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Puppy update

Several weeks ago, I blogged about how much trouble I was having with Leo’s crate training. When put in his crate, the pup barked and whined and fussed and scratched. Basically, I dreaded anything to do with Leo and the crate.

So I did a little research. It turned out that I was part of the problem. Because the other dogs respond positively to being told to hush in the crate, I treated Leo the same way. When he fussed, I shushed. It turns out he didn’t notice that the attention he was getting was negative; he just knew I paid attention when he fussed.

After reading more about crate training, I completely changed my behavior. Whenever he was put in the crate, I ignored him for up to 45 minutes. Since I knew he’d just been put in the crate, I knew he didn’t need to go to the bathroom. He didn’t need out of the crate, he just wanted to be out. There were times that he fussed that entire 45 minutes, but he always stopped before I caved.

For weeks, Leo fussed in the crate. But several days ago, I realized that he wasn’t doing it any more. Now, while Leo still doesn’t relish getting in the crate, he goes in when he has to and he waits quietly for morning. Even on really bad nights, when we’re up with the Bug, he fusses a bit - hoping to be let out - but if I ignore it for a few minutes (I wouldn’t wait 45 in the middle of the night, not knowing if he might really need to be let out) he generally settles down.

I’m not saying this is the end of crate training, but it sure is good progress.

Next step: obedience training.

Barking dogs haunt my dreams

Leo the puppy is a great little (heh) guy. I am so glad Katie and I decided to get him, and I think he’s going to be especially nice when he gets big enough to hang out in the house and go on trips with us.

But he’s not there yet. Right now he’s in the land of house training and crate training. When I put him in his crate for the night, he barks. And whines. And barks. And yelps. And fusses.

And he’s still needing to have a midnight potty break several times a week.

Last night was about the worst of it. He simply would not settle. I went to bed around 11, then I was up with Leo at 1 and 3. At three, I left him out for the day so I could sleep, but I continued to have nightmares about dogs barking. I woke several times to the sound of dogs barking in my dreams.

You just can’t reason with a puppy.

On the upside, though, the house training is just terrible … having to put him on a leash at my feet while I read a book. How long can I live with this torture?

Two weeks

In an hour I will be taking Leo the pup to get his last puppy shots. Then we’ll have two weeks for them to sink in, and he’ll no longer be on puppy probation.

I’m pretty excited about it. I’ve literally never had a dog to call my own - technically, Leo is everyone’s dog, but Katie and I picked him out, and I feel like he’s at least partly “my dog.” And soon he’ll be able to do stuff with the fam, like go for walks and play in the park.

And once he gets out of puppyhood, he’ll be able to hang out with me a lot around the house.

W00t.

Leo gets a bath

Because we needed one more critter in our house

I always considered myself a dog person (we didn’t have pets when we were kids), but because I lived in an apartment that didn’t allow dogs (technically, they didn’t allow any pets, but at some point I realized I was about the only person without one), my first ever pet was a cat. Anyway, when I got married, I “acquired” the Granju dogs - Fiat & Mabel. And I became a cat person. ‘Nuff said.

Now we’ve got Leo, the Great Pyrenees. And he’s as cute as humanly (dogly?) possible. GP dogs are laid back and protective. They have a booming bark when they need to, but they’d just as soon flop down at your feet or watch the kids when nothing’s going on. I think he’ll be perfect for me and for our family.

And he’s beautiful.

(And C loves him, too. She is definitely an animal person.)