Murphy, on the other hand, was in my side of the bed when I went to get in. So was Jake, but just because he likes the bed.
I did some research on teaching a pup not to leash pull and found quite a bit of information, a lot of it contradictory. Everything from using pinch collars and yanking the dog off their feet (not happening here!) to using food as a deterrent. (also not happening here.) The best thing I found was some basic guidelines on changing what you're doing. When the pup pulls ahead, they can't watch you. So, you stop as soon as the leash tightens up, and switch directions. They also were treating and clicking with this, which is not something I want to incorporate, but just the redirection should be a huge help. I'll be using that if Reilly continues to try to pull. We won't get far on our walks, but that's not the purpose of them.
And yes, I do know that using treats and clickers is the current popular way to train a dog. However, I want to stay away from tangible-reward trainig as much as possible. Dogs have been trained for centuries to work for their pack alpha (their person), with the positive-reinforcement reward being verbal praise and affection. It can work just fine. And a common problem I've seen discussed time and again on the assistance dog groups I'm a member of is that treat trained dogs don't work well if they aren't hungry or don't like the treat! So using a motivation that may not motivate is self-defeating, in my mind. I also don't want to use clickers. I walk with forearm crutch(es), and I'll be holding a leash. How can I use a clicker? It's not practical for me. Reilly needs to bond to me as the alpha in his life, and work just for the praise, affection, and puppy-hugs. I think we're doing good so far.
This morning I had to make a fresh pot of rice, and The Boys all waited patiently for breakfast.
Right after I took this, Reilly got up to go chew on poor patient Murphy's ears. And it dawned on me. We sprayed Murphy's ears with bitter apple to break Jake of licking them. He was licking ears so much, he was giving Murph a fungal infection! So I pulled the bitter apple spray back out, and Chris sprayed Murphs ears again. Reilly also tugs his lips, but we can't spray those, as then Murph'd be eating the stuff. But amazingly enough, Reilly quit trying to chew on those ears pretty quickly this morning! The look on his face was priceless, but I was cooking breakfast eggs by then and didn't have the camera ready anymore. I'm getting better with the camera, but I'm not there yet!
Now, why didn't I remember the bitter apple spray a week ago when the Tasmanian Devil first started to come out?
I also did some thinking on yesterday's success with no potty accidents. I'm better at watching for him to wake up, for starters. But I also took up the paper during the day yesterday, and I think that made a difference. A couple times I let him out, he had whined, although not near a door or anything; just whined. And when I rang the bells to go out, he came immediately. So he might soon make the connections between going potty outside and asking to go out in some fashion. He's pretty consistant about coming when he hears the bells. In fact, although Murphy and I are the only ones that ring them, all three dogs come when they hear them. Not bad for two weeks. I need to add a string of bells to the front door. They are currently only on the back and side doors.
Reilly did use the paper before I got up this morning, but I took it up and washed the floor, and will only put more down if I leave and at night from now on. We'll see how that works. I think we're doing remarkably well. I can count non-paper accidents on my fingers, and we've caught most of the more recent ones in progress and scooted him outside to finish. In his room, he only goes on the paper, or close to...his feet would have been on the paper, and he really doesn't have the spacial sense to know that the pee or poop isn't on there too. So we're improving every day.
Tomorrow he turns 11 weeks old, and has his second set of puppy shots. And an official weigh-in. I'll weigh him at home too, and see how much different my bathroom scales are. I know they aren't the most accurate; they're a little light. (Works for me, until I get weighed in at my docs!) He's grown a lot in the last week, learned a lot, seen a lot.
Oh, and I also figured out part of the issue with yesterday's trip and the trip to Joe's. I'm interrupting his beauty sleep. It's easy to forget because of his size, but he still needs to sleep most of the day. During a large part of the day, he only ges up to eat and go potty, and then he crashes back out. I gave him other things to do...which he wasn't up for. Add the heat into the equation, and no wonder he didn't want to participate! I need to remember how young he is, instead of how big he is, and not push him too hard. Patience, patience.
On Friday, he'll have his first day where he'll be alone for most of it. I have to go to a doc appointment in Charlotte, which is three hours away. So, six hours driving time, plus at least an hour there, and another stop or two. (If I'm going that far, I'm hitting a yarn store while there!) Say eight hours without me. Chris says he'll go to work super early, so he can come home and let all the doggies out. It's supposed to be 103 degrees Friday, so the big dogs will need to stay indoors all day, too. And while they can hold it just fine, it's always nice to have the opportunity to go if you want it. So, if Chris goes in at 5:00, he'll be home early afternoon. And he's driving to Georgia Friday afternoon, maybe even before I get home. I'll follow to Georgia on Saturday, with Reilly, for a family gather at my parents. Everyone is looking forward to meeting Reilly, but I'm betting he'll mostly sleep. They have a glassed in and air-conditioned large porch, so it's a safe place to put his bed and bowls, where an accident won't hurt anything. Plus, he'll be out of the getting-stepped-on zone. Still, it'll be another car ride, another new place, with similar things...Dad has poultry and goats...and another new dog or two to meet. My parents have a recently adopted GSD/Corgi mix (Very interesting look, that.) who was an abused dog. He's been slow to comprend that everyone he meets at his new home is wanting to pet him, but it's finally dawned on him that people there actually like him! He's been fine with the chickens, too. It'll be the first new dog he's met since they got him, so we'll have to proceed very carefully, for both Lucky and Reilly's sakes. Reilly may also get to meet my brother-in-law's beagle, Jewel. She's a lot more boisterous, so we'll need to make sure Reilly doesn't get overwhelmed by her, but she's friendly. Still, these are dogs which he'll see on a fairly regular basis. They will react better to him as a puppy, since they are adults, and can get used to him as he grows. We'll just need to be careful they don't scare him. My sister has another dog I'll need to be even more careful with. He's a rescue, too, and he looks like a min-pin with a long tail. He's told Murphy and Jake they are second class citizens, and they believe him. While I certainly understand his need to be boss in his own territory, I can't let it extend to being snappy with Reilly. I may well wait to introduce him to Fitz until he's older...and taller than Fitz. That'll give him a slight advantage. Next trip down, for this one, I think. We'll stick with mellow dogs and friendly-though-boisterous dogs this time. If I even have time for both. It's four hours each way, and I can't stay the night; our Boys at home will need us.
At the end of the day now, and it was a quiet one. Reilly went in and out with the big dogs today, responding to the bells even if he was asleep when Murphy rang. Only one inside accident today, on the paper, when I was out for three hours. Pee only; all poops outdoors for two days now. Yay! Progress! That means that pretty soon I won't be reporting on where Reilly goes potty! Hurrah!
We worked a small amount on sitting today, but not much. We mostly worked on staying out of the 100 degree weather we're back up to. Reilly has just gone to bed, and I will follow soon. Even the mornings are hot this week, so we won't be going to the park to walk tomorrow. We'll just get the grapes picked instead.
He is getting braver about where he can go. When I'm here, I put a baby gate up so he can't go down the hall into the carpeted bedrooms. He has access to mudroom, kitchen, dining room, living room and foyer. Although he occasionally goes into all of them, he had mostly been staying in the mudroom ("his" room) with forays into the kitchen to eat from the bog dog bowls. The past two days he's moved into the kitchen more, and even is venturing to spend more time with me in the dining room. (Where my laptop currently is).
Tomorrow is his vet appointment. He's grown a lot since his last one. We'll see how much!
Meg and Reilly
No comments:
Post a Comment