Life goes on

[elanya]

Terry Pratchett gives a speech at the Alzheimer's Research Trust Conference. Yoinked from [Bad username or site: the greatgonzo @ livejournal.com].

In puppy news, she is still timid and mostly will cuddle if I pick her up but otherwise hides inder the counter where I made her a little bed and left her food. She will pee if I take her out. I took her out last night in the midle of the night as well and she crapped a little (for the first time since laura found her). But when i woke up she still had a nice fresh pile on the kitchen floor. I think the smell woke me up :x

I don't think she had learned that is is Jola yet, though I'm doing my best to encourage her. I'm also trying to introduce her to the intricacies of stars. She can do it, but won't without treats. On the other hand the only way I can coax her to come anywhere towards me is also with treats. but it is good that she is thusly motivated! It is promising. She's gonna take some work but she will be so worth it! I haven't owned a puppy since hazel got Lucas, so I am open to puppy related advice if anyone out there has any :)

I am going to see about taking her to the vet maybe tomorrow - the first visit is apparently free. And there is a vet like three blocks away form my house.

First, though, I need to talk to my property managerial people, which I'll do today. I'm a little worried about paying the pet deposit, because I don't have the cash. I have the money, just not in hand. :/ I'm hoping we can cut a deal.

Meanwhile, I'm also trying to do work! And waiting to hear from Megan about going to the gym! Wooh!

Comments

[longpig.livejournal.com]

Needs more puppy pics.

[3headedmonkey.livejournal.com]

I thought she was a lost puppy? Or did your freiend get you one O_o

[elanya.livejournal.com]

She is a lost puppy, found by my friend Laura. I wanna keep her though!

[3headedmonkey.livejournal.com]

Ahhh Okay, I am less confused now :D

I hope you can keep her. She is super cute. She even made Derek swoon.

[cheez-ball.livejournal.com]

Awwwww! She sounds adorable. I'm with the other commenters: picts are needed. :-)


Take her outside immediately after meals. That's when she'll have to poo the most. Take her out to pee immediately in the am to teach her that's a good time for it. And she'll need to go out a bunch of times throughout the day, of course. When she goes potty outside make sure to cheer and call her a genius. Lots and lots of positive reinforcement. Also make sure you teach her to word "no!", especially with inappropriate potty in the apartment. I've always had a really hard time disciplining Chloe, so you might want to talk to shadow73 (my hubby) about this.

You can also use a different brand of puppy food as treats for her, if you find you're giving her a lot of them.

And don't forget to give her things to chew on, as well as cute little toys. :-)

[autobuck.livejournal.com]

Actually, "no" can be confusing to dogs; they hear it in a variety of circumstances and can't narrow down its specific meaning. We had much better luck using "get down" when Giger jumps on things, "don't bite" for chewing on things, and so on. Doesn't really matter *what* you say, of course, long as they can associate a different set of sounds with a different behavioral admonition.

Very useful to teach dogs (especially rascally breeds) to look at you on command. (We use "look at me" with a hand gesture of an L on the forehead.) Long as she's looking at you, she's not chasing anything. Feels a little ridiculous to hold staring contests with a dog, but it's well worth it the first time they don't run after another dog.

Watch out for chewing, tennis balls and rawhide bones can both be pretty dangerous in shredded form. Cutting and choking hazards. If she turns out to be a big chewer and goes through a lot of toys, I can ask my mom what brand of bone she buys for Giger. You can order them online pretty cheap.

Puppy Advise from the basenji mama

[fionasidhe.livejournal.com]

Take her out 15 minutes after any major activity:
- playing
-waking up
-eating
-etc.

I would not have her food out all the time (I did this with basenji's and it's become a bad habit) but rather feed her twice a day. A good time to do it is when you eat breakfast and supper, this will keep her busy and stop her from begging your food from you.

Invest in a good quality dog food. I recommend the Solid Gold brand as it has meat as a primary ingredient. Try to stick with "human grade" dog food, it will be better for her in the long wrong. If she is underweight then you can supplement her dry dog food with real foods like eggs, peanut butter, cooked ground hamburger and brown rice. A bit of olive oil in her dry food will be good for her coat. :)

You can buy things called "Wee Wee Pads" for times when you arent at home. They are basically puppy pampers in a way. You lay one on the floor and when the dogs goes on it it absorbs the liquid/smell. :)

[roshatheundying.livejournal.com]

Must agree on the different commands for different actions you want the pooch to do/not do. 1 command for 30 different things, can confuse them, and make training much harder to do, especially if the dog is around while you game/mmo/or even emotionally talk - nothing like puppy confusion if they're doing something positive and you yell out "NO!" because some punk lightie ganked your mage.

Positive reinforcement is an absolute! But to be honest, wean away from treat rewards early on - because if you wait too long to wean them, they can get to a point they won't do the task/trick/whatever without the compensation - smart breeds/dogs can pick it up as quick as 1 or 2 'missed' instances if you've done it for a long time.

Most dogs can learn like humans, learning by visual example, or practice practice practice "paws on". May look silly but sometimes showing them works wonders. -- the Look command listed is a great one, I've used "Like this" in the past which meant the same to my puppies/rescues, it meant look at me, I'm showing you something.

The harsh part of her reactions to you isn't something you're doing, likely something that's been done to her. Having rescued several dogs over the years, abuse is never a nice thing to be blunt about - but it even happens to puppies.

Once a vet clears their health, the fastest success I've had to coax puppies to see you as a friend is not hesitate to get down to ground face to face with them, nuzzles, sniffs and soft head-butts can bridge the gap and make you 'one of the pack' - just be careful if you've got face/ear piercings, I've seen a puppy nip a 200$ earring right off someone's ear and ruin a wonderful face montage thing by snagging the chain in their teeth and attempting to run, pulling out those simple weak fleshy bits.


Some people think it's weird but don't hesitate to talk to your puppy, even letting them know what you're doing, it's not what you're saying that's important, just that you're there, it helps build trust. Could always read out loud if you're working on something.