the favorite of my breeder! She emailed me yesterday saying that Theodore is an "amazing pup" who is "still her favorite", and he grows "more gorgeous by the day". He is "charming and sensitive at the same time".
Those all sound like ringing endorsements to me! It makes me so excited to meet him! Two more weeks from today. Woohoo!
She also told me that she'll be doing Volhard puppy aptitude testing on the puppies tomorrow. I'm really interested in the results. Cross you fingers for mostly 3s and 4s! For those who don't know, the Volhard test is a personality test that is supposed to give you a good idea of the puppy's personality and suitability for the "average" person. It tests things like social attraction, following, restraint, etc. I was actually planning on doing some of these tests myself because I think it's just a great idea. It consists of things like turning the puppy on his/her back to see if they freak out and struggle or if they relax and except the restraint. Or pulling on their ears and touching their feet to see how they do with being handled. This website explains the test pretty well, I think. As you can see, each reaction is given a score 1-5. Mostly 1s or 5s means the puppy is more "undesirable" to the average person, and should probably be placed with people who are aware that they're not getting a usual cuddly dog. Not to say that they're bad dogs, just that they might require more special care. Personally, if I had a choice between a dog who got mostly 3s and a dog who got mostly 5s, I'd want 3s all the way.
If the breeder is kind enough the share the results with me, I'll keep you posted.
Post Script: I know my other blog is usually reserved for the complaining, but I just want to point out that my dog blog has been rather barren this week because I was made to slave away at work for an ungodly amount of time this week. Between last Saturday and this Saturday (yes, I had to work them both), I worked almost 65 hours. Ick! Come puppy day, I'm dropping back down to 80 hours per two weeks, no more and no less...ok maybe less sometimes, but that's a good thing!
Those all sound like ringing endorsements to me! It makes me so excited to meet him! Two more weeks from today. Woohoo!
She also told me that she'll be doing Volhard puppy aptitude testing on the puppies tomorrow. I'm really interested in the results. Cross you fingers for mostly 3s and 4s! For those who don't know, the Volhard test is a personality test that is supposed to give you a good idea of the puppy's personality and suitability for the "average" person. It tests things like social attraction, following, restraint, etc. I was actually planning on doing some of these tests myself because I think it's just a great idea. It consists of things like turning the puppy on his/her back to see if they freak out and struggle or if they relax and except the restraint. Or pulling on their ears and touching their feet to see how they do with being handled. This website explains the test pretty well, I think. As you can see, each reaction is given a score 1-5. Mostly 1s or 5s means the puppy is more "undesirable" to the average person, and should probably be placed with people who are aware that they're not getting a usual cuddly dog. Not to say that they're bad dogs, just that they might require more special care. Personally, if I had a choice between a dog who got mostly 3s and a dog who got mostly 5s, I'd want 3s all the way.
If the breeder is kind enough the share the results with me, I'll keep you posted.
Post Script: I know my other blog is usually reserved for the complaining, but I just want to point out that my dog blog has been rather barren this week because I was made to slave away at work for an ungodly amount of time this week. Between last Saturday and this Saturday (yes, I had to work them both), I worked almost 65 hours. Ick! Come puppy day, I'm dropping back down to 80 hours per two weeks, no more and no less...ok maybe less sometimes, but that's a good thing!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Sensible
One of the books I read but haven't yet had time to review is Better Food For Dogs. I thought it was a great book, but it really scared me, in some respects, about doing a home-cooked diet for my dog. There's so much to research and keep track of to make sure I'm feed the right balance of nutrients. I don't want each meal to be an ordeal in which I carefully calculate each and every calorie.
When I conveyed this concern to my husband, he replied, as usual, with a completely sensible answer that made me feel silly for ever being worried. He asked me how I feed myself. Do I measure all my food out on a scale or in measuring cups? Do I count every calorie before I eat any food? Do I make lists of all the different kinds of foods I need to make sure I eat and make sure to vary it every so often? Or do I take a sensible approach to eating. Do I make sure to eat different things throughout the day. Definitely the latter. I make sure that I pay attention to my proportions without being too exact. I have my good days and I have my bad days, but overall I'm healthy and varied in my diet.
It's not an exact science. If I can feed myself and keep myself happy and healthy, then why couldn't I do it for my dog as well? Sure, I'll need to pay attention to his/her weight and exercise level, and adjust accordingly, but that's not hard to do. I'm not going to let myself get overwhelmed by this.
When I conveyed this concern to my husband, he replied, as usual, with a completely sensible answer that made me feel silly for ever being worried. He asked me how I feed myself. Do I measure all my food out on a scale or in measuring cups? Do I count every calorie before I eat any food? Do I make lists of all the different kinds of foods I need to make sure I eat and make sure to vary it every so often? Or do I take a sensible approach to eating. Do I make sure to eat different things throughout the day. Definitely the latter. I make sure that I pay attention to my proportions without being too exact. I have my good days and I have my bad days, but overall I'm healthy and varied in my diet.
It's not an exact science. If I can feed myself and keep myself happy and healthy, then why couldn't I do it for my dog as well? Sure, I'll need to pay attention to his/her weight and exercise level, and adjust accordingly, but that's not hard to do. I'm not going to let myself get overwhelmed by this.
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