Getting into a Groove
Penelope has been with us for 4 days now. She is getting used to our house and yard, and I think she is used to us already. She seemed comfortable with us from the moment we met her and doted on her. I was completely exasperated the past couple of days with the chewing. I constantly tried to divert her and she would almost immediately go right back to ripping up the rug or using the couch as her favorite chew toy. I don't care about the rug and the furniture. We purposely are holding off on getting nice, new furniture until the chewing is until control. I'm thinking that will be at least a year if not a little longer! But, I just felt like I had no control over the situation because I couldn't get her to chew an actual toy instead of the furniture. And when she really got tired of me saying "No!", "Stop it!" and giving her a nylabone she would just bark or bite my finger. Well, I got the Grannick's to get her attention off the furniture. Its working for now. She acts a little more interested in her toys now, but she is trying to find new things to chew. She's never more than a few feet away from me now! That's been the worst part and we are dealing. I know its a phase and it will get better as long as we are consistent.
So far she does pretty well in the crate. At night when we put her to bed, she makes noise for a minute and calms down. She hasn't made it quite through the night yet (typically, I go to bed at 11:00 or 11:30 and wake up by 5:30). She is usually up at 1-2am, so we take her out and she goes. I think we do need to take her water away a little earlier at night though. I guess this leads to a question. She's only 3 months so, really she can't hold all night, should only be about 4 hours, correct? But, if we wake up to take her out, are we training her to keep doing that when she can hold it? During the day, while we are at work she does well. She does go in the house. But, I can't expect her not to. She stays alone for about 6 or so hours. Not ideal, but I work in a neighboring city and its a half hour one way and my husband is on the other side of town with a half hour lunch, not enough time with the traffic. We don't have anyone that can just take her out at lunch time either. But, she only piddles so, I figure one of those is more than okay for the amount of time. She usually just chills and chews on her little assortment of chew toys.
Potty training is getting better. When she is frantically sniffing and usually in a circle, take her out quickly! We had one accident aside from during the day(which couldn't be helped) when I was getting a sip of water before grabbing the leash to quickly get her out in the front. But, since I caught her in the act, I was able to make the most of it! I think she is catching on. She almost did it this morning, but now when I say no, she stands up straight, looks at me, and lets me get the leash on and we're out! Speaking of the leash, she is tons better on it. She picked up using it really quickly. We just have to spray the bitter apple so she doesn't turn and chew on that though! Things are getting better so, we are enjoying her more. Eating is okay. She will eat about a half a cup of food in the morning, and about one cup at night. Those were our guidelines from our breeder (1/2 cup to 1 cup twice a day). I guess that is good for her, she weighs 10.1 pounds. I'll keep on eye on that to make sure she doesn't lose any. I wanted to bring her to a friend's house tonight so a could of people could meet her, but she can't play with their dog, Wilson (a JRT mix), just yet. So, Penelope and I will have to miss out on that tonight.
All in all we really enjoy her; she is fun, sweet, and a quick learner. I just hope that I can curb the chewing behavior so it doen't become a life-long habit! If you got through this, what a trooper...sorry for the length!
So far she does pretty well in the crate. At night when we put her to bed, she makes noise for a minute and calms down. She hasn't made it quite through the night yet (typically, I go to bed at 11:00 or 11:30 and wake up by 5:30). She is usually up at 1-2am, so we take her out and she goes. I think we do need to take her water away a little earlier at night though. I guess this leads to a question. She's only 3 months so, really she can't hold all night, should only be about 4 hours, correct? But, if we wake up to take her out, are we training her to keep doing that when she can hold it? During the day, while we are at work she does well. She does go in the house. But, I can't expect her not to. She stays alone for about 6 or so hours. Not ideal, but I work in a neighboring city and its a half hour one way and my husband is on the other side of town with a half hour lunch, not enough time with the traffic. We don't have anyone that can just take her out at lunch time either. But, she only piddles so, I figure one of those is more than okay for the amount of time. She usually just chills and chews on her little assortment of chew toys.
Potty training is getting better. When she is frantically sniffing and usually in a circle, take her out quickly! We had one accident aside from during the day(which couldn't be helped) when I was getting a sip of water before grabbing the leash to quickly get her out in the front. But, since I caught her in the act, I was able to make the most of it! I think she is catching on. She almost did it this morning, but now when I say no, she stands up straight, looks at me, and lets me get the leash on and we're out! Speaking of the leash, she is tons better on it. She picked up using it really quickly. We just have to spray the bitter apple so she doesn't turn and chew on that though! Things are getting better so, we are enjoying her more. Eating is okay. She will eat about a half a cup of food in the morning, and about one cup at night. Those were our guidelines from our breeder (1/2 cup to 1 cup twice a day). I guess that is good for her, she weighs 10.1 pounds. I'll keep on eye on that to make sure she doesn't lose any. I wanted to bring her to a friend's house tonight so a could of people could meet her, but she can't play with their dog, Wilson (a JRT mix), just yet. So, Penelope and I will have to miss out on that tonight.
All in all we really enjoy her; she is fun, sweet, and a quick learner. I just hope that I can curb the chewing behavior so it doen't become a life-long habit! If you got through this, what a trooper...sorry for the length!
Comment
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Comment by Charlie on May 21, 2008 at 2:52pm
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Happy to hear the Bitter Apple is working at redirecting the chewing a bit.
Too bad she's not sleeping a little longer for your sake! It is a general rule of about an hour per month old. Each dog will have a little different bladder size and feeling of "I need to go, Now!" I got lucky with Charlie sleeping 6 hours when I got him at 10-11 weeks, and sleeping 8 hours by 12 weeks. I would take the water away 2-3 hours before bedtime, and make her wait a minute or two when she whines before taking her out.
If your friends' JRT is 100% healthy and current on vaccinations, I think it is an ok risk to go ahead and introduce them. Early continued socialization with other dogs is important. Charlie and I skipped formal puppy kindergarden because one of the animal shelters had an outbreak of Parvo and was adopting out puppies which were coming down sick at the time. Puppy school is a great way to socialize, but if you can't then any friends who have immunized, healthy dogs should be relatively safe. Charlie and I visited the neighbors' well-behaved, immunized rottweiler and mixed-breed dogs quite a bit before he finished his shots. (I do have friends, on the other hand, who I'm not sure keep their dogs immunized...so no visits there until we were through with our shots.) Just use your best judgment there.
Since she's alone 6 hours during the day, you might consider a puppy playpen with her crate open in the corner, or gate her in the kitchen. That will give her room to stretch and play a bit, but less area for accidents...and an easier confined area for you to clean. Giving her free run of the house while your gone will just make your housetraining job much harder and take longer.
Good luck. Keep up the great work!
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Comment by Megan and Penelope on May 21, 2008 at 2:00pm
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Thanks, at least we can get sit and stay going. the little neighbor boy was riding his bike and stopped over yesterday saying "I didn't know you had a dog". So I got her to sit and she stayed calm unless he got his bike tire too close to her, but she did surprisingly well with that. I tried uh uh as well, but I'm not sure if it made a difference. I'll try that tonight and watch for an effect.
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Comment by Karen & Bailey on May 21, 2008 at 12:21pm
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oh yea and time out can be as simple as tying her to a stationary object away from items she can play with so she knows its time out (ex. doorknob with door shut) and turning your back on her and walking away and keeping away for a couple minutes. Have her sit or get into the down position before you untie her. if she does again, repeat. =) she'll get it.
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hhaah i like long posts! =P so no worries there. looks like shes going to be super smart, it just takes time. The potty training WILL get better, and it helps if you can walk her before you leave for work. i have a routine in teh morning, where i feed hhim, play with him, train him a little and walk him for 15-20 minutes then leave for work. hes been less "into" the things he shouldnt be into - so i find that he probably sleeps while i am gone, tired from the morning play and walk.
and about meeting other doggies, youll find time will pass by fast. baileys getting his last series on saturday, and were finally going to be able to go to the park! =) maybe you can enroll her in a puppy class to get the socialization going. =P
bailey was able to hold his bladder the entire night at 9 1/2 weeks (with water pickup 2 hhrs before bedtime and a last potty break before being tucked in)- so if they don't whine to be let out - they probably dont need to go.
as for during the day when im working, hes 4 months now and still come home to what i call "presents" , but i expect them, and mostly its because of me, not him. =) when i am home all day, its really good - he won't go inside unless he can't hold it anymore. i havent trained him to let me know ot go out, but i plan on bell training him to do so (he knows now to ring the bell if he wants to go play in the living room vs. kitchen - so im sure i can transition it into the REAL outside at any point).
she sounds like a bit of a chewer. i find that "uh-uh" works more than "no!" with my bailey. he seems to get that more, dont know if its the sound or what. Also, i do put him in time out if i say uh-uh and he does it again. you'll defintely see improvement if you stick to that. bailey knows that my uh-uh means UH-UH!!!!!! when i say it. =P
have fun! and good luck! you're doing fine, and don't be too tough on yourself at times you feel like it isn't working. it just takes time - and we've all gone through it or are still going through it!
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