Crate Training

Abbie learning "go to bed".

One Month Pupdate

Abbie has adjusted to home life.
1) House training: We haven't had any accidents in our house since the first couple weeks. She has had a couple when we brought her to Brendan's parents, but not my mom's or dad's house. I think it's something to do with them having two dogs and the excitement of it all.

2) Commands: She definitely knows to sit whenever she wants something, but she is learning "Go Lay Down" and "Stay". For the most part "stay" is limited to very short stints usually around keeping her from eating until commanded with "Good Girl, Go Ahead".

3) Medical and Vet: She's getting spayed tomorrow! I am a little sad and scared about this. She had her second appt. and was 39.9 pounds. The vets loved her again. This was for her pre-op.


Waiting patiently for the vet to come in.


She hears someone coming!


Abbie loves the vet! (Because she gives her treats.)

We have also decided to crate train her. Originally I didn't plan to but she kept eating things in the basement (tupperwares, insulation, paper towels) that I feared for her health.

She is getting along very well in it. She sleeps in it as well because we didn't want her to associate it with being alone, so if it was her bed area too- may be she would grow to like it. She knows to go in to get a treat and then to sit after the door is closed to get another. It no longer takes much coaxing to get her to walk in.

We've also gotten a harness for walks, and this has helped oodles with the pulling. She is still not accustomed to spending time alone in the back yard but we are leaving her there for 10 min segments occasionally and she is doing better with it. She used to just bark, cry, jump on the gate, and try to dig her way out, but now she sniffs around and relaxes a little.

Also, despite her love of chewing- we have found that she does not destroy her stuffed animal squeaky toys. I am sure she will one day but they are lasting so far. She does, however, eat the foam beds.
Toy count:
- Stegums (Dental Stegosaurus)
- Bone (Castor & Pollux Pressed Rawhide)
- Pigums (Stuffed Pig with squeaker)
- Squeaky (oblong shaped green dog with squeaker)
- McRopington (Rope that used to have tennis ball attached but she destroyed the ball)
- Wishy (Wishbone shaped chew toy)
- Variety of tennis balls for fetch.

Fetch

We have a yard! Well OK, we've always had a yard. But NOW it has a fence! We have a fence!!! It still won't do to leave her out there. She is into digging holes. But it does mean we can engage in the age old past time of FETCH.

First, we tell her to sit. This doesn't last long, she sorta squats until the ball leaves Brendan's hand, at which point she runs off bounding like a deer for a few steps and then full sprint.

VICTORY




For some reason she tends to veer to the right (or left from her point of view).



more VICTORY




Eventually she gets so tired that in between throws she just flops down.




Brendan is her main fetch buddy so far (I am in charge of photography!).


He also helps when she loses sight of the ball. We love Abbie, but she is not the most brilliant of fetchers in the world. If she thinks you are throwing left, she'll get a head start, and then completely lose it if the ball goes right. But Victory or not, she's just the happiest pup ever!

Vet Visit #1

The Vet says...
1) Abbie has fox hound in her.
2) She is not spayed, but that we should wait until she's been at the house for a month so it is not traumatic.
3) She is very sweet.
4) She is about 1-2 years old.
5) Abbie is 40.5 pounds and will likely not grow anymore but if so, 50 is the most.
6) She is in terrific shape, has great teeth and gums.
7) She should come back for their Halloween doggie costume party (sadly we did not have time for this).
8) Flea/tick collars = no good, we should use Frontline.
9) In order to help her bad gas, we should teach her to eat slower by forcing her to stop and chew and show her that even if she leaves food in the bowl- it will still be there when she returns.

Here are some pics of that process:

Welcome Home!

First night we met Abbie in the city on 58th 'tween Park and Lexington. I was nervous. Would she be as cute as in pictures? Would she be friendly? Scared? Assertive: good or bad? Would she be smaller or bigger than I expected?

Brendan and I stood on the side walk watching every car pass by. "Is there a puppy in that one? Oh- Nope, no puppy. How bout that one? No." Then I heard someone call out. There she was, walking down the side walk all tiny and cute and tail up with attitude. Happy and healthy looking and absolutely perfect- Love At First Sight.

It was sad for her to say goodbye to the family that saved her and took care of her the last few weeks. I could tell she was confused as we got her in the back seat and I held her leash while she went in circles looking out the windows. Finally, as we entered the Lincoln tunnel, she calmed, resting her front legs and head on my lap. We spent the following 40 minutes cuddling until Wal-Mart.



After buying supplies we took her home and began with a walk around the outside of teh property. Then we gave her the inside tour and introduced her to the cat. Rosie (the cat) was NOT a fan. She's been our one and only baby for years now, but as far as I see it- it's a healthy adjustment for her to make. She'll need to do it one day when we have kids anyways, so might as well make a friend to keep her company when that day comes.



For the most part, Abbie really didn't care about Rosie, but if you started petting Abbie, or if she went somewhere the cat was used to going, Rosie would be right there meowing. At that point Abbie would go to inspect what was making the noise, and then you would here the hiss and a jump from the pup as she avoided a swipe.



The good news is: they are not afraid of eachother. It's about territory and sharing of affection. So long as we show them both love and make it clear their are no favorites. It should be fine. Still... we figure puppy sleeps downstairs to give the cat some space at night and make sure she doesn't have to feel on edge.

It worked pretty well. We heard some banging on the gate, and she cried for a good 20 minutes. We tried to think of it like children. When you put the baby down- your supposed to let it cry itself to sleep. She eventually quieted down and so I drifted off as well.

The next day we got up and wa-la... no mess! And she had slept in her new bed! We left her in the kitchen for the day, feeling good that she couldn't get into anything bad and the kitty would be able to do her thing. That lasted until Brendan checked in at home and she was on his arm chair. Turns out she jumps the fence.



We had a few casualties. Not pictured: a drink coaster. Nothing tragic. It did mean we needed to rethink her "safe place". As much as we would LOVE to give her free reign over the house, until she and kitty get along better (which takes typically 3-6 months) and she's better trained... that ain't happening.

That night we tried to keep her in the kitchen, not having thought of an alternative yet. We figured 'let her jump the gate, so long as she doesn't come upstairs.' Brendan got up four times to bring her back downstairs and put her back behind the gate. Finally, as we laid there in the dark listening to her walking up the steps, I said 'let's just pretend to be asleep and see what she does. At least we are not re-enforcing the bad behavior with giving attention to it.' With kitty on my right, the puppy laid next to Brendan's side of the bed (on the floor) and went to sleep.

Perfect.


SO, as of the next morning (10/20), here is the puppy breakdown...

TRAINING
1) Housetrained - yep, so far so good.
2) Leashtrained - nope, Brendan tried taking her for a morning run, which would have worked out well if he wanted to run in tiny circles.
3) Sits on Command - yep, when not distracted.
4) Lies Down on Command - not really, sometimes does when you say sit down.
5) Heels on Command - nope.
6) Comes when you whistle/call her name - not really, comes because you get her attention and she's interested in what you are doing.


LOVES

1) Rawhide sticks - yes, devours them quickly.
2) Big Bone - first night too excited to give it the time and energy needed but second night went to town on it. 1/4 eaten.

HATES

1) Being Alone