Day19: Listen to me when I bark at you!

Today we had a family day. My niece was visiting and we had about 15 people in the house and eating outside. Casey was in heaven with all the activity and attention...and then in hell once we went outside to eat! No one was giving her food (because we are discouraging begging) and because she had already eaten lunch. I had her clipped to a 15 foot tie-out near where we were sitting. She began to bark and bark and bark and bark. Ugh. There was no way to make her stop. Saying no didn't help. Ignoring her didn't help. I finally gave her a kong filled with frozen peanut butter and that kept her quiet for about 5 minutes as she gulped it down with a lightening fast tongue. I reluctantly put her in her crate to calm down. She barked and then got quieter so I rewarded her by letting her out. She again commenced barking at us...begging for food. I sat with her but she was just too focused on food to care about my affection. Oh, well.

I had to put her in her crate after we went inside and while she barked for about 10 minutes, she quickly fell asleep. She was soo tired and needed to rest. It amazes me sometimes how much puppies and toddlers are alike. They get overtired, wound up and put everything in their mouths! I officially have three children...and I didn't have 9 months to prepare for this one! It is a learn as you go kinda deal and I hope I am doing a good job.


I am also trying to work on the training by reinforcing sit, stay, paw and down, but adding “turn away” and “back”. Back is the hardest because she doesn't naturally move backwards when wanting a treat. I have to wait for her to back up on her own or nudge her and then give her a treat. She is catching on well though. I will keep working with it.

Day 16: Crate attack

Today was hot, I do understand that. But in my defense, I had the air conditioner on for a while to get the room a comfortable temperature. I made sure you were well hydrated. I had a fan pointed at you while you were in the crate. I didn't want to work for 2 hours today any more than you wanted me to. But, Casey, did you have to destroy your crate?? Of course you did! I totally understand that it was warm, you had no idea when I would be back and you panicked. No worries. It is fine. I would have behaved exactly the same way.

So...I had to revamp Casey's crate today after the tore up the cardboard in a frantic moment. It's fine. I am actually toying with the idea of giving her the entire crate but I am concerned that if she is not COMPLETELY housebroken, she will regress and wet in her crate if it's too big. I think I will wait a little bit longer. Not too much longer, though. She is getting bigger everyday and stretches a lot when she gets out in the morning!

Despite the heat, we managed to have a nice walk in the park today, followed by a quick run off the leash. Understandably, Casey was a little more lethargic than usual, but I am glad she got some exercise. I try to chase her in the yard with “rope” every morning but I wear out too quickly!

On my way home from work, I bought her an organic homemade dog treat at the farmer's market in downtown Salem. They had such a great selection that I couldn't decide. Biscuits of all shapes and sizes. All kinds of wonderful, natural ingredients. I finally asked the woman behind the stand for her recommendation. She said that for a puppy, the brown square wafer-like one was best. It could be broken into pieces for training and dogs LOVE it—she claimed. Not until I had already bought it did I realize that I had purchased a grilled, seasoned beef LUNG. Gag. Oh, well. I already gave Casey half and she seemed pleased. It took the edge off her indignation at being left alone in the crate today. Nothing like a little beef lung to smooth over hard feelings!

Dog Harness (Day 15)

Today I decided to bite the bullet and get a harness for Casey. It just so happened that I fell upon a clearance sale at Petco and was able to get a large harness for $4! Score! I took Casey for a walk to the bus stop wearing it for the first time and it was like a miracle took place. She was easy to control and she trotted along with me but left plenty of slack in the leash. It was almost enjoyable to walk her! I was so excited with the results. The only issue was that the harness was a tad too big for Casey. I had gotten the larger size so it would last her a while. However, she was able to lunge forward at one point and she almost slipped through it.

I returned to Petco with her, and the girls, to see if there was another smaller harness on sale. After a dramatic encounter with a large German Shepherd in the store, we found a medium sized harness and a retractable leash on clearance. I got both for only $5!! What a deal! She is now wearing the harness around the house to get used to it. She doesn't seem to mind it a bit. She kept biting at the larger one while wearing it, probably because it hung a little low in the front.

As a side note, Casey is taking the potty-treat thing a little far. She has managed to discover that if she wets twice, she will get two treats! The second try is usually a drop or two and she runs right over to me to get her reward. Silly puppy...or smart puppy!

Day 14: Follow the Leader

So, today was another day of leash training. I spent a good deal of time walking with Casey, pulling her back, stopping etc. Nothing seemed to work well. The moment she had extra slack in the leash, she would pull and forge ahead, willing me to follow her. No can do, Puppy! We had a battle of the wills—and I barely won. She is getting larger everyday and I am determined to turn her into a compliant walker before she weighs more than I do! Time is of the essence.

I am nervous that her standard nylon collar isn't enough to train her. It requires a substantial amount of force to get her to stop leading and I am afraid that I am going to hurt her or choke her. At the same time, she has choked herself by pulling against me—to the point that sometimes her entire upper body is of the ground and she is walking on her hind legs.

Some books and friends recommend a choke collar for training. If put high up near the ears, apparently this collar can work wonders by giving the puppy a quick jolt without risking injury. Still, I am not sold. Maybe it is the name... “choke”. Who knows. I am sure it is completely safe, but I looking into getting her a harness instead. I have heard that a harness can be very helpful in walking larger dogs. I feel like it would give me a better handle on controlling her safely. I think I will try it. I hope it works!

Incidentally, we only had one accident today inside. She was out a good deal of the afternoon and we let her run free for about an hour to tire her out. She could barely keep her eyes open this evening. Man, I love a tired puppy!

Cat laser toy for dogs

Few toys provide as much entertainment with relatively little effort on the cat owner's part as laser pointers. For some reason a lot of such toys are made to resemble mice (or so the designers seem to think). Apparently, puppies also love to chase these little laser dots that somehow always escape out of their paws.

Day 13: Snaggletooth

Yesterday, we noticed that one of Casey's canine teeth was at an odd angle. It was sticking out of her mouth and was quite humorous looking. Obviously, it was extremely loose and today iit came out. I assume she swallowed it since I never found it, which is a shame since I am sure the doggie tooth fairy would have made a visit tonight. What puppy wouldn't want to find a tasty bone under their pillow in the morning?

I also took her out today for some more leash training. Needless to say, it was a LONG walk to the bus stop! Everytime she pulled on the leash, I would stop, tell her to “heel” and wait until she stood next to me with slack in the leash. Let me tell you, there was a LOT of starting and stopping! But, I am seeing some improvement. She seems a little less aggressive and more willing to wait for me. We did not end up using the reverse direction method when she pulled because she didn't really care which way we were headed. She was pulling in either direction! Apparently, speed trumps destination in the puppy's focused mind.

With regard to housebreaking, we had a little setback today. She had two wet accidents and one poop!! She had not pooped in the house in several days so that was a curious event. Hopefully, this was a one time thing and not indicative of a true relapse in her training. Nothing is quite as refreshing as doggie poo simmering on the porch carpet on a 90 degree day! Gah...

One strange thing she has done a couple times in the evening is attack her dog bed—like it is the vilest of prey. Tonight she frantically scratched, growled and bit at her bed. She looked like she could use a good ol' run outside with “rope” (her knotted rope toy), so we went out for a bit. It was still warm but much more comfortable than earlier today. She ran hard for about 15 minutes, trying to avoid us as we grabbed at her rope as she flew by. She was rewarded with a cool drink of water--despite it being a little late for liquids. She was thirsty and tired. And as they say, "A tired puppy is a good puppy"...and a good puppy leaves her bed in one piece!

Leash training

Next on the agenda is leash training. She still pulls on the leash and we are working with a technique that requires us to stop walking or reverse direction when she starts to pull. So far, it hasn't been very successful, but I am confident that it will improve. It is all about consistency and determination!

We are very encouraged with the progress Casey has made in the two weeks since we adopted her and we are looking forward to seeing what she can learn in the future! We will not settle for anything less than success--the sanity of two die-hard cat people hangs in the balance!

Training our dog

And while we are on the subject of training...there is the issue of simple commands. It was time for her to learn the basics, sit, stay, come, down, heel. I had absolutely ZERO experience training dogs, so I had no confidence that I would be able to succeed with her. The thought of failing or scaring her mentally was terrifying to me. Failure is not an option when you are dealing with a potentially large dog who will likely be stronger than anyone else in the family.

Casey seemed to do well with “sit” right off the bat. She would sit when we said “sit” (accidentally or purposefully I don't know) but we praised her and soon she knew sit without any problems. Now, we wanted to build on this foundation but I wasn't sure how to do it. A friend told me the next command should be “stay”, so I started with this. I had her sit and then said “stay” as I walked backwards with my finger held up to signal that she should not move. When she started to come towards me, I said, “No, sit”. She would sit back down and I would continue backing up. It took about 10 minutes of consistent reinforcement with treats and praise to get her to stay. She picked it up very quickly and even let the girls practice the command with her when they got home from school. By the following day, I could even show her a treat in my hand as I back up and she will resist the temptation to go for it. She will sit patiently and wait for the “ok” to be released and get the treat. Apparently, this is a particularly important command. Puppies who can overcome their instincts and exhibit self-discipline by listening to their owner, and resisting food, tend to demonstrate more success with obedience in the future.

The next command I taught her was “paw”. I had been instructed that the best way for this to occur was to let her sniff my hand with a treat inside my fist. She will want the treat and try to figure out what she needs to do to get it. At some point, she will accidentally exhibit the behavior that is desired. When this happens, she is to be rewarded with praise and the treat. , (Incidentally, treats should be pea-sized, moist and eaten in one gulp. They can be cut-up meat, cheese etc. Variety keeps the dog interested in obtaining the treat) I held out my hand and said “paw”. She licked my fist and sniffed it. Before long, she wound up lifting her paw. I immediately opened my fist, gave her the treat and praised her. After the second time, she caught on and began raising her paw on her own. In fact, she began alternating paws and raising them before I could even give her the command! Now, I have to get her to sit quietly with both paws down before I start asking for her paw.

After “paw”, we learned “down” and “up” using the same technique. It seems to work very well for us! I am looking forward to building on these commands in the future to teach her much more.

Our main behavioral complaint with Casey right now is jumping up. She is very excitable (as all puppies are) and she greets everyone by jumping up on them. She will also try to jump up if you have something in your hands that she would like to examine closer. I do understand that this behavior is very typical for a young dog, but I still feel it is very important to curb this now before she is any larger and can knock the children over. We consistently say “down” and either turn away or push her firmly down. However, the most effective tactic has been to remove her from the room if she does not obey. When she calms down, (usually a minute or two) we allow her back into the room. This also seems to work well when she tries to jump up on the couch repeatedly. If we close the doors to living room, she will calm down and usually circle near the couch and lie down on her bed once let back in.

Housebreaking our dog

We also had to deal with housebreaking. Casey came from a shelter and had never been trained or housebroken, so we started right away. Crate training was recommended by the shelter and other dog owners that I had talked to. We went out and bought a crate that was large enough (hopefully!) for her when she is full grown. For now, we divided it in half with a piece of cardboard (with a box behind the cardboard to prevent her from pushing it back). It gives her just enough room to lie down comfortably. We were told that if her crate was too large, she would go potty in the corner and sleep in another area. If it was just the right size, she would be encouraged to keep her area clean as dogs do not like to mess in their space. This will help her to learn to control her bladder and make housebreaking easier.

The first night we put her in her crate, we expected quite a bit of crying. We had been warned that she would NOT be happy. First, I took her outside and tried to get her to go potty. I kept saying “Potty, Casey. Go potty.” I did not pet or interact with her in any other way so she did not think it was playtime. Still, she walked, sniffed and held her business. No luck. Eventually, we came back inside and I put her in the crate. It was about 10 pm. I gave her a treat through the bars and left. She started to whine and cry. I returned to verbally reassured her a couple times without her seeing me and then left for good. She cried for only about 10 minutes and then became silent for the rest of the night.

At about 5:45 the next morning, I returned to find that she had peed and pooped in her crate. What a mess, but I took her out immediately. Again, she did not go potty outside despite my verbal encouragement and lack of play. (She did not need to go again most likely!) I returned with her and cleaned the crate. We had several more accidents in the house that second day but she did go a few times outside and for this, was rewarded with a treat and praise.

The second night, she cried a bit less, but still messed in her crate. We now decided (based upon advice) to remove her water after dinner to help curb accidents. She had more accidents in the house but she also went more regularly outside and she made the connection between “potty” and treats. She also really began to understand what I wanted from her when I said “Potty, Casey”. She would immediately start sniffing around.

The third night marked a huge advancement in housebreaking. There was no crying at bedtime and she woke with a clean crate. Yay, what a good puppy!! I took her outside and she peed and pooped immediately. She got her treats and we came inside. What a breakthrough! She has never had an accident in her crate since. The accidents in the house have gotten fewer and fewer as well since she realizes that she is not rewarded for them. We even went two days (day 10 & 11) without ANY accidents in the house at all. Hopefully this continues! It looks like she is well on her way to being fully housebroken. She is getting better at holding it and letting us know she needs to go and we are getting better at anticipating her needs. I suppose you could say we are being trained almost as much as she is!

Selecting and training a puppy - the way Victorians saw it

You can nearly always count on late 19th century writers to come up with elegant ways to discuss just about anything. Here I have a few delightful passages from S. T. Hammond's "Practical Dog Training" (1885)

"We do not claim absolute perfection for our system, nor that one can by adopting it invariably succeed in turning out a well-trained, well-behaved dog, for we know that with dogs as with men we often find one who, for lack of brains, will never amount to much, no matter what pains we take with him.

In selecting a puppy there are many things to be taken into consideration. In the first place we must be sure that both sire and dam are first-class field performers. This we consider of the utmost importance. They must also be possessed of endurance, and must be reasonably intelligent. The more ancestors of this type our puppy can boast the better will he suit us. He must also have life and ambition; indeed, we care not how high-strung he is, for although he may not submit to restraint quite so readily as his sleepy brother, yet when we once have him under subjection, he will not only mind more quickly, but he will do his work better, and much more of it. Of course he must be well formed, and we should like him to be of good color and coat; but these last are not indispensable, as we much prefer good performance to good looks.

Having selected our puppy, we will take him home when he is six to eight weeks old, and at once begin his education. Many writers will tell you that your dog should be mueh older before you begin to instill into his mind even the rudiments of knowledge. If you are going to pursue their system of instruction, we should advise you by all means to put off the evil day as long as possible; but if you are to follow our plan, begin at once; not a moment is to be lost. In the first place you must secure his affection and entire confidence. This will be the first lesson, and nothing more should be attempted until you have completely won his heart and taught him to place the utmost confidence in you. At this tender age his mind is easily impressed, and will long retain the ideas then formed; and it will take but a few days to teach him to love you with all his heart. If possible, give him a good roomy pen on the ground, with a warm, well-sheltered house or box in which to lie. Do not forget that he will be very lonesome for a few days, and therefore glad to see you often; and you cannot better employ your time than in paying him a visit every half hour for the first day or two. Always, when you go to see him, have a bit of something for him to eat that he will relish. As you approach the pen you should invariably blow upon your whistle the note that you intend to use to call him in. We sound a long note for this purpose, beginning loud and gradually dying away. This, with a short, sharp note to attract attention, is all the signal we ever sound upon the whistle; the last we do not use until his education is further advanced. By associating this long note with something good to eat, it will soon become fixed in his mind that when he hears it he must run to you as fast as he can. We much prefer to have two puppies, for it takes no more time to teach them both than it does to teach one, as they will learn from each other; and if one is inclined to be dilatory we withhold his reward, and he, seeing the other one enjoying his customary allowance while he is himself deprived of his share, at once comprehends the true reason, and will be on hand the next time."

Puppy teething

Speaking of chewing, one of our first issues with Casey was her constant biting. Not necessarily on things around the house, but on us! She was using her new family as a four-pack of human chew toys. And while she was gentle and never bit hard, the novelty of this wears off VERY quickly. It took about a week of trial and error for me to realize that holding her muzzle firmly shut, coupled with a stern “NO!” works wonders. She quickly stopped gnawing on us and now turns all of her “almost” bites into licks — much appreciated by all the arms in our house. She still has plenty of doggie approved chew toys for her teething needs.

Getting our dog

So, we did it. Somehow it happened. It probably had something to do with the pressure of having two persistent daughters and an empty backyard, but for whatever reason, we gave in...and got a dog. And while this may not sound like anything too extraordinary for most people, for two cat people who know nothing about dogs, this was a HUGE event.

On June 8, 2010, we adopted an 18-week old German Shepherd mix puppy named Casey. She was very friendly (exceptionally so) and seemed like a good, safe fit for our family. She was submissively calm when held and yet adequately confident. Our biggest concern was her potential size. We have no idea how big she is going to get, but we shall see soon enough. For now, we find ourselves navigating uncharted waters and figuring out the dos and don'ts of dog rearing. Hopefully, we haven't bitten off more than we can chew!