So there I was, watching the clock tick Friday afternoon eagerly awaiting the moment I would go pick my new puppy up. I was finishing up a session with a client before making the trip out to Billericay Friday night. The raps fields were already in beautiful yellow bloom as I was driving down the narrow winding roads of Essex. I got my little black and white fluff ball right at Dusk - so fitting considering my KC affix is "Duskland".
I got there and spent some time with the kids and dogs. The owners of the mother dog allowed me to take video of the little critters while they were all still together - both indoors in their pen and outdoors in the garden. Sky was the first puppy to go to her new home from the litter, which proved difficult for the family - however I had a huge grin on my face when one of the kids looked me in the eye and said "I think this is the perfect home for her". It was a total heart wrencher. Luckily they also liked the name "Sky" as I was not planning on keeping the name "Cody" (the nickname of my former horse). It's good Skyler will be going back in May for a week to visit since it was hard on them giving the dogs up and the rest of the pups are being homed far away.
THE FIRST CAR RIDE
I asked one of the daughters to carry the pup to the car for me so I could open the car and crate for Sky to go into. The first few minutes were absolute bliss - me and my new beautiful puppy hitting the open road for home at sunset - but wait NO. Oh no - I totally forgot how head banging the puppy yelping can be. Ugh. Two minutes into the car ride she went from chilled out sniffing the blanket in the car crate to screaming off the top of her lungs - gotta love puppies! I didn't want to give her a stuffed Kong just yet as I did not know her toileting needs / routine and didn't want to introduce so many new things at once. So what do you do? You turn up the volume of your car and just ride it out - literally. It was 12 minutes into the drive (yes I looked at the clock) and she was all quiet again - and she was conked out until I pulled into my driveway and opened the back of my car.
INTRODUCING YOUR PUPPY TO A MULTI-DOG HOUSEHOLD
First thing's first - the puppy's still sleeping so get all things into the house, calm the Terriers down, put them away in their crates, and put the puppy in the kitchen. Introducing the rest of my woof crew to the new addition was something I was totally dreading. I owned 3 dogs prior to getting Skyler - one Golden/Labrador Retriever cross (5) and two English Toy Terriers (2) and it had been two years since owning a puppy. I had no one to help me control or moderate all the dogs while introducing the puppy. Nevertheless, the puppy pen was set up with the crate, food dispensing toys and bowls all aligned ready for the Collie with a baby gate blocking off the kitchen.
I first put Sky on the floor of the kitchen allowing her to sniff the floor and inspect the place. I then let me Terriers into the kitchen to check the Collie out. To my surprise all went really well! Asher was never a concern for me as she is super social and very well rehearsed in doggie etiquette - it was more my rescue Ayla I was concerned about - as she tends to be awkward towards dogs as she was a bit neglected and lacked major socialisation. I was so happy to see both Terriers bombard this puppy with tails wagging like crazy. They were all excited wanting to play - Ayla even swatted her paw at the pup to entice her to play. Poor little Sky kept to the walls of the kitchen a bit overwhelmed by these skinny little things ambushing her. I am sure she just wondered "why don't they look like me?" Luckily she quickly adapted and went to inspect my other girls.
I then allowed her to go outside to toilet - and yes she peed and pooped outside to my satisfaction, score! I then put the Terriers away in their crate and allowed Riley to sniff Sky through the baby gate as he is huge and could squish her. He was so excited - wagging his tail, lowering his face to nuzzle her little nose through the bars. Sky was very excited about this encounter and I wish I had gotten a picture of the two noses touching - it was priceless. We were off to a great start! After the introduction and gander she was placed into her pen for the first time....
THE FIRST NIGHT
The first night was like anyone who has ever had a puppy expects. There was howling, there was crying, there was some restless pacing, but hey! at least there was no toileting! When getting a puppy people need to understand that these are all natural behaviours and no need to fret - just simply educate yourself as to how to tackle these behaviours to prevent them from becoming nuisance habits. Skyler was not thrilled about being in her pen and showed the usual separation distress, but she settled down within 10 minutes. She cried twice that night - I had put a piece of newspaper down in case she needed to toilet, and decided to ignore her cries as I did not want to teach her that barking is a way to get my attention. When working out your new pups routine, character and physiological needs it sometimes takes a few days / nights to figure things out. Some dogs need to actually pee or poop in the middle of the night - especially the toy breeds and younger puppies, whereas others do not and cry or howl because of separation distress from their mom and litter - in others it's both.
THE NEXT DAY
Luckily when I woke up at 6:30AM Saturday morning to let her out there was no poop or pee in her pen, on the newspaper, or in her crate - SCORE! I must admit I did a little happy dance when I took her out and the second those white dipped paws hit the ground she relieved herself :D So she's a dog who can physically hold it through the night - I guess. THANK DOG!
Throughout the day I noticed that she did not need the newspaper in her pen - which was great as I am really generally opposed to using newspaper or pads. Sure, some people who work or are unable to regularly let their puppy out to toilet may need to use a training tool such as newspaper or toilet pads so the dog can relieve itself, however I have found with my clients and past experiences that this can lead to various issues.I have observed some dogs to generalise the paper or pads to things like books, magazines, and other paper like items - or cloth like items such as beds, blankets, couches and front door mats. I mean - c'mon - you're saying "good girl" and rewarding your dog for peeing on something that has the texture of cloth (in this case pee pads) yet you act all suprised when you take the pup with you to bed and it peed on your bed sheets - really? Some puppies generalise - and this is no fun! How about toilet training itself? How confusing is it for you to ASK your dog to pee in the house (on paper) one week, then the next expect them not to pee in the same place - even if the paper is gone? Sure, there are many successful cases, however as a trainer I seem to see a LOT of the problem scenarios. Either way I was full of joy when she did not need the paper over night and immediately removed it.
The day was spent playing in the garden with moments in her crate. She was good most of the day with the off screaming in the crate or pen. When putting her in the crate I always made sure she had a toilet first and a little play and only kept her in there for short periods of time (15-30 minutes). There were a few moments where I wanted to kill her because she screamed so loud I couldn't hear myself think - but luckily I have self control and could just turn up the radio and close the door to my living room and watch TV to cool myself down. Not once did I engage with her when she was howling or crying and not once did I lash out at her or loose my temper - that is key when working with puppies. You may be thinking - why not tell her to shut up? How about banging on her cage, rattling a can with coins, or spraying her with a bottle? Well - any attention you give a crying dog, whether good - bad - or even just laughing at them is an unintentional way to reinforce bad behaviour. Using tools to interrupt, intimidate, scare, or halt behaviour can:
B) only work as a surpressent - as the behaviour will resurface with greater intensity and only works if you have the gadget on you
C) does not teach the actual appropriate response or an alternative
D) can cause an insecure or fearful dog - especially a puppy when there's negative associations to a new environment and new people (in my case dogs also)
SO NO NO NO do not use these old, outdated, and sometimes useful tips. Just ignore the dog if you know it has toileted etc, and let it come out to play after it has calmed down or is chewing on a toy. In my case I ensured Sky had tons of toys to let her frustration out on, and when she grabbed her Nylabone and had a good chew on it after a hissy-fit - I came out from the living room and let her around the kitchen with the Terriers. The rest of the day pretty much went between toilet breaks, sleep, crate time, food time, play time, and pen time. She had her first stuffed Kong that day and at first had absolutely no idea what to do! After a few tries she got it though - my clever little girl!
She also had the opportunity to be with Riley in the garden - he was sniffing her and lifted her butt while doing so - it was quite funny! She would swat at him but I just had him sit there as he is soooo big compared to her. I was shooting video all day and loaded a clip onto Youtube!
BBQ SOCIALISATION
I invited a few friends over Saturday night for a "meet the puppy" BBQ! It was a great opportunity to grill as the weather was real nice and the perfect circumstance to give Skyler some socialisation. People came rolling in and the whole evening she was being cuddled, played with, fussed with, and handled - AWESOME. Sky is absolutely great - she is outgoing, entertaining, loves interacting with people and is also very curious. She was actively practicing her play biting and learning bite inhibition and chilling out. I put her back in her pen a few times and within seconds she was out like a light with only a few seconds of barking - perfect. She also got her first shisha experience that evening with 10 people in my living room - Asher and Ayla cuddling with people and the shisha and puppy being passed about while stories were being shared - it was just generally a great night and I was so proud of my little girl!
THE FOLLOWING NIGHT
Skyler was out like a light - all that stimulation me thinks! A tired dog really IS a happy owner. She slept without a single peep until 7AM this morning.
TODAY
I have mixed feelings about today. It started off with me letting Skyler out at 7AM - I heard her crying and though she probably needed to go out - or pooped in her pen. Well, luckily no pee or poop inside! No newspaper was down and she held it in from 11PM to around 7AM - SCORE! I was very impressed with her! Oh but then the howling began - I think with all the attention the day before she wanted some more extra loving this morning. She howled frantically off and on this morning between 7-10AM. I wanted to shoot her - but just put my covers over me and Riley instead. I got up and made breakfast and coffee and just ignored her, until around 10:30AM she settled down. Since then putting her in the pen has become easier and easier - she cries less and less - and I make sure she is tired, fed and has had a toilet before leaving her to be in her crate or pen. I understand that getting a puppy is one of the most exciting things and that you want to spend every waking minute with the puppy - but DO NOT! Imprinting happens now - and the pup needs to learn to be on her own NOW. Sometimes they need a bit of tough love - or lack of reinforcement for bad behaviours. This is very important for separation anxiety prevention. You ultimately want a dog who lives with you in harmony but who is not emotionally dependent on you ALWAYS being there.
I had two dog training classes and she was an absolute dream - unlike the Terriers who go nuts when I'm at the door - but we're working on it. She was in her pen with no accident in the afternoon but a little pee in the pen in the evening - in all fairness I was out for almost 2 hours, so fair enough. She had a tiny whine when I put her back for about 2 seconds and is now passed out again. So far so good - I can't really complain and hopefully my neighbours don't hate me too much! Despite it maybe being a bit rude having a puppy cry on a Sunday - she needs to learn now, and teaching now will go a long way tomorrow and later on!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned to read more on her progress :)I took some footage over the last two days - including of the first meeting between Sky and the Terriers as well as other fun clips. it can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXe8ljzaXWg
Charlotte
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