Amy & I picked him up in New Braunfels when I was in Texas earlier this month. On our first day, Boss was an angel. He slept peacefully on the 2 hour drive to Amy's house. He tiptoed into Amy's house and sat quietly by my feet. He peed on his wee wee pad. I thought I scored the most well behaved puppy in the world.THEN. We went to bed around midnight. I had taken Boss to his wee wee pad, and he went. Then he went again in the bed. I woke Amy up and we changed the sheets. Then I put a diaper on Boss.
Sometimes I feel like he's mocking me even when he's just yawning.I put Boss in his little carrier he would travel in on the plane to Seattle (under my seat, not in cargo). He went bat sh*?! crazy. Oh, Lord. 100 people are going to hate me all the way from Austin to Seattle. So, the day before departure, we went to Amy's vet and got 2 sedatives for the little bug. He conked out the whole flight.
Upon arrival in Seattle, we met Jesse and Boss tried out his leash for the first time. He did NOT like it. So I picked him up and we walked to the car.
He does have his calm moments and has gotten along famously with Roommate's dog, Sophie. At least, he thinks they get along. Sophie got up and walked off 10 seconds after this picture was taken.Ten days later, here's the sitch:
1. Boss hates being left alone. He yelps and yaps and howls in his crate. Therefore, I have no social life so that my neighbors don't evict me.
2. Thankfully, Jesse has been on his school break and Roommate has had a flexible schedule, plus other friends have stepped in to babysit. Seriously, I need a babysitter for my dog.
3. Potty training is on the fritz. It's a total crapshoot. Thankfully, our carpet is already a piece of crap so a little more hasn't made it worse for the wear.
4. My favorite moment so far: I washed the towel that Boss soiled (b/c oh yes, he potties in his crate even though he is supposed to, by instinct, not want to do that) and put the freshly laundered towel back in his crate. He headed straight for the crate and I thought, "Yay! He wants to hang out in his crate! He's starting to like it." Stupid girl. He walked into the crate and peed right on the towel.
5. The one rule he has down pat is one that Roommate laid down for Soph and therefore Boss has to follow as well even though I don't really care about it: not allowed in the kitchen. I spritzed him in the face twice with a water bottle and he hasn't gone near the kitchen since.
6. Boss knows his name.
7. I have been to Petsmart or Petco 5,637 times in 10 days.
8. Boss starts Puppy Kindergarten on April 7th. Happy frickin' hallelujah.
2. Thankfully, Jesse has been on his school break and Roommate has had a flexible schedule, plus other friends have stepped in to babysit. Seriously, I need a babysitter for my dog.
3. Potty training is on the fritz. It's a total crapshoot. Thankfully, our carpet is already a piece of crap so a little more hasn't made it worse for the wear.
4. My favorite moment so far: I washed the towel that Boss soiled (b/c oh yes, he potties in his crate even though he is supposed to, by instinct, not want to do that) and put the freshly laundered towel back in his crate. He headed straight for the crate and I thought, "Yay! He wants to hang out in his crate! He's starting to like it." Stupid girl. He walked into the crate and peed right on the towel.
5. The one rule he has down pat is one that Roommate laid down for Soph and therefore Boss has to follow as well even though I don't really care about it: not allowed in the kitchen. I spritzed him in the face twice with a water bottle and he hasn't gone near the kitchen since.
6. Boss knows his name.
7. I have been to Petsmart or Petco 5,637 times in 10 days.
8. Boss starts Puppy Kindergarten on April 7th. Happy frickin' hallelujah.
Then he does this...and I fall in love all over again.
6 comments:
reading this is like deja vu. i swear. allie did all the same things boss is doing...acting like an insane freak when being put in her crate, needing to be put in special ed for potty training, etc.
my advice, hang in there and don't give up! eventually it gets easier. and crate training, though they HATE it, is the best thing in the world for puppies. allie was in her crate during the day and at night. now she's way more well behaved than my sister's dog who was not crate trained. (allie also pottied in her crate, too.)
but yeah, puppies are a ridiculous amount of work! and he is ADORABLE.
boss is not defective, he's just a nutty little puppy! they are all like that, i think! (at least allie was)
my tips: i learned the hard way they have tiny bladders/bowels. so, i would get up super early and take her out of her crate to potty. put her on the pee pad and repeat the same phrase over and over (ours was POTTY HERE and snap and point at the pad). don't let them move off the pad until the task is completed. then FLIP OUT with excitement and praise and give him a treat.
as far as being gone during the day, accidents will happen, they just have to learn to control their bladders. allie got a bath every day for those first few months because of accidents in her crate! but it only takes a few months, she was done with crate training after about four months. but some dogs, males in particular, can take longer i believe.
i have no advice on barking, al doesn't bark hardly ever. i think it's the same with potty training though, they just have to learn commands like no and learn you are the boss. dogs test their boundaries like kids do.
one thing that helped allie while we were gone, i bought her a baby blanket from target and slept with it for a couple days (you could do this with an old t-shirt, too) and saturated it with my scent. then we kept that in the crate with her. it was comforting to her because of my scent and was something familiar. two years later she still naps on that blanket during the day. it becomes something like a security blanket to them.
He is adorable - and I'm not even a dog person. (Or a cat person, but we all know Bud P. Marley was exceptional.)
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but as someone who has endured this whole puppy thing over the last year puppies do not have control over their bladders until they are 6-12 months old---and they are going to cry at night for 6 months. They are just like infants...they have to teach themselves to sleep. Good luck, I would never do this again. LOL
YES @ Mrs. Darling's second post---keep the same routine as much as possible, your puppy will thank you and learn to feel secure.
And now you know why we have always rescued dogs that are at least one year old or more.
Of course he is the cutest thing alive!!!
When you get all of the kinks worked out I will be first in line to take him.... LOL
Good luck Peggy - don't know when I have seen anything cuter!
Icy
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