Wednesday, March 24, 2010

House trained???

How do you know when your puppy is house trained? Chief hasn't had an accident in the house for days, maybe even a week. But can I trust that? (now that I've said it out loud, I know tomorrow will be all about cleaning up messes...)

The last puppy we had, Floyd, just died in the fall at 14 years old. He was easy to train because we had another dog who showed him the ropes. I don't remember that he had accidents. But maybe that's selective memory on my part. I do, clearly recall that when he was about 6 years old, he lifted his leg on the coffee table one morning. I prefer to think that it was because that coffee table had seen better days and really needed to be removed from our house. Did my dog have the fashion sense that I lack?

I now leave the dogs alone in the house, with access to the backyard when I'm gone for an hour or two. And I don't crate either of them. So far so good - no accidents, nothing chewed to bits. But I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Chief is only 14 or 15 weeks old.

I took them both to the dog park today. We've been avoiding it lately because Charlie got scared by some dog. So whenever we'd go, Charlie would trot out of the dog park area and into the kids' playground. That wasn't too popular. But today, we went later, when there were only 2 or 3 dogs there. Charlie did fine, chasing his ball, lounging in the grass, rolling in the deer scents. Chief played with a Lab/Ridgeback mix. The best thing was that a Bloodhound reminded Chief how to respect his elders. Chief initially ran up to him, jumped on him, but backed down when he heard the warning growl. After that, Chief approached with a submissive posture and didn't get in her face. That's what he needs. Chief is dominant and Charlie lets him get his way. My challenge continues to be trying to find a balance between nature (one dog is dominant) and my idea of fairness (shouldn't the older dog set the rules?).

The greatest help I have is training classes. Unleashed! is awesome. Chief and I have been going to puppy play classes (with some training thrown in...) and Charlie and I have been going to Levels classes. I know, it's sort of dog-training-intensive, but maybe I'll get it right this time.

My next goal: post some photos of my dogs when they're not sleeping! It must seem like they're always at rest. Truly, this is the exception - but it's the only time I can capture them.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Chief and I are back!












I can't believe it's been a month since all of this puppy stuff ended. The laundry room and garage that they took over, will forever be the puppy area. And I can't do a load of wash or get into my car without thinking about every one of them. I am truly the luckiest person on earth (or at least in Petaluma) to have enjoyed their early days.

So what's been happening with them? Chief has settled in very well with our family. He loves loves loves Charlie and Charlie has decided that he didn't really like being an only dog. They don't sleep together, but they play hard and rough, stealing each others toys and then go out to lie in the sun on the deck.

Chief also likes the cat, Hunter. And Hunter doesn't seem to mind that Chief will drag him around by the scruff. But that behavior makes me crazy, so Chief has spent his share of time on the tie down...

I've been taking Chief to puppy play class. One evening, Emma, Bailey and Coco showed up! It was so incredible to see these 4 together again. I think they recognized each in other in the way that you do when you haven't seen your siblings in a while - Hey, dude, what's new? Really? Remember that time you escaped from the pen? Let's wrestle like we used to when we were little. Not that hard! You're hurting me, stop. What, there's a new toy, here, you take it first - a sight to see!

Emma seemed to recognize me and wanted to crawl into my lap. I couldn't believe it. I know they'd been used to my voice and my mannerisms and my pant legs. But it had been weeks. She's a sweet girl and I will pay her way through college for that!

I've heard from friends of other puppy sightings. Someone's been bringing their puppy to Arams. Another was spotted by the movie theater. I hope no one minds the attention these puppies will get forever from people who may seem like strangers to their current owners. You know if I see one of these little guys, I will shower them with love and kisses just like I did when they were here.

Emma and Bailey!













Here's an update from one of the families who adopted 2 of the puppies!




Bailey and Emma are thriving and happy as can be. We took them into the vet the Tuesday after we brought them home because their incisions were opening up a bit. They got some shiny new staples and antibiotics and were given a clean bill of health. In fact you should feel very good about the job you did fostering all these little pups. Our vet, Dr Johnson at Washington Square Vet Clinic said these two were the healthiest pound pups she’d ever seen. She went so far as to say that they were healthier than a lot of pure breed pups she sees. You probably know how hard it can be to give dogs pills, and one of our last dogs could tell if there was a pill hidden in a treat and would find it and spit it out, but these two are funny. They will find the pill and spit it out but then pick it right up and eat it just as if it was part of the treat. Deanna has taught both of them to sit and they are getting pretty good at it. They have a house full of toys and they love them, but somehow that table leg tastes a bit better. They are both crate training really well. The second weekend we had them we took them all the way to Middletown for a quick visit at my Mom’s and they slept in their crate in the back seat the whole way up and back. Last night Bailey was sleepy but restless and off she went to lie down in their crate. They were doing pretty good with house training but back slid yesterday with all the rain. They aren’t too keen on rainy days yet. The joy they bring us outweighs any grief they cause and it’s been (almost) nothing but smiles the whole time.