Showing posts with label crate training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crate training. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Introducing A New Puppy To The Pack

Whenever a new puppy is brought into the family, it's important to make sure you remember to give the other pets lots of attention and love also.  Dogs are very much into "Fair" and become jealous if too much attention is paid more to one than another.  A new puppy always creates excitement for existing family animals as well as the humans.  But, like having additional children, once you've trained a puppy, it's not as difficult to train another.  That being said, each dog is unique, comes from different backgrounds, and will most assuredly put forth a few new challenges to test your training techniques and patience.  It is helpful to take your new puppy to class to get him socialized early and used to getting along with other pets and strange places.  Training your pets properly will ensure that everyone will be much happier in your home environment.  Remember...you're the Alpha dog in the pack, so don't let your pets boss you around!
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Having lost old Cinders, our Mini Schnauzer, we were all very sad for quite what seemed like a long time.  Star carried around Cinders old shirt and I cuddled Star every chance I got.  She was really sad.

Jessie with Star

It was very odd having the big bed all to myself as Star wasn't allowed on the bed cause she was too big.  I was only allowed up there now and then, mostly when Jodi wasn't there.  I think Star sheds more than me, although I have overheard Jodi saying that she could build 3 dogs with those fur balls that tumble down through the hall even though it was frequently vacuumed!  Still, it was lonely being on that big old bed without Cinders.  (Note: Mini Schnauzers do not shed.)

Jessie

Then, Jodi got a phone call and had to leave us for a family emergency.  We were happy to be with Smokey, but now we missed Jodi too.  While Jodi was gone, Smokey had a surprise for all of us. One morning, he seemed very happy and was whistling a tune as he left in the car.  It had been nine months since we had seen Smokey so happy.  Star noticed immediately that something was different in Smokey's demeanor and her mood seemed to lift a bit also in anticipation.  I had no idea what was going on, but even Coco cat was sitting at the window watching for Smokey to return.  Something big was up, I was sure!

A little while later, we heard Smokey's car drive in the driveway.  The door to the garage slowly opened and in walked Smokey with a black and silver fluff ball with a face.  We were all excited to see exactly what that thing was.  A new toy, I wondered?  Smokey sat down on the sofa, and we all came over for a good sniff.  It was a puppy!  But even though he was young, he was still bigger than me.  I let out a very big snort and sneeze to make sure that thing new I was there and I wasn't going to take any nonsense from him.

Captain and Jessie

Star came over, gently sniffed him from head to tail and began licking him all over.  She had accepted him, and so I would too.  Actually, he was kind of fun.  A very curious guy who seemed unafraid and very bold.  He was a Standard Poodle, he was 12 weeks old, and Smokey named him Captain - Cappy for short.

Jodi had always crate trained all of us as puppies, and I was sure that Captain would be in Star's crate that evening.  At bed time, Smokey put Captain in Star's crate, gave him a soft toy, and went to bed.  The crate was always kept in the bedroom with Smokey and Jodi.  But Captain missed his Mom and his brothers and sisters, and began to whine a little.  At first, Smokey ignored it, but the whining got louder and seemed so sorrowful.  Then it became a howl!  Even I, who was laying at the coveted place right next to Smokey (while Jodi was gone), started to worry about the little guy.  I looked up at Smokey who was reading and wondered what he was going to do.  If he didn't do something pretty soon, none of us would get any sleep.

Smokey got up and picked up Captain, took him outside for a potty break one more time, then brought him back to the bedroom whereupon he nestled Captain right between the two of us.  Oh Lord!  If Jodi knew about that, she would be having a real fit for sure.  No dogs were supposed to sleep on the bed.  She had made it abundantly clear to Smokey on a few occasions.  Just then, the phone rang.  It was Jodi calling to check in with Smokey to see how we were all doing.  Just then, Captain started fussing a little bit again.  "Shhhh, I nudged Captain.  You'll get us all in trouble!"

Jodi asked, "Smokey, what is that noise I hear in the background?"  Captain was supposed to be a surprise and a gift for Jodi.  "Sounds just like a puppy!  You didn't get a puppy, did you?"

"Well, ahhhhh, kind of, " replied Smokey.  We were all so sad over the loss of Cinders, I thought it would be good for all of us if we got another puppy."

"Hmmm....What kind of puppy did you get?" asked Jodi

Relaxing a little bit now, Smoky answered, "He's a Standard Poodle.  You know, the ones that are the big dogs.  I got him from our friends Henry and Jean who run our boarding kennel .  Remember the ones we saw at their house?  They raise, train and show them."

Jodi groaned a little and said, "Yes, they're nice, but they're too foo, foo, fa, fa with sauce.  If we were going to have another big dog, I favor German Shepherds like Star."

"But I got him for you," Smokey replied, "As a surprise."

"Well, he can be your dog.  What did you name him?" Jodi asked.

"His name is Captain, but you can change it if you want," he said.

"No, Captain is fine.  You don't have him on the bed with you, do you?" Jodi inquired.

"Well, sort of, kind of.... yes he is.  He was crying in the crate, and I felt so bad for him, so I brought him up with Jessie and me," Smokey replied.

"Jessie's up on the bed too?" she asked in a tone that told Smokey she wasn't too happy.

"Yes, just for tonight.  Everyone seemed to need a little extra love tonight, and even Star came over and rested her head on the bed.  But she's not up here too! Smokey quickly said.

"OK." said Jodi.  "I'll call you tomorrow night.  I will have to be gone for a week.  Can you manage with everything and a new puppy?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," Smokey replied.  "We'll all be just fine."

And we were.  The new addition to our family had immediately lifted all our spirits, and I could sense that there was a lot more to come ahead.

Star-Jessie-Captain

Watching Captain interact with Smokey and the other pets, I had a feeling he would win over Jodi's heart too.  How could you not like this guy?  He was such a ball of fire and now I would have someone to play with again.  I really looked forward to Jodi coming home....




Friday, March 16, 2012

Potty Training the New Puppy

Puppies should be fed 3 times a day until they are 6 months old, and then 2 times a day for the rest of their life. Vets generally agree that the old once a day feeding for adult dogs is much harder on their stomach, whereas as twice a day which consists of 2 smaller meals works better. 

Young puppies don't have a sense about "holding it".  When they have to go, they just stop right in the middle of what they are doing and let 'er rip!  Therefore, it's important to take them out often.

I was having a jolly old time playing with Star climbing all over her and biting her ears and tail.  I even stuck my little head in that big mouth and she didn't even bite me.  I have no idea why I did that except I wanted to see what it looked like up close and personal.  She was very patient and gentle with me.

Right in the middle of our playing, I had to pee, so I just stopped and went.  Star didn't like that at all and got up and walked over to a contraption called the doggie door.  She disappeared right through the door and I could see her outside.  So I thought, well if she can go through it, so could I and off I went.  Wow, was that fun! 

I could see Smokey Joe through the glass in the door and for some reason, he didn't look very happy.  He came out, picked me up and brought me back to the spot where I had left a puddle on the floor.  He started talking very loud and I just couldn't imagine what was wrong with him.  He just kept saying, "Bad dog!"  I didn't know what he was saying, but somehow I knew I was in trouble.  Just then, Jodi came into the room, and saw what the commotion was all about.  She picked me up and held me close.  Ahhhh, this was much better.  Then we all went outside where she put me down.  How did she know I wasn't done yet?  This time when I did number 2, everyone was happy and I got lots of love and nice sounding voices from Smokey and Jodi. 


Tip:  Right after you feed your puppy, take him outside to a designated spot and tell him to "Go pee", "Get busy", or whatever you want to call it.  Just be consistent.  Because he is young, and his bladder isn't fully developed yet, he will go right away.  When he does, praise him and tell him what a good dog he is.  When we are training, we usually take our puppies out every 2-3 hours.  They housetrain very quickly using this method.  If that's not possible, put him in his crate until you can take him out.  Most dogs don't like to soil the area where they sleep.  But, don't make him wait too long, he's still a baby.  Have a heart - he can only hold it so long.

I enjoyed being outside in the garden.  So many new scents and little places to explore.  After my next feeding at noon, Jodi took me back outside and put me down.  Of course, I followed Star around everywhere.  When Jodi said, "Get busy", Star immediately found her spot and went, so I did too.  I was so cool!  Jodi was smiling, and out came Smokey Joe.  I looked at him, and he picked me up and told me what a good boy I was too.  I am such a cool dog - I can tell!  Jodi calls me Smush face and I think I like that.

After my dinner, Star went out through the doggie door over to our spot, and I followed her.  Guess she was making sure I didn't screw up this time.  OK, so I get the idea.

Cinders came out after us, and went to a totally different place in the garden.  She can be so disagreeable - such a prissy girl.  And I would find out later that Coco cat had a littler box for her "business".  I made a mental note to find it one of these days when I am allowed to go into other parts of the house.  Right now, I am confined to the kitchen.  That's fine with me.  It's a big room from my point of view, and I have lots of toys to play with.

It's evening now.  Both Smokey Joe and Jodi hold me in their laps and talk to me a lot.  I don't know what they're talking about, but I know it's good stuff because I get lots of hugs and kisses.  And I hear my name, Jessie, mentioned a lot in nice, soft tones.

I think I'll go to sleep now right in Smokey's lap.  Life is good.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Bringing Home The New Puppy

Here I was out in the back yard enjoying playtime with my three siblings and Beatrice, the family Briard (a very old breed of French working dog) when I heard the front doorbell ring.  Beatrice took off through the doggie door with me right behind her just in time to grab onto her tail.  As we rounded the corner with me hanging on for dear life, there stood two strangers - humans - a man and a woman.  I stopped dead in my tracks, letting go of Beatrice's tail and stared at the two strangers.  The man scootched down and put his hand out.  Suddenly, I had an uncontrolable urge to run up to him.  It was love at first site, and before I knew it,  I was off to my new home in Scottsdale, AZ.  I was a 10 week old male Pug.  You know, the dogs with the smooshed in face - kind of like a Pekinese, but with short hair, and much more handsome.

The man's name was Joe, but I learned later that most people called him Smokey, and his wife was named Jodi.  When we arrived at my new home, I discovered that there were other animals that lived there.  Well, I thought, this must be a great place to live with these other animals, and I'll make some new friends.  There was Coco, the family's black cat who loved to make mischief; Cinders, a Mini-Schnauzer with an attitude, and Star, a very large German Shepherd who had enormous ears and a very large mouth.  "Wow,"  I thought.  "I could fit my whole head and then some into that big mouth.  A little scarey at first.

Jodi took me into her arms, sat down on the ottoman, and put me in her lap.  All the other animals came over for a look, except for Cinders, who kept her distance for the moment.  When Star came to check me out, Jodi said, "Now, Star, this is little Jessie James, and he's not your lunch!"  Well that was good to know!  And I guess my new name was going to be Jessie.  Not bad, I could deal with that.

Cinders finally came over to check me out after the others were done sniffing and licking me .  When I poked my head towards her expecting a nice hello lick, she growled.  Hmmm, not a very friendly attitude indeed.  OK, so I was learning the pecking order in this new family.  Even though Star was larger, I would soon learn that it was Cinders who was the boss in this group, and very demanding.

I overheard later that it was Smokey Joe's 50 birthday, and that I was his special gift from Jodi.  I must admit, I did feel particularly special.  And boy, was I excited to be in my new home, running all over the place.

Smokey and Jodi crate trained their dogs when they were puppies to aid in house-training, so I was introduced to my very own crate complete with a nice soft bed and a few new toys.  I was fine when they first put me to bed, but then I started missing my Mom and siblings and started to whimper.  Star came over and layed down right at the front of the crate where I could see and smell her.  She would be the one to comfort me this night and all through my life.  She would also become my protector.  With a full stomach and Star right there, I feel asleep.  Life was good!