Life and Times of a First Time Puppy Owner!

Willie Escapes!

2011-06-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

Willie was on the run this evening after slipping his collar on our nice and peaceful walk with Pam and her dog Jojo. I tried everything from running the other way, to bribing him with treats, but Willie only had one thing on his mind..... running wild, and free. Thankfully this story does have a happy ending I was able to grab onto the other end of the toy he was carrying, and he followed me home. I realized that Willie's recall skills out on walks are lacking, and he has a lot of training in his future. My form of punishment when we got home was telling him he was a bad boy, and ignoring him till he fell asleep. I was so disappointed with myself, but at the same time I have to remind myself that Willie is still young, and that one day he will come to me when called! Until then I have made a mental note to make sure that his collar is tightly secure around his neck before we leave the house, and this is a good reminder for all of you puppy owners to make sure your pups collars are secure as well. I think this adventure has given me a few new gray hairs :)

Bow Wow Beach!

2011-06-19T16:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday We took Willie to Bow Wow Beach, and had a great time! Much to my surprise Willie actually jumped into the lake, and then quickly swam back out, but he really seemed to enjoy the water. And if you haven't read my other posts....Willie hates water! Not only did Willie get to experience swimming, but he also did some great socializing. He made friends with a pup named Lily. Lily was following Willie everywhere he went! Lily's owner was very excited to see Lily making friends with another pup. She told me that Lily usually does not like other dogs, and was happy that her pup had finally made a friend!

Unfortunately we did encounter a few roudy dogs. At one point three dogs had Willie pinned on his back, and seemed to be out for blood. Kevin had to go in and push the other dogs off of Willie while their owners were just standing back yelling at their pups to not do that. One of them kept yelling "get off of that dog" Sadly not one of them came over to remove their dog off of Willie. Fortunately Willie did not get hurt and/or agress back, but it could have become an all out brawl had Willie decided to fight. After Willie escaped he ran off and hid under a park bench, and was whimpering. I really gave the other owners a good scowl before heading over to where Willie was hiding out. Only one of the other owners came over to apologize. I am really hoping this experience does not cause Willie to fear other big dogs in the future. After all of that Willie wanted to run around the whole lake one more time, and then we headed out!

The only downfall....we had one wet and stinky dog!

After Bow Wow Beach we headed over to Kevin's Dads house for a Father's Day cookout. We had a good time! Willie did get over tired, and after a few hours was ready to go home. All in all it was a great day, and we will definitely have to go back to Bow Wow Beach again before the Summer ends!

On another note Willie went to the Groomer's this morning, and did great! The girl said that he was only nervous while getting bathed (again fear of the water), but did great with the clipping of the nails, and also with the trimming of the fur! I was so proud :) After all of the excitement Willie is one pooped out pup, and will probably sleep till tomorrow!

The Top Ten Things Willie Barks At!

2011-06-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

The top ten things Willie barks at:

10. Plastic Bags - Willie likes to bark at plastic bags that are blowing around outside. I think that he must think they are Aliens. He first starts to bark at it, and then starts to growl if it comes to close!

9. Signs (Real estate, Little kids stop signs...etc.) - When the real estate sign was first put up across the street Willie apparently noticed it that night, and started to bark at it, so I took him across to smell it. After smelling it, and walking around it he barked at it one more time, and walked away! The sign must have barked back!

8. Big Diesel Trucks - There is this guy on our street that has a big black diesel truck, and when he drives it down the street he feels it necessary to rev his engine, and squeal his tires. So to this day Willie still barks at it when he drives by....JERK!

7. People/Things that go by the house at night - My favorite thing that Willie does is barking at objects that are in the yard at night. The other night Willie started to bark at something that was outside the window so I went and took a look, and what did we have sitting on our front lawn.....a small branch! It must have been very intimidating!

6. The Paper Boy at 4AM - This is not every morning, but some mornings I am awoken by Willie barking at the Paper Boy who is delivering the paper to our Neighbor. I keep trying to tell Willie that the Paper Boy is next door....he doesn't seem to understand!

5. Our Cat Grey when he is throwing up a hair ball - Gross I know, but not something that one would bark at. I think Willie thinks Grey is barking at him when this is going on, but I'm just not sure....and yes he has to bark every time this happens

4. The mean little Chi's that moved in next door - Now that the new dog's next door have tried to attack , Willie now has to bark at them anytime they come outside. I know that he just feels threatened because...well they tried to bite him, but it's quite annoying. We have had other dogs live next door, and Willie never barked at them. And actually there is a little Wiener Dog that lives on the other side of us that is constantly barking at Willie, and he has not once barked back! Hopefully with time Willie will forget about the incident, and stop barking!

3. Blow up lawn ornaments - The blow-up Santa, and Easter Bunny are Willie's Arch Nemesis, and to make matters worse one evening as we were walking by an elaborate blow-up ornament display a big wind came along and blew Santa and his Train across the persons yard towards us as we were walking. Willie started to growl, and was in attack mode. There were no amount of treats to calm him from this incident!

2. Vacuum Cleaner (And any parts/attachments) - Willie really has gotten better with this one, but he still will let out a small whimper whenever I bring the Vacuum Cleaner out. The hysterical part is he will bark at the attachments even when they are not attached to the Vacuum. I just don't know!

1. Motorcycles - This is the tough one. Willie literally freaks out when a motorcycle goes by on our walks, and even when Kevin starts up our's in the driveway. I have tried everything from letting him sniff at it while it is off, and treating him when he touches it with his nose, but as soon as it is turned on he starts barking, growling, and grabbing onto his leash. I know that this means he is deathly afraid of it, so we turn off the motor, and try the process again. I really feel bad about this one, because I know that it is loud and scary to him.

This list is pretty long, but the barking definitely does not occur on a daily basis....well except for when the little buggers are let out next door. I just think that Willie barks at the funniest things, and it makes me laugh!

The New Pup's Next Door

2011-06-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago an older lady moved into the house next door. I had heard that she had a couple of Chihuahua's, and I was pretty excited to see if our dogs would get along! So, yesterday morning while Willie and I were enjoying some peace and quiet on the back patio I finally got to meet the pup's.

I was taking a sip of my coffee and I had heard her back door open, and looked up to see if she was bringing the pup's out, and to my dismay she was not bringing them out, but only letting them out the back door unleashed to wreak havoc on my lovely Sunday morning. They darted out their back door barking up a storm, and had their sights set on Willie who had been lounging underneath the large tree in our back yard. Both of the little Chi's made a B-Line straight for Willie barking and growling the whole way over. I had gotten up and out of my seat and made my way to Willie. I was trying to get in between the three of them, but to no avail one of the fat little Chi's had slipped between my legs, and was in attack mode. Fortunately Willie ran off in the other direction, and I was able to get the mean little Chi's attentions, and had them follow me back to their yard.

The older lady was sweet enough, and apologized for her pup's behaviour. I immediately felt bad because she was wheelchair bound, and obviously not able to take the dog's out on a leash herself, but she still should have a tie-out for them, or some kind of fenced outdoor area. (Which she thankfully did set up a fenced outdoor area for them!)

I have decided I am going to offer to walk her pup's a few times a week! Hopefully by the end of the summer Willie will have some new buddies to play with, and the pup's next door will be better behaved! :)

Fun and Games!!

2011-06-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

Fun and Games

1. "Go Find Furby"

On Sunday we got Willie a new toy, and he carries this toy around like it's his baby. He sleeps with it, carries it around the house, and even brings it on our walks. This morning when I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk he immediately jumped off the couch ran into the kitchen and came back out with this toy in his mouth. So for kicks I've named his new toy Furby, and have started up a new game with him called "Go Find Furby!" Pretty simple....I let Willie smell his Furby, go hide Furby in an obvious location while Willie is not looking, and then I yell out "Willie...Go find Furby!" And Willie does just that! Eventually I will really start to hide Furby...Ie: under a blanket, in his toy box etc... Willie is such an intelligent dog, and I really believe that most dogs are intelligent, but just need a little push. I've found that this game also wears him out after about four or five times of running around tyring to find Furby!

2. "Hide and Seek"

Yes you can play hide and seek with your pup! Willie and I play a couple times a week. The game not only mentally stimulates him, but it is also a great form of excercise. The first step is to put your pup in the sit position, and tell him to stay (Of course he will have to have been taught sit and stay before this game can be played!)..Once you've told him to stay go and find a place to hide...I find behind the bathroom door, or next to the bed are good spots! Once you are in place yell (your dogs name) and then "Come Find Me!" Willie immediately runs around the house looking for me, and he usually passes up my hiding space once or twice! Once your pooch finds you immediately praise him, and you can even give him a treat if you want! This game is perfect for getting the kids involved with helping train your pup!

3. Touch Game

This game is quite simple, and I've used it to help with our nipping problem. The goal of the game is to get your pup to lightly touch your hand with his nose without opening his mouth! To start have a treat at the ready...take your open hand and hold it close to your pooch and wait for him/her to go in for a smell, and as soon as they are touching your hand with their nose say "Touch" and then immediately treat! Repeat the action until your pup seems to be catching on. At this point you should be able to move your open hands into different locations, say "Touch" and your pup should immediately touch his nose to your open hand! This games has helped immensely with Willies bad nipping habits. If you have children this can be extremely useful for really nippy puppies! In our experience the "No Bite"/Ignoring did not work, but it may with a different pup! This game is not very physical but it is a great way to work your pooches brain, and get him/her to relax!

So for those of you looking for some new games to play with your dog these games are perfect!

Or perhaps I'm the only one that plays games with her pooch!!

Oh Willie!

2011-05-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to me the emotions that animals pick up on. Even the kitties sense when there is sadness or stress in the room. They usually show their love by rubbing up against my leg, or by putting a paw on my knee and looking up at me to make sure I'm okay. Willie on the other hand (being so young) shows his love by ransacking the house! This past week has been rather stressful, and I believe Willie is picking up on it. I have been trying my best to leave the stress at the door, but sometimes it seems to sneak in without my permission wreaking havoc in it's path. Yesterday before I knew it Willie had pulled all of the pillows off of the couch and was swinging them around like they were his stuffed monkey. He then proceeded to drag both of the blankets off of the couch, and in a moments notice our living room looked like a windstorm had blown through. I tried everything from basic commands to cheese to get him to focus, and at last it was the jingling of the keys that did the trick...although they also seemed to scare him. My next task was getting all of the pillows and blankets back onto the couch without Willie joining in the fun, so instead of sparking a new game of pulling on the blankets I stuck him out back on his tie out for 2 minutes so that I could make the living room look like a living room.

So today before entering the house I need to remember to take a deep breath and put a smile on, and hope that Willie can sense that I am at ease!

So just remember the next time your little Fido is rampaging through the house like a bull who is focused on that red towel; there may be a little stress or tension in the house that is making the pups upset! So take a deep breath and count to 10, and try to alleviate there stress by alleviating yours!

Keeping Positive!

2011-05-23T07:19:00.000-07:00

Willie has now been with us for a little over a year. There were many tears, and lots of laughs. The tears were due to the frustration of Willie's incessant crazy behavior. There were days when he just would not stop nipping. Whenever he wasn't getting his way he would literally throw a temper tantrum. I found ignoring him was the trick, and then quickly praising him when he would gain control. Willie was a tough case, but I never once wanted to re-home him. I knew that I just had to go the extra mile with him, and that eventually his antics would fade away.

I did attempt to bring in a trainer, I talked to a few, and went with this guy out of Strongsville. Once he arrived for our first training session I quickly realized that the methods he used were not the methods I would ever use or even recommend. He firmly believed that you must make your dog submit to you. He even wanted us to use a choke collar with the prongs on it during training sessions. As soon as he brought that collar out I immediately made him put it away. From that moment on I knew this hour was going to be a long one, and I couldn't wait for him to leave. Willie of course was over excited, and was bouncing around all over the place, and the trainer immediately grabbed onto his leash and jerked it; which made Willie stop bouncing around, but also made him fear this man that had come into our house. I do not believe harming a puppy will make him respect you more. In fact I firmly believe it will only make your dog distrust, and fear you. I definitely did not want Willie thinking that he could not trust me. I let the trainer finish up the hour with Willie, and was happy to see him go.

After that day I did a lot of research on positive puppy training and the great affects it had on a dogs behavior. I began working with these training techniques and after months of daily training Willie went from a crazy dog to a more relaxed pup! Certainly there are still times where Willie will regress into his old ways by nipping when he is excited, nervous, or stressed. He will still grab at the leash trying to get me to join in the fun and games while on a walk. In those times I just have to remind myself that I need to stay calm, ignore him, and then quickly praise or treat him when he settles. Finally in the last Month or so I saw a wonderful side in Willie that reinforced my belief that he is going to be a great dog. On our walk we came across three little girls ages 3-5 playing in their driveway, and Willie approached them and immediately laid down, rolled onto his back, and was begging them to come over and rub his belly. I tensed up slightly, but immediately relaxed when I looked down at him with all three little ones petting, prodding, and poking him, and he seemed to have a smile on his face. Before we continued on I gave the girls each a treat to give to Willie, so that he will always associate them as something positive!

At a year and three months Willie has come a long way, but I know that training is for life, and must always be conducted in a positive manor.

Keeping a Schedule!

2011-05-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

I think the most important thing I learned over the last year is that dogs like structure. Little Fido wants a schedule of things that he/she is going to do everyday! I learned this by having a set schedule for about the first 5 months, and then my work schedule changed, and so did Kevin's, So even though I didn't have to get up at 6 am anymore Willie still expected me to get up, and when I wasn't getting up he demanded that I get out of bed. He would do things like pull on the covers, paw at my head, lick my face etc.

So with that I firmly believe a schedule will help keep your dog semi-behaved! At least it does for Willie, and I do notice a difference when the schedule changes slightly. For example there is a thunderstorm going on during our normal walking time. Willie still expects to go on a walk, so he starts by grabbing at the leash, then he grabs the leash and brings it to me, then it progresses to him grabbing the leash and running back and forth between me and the door, so on and so forth. After being entertained by this I get up and distract him by grabbing his toy, or maybe by doing a little training session.

Remember not everyone gets an easy puppy, so be prepared to spend at least 3-4 hours per day with your dog! And even if your pup is easy going you should still be spending 3-4 hours per day with them. Personally I am dedicated to Willie, and I don't have children so he gets a little more attention throughout the day, but he is also a very hyper-active little guy that needs a little extra exercise, and even the extra I give him is usually not enough!

So here is a little example of a simple schedule you can keep with your pet, and remember to involve the whole family...especially the little ones. Keeping everyone interacting with your pooch will help him/her trust all of you even more, and will help them feel more comfortable, and at ease!

So in the morning be sure to have at least an hour or more to dedicate to your pup before heading off to work. First thing would be get out there on a walk. Go at least a mile, and this could take 15-30 minutes depending on how quickly your pup walks. Willie is a sniffer, and sometimes it's hard to get him going, but I find the quicker you walk the more attentive your pup will be! Now I try to incorporate little trainings while we are walking. If Willie's attention span is really off that day I may do some look at me training. So when Willie's attention seems to shift to something other than the walk I will stop, say "look", and wait until he turns around and looks at me. Once he does I will either praise or treat him, and then we will be on our way again. Repeat when needed! This will definitely add a little more time to your walk, but it also gets your pups mind working; which can also help wear him out!

When you get back home feed the animals! Whether you have 1 or 5 get everyone fed, and then get ready for your day. By the time you are done getting ready your pup will probably be done eating, and would have had the chance to digest his meal before his one final play or training time before you leave for work or school. If you happen to catch him sleeping let him sleep, and finish up what is needed and leave for the day. I always make sure that Willie has plenty of things to keep him occupied while I am gone. I personally have never used a crate, and never would, but if you do make sure it is big enough for your dog, so that he/she can stand up tall, and also be able to turn all the way around with out any trouble. Before Willie was fully potty trained we used the kitchen as his "home" we would gate it off so that he would not have access to any other part of the house! He had a little dog house in his area to sleep in, plenty of toys to play with, and usually a bone to chew on. (Make sure you are giving your dog toys and chews that are big enough so that they cannot swallow them whole!)

Lunchtime: I personally have worked at companies that are close enough to home, so that I can go home at lunch, and let Willie out, and then I spend a good 10-15 minutes of throwing the ball. If it's nice we will play ball outside. This really seems to wear him out pretty quickly! Before i would head back to work I would introduce a new chewy, or toy so that he had something to keep him busy for another hour or two! (A good thing to do especially on warm days....fill a kong with some peanut butter and stick it in the freezer before you leave in the morning, and then when you come home at lunch the kong should be nice and frozen, and highly entertaining!)

If you can't get home to your pup for long periods of time I highly recommend hiring someone to come over to let him/her our, or having a friend, or family member stop by. I had to use my dad one or two times, because I wasn't going to be able to let Willie out at lunch. Now some may think this is spoiling your dog, but Willie was pretty young, and young pups definitely cannot hold there pee as long as say a 2 year old pup can! Another option is puppy day care. There are plenty of centers around, and they are fairly inexpensive, and this will actually be a good socializing experience for your pooch!

Evening: You've been at work all day, and your poor pup has been cooped up. All you want to do is come in and relax. Think again!!! The minute I get home I give Willie about 3 minutes to settle down, and then I immediately get him ready for our evening walk. The evening walk tends to be longer. We typically go about 1 1/2 to 2 miles, and we are usually gone for about an hour. I use the same techniques as I did for the morning walk. Usually there are twice as many distractions! Kids, other dogs, babies crying, guys mowing the lawn, balls flying through the air etc....In the evening I tend to follow the same route.....I do this because I know that Willie knows the route, and he also knows the people, and dogs on the route, and this makes him happy, and also tends to make him a tired pup by the time we get back! On our route he has made a lot of puppy friends....we have JoJo, Charlie, Bella, Digger, Marley, Maddie, Nacho, Yogi, and Lily. This is a great thing to keep in mind when you are walking! Help your pup make friends, and in turn you may make a friend or two as well!

After your walk....it's feeding time! (Again get the whole family involved...unless little Fido is food aggressive). Once the animals are eating you can take the time to make dinner, eat, and even relax! Now I do not have any children at home, so I usually do this stuff on my own....sometimes Kevin pitches in, but with him working third shift it's a little hard, but we make do! But if you do have children be sure to get them involved. In the evening after homework and before bed have them play in the yard with your pup, or play a game in the house! The evening is also the perfect time to do a short 5 minute training session. By bedtime your pup should be ready for bed!!!

**Forgot to mention....the Most important thing about keeping your pup on a schedule: The potty schedule will always be the same!

Walking Tactics!

2011-05-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

I had given up on the blogging, because I had so many changes in life the blog sort of took a backseat, but fortunately all has settled (somewhat), and I am back to blogging! I am sure all of my 2 followers are absolutely thrilled! Let's jump right back into the saddle.....

The Walk

For the past year Willie and I have walked every day at least twice a day, sometimes three times per day. Rain, snow, wind, cold etc did not stop me from taking my pup out for a stroll. It has helped Willie and I build an excellent bond, and has also kept him fit, and not so crazy when it's time to relax.

Many of my neighbors have confessed that they just do not want to bring their pooches out because they are either, pullers, aggressive towards other dogs, or just crazy all together.

On that note I just want to say to all the doggy moms and dads out there....a dog needs to get out of the house, and needs to be walked on a daily basis. It helps build there confidence, and also helps to socialize them by exposing them to many different situations. Just remember your first time out may not be perfect but there are trainings that can help your dog behave properly when out for a walk, and remember it all starts before you even walk out the door.

I will give you some pointers based on what worked for me and willie. Keep in mind each dog is different, and you may need to switch up the training to suit you and your dogs needs.

Pointer number one:

Before even attempting to leave the house your dog should have learned all of the basic commands including "leave it" I firmly believe the "leave it" command should be added to the basic list of commands that every dog should be taught. This command will come in handy when there is an object on the ground that your pup wants to pick up and eat, but it may be dangerous for him to do so. The catch is you must see the object before your pup focuses in on it, and assuming you've taught him the command at home; you would state "leave it!", and hopefully he/she listens and just walks right on by said object!

Pointer number two:

Now that we've established the importance of basic commands we can move on to getting that pup out and about. First and foremost is to make sure your pup is calm and in a sitting position before stepping out of the house. Remember patience is the key. Once you've gotten the leash on and you are standing by the door "wait" for your pup to sit his bottom down and settle. This could take a minute if he has already learned this, or it could take 10 minutes if he's a newbie. This is where that sit command comes in handy. You can tell your pup to sit (only once), and then wait for him to sit. Once he is sitting take the time to get out the door in a calm manner. This will make your walk much easier. By using the "wait" command get your pup to sit calmly until you are able to open the door without him bolting. At which point you can release him/her from the sit position with an "ok", or whatever word you choose. This again can be modified depending on your dog. And always remember to be positive, and even reward with a treat to reinforce the good behavior.

Pointer number three:

Now that you've made it out of the house the goal is to keep fido from dragging you down the sidewalk. The minute your pup pulls say "Ooops', or "Uh-Oh" and turn around in the other direction walk for five paces, and then turn around the other way, and continue on. Repeat the above steps until your pup is walking like a champ. (If your dog is food motivated the training might go a little quicker with some sort of treat, and or lots of praise, or even a ball to carry with him. Anything that reinforces the good walking!) Keep in mind your first week out may only get you a couple houses down, but don't give up. And remember to make it fun.

The above pointer will take months to master, but do not get discouraged because in no time you will have a pup that is walking tall next to you.

**Keep in mind that every dog is different and may require extra training techniques to deal with leash grabbing, inattention to you, barking at other dogs in the neighborhood, etc....

Willie was relentless with the leash grabbing. He still attempts to snag on to it, but with a quick "enough" he does drop it pretty quickly. I've found that this usually means he is bored, and is looking for some sort of entertainment. I usually bring along a stick, or some other toy that Willie can carry for the rest of our walk. This seems to work. I will say that Willie has not perfected the walk, but he is getting there. I am sure by the time July roles around he will be walking like a pro!

**If your pup is anything like crazy Willie ( I firmly believe he has dog ADD), patience is the key. Terriers love to chase little furry things, they love to run, jump, and such. It might help to play a little in the house or perhaps in the yard before you attempt to walk your little monsters. This way they may be a little tuckered out, and hopefully more attentive while walking. I find with Willie that keeping his attention on me is still very hard. I've been working with the "look" command quite a bit lately, and that has helped a little bit, but I know that with Willie's attention span my daily trainings will probably take a little longer than others, but I am not going to give up!

Remember: Patience, patience, and more patience!

Willie Training!

2010-06-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

Since the day we brought Willie home I started training him. He learned sit, and down with no problems whatsoever! I make him sit before receiving meals, going outside, getting treats (as a reward), leashing, and playing fetch. I have found the word "sit" does not even need to be used..he knows that he has to sit before doing any of the aforementioned times! The same to be said with down; which I have used to give treats, and when attempting to practice stay...(I will admit I haven't spent hours on this training....we have gotten up to about 10 seconds of Willie staying in one spot without moving), and I've also used down when I come home from work as a way to calm him down...this never works, but I will keep trying! Training Willie to "come" on command has also been a real treat...sometimes it works, and other times it doesn't. I like to call it selective hearing. When we are outside, and Willie is on his tie-out "come" only works when there is a treat (cheese) dangling from my fingers. Inside "come" works 95% of the time...it usually does not work when he is concentrating on a kitty that is laying on the other side of the puppy gate.

The play biting has gotten mildly better, but I still haven't found a way to nix it all together. It seems that we have gone through all of the suggested methods:

Trading your hand with a toy (Never worked)

Stopping play all together (which in some circumstances is very difficult)

Spray bottle (Willie finds this as a game!)

Growling at him (Only excites him more, but seemed to work for about 20 seconds)

Ignoring him all together (again hard especially when the play biting occurs when on the couch)

Time Outs (We've used the excersice pen as his time-out spot...this seems to diffuse the situation for at least 10 minutes after his time-out has ended. Note: Time-outs last between 5 and 10 minutes)

Play biting (snappy alligator syndrome) can become very frusturating at times, and it takes all the patience in the world to keep calm, cool and collected. Play biting seems to escalate during the teething stage; which thankfully isn't forever!

I have recently started to work on "leave it" I started this after Willie became obsessed with anything resembling a paper towel, and once he would get ahold of said "paper towel" he would refuse to let go, and would put up an immense fight; which I have always won, but it was very concerning when he would growl and snap during these altercations. Now this has only happened 3 times, and they all occured outside. People in our neighborhood find that our tree lawn looks like the perfect spot to dump their used tissues, paper towels, and napkins. I have now made it a point to make sure the area is clear before we venture out. But I definitely need to put a stop to Willie agressively guarding anything paper. Thankfully he doesn't react to me grabbing anything else out of his jaws! If anyone has any suggestions on how to get Willie to stop this behavior....I am all ears! :)

I will be signing Willie up for Puppy Kindergarten in July, and I hope this will help train Willie, and myself :)

With a puppy you must have patience, perserverence, and constistency! When you have two full time workers in your family training may take a little longer than you would like, but be rest assured you will get there....we haven't mastered it yet, but I know we will!

Puppy Play Time!

2010-06-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

Willie is now 5 months old (as of today!), and he is still full of energy, and spunk. I quickly learned that Willie needs at least 3 walks per day! Now I'm sure every puppy is different, but Willie is far from being an A+ walker. Somedays are better than others! First thing to do is get that pesky leash on! Willie still fights me when I try to put on the leash, and the only thing that works is giving him a treat first, and then putting on the leash. I don't know when this will change, but I'm sure in due time :) On this mornings walk we left the house at 6:30. I make sure to always walk the same route otherwise I have a feeling we will be gone for hours, and unfortunately I do have to get to work! The walk started out great, Willie picked up his stick (he will carry it for most of the walk!), and off we went. Now our route isn't very long...If I were to walk it by myself it would probably take 8 minutes or so with Willie it can take up to 1/2 hour! We got about halfway, and Willie started the sniffin....he lost all interest in the stick he had been carrying, and began to sniff almost every leaf that was laying on the sidewalk. This lasted the rest of our walk. We finally got back home at 7:09, and that was only because there was a thunderstorm coming. I personally do not know how to change this behavior. A treat will work temporarily, but I do not just want to give him 10 treats to get him to walk around the block! I try to act excited, and say "Come On Boy!", throwing the stick works, but it only gets Willie to where the stick lands, and then he's back to sniffing the leaves. I will admit that I have let him just sniff around on the weekends, hoping this will curb his interest a little, and that short walk took us 1 hour. I am not sure what else to do, and switching up the route has not helped at all! I'm sure this will change with age, but for now I am just trying to be patient!

When we aren't walking Willie is in constant play, and i've tried the time out in the pen hoping he may fall asleep; which he never does, but the pen has come in handy, and Willie doesn't make a fuss when we put him in it! The pen is actually an excersise pen that Kevin and I picked up at Pet Supplies Plus for like $30. It's approx 4x6, and can be folded down to any size that you want. It has been perfect for when Willie starts to Nip hard we can give him a quick time out..(no longer than 5-10 minutes), and it does stop the nipping for about an hour, but I am sure in time it will help stop the nipping all together! Willie has also put himself in there for timeout! hehe! The pen can also be used as a gate! It was just a great buy! I would recommed every puppy owner have one :)

When it's nice out I love to let Willie play outside....the down fall was our backyard is not fenced, so the next best thing is a tie-out! Kevin actually made one out of rope, and some clips! One end ties around a tree and the other end clips onto Willies harness, and voila...Willie loves it! He loves to run after the frisbee, roll around on the ball, and chew on sticks, and the greatest thing is that I am not constantly holding onto his leash! And unlike going on a walk Willie seems to get more tuckered out and is usually ready to come back in after about 15 minutes or so! We haven't had any temper tantrums after playing outside on the tie-out, but we have had many temper tantrums when it's time to go back inside after a walk!

Just keep in mind that a puppy requires lots of attention and play time....I'm sure you know this, but be sure to have chewies, bones, and lots of toys to keep your puppy pre-occupied! Most of your free time is spent walking, playing, and training! You will have me time when your puppy takes a 20 minute nap! Don't just stick your puppy in his crate because you want some time to yourself! Kevin has been awesome we do take turns taking Willie out, and he will even play with him in the evenings when I have to get the coffee ready, and the dishes done! But if you are single then you will have to work out a schedule! Just know what time each day your pup naps, and be ready to get those everyday tasks done while the pup is napping! Willie tends to nap (based on Sat. and Sun), at 10:30, 1:30, 4:00, and then again at 7, and he will then go to sleep around 11pm. The naps last anywhere from a 1/2 hour to 2 hours! And on the weekends that is the time to get cleaning done, and catch up on our shows that we DVR'd! Puppies will not be puppies forever, and I can already tell that I will probably miss these puppy days, but I know that I still have quite some time left to enjoy it! :)

Socialize, Socialize, Socialize!

2010-06-22T05:09:00.000-07:00

From the day we brought him home we started to take Willie out so that he could meet other people and animals. It is so important to socialize your puppy! So far we haven't come across anyone/animal that he didn't like. He seems to get along best with male dogs that are bigger than he is. He doesn't seem to be afraid of their massive size. He definitely thinks he's bigger than he really is :) He is very active, and so far we have only found one other dog that has just as much energy as he does...unfortunately the other pup lives all the way out in Northfield. Hopefully we can find Willie a closer playmate that has just as much energy and spunk that he does!

Willie loves to take walks, or should I say walk halfway around the block and then just plop down in some random persons tree lawn looking around, and hoping a stranger will come up to pet him. If he sees people walking down the sidewalk he will sit and wait till they come up to him...(and of course they have to pet him!) I let people approach Willie to pet him however I do advise them to not act too excited, because he is a puppy, and if they get him too excited he will probably pee on their feet..(Which he has done to the girls across the street numerous times....hehehe!) I believe that getting your puppy out into the neighborhood to meet other people and their dogs is so important. We've only come across one friendly dog in the neighborhood. All the rest will bark, and be obnoxious as we walk by. I've even noticed a couple of people that when they are out walking their dogs (Usually without a leash...) if they see me out in the yard with Willie they will grab their dog by the collar and take him across the street, and will continue to hold their collar until they have passed the house. (Note: Willie hasn't barked at another person or dog since the day we brought him home..this is highly unusual for a puppy, and we count our blessings every day!!)

I've found that Petco has a free puppy social every other week.....you can take your puppy out for a couple hours and it is supervised by a trainer. She seems to be willing to answer any questions you may have about training your puppy, and again it's free! I took Willie a couple of times, and he loved it.

I've heard that dog parks are fun! Willie isn't neutered yet, so we haven't tried them out, but be assured that once he is snipped and clipped we will be heading out to the dog park! What a great way to have your puppy burn off some energy and also meet other doggies!

I firmly believe if you start to take your puppy out to meet other people the day he comes home you will have a pup who loves everyone!

Willie has been pretty easy to socialize, we have had a couple of issues, and they only occur at home. When we've had visitors Willie just gets way to excited he will jump up on our visitors (which is very annoying), and demands constant attention from one of them...usually the female! So far removing him from the room seems to be the only way to get him to calm down, but even after repetedly doing so he still is so excited to have people over at the house. (Thankfully he doesn't piddle on them in the house...lol ) It will usually take at least an hour to get him to relax. If you watch any of those Dog Whisperer shows it will seem like it takes Ceaser 10 minutes to get the pup to calm down around visitors...I don't think so! Other than that Willie has been easy to socialize he loves going for rides, and when we go to visit with friends and family he really is an angel while we are at their home. And again he doesn't bark...(except at the broom and the vacuum cleaner!)

Puppy Woes...Never Trust The Shop Owner

2010-06-21T05:08:00.000-07:00

As I had mentioned in my previous Blog never trust the shop owner...

The day we picked Willie up the shop owner assured us that Willie was as healthy as can be. I even mentioned that we had two cats at home, so I wanted to be sure that we could just go ahead and let Willie wander around for a little bit when we got home.....again the shop owner (Best in Pets, Elyria) said Willie was really healthy. The next day after Willie had fallen asleep for a nap I noticed something on his belly; which to my horror happened to be a flea. I then took Willie out into the kitchen to assess the situation, and found fleas (live ones) all over we immediately gave Willie a bath (He hated it), after his bath Kevin ran out to get some Frontline, and I began defleaing the house....ugh. After all the commotion Willie was really tuckered out, and layed down for a nap. After his nap he ate, and then went #2, and that was when I saw the worms in his poo. Big long worms in his poo. Fully grown round worms! It was obvious that he had never been dewormed. Thankfully his vet appt was set for Saturday.

Off to the vet we go...(Petmed Clinic, Lorain. A Nightmare!)

We found on the way to the Vet that Willie loves car rides!! He kept trying to get up and stick his head out the window...eventually he just layed down and took a nap!

The vet had Willie come in almost immediately, and he said that it was obvious Willie had roundworms...other than that he was healthy (3lbs), and sent us on our way with meds.

The Saturday after his vet visit Willie woke up, and wouldn't eat, would not even take a treat, and seemed very lathargic, and off balance. I decided to wait a couple of hours to see if his condition would change (he was peeing and pooing, so I wasn't too concerned), but a few hours later he still wouldn't take any food, or water, and he still seemed sluggish, so I called the vet and they said bring him on in. It turned out Willie had become dehydrated. Why you may ask? They didn't know (The Parvo test came out Negative...*sigh*), so they put him on fluids to re-hydrate him, and sent us on our way.

*I had mentioned to the Woman Vet that Willie still seemed to have live worms coming out in his stool, and he had started the Meds over a week ago, and she said "That's normal."

Willie's condition did seem to get better, but he still had the worms. Finally I said we really need to get him back in, and I was able to speak to the vet that we had saw the first time we went, and he said bring him in on Saturday. The Vet immediately apologized, and said "We never gave him the medicine for the Round Worms, we had only given you the meds for the Coccidia." (thanks for telling us about the Coccidia) No wonder why Willie had not been feeling well...he had a belly full of worms for at least 3 weeks! So the Vet admitted that he had made a mistake, and gave us a credit for the amount that we had spent on re-hydrating our little pup. Thankfully we have finally blown through the credit at the Clinic, and will now be taking Willie to the same Vet that we take the Kitties too!

Since then Willie has fully recovered, and at his last vet visit he weighed in at a whopping 10.2lbs :)

In our case not only did the shop owner make a mistake, but the Vet also made a mistake, and thankfully Willie came out unscathed, but he did have a few miserable weeks with worm belly. Today Willie is healthy and full of spunk. Hopefully our new vet will turn out to be more thorough when conducting her exams with Willie.

I guess the lesson we learned was ask the Vet if there is anything of concern...not once, but twice, and be firm about it!

Note: Please don't think that every pup you get from a Pet Shop will be ill, but there is a good chance that they will have some sort of ailment. Pet Shop puppies need homes too. Just remember before you go in and adopt that Pet Shop puppy in the window you may come across some minor, or even major illnesses. Thankfully Willie had a warranty with him, and the ShopOwner did cover the costs for the de-worming.

Bringing Home a New Puppy! (Day One)

2010-06-18T05:43:00.001-07:00

Over the past year Kevin and I have been looking for a new puppy...online, at pet shops, in the local paper, and just could never decide on one. Did we want a small dog, a medium sized, long haired, short haired, Yorkie Poo, Chihuahua, Lab, Collie, Pomeranian, puppy, 2 year old, senior...etc. There just seemed to be so many choices, but thankfully with all the information on the web we finally came up with some criteria. We definitely wanted a puppy, who would grow to be no larger than our 22lb kitty, and hair length did not matter. So the search began...again! Finally on April 3, 2010 Kevin and I were out riding around, and decided to stop in at the local pet shop and look at the puppies, and I instantly fell in love with the first puppy I laid eyes on. (Corner Picture: Willie first day we had him home)

The sign said:

(2) Male LH Chihuahua Mix SALE: $250

DOB: 01/24/2010

I had the worker get him out for me...he was so tiny (3lb), but playful. Kevin and I took turns holding him and then we had the worker put him back in the tiny cage, and we left. Once home Kevin started rooting around in our vacation jar. And he comes out with cash, and says..."Lets go get him!" So we did! The shop owner assured us the puppy had a clean bill of health (wrong), would not get any bigger than 8-10lbs (wrong again), and gave us a free vet check with a local vet (nightmare), and we were on our way!

The next decision we had to make was coming up with a name...so of course we turned to facebook! After coming up with three name choices I posted the poll on my wall, and waited for the votes to come in! After about an hour the majority of our friends voted for Willie!

Finally we had a puppy (who was adorable), and life was full of sunshine and rainbows!

First thing we did was feed him...(he must have been starving, because he ate like he had never ate before), and then we gave him a quick wash..(he had been very dirty, and stinky).....(FYI..He hated being washed, and still does). After all the excitement the little guy was tuckered out, he crawled underneath the footstool (shown above), and fell asleep within minutes!

Just a few notes:

Being first time puppy owners Kevin and I really didn't know what to expect. Of course the shop owner assured us that Willie was healthy as can be (he was wrong), and where to let the puppy sleep that first night was also a struggle (even though every website says leave him in the crate all night by himself, I didn't), and Oh yeah....we both work full time jobs (where are we supposed to leave him all day (it wasn't really all day...it was like 4 hours by himself till I came home for lunch, and then another 4 hours until Kevin came home from work), also the advice that most websites give you on what to expect that first month with your new puppy is mostly wrong (at least in our case), and then...to free feed, or not! Just a few of the topics I will be touching on in some upcoming blogs, and hopefully there will be more to add in the coming months....(we are coming up on Neutering time!)

If there are any new puppy owners, or veteran puppy owners please leave me some comments, or words of advice. It's nice to hear other peoples stories of how their dog tore up the couch cushions when they were at work! (Willie has never done that...yet...)

Note:

Willie has now been with us for almost 3 months, and we still love him, and our cats still don't :)